How to Get Your Capital Back Without Selling Your Notes
One of the best things about creating seller-financed notes is the long-term cash flow. But eventually everyone runs out of capital to keep doing more deals. You’ve got two basic options: sell the note, or borrow against it. Selling gets you cashed out, but you lose the asset. Borrowing against it — through what’s called […]
Partials: how to get cash without selling the whole loan
One of the most useful tools in the seller finance note world is the partial. If you’ve ever wanted to pull some cash out of a loan you created without giving up the whole asset, this is a great strategy to know. What is a partial? A partial is exactly what it sounds like: you […]
How to Find Qualified Buyers When Selling on Owner Finance
If you’ve ever had a deal fall apart three weeks in because the borrower couldn’t qualify, you know what a pain that is. Today I want to talk about how to avoid that entirely — by attracting the right buyers from the start. Working Backwards From Underwriting Here’s what a typical owner-finance timeline looks like […]
New: Get Instant Answers on Seller Finance with our AI Chatbot
Quick update — I just launched a new AI chatbot on the Call The Underwriter website, and I’d love for you to be one of the first to try it out. I built it because I get a lot of the same questions about seller financing — how to structure a deal, what the compliance […]
The Truth About Self-Employed Borrowers (and Why It’s Not a Problem)
If you’ve ever been turned down for a mortgage because your income “doesn’t fit in the box,” you’re not alone. Sometimes this leads investors in the creative finance space to believe they can’t create a compliant loan for a self-employed borrower. The issue is with traditional lenders. Why Traditional Lenders Struggle with Self-Employed IncomeTraditional banks and conventional […]
Institutional Demand for Seller Finance Loans
Over the past few years, I’ve occasionally shared insights from the secondary market—specifically what institutional buyers are actually paying for different types of loan assets. Recently I had another conversation with a broker I work with who operates at significant scale. His firm regularly sells pools of loans into the institutional market, including: The data he […]
Why the Down Payment Matters in Seller Financing
One of the most important variables in a seller-financed deal is the down payment. That might sound obvious — bigger is better — but there are several reasons why the size of the down payment has a major impact on the quality and long-term value of the loan. Here are a few things worth keeping in mind: […]
Pre-Screening Seller Finance Borrowers
A very common and expensive mistake in seller finance is failing to properly pre-screen a borrower before going under contract and starting the underwriting process. When this happens you lose a lot of time waiting for the borrower to get all of their information in to us and for the underwriting, then to find out […]
Mortgage Fees vs. Rental Application Fees
When investors move from the rental world into lending or seller finance, it’s common to assume that the rules applying to rental application fees also apply to mortgage-related underwriting and origination fees. But mortgage-related fees on owner-occupied loans can work very differently. With rentals, application fees are typically non-refundable. Tenant applies, screening happens, fee is […]
Now Available: Full Loan Docs & Closing Packages
You can now order your loan documents and complete closing package directly through Call The Underwriter. This isn’t just basic loan docs—it’s a comprehensive closing package designed to cover everything you need for mortgages and deeds of trust in all 50 states. For a flat fee of $595, your package includes: Included option: If your loan is structured as […]
The Hidden Signals Borrowers Send in the Underwriting Process
In seller-financed deals, underwriting is more than just verifying income, pulling credit, and calculating debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. Yes, those fundamentals tell us a lot about a borrower’s ability and willingness to repay—credit scores, history, monthly obligations, and overall affordability. But after processing hundreds of loans over the past year, we’ve discovered something even more telling: how […]
How the Term Sheet Works (and Why It’s the First Step with Call The Underwriter)
When you’re ready to engage Call The Underwriter on a deal, the very first step is submitting a term sheet. Think of the term sheet as the lead domino in the entire process—once it’s submitted, everything else flows from there. The term sheet gives us everything we need to: Sometimes investors try to gather borrower documents or details […]
New for 2026: Updates & New Resources at Call The Underwriter
Happy New Year! As we head into the new year, I want to thank you for being a Call The Underwriter client and for trusting us with your seller-finance underwriting and compliance needs. We’re excited about 2026 and wanted to share a few important updates and new resources that will be available starting in January. […]
Thank You for Helping Us Win Best Seller Finance RMLO — 6 Years in a Row
I’m excited to share that Call The Underwriter has once again been named Best Seller Finance RMLO in the Best of Notes 2025 survey by NoteInvestor: https://noteinvestor.com/best-of-notes/ That makes six years in a row we’ve earned this recognition — and it’s entirely because of the trust you place in us to help you originate compliant, high-quality seller finance loans. Thank you for your continued […]
Big Update: Now Offering Non-QM, Conventional & DSCR Loans in TX, FL & CO
For over seven years, Call The Underwriter has helped real estate investors originate thousands of compliant seller-finance loans. As you know, most seller-finance borrowers can’t qualify with traditional banks because they’re self-employed, have ITIN status, or rely on non-conventional income.Typically investors use seller financing intentionally as a strategy — and other times it’s simply the […]
Due on Sale Deep Dive – June 12
If you’ve been looking into creating wrap loans, you’ve probably come across the term “due on sale.” And if you’re already creating wraps, it’s something you need to understand—because it can impact your deals. Here’s the short version: Most underlying mortgages originated by banks include a due on sale clause. This gives the lender the right to call the loan due if […]
The “Anytime” Balloon Payment
When I work with investors on new seller-financed deals one question that comes up frequently is whether to include a balloon payment. I get it. Many investors don’t want to hold a loan for 30 years and are looking for a built-in mechanism to get liquid at some point. In hard money and commercial lending, […]
The Seller Finance Gap
Last week, I mentioned the “seller finance gap”—this week, I want to walk you through how I think about it. At its core, the seller finance gap is the space between two things: 1. The minimum underwriting standards required by law (think Dodd-Frank and related regulations). 2. The stricter standards most banks use today. Dodd-Frank […]
Debunking Seller Finance Credit Myths
When it comes to seller-financed loans, there’s a lot of confusion around what’s required from borrowers—and what rules lenders need to follow. Let’s clear a few things up. Myth #1: “If it’s seller finance, there are no rules.” This is a dangerous misconception. While it’s true you don’t need an RMLO license if you originate […]
Seller Finance News – Eddie Speed Webinar on Valuing Notes
I recently hosted a webinar with industry veterans Eddie Speed and Justin Bogard focused on valuing seller financed notes. For those who don’t know Eddie, he’s a true pioneer in the note business with 45 years of experience and over 50,000 notes under his belt. Key Takeaways From The Webinar: Tax benefits of partials The […]
Seller Finance News – What You Need to Know About CFPB Changes
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—and some confusion too. Since the CFPB was created after the financial crisis, it has shaped many of the rules around loan origination that we follow today. But a few weeks ago, the administration essentially instructed the CFPB to halt […]
Want Top Dollar for Your Loan? Here’s How to Maximize Its Value
Even if you’re planning to hold onto a loan you’ve just originated, it’s smart to think ahead: What will this loan be worth if I decide to sell it later? These loans aren’t just pieces of paper—they’re assets often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, tied to 20- or 30-year terms. At some point, you […]
Call The Underwriter now has Spanish-speaking support available!
I’m excited to share that Carlos has joined the Call The Underwriter team! Carlos is a native Spanish speaker and will work directly with your borrowers to assist with completing applications and providing income documentation. Since taking over Call The Underwriter, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with customers to understand the challenges faced when originating […]
Want Top Dollar for Your Loan? Here’s How to Maximize Its Value
Hi , Even if you’re planning to hold onto a loan you’ve just originated, it’s smart to think ahead: What will this loan be worth if I decide to sell it later? These loans aren’t just pieces of paper—they’re assets often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, tied to 20- or 30-year terms. At some […]
Updates and Improvements at Call The Underwriter
I hope this message finds you well. It’s been three months since I acquired Call The Underwriter, and I’m excited to share some significant updates and improvements we’ve implemented to better serve you. Enhancements in Underwriting We’ve completed the transition process and have introduced new systems to enhance and expedite our underwriting services. Additionally, we’ve […]
Call The Underwriter Acquisition
My name is Dan Deppen, and I am excited to announce that I have recently acquired Call The Underwriter from Max and Michelle Bailey! As a longtime customer of Call The Underwriter, dating back to its founding by Russ O’Donnell, I have a deep appreciation for the value of properly underwriting seller financed loans. With […]