How Can I Find Cash Flow Notes?

Knowing how to find cash flow notes is the most important skill note brokers and buyers can learn.

It can also be the most difficult. Why?

Well it can seem a lot like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

The Challenge with Real Estate Notes

On average about 6% of residential real estate sales involve some sort of seller financing. And it’s the seller carry-back that makes up the lion’s share of the cash flow note business.

Now it can be more or less depending on where you live. It’s also higher in a tough economy (like now) or with hard to finance properties (land, mobile homes, commercial, businesses, etc).

But that 6% has been a pretty reliable statistic for the 20+ years I’ve been buying and selling notes. I know six percent may seem like a small number but it can really add up.

Cash Flow Note Statistics

Just take a look at residential sales for one year. In 2009 there were 5.156 million existing home sales units with a median price of $172,500 [Source: National Association of Realtors®].

If we apply the 6% seller financing average that results in roughly 53.3 billion dollars of cash flow notes created in just one year. That number grows substantially when you combine with the notes created on new homes, land, mobile homes, business notes, and others not included in this NAR report.

So how do you find the needle in a haystack?

Target Marketing – The Solution to Finding Mortgage Notes

It’s a waste of valuable time and money to market your note buying services to the 94% of the population that don’t hold a note.

To find cash flow notes you need a powerful magnet…and that’s targeted marketing.

A marketing plan targeted solely to the needs of sellers holding cash flow notes is what will get your phone ringing and your pipeline full of deals.

5 Ways to Find Cash Flow Notes

In our business there are 5 preferred methods for locating deals. We cover this in more detail in the Finding Cash Flow Notes Videos (click the link  for free access to the mini course), but to summarize they are:

 1.  Ads – Using ads to find people receiving payments on real estate notes

 2. Direct Mail – Sending letters or postcards to a verified list of note holders

 3. Referrals – Networking with professionals to obtain referrals

 4. Online – Building an online presence with websites, directories & SEO

 5. Building Your Brand – Establishing yourself as an expert in your local area

Over the last two decades we have used a combination of all five methods.

So what’s the best way to find cash flow notes?

Well that depends on three things:

1. Budget

How much are you able to spend on marketing? This is a huge factor when first starting out. For example direct mail is effective (if done right) but also expensive.

2. Time

How much time can you devote to the business? Reverse Ad Marketing and Referrals are low-cost but they take an investment of time.

3. Skills

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you already have relationships with existing real estate professionals? Are you great with computers? Do you like (or hate) to give presentations? This also impacts your selection.

So start with the 5 main methods, realistically assess your budget, time, and skills, and then make a marketing plan that is best for you.

To get more details on our five favorite methods for Finding Cash Flow Notes watch this special free video:

You can also read these additional articles on Finding Cash Flow Notes:

Note Broker Questions: How Do I find Notes on a Budget?

Should I Visit the Courthouse to Find Cash Flow Notes?

Find Cash Flow Notes with Note Seller Lists

Seller Financed Note Business Increases 40%!