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Thanks for being here! Quick one today. But it’s something I think about a lot.
You don’t have to own the physical real estate to win in real estate.
I know that sounds backwards. Real estate = buying property. That's the whole thing, right?
Not exactly.
When most people talk about real estate investing, they picture the landlord. The rentals. The tenants, the toilets, the 11pm maintenance calls. And there's money in that model. But it's certainly not the only model.
There's another seat at the table: the lender's seat.
When you originate or buy a mortgage note, you're not the owner of the property. You're the bank. You hold the debt. The borrower maintains the property, handles the insurance, deals with repairs. You sit back and collect principal and interest every month.
The cash flow has an end date of course, that's the tradeoff. Unlike a rental that you own forever, a note pays off. But while it's paying, it's clean. No tenants. No cap ex. No 3am calls (if you’re doing it right).
My start was in land: buying affordable rural parcels for cash and selling them on owner-financing. That gave me the note, which gave me the payment. Then I started buying notes from other people, picking up yield at a discount. Then I acquired Terra Notes, a software platform that helps other lenders manage the whole thing.
It's the same world. Just different seats. And I like the view from this one better.
The lender's seat is underrated. If you've ever thought about getting into real estate but the landlord model turned you off…this is worth looking at.
(Want the Deal or Dud framework I use to evaluate notes fast? Grab it here.)
This week's business observation
I've been watching a lot of people try to build a personal brand at the same time they're trying to build a business. Cough cough..myself included.
The mistake most of them make is they build for the audience they want instead of documenting the work they're already doing. I know I could have soooo much more to share with you guys if I just stopped and showed you what I was working on.
Would you be interested in that???
So if you're in the middle of something real like figuring out a deal, working through a hiring decision, hitting a wall in your business, that’s content! You don't need a studio and a script. Just be honest about what's actually happening.
People can tell the difference between someone performing and someone working.
This is all just a reminder to myself by the way.
Your inbox is full. Slack is piling up. Client messages need a response yesterday. Typing thoughtful replies to all of it takes hours you don't have.
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Talk soon, Jake
Next week I'm breaking down how I think about yield on a seller-financed note vs. a note I buy on the secondary market. Different animals, fun to see them duke it out.