Legal, Compliance & Risk
Usury, securities rules, fraud, recourse and collections: the risks every broker should understand.
-
01
Balloon Battering
How Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stretch a balloon on a home-secured note by up to five years, and what to do about it.
Read lesson → -
02
Delightful Deficiencies
When foreclosure doesn't cover what's owed, you may still collect the deficiency. Here's how, and the trap to avoid.
Read lesson → -
03
Flip Flimflam
How the rehab-flip-and-straw-buyer fraud traps note investors, a real case, and ten red flags to check before you buy.
Read lesson → -
04
How Credit Repair Scams Work
How the two classic credit repair scams work, why they leave victims worse off, and what you can legally do yourself.
Read lesson → -
05
How I Got Burned by an Institutional Note Investor
A broker's story of losing a partial's remainder deal to the note buyer he brought it to, and how to protect your partials.
Read lesson → -
06
How I Got Scammed by a Mailing List Vendor
An experienced marketer's story of buying a 'prequalified' note holder list that turned out to be junk, and the pitch to watch for.
Read lesson → -
07
How to Collect Bad Debts
A step-by-step collection routine for past-due notes and accounts: letters, calls, visits and the legal lines not to cross.
Read lesson → -
08
January Filing Requirements for Note Buyers
When note buyers must file Form 1098 for mortgage interest, with five examples of who files and who doesn’t.
Read lesson → -
09
Mythical Money
How the Prime Bank Guaranteed loan front-fee scam works, why real banks never guarantee these loans, and how to check before you pay.
Read lesson → -
10
Never Call the Note Seller Your “Client”
Why note brokers buy from customers rather than work for clients, and the agency language to strike from note buyer agreements.
Read lesson → -
11
Note Brokers, Lending and Securities
When taking an investor's money turns note brokering into a securities offering, and how to structure deals so it doesn't.
Read lesson → -
12
Risky Recourse
A true court case shows how buying a note with recourse can turn a note purchase into a usury claim against the buyer.
Read lesson → -
13
The Creditor’s Dilemma: Collecting on Judgments
What a note holder or landlord can do after winning a judgment: abstracts, liens, writs of execution and garnishment.
Read lesson → -
14
The Inside Scoop on Note Frauds
The frauds that target note investors, from prime bank notes to Ponzi schemes, and the warning signs of each.
Read lesson → -
15
The IRS 120-Day Right to Redeem After Foreclosure
When a junior federal tax lien is wiped out by foreclosure, the IRS can still buy the property back within 120 days. How it works.
Read lesson → -
16
The Law on Paying Real Estate Agents Referral Fees for Notes
Why you must never pay a real estate agent directly, and when a referral fee for a note lead may be acceptable.
Read lesson → -
17
The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act
What the SSCRA means for note holders and landlords: the 6% rate cap, lease terminations, eviction and court stays.
Read lesson → -
18
Usury: Old, but Dangerous
How usury law can make a recourse sale or simultaneous closing an illegal loan, with Washington State cases.
Read lesson → -
19
Who Gets the Money When the Seller of a Partial Disappears?
What happens to the original note holder's share of a balloon when she can't be found, and why the partial buyer can't keep it.
Read lesson →
