Notes can be found almost anywhere, depending on the type you are looking for. There are real estate notes, lottery notes, injury settlement notes, business sale notes and so forth.
A note is an IOU for the money owed in a large transaction where all the payment cannot be made upfront. People who have the note are due a fixed amount of money. Usually the county clerk office will have a listing of people who have real estate notes, but there are other ways to find them such as through real estate agents, lawyers, business networks, and so on. Open your mind to the possibilities of the different types of notes and go to the places where someone will know where to find them.
If you only want to work with real estate notes, the county clerk office will have recorded real estate business transactions which include notes due and the terms. Go to the office and look through the records. While you do have the right to access the records, some will charge a fee to make copies of the records. These records will tell you exactly who owns the note and who is paying on it. You will want to contact the one who owns it.
One of the problems with that method is most note flippers go there first and these people have already been contacted several times over. If you want leads that are more fresh, become good buddies with a successful real estate agent who might close a lot of sales each month. Offer them a percentage of any deals that are flipped for access to clients who just closed using notes.
Settlements are also a good place to find notes. Make buddies with injury lawyers who may have a long list of clients with winning settlements. Offer them a cut of your profit from flipping in exchange for the names of clients with notes.
As a flipper, you might not realize both methods leave you at a distinct disadvantage. The real estate agent and lawyer already have a pulse on the industry. Chances are they ALREADY know investors or are investors themselves. Why would they give you THEIR leads when they can keep all that money themselves instead of splitting it with you? Before you make deals with the professionals, be sure where their loyalties and commitments are first.
J. G. Wentworth has a commercial that approaches the viewer who might have a winning lottery number or settlement due - notes. They are note investors. The commercial is designed to find people who have notes that might consider selling it for money upfront. The easiest way to find notes is to advertise. Put out ads looking for people with settlements, winnings, or real estate notes who want money fast and have them come to you.
If you can find a note, but do not have the money to buy it, you will need to have investors already lined up to buy the note you found. It makes no sense to go through all the hoops of finding notes if you cannot flip them to those with the cash to buy it...
