What are real estate notes?

If you've ever purchased a home, but didn't pay the entire sales price in cash up-front, you're familiar with real estate notes. Real estate notes are legal documents that are created during a transaction to specify the terms of repayment. Sometimes called a mortgage or deed of trust, these documents outline what the purchaser has agreed to pay for a property and how the payments are structured. Real estate notes specify the amount of the monthly payments, the interest rate, the term of the financing, as well as other important details of the transaction. The lending institution, such as the bank, mortgage company, or individual who enters into this agreement with the buyer, is called the "note holder."

In a conventional lending situation, the real estate note is a debt instrument specifying the terms of repayment between the buyer and the bank. In a seller-financed scenario, the seller of the property creates a real estate note with the buyer, whereby the buyer agrees to pay for the property in accordance with the specified terms. Either way, a real estate note allows the buyer to pay, say, $1,000 a month for 30 years instead of the full purchase price upfront.

What is seller-financing and when is it used?

Normally, when a house is sold, the buyer signs a mortgage (and a real estate note) with a bank, which allows the bank to pay the seller of the home the sales price. The buyer agrees to make monthly mortgage payments over time to repay the bank.

But when conventional lending money isn't readily available, seller financing allows a buyer to purchase a home directly from the property owner. There are a number of reasons why a buyer might not be able to obtain a conventional loan or chooses not to do so: The buyer might have a lower credit score due to a divorce or illness; the buyer might have stated income issues; the buyer might not want to go through the hassles of conventional financing paperwork; etc. Instead of obtaining a loan through a bank, the buyer enters into an agreement to make monthly payments directly to the seller of the property. In this arrangement, the seller creates a real estate note that finances the sale directly between himself or herself and the buyer.

How does the note business work?

Basically, the note business is built around the purchase of real estate notes from sellers who are collecting monthly payments from the buyers of their property. Large institutional investors and investment companies purchase large groups of notes from sellers who no longer want to carry the note.

In this situation, the seller receives a cash payment for the note from the investor, much like a seller would receive from a bank if conventional lending were used. The investor then collects the monthly payments from the buyer from that point forward. The agreement the seller had established with the buyer remains unchanged; the only difference is who receives the monthly payments.

As a note broker, your task is to find sellers who are holding notes, and offer them cash payments in exchange for their notes. Often, note owners decide they would rather have a single, lump-sum cash payment in exchange for their notes, rather than continue to collect small, monthly payments for many years, perhaps decades. They may need or want a large sum of money, or they may be tired of handling the monthly paperwork. When you identify note owners who are interested in selling their notes, you then present the proposed transaction to an investor, who will then make the purchase. Upon each sale, you earn a commission.

Many note brokers eventually build their own portfolios of notes to create monthly income for themselves. Training with NoteSchool is the perfect way to locate note holders, convince them to sell, and find the best institutional buyers for your transactions.

Is the note business right for me?

While only you can answer that, it has been an ideal choice for many! The note business provides our graduates with fantastic income potential, flexible hours, the satisfaction of helping others, and a job that works well with family time! The NoteSchool team is happy to talk with you about your situation and discuss how our training might fit into your plans. Give us a call today and let's see if it's right for you.

Do I need to live in a large city or near a financial center?

Absolutely not! Real estate notes are created all across the country. And one of the best parts about this business is that you can buy notes anywhere, regardless of loaction. We've trained successful note brokers from remote areas of Alaska to the heart of Manhattan, and everywhere in between!

Also, you can run your business out of your home. Because your work is done entirely online, through the mail, and over the telephone, you don’t need a separate office in a commercial building somewhere. Nor do you need to commute to and from your work. Even "business casual" is an option! As your own boss, you create the work environment that best suits your needs and interests.

How much time will this take?

It's really up to you! This business works well as a great part-time source of income or as a full-time, wealth building career. In fact, many of our brokers start out part-time while they're learning the business so that they don't have to give up their full-time job. Once they've established an adequate income with this business -- often in just a few months -- they then begin working in the note business full-time. Realistically, you need to be able to devote at least 10 hours a week, especially in the early stages, to see real results. Obviously, you'll achieve greater success more quickly, if you work full-time.

How much money will I make?

One of the best things about working for yourself is that you control your destiny. A typical transaction will yield the note broker a commission in the range of $3,000 to $5,000. Our graduates have made as little as $1,500 on a small deal -- and as much as $100,000 or more on a large portfolio transaction. More realistically, however, you can expect a note transaction to pay a consultant between $3,000 and $5,000 on average.

Do I really need training?

You could probably learn almost any business through the school of hard knocks, but why would you want to? Your odds of success are greatly enhanced by a well-structured curriculum and knowledgeable, experienced instructors.

Eddie Speed has spent more than 25 years learning what to do -- and what not to do -- to make this business work. He has spent literally millions of dollars on various marketing strategies, monitoring their performance and continually refining his techniques for maximum effectiveness.

At NoteSchool, you'll learn proven techniques for succeeding in this business. You'll avoid common pitfalls experienced by other note brokers. And you'll have an experienced team of mentors who will do everything they can to help you learn this business well. With training from NoteSchool, you'll be fully prepared to launch your own note business and reach your financial goals.