Buying a note is not buying a building. A workout is not a negotiation, and a recap is not a refinance. Those distinctions are where most operators lose money on their first distressed deal, and a good share of today's principals have never had a first distressed deal at all, because the last real cycle closed before they were active in the market.
Over three hours Paul Stanton works through the full toolkit from real situations: where defaulted paper actually comes from and how to be in front of it, how to price a note to the collateral instead of the balance, what to do when the borrower stops paying, and how a recap gets structured when control is the point.
Running underneath all of it is an AI layer. It watches maturities, defaults, and public filings so a sponsor stops reading about their own market in the trades, builds a first-pass underwrite on a note in minutes, and drafts the workout and recap paperwork. Volume has always been the real constraint in distressed, since finding three situations worth chasing means looking at thirty. A three-person shop can now work the pipeline a credit fund works.
This session does not end with a theory of the cycle. It ends with a sourcing workflow running, a note model built, and the documents marked up.
Paul is also a partner at PTB, a real estate investment banking boutique, and focuses on the intersection of capital markets, media, and alternative real estate. He has funded over $1B of real estate projects and platforms, and acquired and asset-managed over 8 million square feet of office, industrial, and multifamily assets in the US.
Contact the host →You'll learn how to
Find the paper before it lists
Where defaulted loans and distressed positions actually originate, from banks clearing their books to funds under redemption pressure to special servicers with a mandate, and how to build relationships that put you in front of a situation rather than in an auction for it.
Underwrite the loan and the collateral together
Price to what secures the debt, not to the outstanding balance. Read the loan documents for what they let you do, model the asset for what it is worth today, and know which of the two is actually driving your number.
Run a workout without losing your position
Work the decision tree from first missed payment through forbearance, modification, deed in lieu, receivership, and foreclosure, including what each path costs in time and what it signals to the borrower across the table.
Structure a recap that takes control
Build the recapitalization that takes the asset rather than funding somebody else's extension. Rescue capital, preferred equity, and the terms that determine who is actually running the property eighteen months later.
Put an AI layer under your sourcing
Set up monitoring across maturities, defaults, and public filings, run a first-pass note underwrite in minutes, and draft the workout and recap paperwork, so sourcing stops being the thing that caps your deal count.
Spot the traps before you buy
The situations that look like opportunity and are not: environmental exposure you inherit, a borrower who will litigate for three years, a capital stack with a mezz lender who has every reason to fight you, and ground leases that make the collateral worth less than the paper.
What the workshop covers
The setup
Most mid-size shops have the buy-box knowledge and none of the access. Deals in their own market go to special servicing without anyone telling them, and by the time a situation reaches an auction the edge is gone. The session starts from that gap and sets out to close it.
Who sells distressed paper, and why
Banks, debt funds, special servicers, and secondary note markets. Who sells, why they sell, what they know that you do not, and how to be the call they make before they run a process.
Building the note model
Reading the loan documents for enforcement rights, remedies, and the traps. Pricing to collateral. Where the first-pass diligence checklist saves you and where it will not.
The workout decision tree
The decision tree from default forward, the posture that works across the table from a borrower, and the real timelines and costs of forbearance, modification, deed in lieu, receivership, and foreclosure.
Structuring the recap
Rescue capital and preferred equity, the term sheet that takes control, and what the existing sponsor will and will not accept. Working through a live term sheet and an LOI with markup.
The sourcing workflow
Building the sourcing workflow that monitors maturities, defaults, and filings. Running a note underwrite in minutes. Drafting workout and recap paperwork. The part that makes everything above repeatable at volume.
Who this is for
Operators, principals, and acquisitions teams who want a distressed strategy rather than a reaction, plus the credit and family office investors evaluating note and recap opportunities coming across their desks.
No credit background required. This is a deal-structuring session, and the legal mechanics are covered as a buyer needs to understand them, not as a substitute for your workout counsel.
Format & access
One live session
Three hours, live on Zoom, with time for questions throughout.
A full deal toolkit
Participants receive the slides, the note underwriting model, the workout decision tree, the recap term sheet template, and sample LOIs and a note purchase agreement with markup notes.
A recording for everyone
Recordings go to every registered attendee, whether or not you attend live.
Ongoing access
Your recording, slides, and materials stay in your Thesis Driven account, ready whenever you need them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need distressed or credit experience?
No. Most attendees have not done a distressed deal, which is the reason the session exists. The workshop assumes you can underwrite a building and takes it from there.
Is this specific to one asset class?
No. The sourcing, underwriting, and workout mechanics hold across multifamily, office, industrial, and retail. Asset-level differences come up where they change the analysis, particularly on office and on anything with ground lease or environmental exposure.
Do I need to be raising capital?
No, though the recap module assumes you will need to raise against a situation rather than fund it from a fund. The term sheet work covers what an LP or a credit partner will want to see.
Is this legal advice?
No. Foreclosure and enforcement mechanics vary by state, and the session covers them as a buyer needs to understand them, not as a replacement for workout counsel. Materials flag the points where you need your attorney in the room.
I can't attend live. Will there be a recording?
Yes. Every registrant receives the recording, slides, and materials in their Thesis Driven account.
Hear from our alumni
"Brad and Paul opened my eyes to how real estate deals get put together, where incentives lie, and how we might create business cases for proptech and climate tech. Great stuff!"
"A perfect introduction to the most important real estate concepts, distilled down in the perfect way to absorb and retain. Paul and Brad clearly thought a lot about how to actually educate, not just data-dump the group."
"Excellent course that guides you through a fictional case study with detailed explanation of every single step for all personas at every stage of a real estate deal. I highly recommend enrolling."
"Huge thank you for an amazing five weeks. The 'Selling into Real Estate Owners' course content is a goldmine for anyone building or selling in PropTech, and the weekly cohort discussions are a rare chance to learn directly from peers."
"A collection of engaging and collaborative sessions on how to launch and structure a venture into real estate. Paul and Brad put on a great class with an even better collection of participants."
As featured in
Distressed Dealmaking: Note Buying, Workouts, and Recaps
Live on Wednesday, December 2, 12-3pm Eastern Time. $499.
Register for this workshopRecordings are sent to all registered attendees, whether or not you attend live.