America’s Preferred Note Buyer

When working with Central Valley One, Inc., you can expect to receive a personalized client experience from start to finish. As a principal note buyer, we leverage our real-world experience and over 100 years of combined escrow expertise to complete transactions quickly. Oftentimes, in just 10 to 14 days. It’s this kind of efficiency and personal attention that you can only expect from a dedicated, smaller company that values every client.

At Central Valley One, Inc, we do not rely on aggressive commission-driven sales tactics.
As a trusted note buyer, you can be assured that our focus is on providing you with clear information and straightforward options. We pride ourselves on providing the best pricing options upfront with a personal touch to meet your specific needs.

As one of the industry’s preferred note buyers, we strive to provide the best upfront pricing while keeping the process simple.

Purchase Offers are structured two ways:

The full purchase and partial purchase options. With a full purchase, Central Valley One, Inc., purchases the entire remaining balance of your mortgage note. You receive a lump sum payment at closing.

With a partial purchase, Central Valley One, Inc. purchases a portion of the balance due,
for example, the next 24 months of installments. This allows a note holder to sell only a portion of their mortgage note or trust deed, while retaining the remaining future payments owed. Many clients use this strategy to free up funds now for retirement, travel, new investments, and personal needs, while retaining their remaining payments after the portion we purchased is paid out.

I’m a first-time Note Holder with questions.

Whether you’re a first-time note holder seeking a Mortgage Note buyer or an active real estate investor, we welcome your inquiry.

We are a successful mortgage note buyer with an excellent track record. We prioritize our one-on-one client consultations with personal attention.

We are here to answer your questions about selling your Mortgage Note. What is the cash offer for a note? The time value of money: how does this work? The deed transfer process including assignments, escrow, and other related topics.

The typical question-and-answer cash-out conversation lasts anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

Below is a list of questions we receive daily from current note holders who are inquiring about selling their mortgage notes.

1. I want to sell my Note. How much can you offer me?
2. Promissory Note: What is it?
3. What is a Note Buyer?
4. How does the sale of my note affect the current borrower?
5. How does the closing process work?
6. When do I receive my money?
7. Discount, why is there a discount?

I want to sell my note. How much can you offer me?

There are two purchase options available for most Mortgage Notes: Full Purchase and Partial Purchase.

With a full purchase, Central Valley One, Inc., purchases the entire remaining balance of your mortgage note. You receive a lump sum payment upfront.

With a partial purchase, Central Valley One, Inc., purchases a portion of the balance due, for example, the next 24 months of installments.

Several factors are considered when making a cash offer for a mortgage note. Although it’s not necessarily in any specific order, the mortgage industry generally considers the following:

1. Property type, collateral type.
2. Equity, preferably upfront cash equity, at closing.
3. Note Terms, Payment amount, Interest rate.
4. Duration of the note terms.
5. Repayment schedule: Amortizing, interest-only.
6. The time value of Money is a significant factor.

As a trusted note buyer, we take an informative approach to every transaction.

Our Note Buyer Resources section of this website provides valuable information to help you understand the note-selling process, evaluate your options, and make confident decisions when researching the sale of your note.

Whether you’re a new note holder exploring your selling options or an experienced investor who has previously held private notes, we are here to help and guide you every step of the way.

Promissory Note: What is it?

A promissory note is a legally binding document that formalizes the details of a loan agreement between a borrower and a lender. It clearly outlines the original loan amount, interest rate, repayment schedule, and the agreed-upon loan term. When real estate is used as collateral, a promissory note is typically secured by a mortgage or deed of trust, which is recorded in the public record to protect the lender’s interest.

The lender, also known as the beneficiary, holds the promissory note until the borrower has fully satisfied all repayment obligations. In essence, a promissory note is a formal “I Owe You” (IOU) that establishes accountability between the parties and provides legal assurance that the loan will be repaid under the agreed terms.

As explained, Chase Bank. (2025, July 29,) – Promissory note in real estate, explained. https://www.chase.com/personal/mortgage/education/financing-a-home/promissory-note

What is a Note buyer?

Mortgage note buyers are investors, institutions, or private individuals who purchase mortgage notes for investment purposes. These groups provide note holders with the option to sell for a lump sum rather than wait years for monthly payments. Mortgage notes are purchased on the secondary market for passive income.

Many investors are familiar with traditional real estate, purchasing physical property to generate rental income or profit from market appreciation. Note investing, however, offers a different approach to real estate investing without the responsibilities of property ownership.

Note investing involves purchasing the debt secured by real estate, not the property itself. As the note buyer, you become the lender, earning income from the borrower’s payments of principal and interest over time.

Institutions, this group typically consists of private investment companies that purchase mortgage notes for resale. They will either originate private loans or assign existing contracts for packaging and resale to a larger banking institution.

Private individuals, retirees, passive-income investors, contractors, or real estate pros who make a living from fix-and-flips will use seller financing to complete real estate sales.

Real estate investors who have an extensive rental portfolio. This group of investors will also use seller financing to build a retirement-income portfolio. Often, they are older or unwilling to comply with the newer onslaught of rental requirements imposed by local cities or ordinances.

How does the sale of my note affect the current borrower?

When a mortgage note is transferred to a new holder, the borrower generally experiences no changes to their obligations or payment terms.

The terms for the payor remain the same. They are responsible for making payments in accordance with the original agreement.

The most significant change, if any, is the payment address for future payments to the new account servicing agent. The borrower will be notified of the transfer, and payment instructions will be updated accordingly.

Importantly, the terms and conditions of the mortgage, including the interest rate, payment schedule, and maturity date, remain unchanged unless explicitly renegotiated.

In summary, there are no changes to the payor’s obligations; the only adjustments are administrative, relating to where and how payments are sent.

Discount, why is there a discount?

When selling a real estate note, the seller typically receives less than the remaining balance, referred to as a discount. This discount compensates for several factors, including the added risk to the note buyer and, secondly, the inflation factor resulting from the time value of money.

The time value of money is the principle that money today is worth more than money in the future.

One of the most important things to remember when selling a note is that there is no clear-cut discount for any specific private mortgage note. Every note is evaluated
individually by the mortgage buyer, ultimately on a case-by-case basis.

The note buyer is trading an equivalent amount of cash today for cash to be received over several years, or, in many cases, over 10 years or more, before the mortgage note buyer, Central Valley One, Inc., receives the equivalent cash return under the terms of the note.

Then you have the reality of risks as another primary concern, including potential borrower defaults, unexpected property issues, and market fluctuations that could affect property values.

Notes are discounted mainly as investors (note buyers) are purchasing the right to receive future payments, and future money is worth less than cash today due to risk, time, and opportunity cost. We consider the following:

1. Property type.
2. Time Value of Money – The principle of money today is worth more than in the future.
3. The down payment, cash at closing, often determines the equity position.
4. Payment structure, interest-only, amortizing, and the distance to the maturity date.
5. Borrower’s creditworthiness, or corporate payor. (No personal guarantee).
6. Investment to Value.
7. Property Condition.

Risks of Holding a Mortgage Note:
The Ugly Side

Notes are discounted to account for risk and the time value of money factor. Although notes can be a good investment, they are a long-term, passive investment strategy. Before investing in a note secured by real estate, a thoughtful due diligence plan should be factored into any purchase offer.

The fastest way to lose money and create serious unwanted time-wasting issues is to buy discounted notes driven solely by a unilateral greed discount.

Note buying as an investment without a proven due diligence strategy can lead to late payments, defaults, and, in the worst case, bankruptcy before any foreclosure is completed. 

If borrowers default and then file for bankruptcy, the court process can tie up the property for an extended period. This risk is catastrophic to a note buyer. In most cases, properties are not maintained and end up distressed.

If the note buyer, especially Central Valley One, is involved in short-selling the property after legal fees and time-consuming issues with a bankruptcy, and finalizing any foreclosure procedure with the courts.

This is a nightmare scenario; this can tie up the property for several years.

Meanwhile, the note holder may be responsible for any delinquent property taxes and insurance premiums. Then, when it’s all said and done, the borrower could legally stay in the property and then destroy it on the way out the door.

In many cases, the note holder would sell the property short to a local real estate investor for cash. The potential note buyer ends up with a significant or total loss. This scenario is all too familiar and, unfortunately, catastrophic for the note investor.

Many mortgage note holders claim they want to foreclose to build value in the conversation and use it as a negotiation tool to secure a higher purchase offer for their note.

The reason is they may have purchased the property many years ago, for example, for $45,000.00, then rented it for 15 years and sold it under a private contract for $140,000.00.

The cost basis to this note holder might be $65,000.00, considering repairs, taxes, and
Property insurance. Even at $800 a month for 15 years, it puts them in a favorable, profitable position. This would be a perfect example of a note holder claiming they have
no issues with a foreclosure.

This is not a win-win strategy for most note investors looking to acquire mortgage notes for passive income.

The note holder’s cost basis in the property is much lower than that of any mortgage note buyer. In most cases, the note buyer would end up with even money at best if the deal goes south. The note seller, on the other hand, is typically unaware of the foreclosure process and its details.

The real estate investor note holder would often have no issue with pursuing a foreclosure, as they see opportunity as a more profitable strategy. The mortgage note buyers’ cost basis and opportunity cost are much higher; therefore, the note buyer is purchasing the assets for passive income.

Central Valley One, or any mortgage note buyer buying for passive income, would rather solve the problem by helping the buyer sell the property or, if necessary, modify the note terms to avoid a catastrophic foreclosure.

Mortgage Note acquisition protocol.

Enter the strategic time-tested analytics developed from a “Real-world approach” with a trial-and-error set of guidelines by the Banking/finance industry. This approach is applied to mortgage loans, and the discounted mortgage note industry is utilized to analyze and provide a correct purchase offer by discounting the note.

These strategic guidelines have significantly reduced the risk of approving new mortgages, including those involving note buyers who follow these guidelines in mortgage assignment transactions, also known as buying a mortgage note at a discount.