Posted by John Behle on April 19, 2000 at 13:07:22:
You’re in the right place to learn the right way. There is a lot of mis-information out there about notes and both profitable and un-profitable approaches.
Many new people to the business do not make it. That isn’t as much a reflection on the business, it is a reflection of their training and their approach. It IS a very profitable business and it’s a great time to start - if you do what works and not what most of the masses are taught.
If you do what most of the “training organizations” out there advocate, you could have a long, hard, expensive road ahead and the odds are against you.
Ouch. That sounds so negative, but I won’t sugar coat things. Notes are a people business and about MARKETING. It’s very similar to getting into real estate “sales”. It can be 6 months before someone going into real estate even makes a living and a much longer time to make a great living. NOTE BROKERING - which is what most people advocate - can be the same way. Actually it is more challenging than real estate sales.
That’s a big reason why I advocate note investment over note brokering. One is it’s a more sure road to short term profits and it is THE road to long term success. Even the TOP note brokers don’t make that much. A savvy note investor can make as much in one transaction as a very hard working broker makes in a year.
It’s like real estate sales vs. real estate investment. The only real similarity is they both use the words real estate. Other than that, it’s just not the same game.
For “training” purposes as they learn the business, I advocate new note investors broker notes. In addition there will always be opportunities to pick up commissions on notes or cash flows that you don’t want to buy (but someone else would). But in the long run - within a few months - they should be into alternative sources of funding notes than brokering.
The biggest challenge in the note industry is to find enough notes. This is where much of the education falls VERY short. Some advocate sources that are highly un-productive or highly overused. You don’t need to fight with everyone over the same sources and types of notes. That’s where new note brokers come up short.
Read through the newgroup and articles here and at my website. Also, down below there is a list of 94 sources and types of notes. Focus on the sources that have to do with working with Realtors in particular.