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The Note Investor PodcastAuthor: Dan Deppen
The Note Investor Podcast will guide you through the ups and downs of note investing, and teach you about all of the nitty gritty details of the business that other people won't talk about . Your host, Dan Deppen is a former aerospace engineer and product manager who transitioned away from cubicle life to full time note investing in 2018. Our website is www.fusionnotes.com, where you can subscribe to this podcast, comment, and find links to other information on note investing. Language: en Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Originating notes by working backwards
Episode 153
Tuesday, 20 October, 2026
Most people set the terms on a seller finance note based on what the buyer can afford and hope it works out. I'd argue 90 to 95% of the seller finance loans getting originated are basically hot garbage, and you find out the day you try to sell one. In this episode I walk through how to originate a note by working backwards from the exit. I build one example deal, a $180,000 home sold for $195,000 with $19,500 down and a $175,500 note at 9.5% over 30 years, and show how that same loan can sell for close to full value or for around $116,700 depending on how it was put together. I cover how note buyers actually price a loan, why institutional buyers will pay up for compliant paper while individual buyers want big discounts, and the levers you control at origination: rate, down payment, term, loan instrument and consumer compliance. I also get into the Seller Finance Playbook, the course I built so new originators can learn this before their first deal instead of on it, and how the $600 course fee comes back as a credit on your first Call The Underwriter file. A note built to sell is the safest one to hold Buyers price to a yield, so more risk turns into a bigger discount fast The 10-10-10 guideline is a starting point, not a rule A mortgage or deed of trust usually sells for more than a contract for deed Compliance is what keeps the best buyers at the table Most of a note's value is locked in before closing Seller Finance Playbook: https://fusionnotes.zoholandingpage.com/sellerfinanceplaybook Free seller finance community on Skool: https://www.skool.com/creative-note-originators-5677 Note training: www.notelaunchpad.com Note buying: www.fusionnotes.com Note origination and underwriting: www.calltheunderwriter.com Mortgage broker / DSCR servicers in TX, SC and CO: www.callthemortgageguy.com












