Your mortgage note has a problem. We have options.
Selling at a discount isn't your only option. We structure exchanges, restructures, and joint ventures that work for both sides.
First call within 48 hours. Written proposal in 10-14 days.
How it works
From first call to resolution, we keep it straightforward.
Step 1
Let's talk
Book a 25-minute call and tell us the story. No forms, no paperwork to start. Just a conversation about the mortgage note and what you're trying to accomplish.
Step 2
We evaluate
Our team reviews the note, property, borrower, and documentation. We look at every angle, not just the obvious ones.
Step 3
We propose
You receive a clear proposal with our recommended approach, alternatives we considered, and realistic timelines.
Step 4
Resolution
We execute the agreed structure and handle the workout. Problem resolved.
How we think about your situation
Most note buyers lead with one question: how cheap can we get it? We lead with a different one: what structure actually works for you. We've seen maturity defaults, technical defaults, covenant breaches, junior liens underwater, documentation gaps, and notes where the borrower died or divorced.
Buy outright
When a clean break is the right answer, we close quickly and pay a fair price. No contingencies, no games.
A lender holding a maturity-defaulted note needed liquidity for a new investment. We evaluated, made a fair offer, and closed in under three weeks.
Restructure
We work directly with the borrower to modify rate, term, or payment structure. The note starts performing again. You keep your position.
A technical default caused by a documentation gap. We worked with the borrower to cure the issue and extended the maturity. The note performs again.
Exchange
Trade your troubled note for a performing note or income-producing property from our portfolio. Problem out, income in.
A creditor swapped a non-performing second lien for a performing first-position note. Same monthly income, zero headaches.
Joint venture
We invest alongside you to resolve the situation. Shared risk, shared upside. Best for complex deals with real potential.
A complex workout on a mixed-use property. We brought capital and expertise. The creditor kept equity upside and monthly cash flow.
Not every note is a fit. We only work with notes secured by real estate, a recorded mortgage or deed of trust. Business notes, personal IOUs, and unsecured paper aren't what we do. We're also the wrong call if your note is under $500K, or if you just want a quick cash bid with no interest in creative structures. That's fine. We'll tell you up front.
More than one way to solve it
The obvious traditional answer can sometimes be challenged. Creditors come asking for cash; there's usually a better answer.
Note-for-note exchange
Swap your non-performing note for a performing one. You keep monthly income flowing without waiting for a workout to play out.
Tax-efficient installment structures
Spread capital gains recognition over time instead of taking a lump-sum tax hit. Our team includes a CPA with 14 years at the IRS.
Master lease with option to buy
Lease the underlying property from the borrower with an option to purchase later. Solves cash flow now without forcing a sale, and keeps the deal alive while the workout plays out.
Creditor-to-equity conversion
Convert your lender position into an equity stake via a JV recap or class C LLC interest. Stay in the deal with upside, without the collection headache.
Partial payoff with new terms
Take cash for part of your position and restructure the rest at better terms. Get liquidity now without giving up the whole note.
Hypothecation against performing portion
If part of your note is still performing, we can lend against that slice while we work out the rest. Liquidity now without a full exit.
What this looks like in practice
Real life examples. Specifics changed to preserve confidentiality. Representative scenarios based on patterns we regularly structure.
Master lease with purchase option
Maturity-defaulted first-position note at 92% LTV. No refi available. We took a 60-month master lease covering the lender's interest monthly, with an option to buy at face. Exercised at month 33.
Cross-collateral release
Credit line secured across four industrial properties. One defaulted. We released it, tightened covenants on the other three, and substituted a performing second-lien as new collateral. No distressed sale.
Hypothecation against performing paper
Seasoned performing notes. Holder wanted liquidity, not a discount sale. We looped in First Note Capital to lend against the portfolio at 50% ITV, non-recourse. ~$2M unlocked. Income intact. No tax event.
Our Team
More Than a Note Buyer
We're real estate counselors and exchangors who happen to work with notes. If you're holding a problem note and not sure what to do next, we're happy to talk it through. No pressure, no pitch. Just an honest look at your options from people who've actually structured these deals before.
Alejandro Duque
Founder and Managing Partner
Alejandro is a licensed real estate broker and the founder of a commercial real estate investment firm focused on capital preservation and creative deal making. He spent seven yearsas a Financial Analyst at Google, supporting the ads business and YouTube's global content acquisition team, before leaving to focus on multifamily and light industrial development. He has since found his passion in counseling and the private credit side of real estate. University of Florida graduate.
At First Note Solutions, Alejandro runs underwriting, structure, and direct work with creditors. Every note that comes in gets his eyes on it. That real estate work led him to private note lending, where he saw creditors undervalued by one-offer note buyers. He's the president of the Florida Real Estate Exchangors (FLREE), active in regional and national exchange groups, and a frequent guest of the Society of Exchange Counselors (SEC).
Originally from Colombia and raised in Miami, he also manages a nonprofit school in Colombia that serves 30 children with a daily lunch program feeding over 100 community members.
Victor Wagner, CPA
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Victor is a CPA, licensed real estate broker, licensed mortgage broker, former mortgage insurance underwriter, and active mortgage note investor with over $28 million in note originations. He spent 14 yearsas a Senior Revenue Agent in the IRS's Large Business & International division. MBA from Baylor. Investing in real estate since 1982.
At First Note Solutions, Victor oversees tax strategy, underwriting, and loan structure. Every transaction gets his review to make sure it holds up as a proper debt instrument, structured the way an IRS auditor would read it. Ambiguity gets fixed before it becomes a problem. He also provides note valuations for private investors, including those holding notes inside Self-Directed IRAs.
Victor stays active in local exchange groups and REIAs, where he teaches tax strategy and investment structures for note holders. Die-hard Buffalo Bills fan. We don't hold that against him.
Darryl McCullough
Senior Advisor, CCIM, SEC
Darryl is a real estate counselor who has structured transactions across the United States and Canada since 1972. His work spans acquisition, disposition, finance, and consulting, simple to complex. He earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation in 1984. He is a member of the Society of Exchange Counselors (SEC), a U.S.-based group built around problem-solving in real estate through integrity, professionalism, and accountability.
At First Note Solutions, Darryl brings five decades of creative structuring to note workouts, exchanges, and joint ventures. When a deal needs a path no one else has thought of, he's usually the one who finds it. His SEC network gives him live access to creative counterparties: institutional buyers, private lenders, and property holders willing to consider structures most brokers never see.
Darryl stays in a perpetual “student” posture: learning the physical asset, drawing out personal and corporate objectives, and knitting together benefit packages through creative solutions built on time-honored formulas.
Common questions
Everything you need to know about working with us.
Let's Talk
Grab 25 minutes with Alejandro and Victor. One real conversation beats fifty form submissions.
Every conversation is confidential.
No details leave our team. NDA available on request. Nothing gets shared until you want it shared.
Weekdays, 1:00-2:30 PM ET. Google Meet link included.
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Free Guides
Plain-English guides on defaults, foreclosure alternatives, workouts, exchanges, and creative solutions for problem notes.