What is a "tape" and why does everyone act like I should already know that word

The pay history shorthand is usually something like 12x30 or 0x30, meaning how many times in the last 12 months the borrower was 30 days late. Zero is what you want. If the column has a string of zeros or says "0x30" you're reading a clean pay history.

On responding when you only want two or three, just say that upfront. Something like "I'm a small buyer, looking at two or three in these states, what's your minimum bid process." A real seller won't care, a time-waster will disappear, and either outcome saves you work.

The "who is this person" question matters more than the tape itself at this stage. I'd ask directly whether they're the note holder or brokering for someone else before you spend an hour pricing anything.

A tape is just an industry term for a spreadsheet listing loans a seller wants to unload. The name comes from the old days when loan data literally came on magnetic tape. Today it is a file, but the name stuck.

Here is what those columns mean. UPB is unpaid principal balance, the amount the borrower still owes. Rate is the interest rate on the loan. FICO at origination is the borrower's credit score when the loan was made, not today. LTV is loan-to-value, meaning if a house was worth $100,000 and the borrower owed $80,000, the LTV was 80%. Pay history is usually shown as something like "24x0," meaning 24 payments made, zero late. Your seller's shorthand is probably a variation of that, and it is fine to ask him to define it.

As for what to do with the file: you are not expected to bid on all 34. Small buyers routinely pick the loans they want to price and ignore the rest. A normal first reply looks something like: "Thanks for sending this. I'm looking at two or three loans in the $50,000 to $100,000 UPB range. Can you tell me a bit more about the portfolio's origin, are these loans you originated, or are you brokering for a fund?" That question is not naive. It is due diligence, and any legitimate seller expects it.

Whether the seller is a fund, a broker, or an individual matters because it affects who actually has authority to sell and what documentation you can expect to receive. The strategy guide on the Guide tab covers note due diligence in more detail and is worth reading before you respond.

I'd also confirm the pay history shorthand with the seller before you try to price anything, since that column drives a lot of the value.

What state abbreviations are showing up most in that tape? That might shape the conversation about which loans are worth pursuing first.