Simplify ~ Busting Down the Wall

When I was a youth, I was pretty crazy about sports. I'm still interested in sports, but not like I was back then. I was pretty sure I wanted to be a coach. I never could dunk it or throw the hail Mary, but I could shoot. When I was  at the U of O (Go Ducks!!), my major was physical education. Classes for phys-ed majors were designed to teach you how to teach students, but you still had to participate in the activities. I remember during the track class, we were told that when you run a 440 (or 400 meters for you International types), there is this invisible wall right around the 300 yard mark. You'd be running the first 3/4's of a lap just fine, then Bam!, you'd get hit in the face with this wall and you couldn't move another step. All I wanted to do was crawl to the steeplechase pond and cool off.

I've been told there is a wall when investing in notes and I'm determined to bust through it with flair. This invisible wall is supposed to be at about 20 assets. If that's the case, I'm about to meet this wall face-up due to my growth in 2017. And judging by my goals for 2018, and the new transactions already in the pipeline, I'll confront that  wall again in March.

Thinking like I do, I know there is a way to avoid realizing this fate. I've mused on this since the beginning of the year, while setting my goals for the new year (hope you set your goals as well), and have reached this conclusion: for me to bust through any (imaginary) wall and bust past to great success, I have tosimplify. Sounds really simple, but that is the beauty of my conclusion. According to my Dictionary.com mobile app, simplify is a verb that means "to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier." 

With all the voices out there and the competing interests looking to distract, to achieve the success in my note business for 2018 and beyond, it all comes down to simplifying. After some additional  thought, I drilled down to 3 basic factors I need to adhere to throughout the coming year. 

1. Stay within the model. My note business is not a hobby. I am building a viable business with a determined business model. I must stay within my model to mitigate the distractions. Every time I have wandered outside my model I've had issues. With that, my basic model is simple:Invest in non-performing promissory notes secured by 1 - 4 family real property, owner-occupied with the intent to find a workout solution where the homeowner/borrower can retain ownership of the house.That doesn't always work and we are prepared for the alternative, but if we seek assets upfront that meet this basic criteria, our success level increases.
2. Get Help. I can't do this alone. Note investing is a team game, even though I'm a very small business, I need to supplement my business with top quality vendors that have the same mindset as I do. I have the best loss mitigation attorney's, foreclosure attorney's, loan servicers, BPO agents, title team, and a host of others that work on my behalf to provide quality information and services enabling me to acquire the best investment-quality assets that a joint venture investor would want to deposit their investment capital into one of our acquisitions, and service the asset post-acquisition. I cannot fully express my gratitude and humbleness to these folks, as well as the group of investors that have pledged funds for investing. I cannot do what I do without all these folks, and I won't try it without their help.
3. Follow Up. If there is one thing that I learned during this past year is the necessity of following up. Understanding that everyone plays a part in a file flowing through the process, I am not the only note investor these vendors work with. Sometimes it's like herding cats. Setting realistic time frames to follow up is vital, and some things cannot always be done on my schedule. The adage 'time is money' is genuine, and when you study the concept of velocity of money, I cannot simply rely on something getting done. A timely phone call or email equates into action. 

A quick self-promotion. I was honored to be a guest on the Note Closer's Show podcast back just before Christmas. Scott  Carson interviewed me about my business, successes and case-studies from 2017, and my goals and aspirations for 2018. Here is a link to the podcast's blog, and included is a link to the actual video podcast. I would appreciate you watching and providing some feedback.