What happens when a high-income professional realizes their career has an expiration date?
For Tom Force, the answer wasn’t more rental properties, more rehabs, or more complexity. It was notes.
Facing mandatory retirement at 65 after a long career as a Captain with American Airlines, Tom knew one thing for sure:
He did not want to be managing tenants, toilets, or rehabs in his later years.
So at 62, he made a pivot — and in just four years, he built a portfolio of 39 performing notes producing over $25,000 per month in passive income.
His full story comes from an in-depth episode on NoteSchool’s YouTube channel, where Tom sat down with founder Eddie Speed to walk through what worked, what surprised him, and what most investors completely miss.
Why Notes Beat Rentals for Tom (and Many Investors Like Him)
Tom wasn’t new to real estate. He’d done:
Flips
Rentals
Syndications
Traditional investments
But none of them delivered what he was actually after: predictable income with minimal involvement.
Here’s the comparison that caught his attention:
$250,000 in a typical rental
~$1,800/month rent
~$900/month net (before surprises)
$250,000 in notes
~$2,700/month cash flow
No tenants
No maintenance
No midnight phone calls
That difference wasn’t theoretical. Tom lived it.
His first note deal — purchased just four weeks after joining NoteSchool — cost about $88,000 and paid him $874 per month, hitting his 1% monthly return target almost exactly.
Multiply that discipline over time, and the result is a portfolio that quietly works in the background while life moves forward.
The Part Most Investors Ignore: Legacy Planning
What makes this episode especially powerful isn’t just the income story.
It’s what Tom talks about after the numbers.
At a NoteSchool conference, Tom delivered a standout presentation titled “Who’s Servicing Your Legacy?” — and it struck a nerve.
He identified four major threats that destroy wealth after an investor passes away:
The Knowledge Vacuum
Your heirs don’t understand what you own or how it works.The Competency Gap
Even smart family members may not know how to manage or sell notes correctly.The Liquidity Trap
Estates need cash early — and illiquid assets force bad decisions.Family Fracture
Equal isn’t always fair, and poor planning creates conflict.
Tom’s solution wasn’t complicated. It was intentional:
Clear documentation
Written liquidation plans
Video explanations for heirs
Simplicity over complexity
In his words, creating wealth is the easy part — transferring it is where most plans fail.
Why This Matters to MAREI Members Right Now
At MAREI, we’re seeing the same questions come up again and again:
“I’m tired of managing rentals — what else is there?”
“How do I build income that doesn’t depend on my physical energy?”
“What happens to my deals if something happens to me?”
That’s exactly why notes are part of the January conversation.
January 13 — MAREI Monthly Meeting
We’ll be exploring notes as a real-world alternative to rentals, with practical context for Kansas City investors. This is our 1st meeting of 2026. As always members and 1st time guests who pre-register attend for FREE.
January 17 — Half-Day Workshop
Led by Jeff Watson, who teaches on behalf of NoteSchool, this session goes deeper into:
How notes actually work
Legal structures and safeguards
Common mistakes investors make
How notes fit into a broader investing plan
Don’t know Jeff? He is on of MAREI’s Trusted Mentors on real estate investing, creative deal making, notes, and Self Directed IRAs and he is often found teaching and learning at NoteSchool. He is one of the people who helps investors do this correctly, ethically, and with the right guardrails in place.
Grab more info on this live in person event and sign up TODAY!
NoteSchool
The nations leading group of instructors in the Note Business Lead by Eddie Speed.
