Real estate-secured notes are an exceptional asset class that offers the simplicity, safety and strength that wise investors seek.  And without a doubt, one of the best sources for getting the best note deals is from other individual investors.  But who, exactly… and how?  I’m glad you asked!  Today I share with you 3 key sources for acquiring privately held real estate notes.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #210.  ---- Hello SDI Nation, welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you, where each day we help you to FIND, UNDERSTAND and PROFIT from exceptional investments.  Be sure to check out the show notes for today’s episode #210 by visiting SDIRadio.com/210. One such resource you might enjoy is an article I recently wrote for TheStreet.com which addresses the weakness in the luxury end of one of the biggest real estate markets in the world:  New York City.  For those of you who are inclined towards focusing your investment capital on major money centers like New York City, you’ll see some really solid reasons why it’s worthwhile to expand your horizons a bit.  Again, the link to that article is on today’s show notes page at SDIRadio.com/210. And with regard to analyzing specific markets, I have great news, my friends.  Beginning this coming week, you’ll get to enjoy “Market Monday”… one episode per week – on Monday, not surprisingly, hehehe – that highlights a particular real estate market in the U.S., and why it is – or maybe IS NOT – a suitable investment target for YOU, the self-directed investor!  This isn’t a rah-rah session… and the analysis is just as likely to motivate you to “stay out” as to “jump in”.  The point will be both to educate you about current conditions in a particular market, along with showing you some fundamental factors that are supporting – or weighing on – particular real estate markets.  So look for the first edition of SDI’s Market Monday episode this coming Monday, and if there are any particular markets you’d like for us to analyze, please drop a note to me at feedback@sdiradio.com! So let’s return to note investing, and what is likely the single best source for acquiring them for you as an individual investor.  That source, generally, is private investors… other individuals like me and you who – for one reason or another – find themselves in possession of real estate notes.  Let’s break this group down into 3 categories: Category #1:  These are the other individual investors who presently own real estate notes.  They may have acquired these notes because they are in the business of selling their own properties through seller financing which inherently creates a real estate note, or maybe they acquired the note in some other way.  These people are frequently easy to find because you’ll see signs or other advertisements that offer “owner financing” or “seller financing”.  Just search CraigsList in your target market area to find some of them.  This verbiage in an ad is a dead giveaway that the person selling the property is creating a note.  At that point, the relevant questions become:  Do they want to sell the note, and if so, is it a good investment?  On the first point – do they want to sell – the only way to know is to ask!  On the second point – is it a good investment – we’ll defer that question just a bit, so stick with me. Category #2 of private note sources:  Create them yourself!  Look, this isn’t a good option for everybody, and I don’t want to suggest that it is.  But for those of you who are already landlords, the choice of monetizing your property through seller financing isn’t substantially different than monetizing it through a lease.  The big differences are that you’re getting a down payment that you keep, rather than a security deposit you must return, and that you don’t have to think about maintenance or management or landlord legal liability ever again.  So for those of you who are ALREADY actively involved as landlords – such as those of yo