Buying notes (specifically real estate promissory notes) with no money down is a classic "creative finance" strategy. It relies on finding a problem to solve rather than just a price to pay.
He secured an option to buy her note for $30,000 (a discount, since it was non-performing). He gave her $10—literally a ten-dollar bill—as "earnest money" to make the contract legal. how to buy notes with no money
Asking the note holder to "carry the paper" while you work to resolve the property's issues. 000 (a discount