Enter the unpaid balance, the note rate and the payments left, then choose how many of the next payments to sell and the buyer’s yield. The calculator estimates the cash you would get now, how many payments come back to you afterwards, and how that compares with selling the whole note or keeping it. Every figure is an estimate, not an offer.
How a partial is priced
In a partial purchase, a buyer pays you a lump sum for a set number of the next payments on your note. Once those payments have been made, the rest of the payments come back to you. You are selling a slice of the payment stream, not the whole thing. How a partial note purchase works covers the mechanics and the paperwork.
The buyer prices that slice the same way they would price a whole note. They work out what each of the payments they will receive is worth today at the yield they want, then add those amounts up. The calculator does the same:
- It works out the monthly payment from the balance, note rate and payments remaining, using the standard amortization formula.
- It discounts only the payments you sell, at the buyer’s yield divided by 12, and adds them up. That total is the cash now.
- For comparison, it discounts every remaining payment at the same yield to show what a full sale might bring.
In plain words, the cash now is the monthly payment times one minus (one plus the monthly yield) raised to the power of minus the number of payments sold, divided by the monthly yield.
A worked example
Illustrative numbers only: a $100,000 balance at 7% with 240 monthly payments left, which gives a monthly payment of $775.30. The seller sells the next 60 payments at a 10% yield.
| Sell whole | Sell 60 | Keep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash now | $80,340 | $36,490 | $0 |
| Payments you still receive | 0 | 180 | 240 |
| Total of those payments | $0 | $139,554 | $186,072 |
The 60 payments sold add up to $46,518, and they bring $36,490 today. After payment 60, the payer owes about $86,257 and the remaining 180 payments are yours again. A full sale at the same yield would bring $80,340 but leave nothing to come.
The shorter the slice, the smaller the discount in dollars, because the buyer waits less time for their money. Selling 24 payments here gives about $16,801, and selling 120 gives about $58,668. How many payments you should sell looks at sizing the slice to the cash you need.
Reading the comparison
The bottom row in the calculator adds cash now to the payments you receive later. It is a simple total, and it does not adjust for when the money arrives, so the “keep” column will always look biggest. That column also assumes the payer keeps paying for the whole term. The partial sits in between: some cash now, and the back end of the note still yours. Partial vs full note sale, side by side goes through how to weigh it.
The calculator uses the same yield for the partial and the full sale to keep the comparison clean. In practice a buyer may ask for a somewhat different yield on a partial, and the partial agreement sets out what happens if the payer pays off early or stops paying during the buyer’s period. Those terms matter as much as the price; see what to look for in a partial purchase agreement.
What moves a real offer
A buyer prices the payer’s record and reliability, the property and the equity behind the note, the quality of the paperwork, and the lien position. A first lien with years of on-time payments gets a lower yield, and so more cash, than a second lien with a short or patchy record. The slider runs from 8% to 14% for comparison only, and a riskier note can be priced above that range.
The calculator covers balances from $10,000 to $5,000,000. For a note outside that range, contact us and we can talk it through.
From an estimate to real offers
Real offers for a partial show the balance, the buyer’s yield, the payments being bought and the discount. Our fee is built into the offer price, so you see one net figure. You can ask for a partial and a full-sale price at the same time, and the note value calculator gives a quick estimate of the full sale on its own. Asking is free, nothing obliges you to sell, and keeping the note is a fine outcome. When you are ready, send us your note details to get offers.
Related questions
How is the cash for a partial worked out?
The buyer discounts each payment they will receive at their yield and adds the results up. Only the payments you sell are counted; the rest come back to you after the buyer's payments have been made.
Why does selling a quarter of the payments bring more than a quarter of the full-sale price?
It usually brings more than a quarter, because the payments you sell are the nearest ones and are discounted the least. The payments you keep are the furthest away, which a buyer values least.
Will a real partial offer use the same yield as a full sale?
Not always. A buyer may price a partial at a somewhat different yield, and the agreement terms on early payoff and default also affect it. The calculator uses one yield so the comparison is easy to read.
Can I get a partial and a full-sale price at the same time?
Yes. You can ask for both and compare them side by side before deciding, and keeping the note is also an option.