I just flipped the Ugliest house on the Planet

That's the way to do it!
~Tammy

this gives me hope. the house i did in florida in '99 wasn't as bad as this. but it had a hole in the roof i literally went up the ladder on the outside and crawled back down the ladder on the inside of the house. i added a laundry room and bath.

thanks man,
WALT

What an awesome success story, so happy for you, you saw something that no one else saw, thats what its all about, im glad you made a nice profits off of it.

Keep up the work and keep posting thise success stories ; )

The one indiana joe mentioned to me in one of his post is pretty close to that one too, maybe I should low ball an offer and see what the seller comes back with and find some cheap labor to rehab it for me. Zillow is showing rents in the area are 850 on a property like this if it is fixed up more than what it currently is.

Shawn

Randy, great job on getting the property under contract with the owner and assigning your contract to an end buyer ALL WITHOUT EVER SEEING THE PROPERTY!!!! Excellent work.

There were some very key nuggets of gold in your post as well. Many people, including myself, have said (i.e. used the excuse) that I don't know how to estimate repairs as a reason for not taking action on such and such a deal. Randy, your example is the perfect answer.....YOUR END BUYER does their own inspection with THEIR CONTRACTOR vs. you having to drive over to the property, walk the property, etc. Unless you plan on doing the re-hab yourself (or managing the re-hab), what do you care what it looks like?? Great, great nugget of golden advice there.

Also the handwritten YELLOW LETTERS everyone is talking about sure seem to be working for you and a few others with recent posts. Again folks, another great golden nugget of advice there.....handwritten YELLOW LETTERS seem to really generate responses (that is what it is all about, isn't it?? ....having a conversation with the owner of the property??).

Great job Randy; keep it up and keep posting more encouraging news like this for the rest of us. We could all learn something from your post.

--Walter

'If it is to be, it is up to me'! -Unknown

awesome job. keep moving forward, rob

Where can one find a list of absentee owners and possibly a link to the yellow letter everyone is using.

What a great deal! It was fun even reading about it, so I can only imagine how much fun you are having getting this deal done!

Congrats!

Wow congrats Randy. That's great.Keep going.

Wow congrats Randy. That's great.Keep going.

That was inspiring. Keep up the good work and stay persistent.

Joe

You played the numbers and it worked for you, amazing. You should be proud of yourself.

Sandra

Yea it feels great to slam a few deals, but honestly I been beating myself up for not doing more. The 3 1/2 months I just went thru of trying and calling and placing ads and having deals fall thru my fingers was seriously discouraging. I even had some fleeting thoughts of giving up, and then I wud get angry and try harder and do more ads.... I got this list of absentee owners from a bird dog, hes a computer hound and somehow he got the list and told me to remember him if I hit a big score. The list has over 12,000 names. I figure if I send out 100 yellow letters a week it cud take a couple of years and the postage wud be $5,000 U can just search list brokers online and they can get you a list of absentee owners in your area. I got a copy of the yellow letter from Carrie Wilbur, she teaches rehabbing and I bought her course for like $40 I think. I got several other RE courses but I get my inspiration from Dean. I think back to just 1 yr ago and I am so much better off, with my 8th deal completed. One of my deals last Oct paid off really good. I spent the entire winter on a tropical island with my wife and kids, came back with $20 in my pocket. The emotional highs and lows of this business are like a roller coaster ride. I need to find that happy medium.

You are very good at what you do, and able to enjoy it with your family and friends. Thank you for you awesomeness, and learn a lot from you and this DG family. Mostly happiness of everyone sharing up and downs.

Keep it up Rando!

That money in your pocket is a great source of motivation eh?

Love the story! Keep them coming!

Very cool Randy! Continue to keep up the good work

I believe finding that happy medium is a struggle for many of us, so dont let that discourage you!

if I'm the only one that found your story humorous or not, but I got a good laugh at your description of that house... made me want to go take a bath!!! But congratulations for hanging in there and getting it assigned... and also for helping the lady!

shirley

I have wholesaled a few of these, maybe not this bad, but I know how hard it can be to get the right buyer for something like this. But they say there is a buyer out there for every property.... you just have to find them

Great job!

Thank You for this story, It is very encouraging for those of us who haven't made our first deal. This shows what determination can do for you, and not listening to the negative comments.

Way To Go!!!

Congratulations Randy,

You tried to make it sound easy, but you put in good work to make that happen. Great Job!!!

Ty

ducky! Congratulations! Woo Hoo!

This deal was easy, however it took almost a month from start to finish, and that's only because the sellers live about 5 hrs away. They are elderly and don't own a computer. When I needed them to sign my agreement. I would mail it to them, that would take 3-4 days then she would call with more questions and get it in the mail. It would take 10-12 days, and when I got her to agree to the lower price it was another delay. So I never met the sellers, I spent some time on the phone with her listening to her story and explaining the agreement and the process. She was worried they would have to come to my city to sign the docs and were relieved to find out the Title company would send them. The lease option deal I did I also never met the sellers, they are in Mississippi and the house is here in California. Who would have thought I can buy and sell houses that I have never seen, from sellers I have never met and sell to end buyers that I also never met, all from sitting on my assets and looking at my computer screen? Its also a great feeling to have Carol Stinson and you other DG guys to comment on and give me inspiration. I feel like kicken some Real Estate Butt. Rando1

Congrats and thanks for sharing

Keep reaching for the stars
Donna

Great job!!! Keep up the good work!

hey rando where in mississippi ??? im excited for you and i look forward to doing the same thing.

WALT

I know what worked for me. Get a list of absentee owners in your area. Go online and search for list brokers. Send out these yellow letters, find the sellers that are motivated, dont wast time on the others, then lease option them to a new buyer or wholesale it to a rehab investor or landlord. Good luck Rando1

"Is It All in Your Head?" By: Larry Goins
I've seen it time and time again. I give one investor all of the tools he or she needs to succeed, but failure ensues. Another investor receives the same tools and proceeds to secure a successful future in a very short time. The difference? Their mindset.
Having a positive mindset is critical for your success as a real estate investor. It's the attitude that you WILL prevail in any given situation. It is the little voice in your head that says "I can do this," or "I won't let them get the best of me," or "That didn't work, what else can I try?"
When you get knocked down, positive mindset is the force that gets you back on your feet, dusts your britches off, puts you hat back on, and gets you going again. It is the clarity of mind and the resolution to succeed that drives you on when things look bleak.
As you move through each day -- meeting people and crossing off items on your "to do" list -- positive mindset is like grease for the wheels. It makes things run MUCH smoother. It makes people actually WANT to do business with you. After all, who wants to work with someone who is sullen, grouchy or determined to fail? No one.
Sure, we all have setbacks. But the thing is, if you wear your setbacks on your sleeve, then you will come to be known as a person who specializes in setbacks, is difficult, or will not stay the course. Would you want to do business with someone like that? I think not. An open mind, a healthy attitude and a positive mindset on the other hand, will always attract the people and the opportunities that you need to succeed.
In addition, keeping a positive attitude expands your capacity to think out of the box, to be more open to different opportunities and to come up with the solutions that evade other people who are simply trudging along. It can turn a "dead lead" into a "grand slam".

Interesting story. With quite a few funny pieces throughout.

FYI...paragraphing would be nice. LoL ^_^

Congratulations !!!

For those of you who call the advisory line, you have often heard me say that UGLY IS GOOD! Quite often this is where some good money can be made. these are the houses that often gives us the best opportunities.

Great job. Keep up the good work. UGLY IS GOOD!

great story and thank you for sharing. it's amazing how things can happen.