If you sold land with owner financing, you have probably gotten one. A letter, or a postcard, from a company you never heard of, offering to buy the note your buyer pays you on. Some people get several a month. Most go in the trash.
I buy land notes, so I am on the other side of those letters. Here is why they come, how to tell a real buyer from a time waster, and how to know if the number is fair.
Why Am I Getting Letters Offering to Buy My Note?
Because your deed of trust or mortgage is a public record, and it shows you as the lender.
When your buyer closed, the deed of trust or mortgage was recorded with the county so your lien would be protected. That record lists you as the lender, the buyer, the property, and often the original loan amount. Data companies collect those records county by county and sell them as mailing lists. Note buyers and note brokers mail the list.
So the letter does not mean anyone knows anything about your buyer or your payments. It means you hold a recorded note, and that is all.
Is a Letter Offering to Buy My Note a Scam?
Usually not. The risk is not the letter. It is paying a fee or signing papers before you have a real written offer.
Most of these letters come from real note buyers or from brokers who will shop your note to buyers. The letter itself costs you nothing. Trouble starts only if someone asks you for money, or for your original note, before you have a written offer from the company that will actually pay you.
Walk away if you see any of these:
- A fee to make an offer. Appraisal fee, review fee, application fee. A note buyer prices your note on its own dime.
- A request for the original note up front. The original goes to the buyer at closing, after a signed purchase agreement, not before.
- Pressure to decide today. Your note will still be there next week.
- No written terms. A real buyer puts the price, the conditions, and the closing date in writing.
- Vague answers about who pays you. If they cannot say whose money wires at closing, you may be talking to a middleman. See direct note buyer vs. note broker.
Selling a land note?
We buy land notes with our own money for 80 to 90% of balance. Written offer in 24 hours, close in about 7 days.
Get a Free QuoteWhat Is My Note Worth?How Do I Check That a Note Buying Company Is Real?
Look the company up yourself, call the number you find, and ask who wires the money and who the assignment goes to.
Do not rely on the phone number or website printed on the letter. Look them up on your own. Then check:
- State business records. Search the company name on the secretary of state website where it says it is based. It should be an active company.
- Reviews and a real person. Search the name plus "reviews" and "complaints." You want to know who you will deal with, by name.
- Who the assignee is. Ask whose name goes on the assignment of your deed of trust or mortgage. A direct buyer will say "ours."
- Who wires the money. Ask whose account the purchase price comes from at closing.
- Whether they buy land notes. Many buyers want house notes only. Ask what they have bought on vacant land.
In my experience, the sellers who feel best at closing are the ones who asked hard questions early. Asking does not offend a real buyer.
How Can I Tell if the Offer Is a Lowball?
Compare it as a percent of your current balance, and only after the buyer has seen your documents.
A number in a mailer is a guess. The sender has not seen your down payment, your buyer's payment history, the interest rate, or the land, and those drive the price. Some letters quote high to get you on the phone, and the number drops once the file is reviewed. Others quote low and hope you do not shop it.
The fair way to judge an offer is to divide the cash you will get at closing by your note's current unpaid balance. For a performing land note that meets our criteria, we pay 80 to 90% of the balance. Where yours lands depends mostly on the down payment and the payment history, which what is my land note worth walks through factor by factor.
| What the letter says | What to ask |
|---|---|
| "We pay top dollar" | What percent of my balance, in writing, after review? |
| A dollar amount with no conditions | What could make that number go down? |
| "Close in days" | Days from what: first call, signed offer, or complete file? |
| "No fees" | Who pays title, recording, and any attorney at closing? |
The number that matters is the one in writing from the company that will wire the money. If you have two of those, compare the offers line by line.
What Should I Have Ready Before I Call?
Your balance, rate, payment, payments left, the buyer's down payment, and a payment history.
With those six things, a real buyer can give you a written bid quickly. Without them, all anyone can give you is a guess. If a servicer collects your payments, ask them for a payment history and a current balance. If you collect yourself, a simple list of dates and amounts works. You can also get a range in a minute with the note value calculator.
What if I Am Not Ready to Sell Yet?
Get a number anyway. It costs nothing, and it tells you what the note is worth if you ever need the cash.
Plenty of note holders keep a written offer in a drawer for a year or two before they sell, or never sell at all. A bid with no obligation is information, not a commitment. If you are on the fence, hold or sell your land note lays out when keeping the payments makes more sense. You can also sell only part of the payments with a partial note purchase.
How Do I Stop the Letters?
Ask each company to take you off its list. Legitimate companies will.
Call or email the sender and ask to be removed. You will still hear from others, because your deed of trust or mortgage stays in the public record until the note is paid off and released.
Want a written offer from the company that will wire the money?
Get a Free Quote →Frequently Asked Questions
How did a note buyer get my name and address?
From public records. When you sold the land, the deed of trust or mortgage was recorded with the county. It names you as the lender, the borrower, the property, and often the loan amount. Mailing list companies pull those records and sell them to note buyers.
Is a letter offering to buy my note a scam?
Usually not. Most are real buyers or brokers. The risk is not the letter. It is paying a fee, or signing something, before you have a written offer from the company that will wire the money. A real note buyer does not charge you to make an offer.
Is the price in a note buyer letter real?
No. A number in a letter is a guess, because the buyer has not seen your payment history, your down payment, or the land. Treat it as a reason to call, not an offer. The number that counts is the written offer after the buyer reviews your documents.
How do I stop getting letters from note buyers?
Call or email the company and ask to be removed from its mailing list. Legitimate companies honor that. You will still get letters from others, because your deed of trust or mortgage stays in the public record.