Teresa Jo's journal

Teresa,
You are so right when you said "...a deal is not going to work out, then move on!". It may seem cold and callus but that's the facts. There are waaay too may houses out there to waist time on. Especially if you're driving for dollors.

Good luck with the signs. Be careful what you wish for. Have a great weekend. And to all, happy investing.

Everything is definitely not a deal and cannot always be made to be one. That is part of learning this business. Even if you get it under contract, if the numbers don't work, then you will not find a buyer. Good for you for knowing when to say, "Next!"

25 signs is tedious but well worth it! I can guarantee that it won't "kill you"!

Good job! You have the mindset.

Karen

I KNEW this was going to happen...I was in the bad part of town putting out my bandit signs and I switched lanes all of a sudden because I was going to put a sign on a corner and I needed to get to that side of the highway. I usually put on my blinker but I did it so quickly that I didn't do it this time. Wouldn't you know a Bryan cop was right behind me and immediately put on his lights...ugh! I lucked out though. He was real nice and said he would not give me a ticket. He wanted to know what I was doing in West Bryan. I hesitated because I didn't want to tell him I was putting out signs but I decided to go ahead and tell him that I am an investor and I was putting out signs. He said, you know you are a white woman...are you prepared if something happens?" I wanted to say "no ****, Sherlock" but held my tongue. LOL!

Had a man call me back about a FSBO and he told me someone offered him $100k for his house. I told him to go ahead and take it because I was going to offer a lower amount. I couldn't believe someone is going to pay $100k for an old little 2 bedroom house that has plumbing problems. Then I find out that the buyer has already bought some other houses on that same street and is tearing down the houses and putting new ones (2-story) up in their place. This house is pretty close to campus so I guess that's why the amount is so high. I was going to offer only $54k.

Teresa,
you are really pushing your rei! good for you! and your journal is so much fun to read! I also had the bandit signs angels put back up one of my signs a while back... they do look after us!
... and had a cop pulled up next to our car when I was putting out a bandit sign too, but there was no way that I was going to say that I was putting up a bandit sign! pffft!!
you should be careful though when you're putting out signs...

and regarding the investor that offered 100K... speculators! that's what they do! but don't fret about it, there are plenty of great deals out there waiting for you to find them

Keep going girl, you're doing great!

Teresa,
Good stuff. Good morning. Why not give the officer your business card? Ask him/her to "bird-dog" for you. A good source of property leads (as well as networking). I have cop in my circle who is an investor. You never know what may happen. Keep it up.

Hey lady how you doing. I see you posted on my current journal entry the other day. If I helped you see something new and I made you laugh at the same time i am on a roll.....The odd of that owl hitting that little hole at 62 mile per hour is off the chart. Let me tell you over the years we have had some crazy stuff happen on that road..(166 to taft). I am glad to see you are doing well and getting stuff done. Off to sign a deal today so will talk later..Keith

Keith--yes, you ALWAYS make me laugh. I love reading your stuff, or the stuff that happens to you...LOL!

Rick--I thought about that (giving the cop my business card) AFTER I had already driven off. Next time I'll know to do that. Learning a lot here. When I first read your subject line, I thought you meant giving him "the middle finger". LOL...I'm glad you didn't mean that!

Valerie--OK, so that's a speculator...did not realize that. Yes, I'm going to be careful. I didn't place as many signs out as I wanted to...the cop incident kind of got to me...but I placed more than I have in the past. Thanks for your encouragement. I come back to this site almost every day because I need the encouragement.

Have a great Saturday everyone and keep moving forward!!

glads to see you're still at it.

Keep going and you'll get that deal!

Best

Mike, thanks for your post. I'm determined to succeed!

Way to go! You weren't in the bad part of town by yourself at night were you? Be careful and safe!

You are SO doing it!!!

Karen

Yes, I was in the bad part of town at night...my bad. Will concentrate on the east side and better parts next Friday night. Can't wait until I have the money to hire someone to do this for me!

TJ,
Can I call you that? In reference to what you posted "...Can't wait until I have the money to hire someone to do this for me!..." How about outsourcing this task to someone (college student, kid, ets.) on a contingency basis?

Also, from a post on my Google+ business page, "Nothing is impossible if you have the will to succeed- believe in yourself - you can do it! Show others that you are a winner, especially to those who think you can't!" From what I've read here, you're KICKIN' ASS-ets. Keep it up.

Hey Rick...yes, you can call me TJ and so can everyone else! Shortens it quite a bit. Yes, I'll think about who I can outsource this to. I keep getting calls from people that want their house MOVED. I need to find out who moves houses around here so I can refer people to them. Going to look at a house today in N. Bryan. Getting lots of calls off my bandit signs...YES, they work!!

TeresaJo wrote:

Mike, thanks for your post. I'm determined to succeed!

You Have what it takes, 'cause its got u this far...a Long way!

NO Stopping now

I called the Success Academy twice. Was advised that I needed to terminate my contract with my real estate agent. It ends in mid-July anyway. Should have never signed a representation contract. Lesson learned. Now I need to find a new real estate agent.

Learning a lot from one of my local buyers. He is teaching me a lot about our local area. For instance, he told me that investors in our town don't normally buy bigger houses (2000 sq.ft.) in a certain area because the rehab work costs more on bigger houses and the rent isn't high enough for it to be worth it, or something to that effect. He also told me to keep him posted because he has a contractor that wants to flip his first house so they are both looking for a house for him.

Tomorrow I have off (and Friday too) so I'm going to look at another house in Bryan. The lady that owns it said it was her son's house and he is now deceased. She needs the money in order to pay the taxes and is tired of renting it. Her other son wants to buy it but she wants to see what my offer is first.

TJ,
I'm seldom negetive....buuut it sounds like a "tire-kicker". Just remember your time is precious so don't waist it. Now that you have a better way/idea of looking at property you may turn up a gem. Good luck. How's the eye?

Eye infection gone. Made 2 offers today on FSBO's...both rejected.
Had ice cream to try and get over that rejected feeling...LOL!

Going to put out more bandit signs tonight even though my iPhone says that it's currently 100 degrees outside and supposed to go up to 105. Whew!

On Monday, going to work with Karen G. on a possible lease option.

TJ,
Not that you'll need it. But you will need tons of water. Being in Florida I kniw. I can't EVEN count the number of offers that were rejected. It's part of the job. If you accept this, ice cream is not needed. MAN, IS IT WORTH IT!!! Have fun, Karen is a very nice lady. I like her. I've had the pleasure of working with her. Have a wonderful weekend.

I know--if I eat ice cream every time I get an offer rejected, I'll be in bad shape! LOL!

Yes, Karen is very nice, helpful lady!

Have a great Sunday!

Went to look at a house Friday night...owner wants 28k so I told him ok, let me run my numbers. This house had a tin roof and needed to be demolished. It's on 2 lots and the owner needs to pay off the taxes so he just wants to get rid of it. So I go home and can't get good comps, so I call one of my cash buyers and he and I played telephone tag and I finally talked to him. I just wanted to know what he thought it was worth. He had already looked at it before I did, and he said it was worth only $8,400 and asked me if I saw the sign that said the city had taken it over or something like that. I said No, I just saw the For sale sign. Anyway, I felt like a fool after talking to this buyer, but THEN we had a 3-hour conversation about my financial situation and what I needed to do next. Boy, did he teach me a lot. Get this, this man is totally blind and does rei with the help of his wife and granddaughter. He is teaching his granddaughter how she needs to work for her money. He has 55 properties, 13 cars, but he lives in a 1600 sq.ft. house out in the country. He also has some acreage that he's got mobile homes on but he's not selling until they come up with the right price. I learned so much by talking to this man. Then he tells me he and I can be in business together, that I can be his partner. Woo-hoo! I'm going to be a partner with a millionaire! But he told me I need to "trim the fat", so I've got to take my kids off my cell phone plan because they are grown and can handle that on their own and I'm taking my son off my insurance. That will give me almost $400/mo. more. Then he told me to get an amortization sheet from my mortgage company so he can figure out how to pay down my house payment quicker.

So we really didn't talk about real estate but I have a feeling he is going to be my mentor and help me out so I'm excited about that.

Hi,
That is very exciting!!!!! He will be glad to have someone learning from he and his wife. He is giving back. Great luck to you!!!
Karin

Yes, he is a very giving person. And very knowledgable about our local market. He told me I need to have vision for every property I look at--meaning, what am I going to do once I have it under contract. It's going to be very beneficial for me to have someone "local" to talk to that knows what he's talking about!

Have a great day!!

I'm getting so many calls/emails/texts I feel like I'm going crazy!

Questions to all you experienced investors--

You can't wholesale a note can you? Had a guy call me that has 2 notes he wants to sell at a discount...he & his wife are downsizing and he needs to cash. I told him I was a wholesaler, and he said "Oh so you need it at a deep discount". And I said yeah. Anyway, he kept talking (over my head..LOL) and I told him I had some cash buyers lined up. So, how do I handle this?

Got a call from a guy whose dad passed away and the house they need to sell is in Houston. Don't have buyers in Houston but if anyone out there is interested, I know that the rental rates in Houston have gone up so it would be a good investment. They owe $40k on it and it needs a lot of work on the inside. Has a new roof and ac and the outside structure is good. The owner apparently was an alcoholic and smoker so the inside is not in very good condition. If interested, PM me about it.

TJ,
You hae a wholesale business. You work with distressed sellers (of houses). You work with HOUSES. You get my point? It's great you're getting calls/e-mails/texts just weed out the other stuff and concentrate on WHOLESALING. I'm not shoutting just pointing out that you need to focus. I think it's great you want to help. Answer. Seek out a note buyers (if you have the time) and see if they offer a referral fee and pass on the information (after signing a NCND agreement) so you can get paid for this contact. Or simply tell this guy where to go...the note buyer.

As to the Houston property, get it under contract with plenty of exit clauses and work the numbers to your advantage and if it is a go, then the buyers will come to you if they feel the numbers work. Consult your Linkedin network for buyers in Houston.

I hope this works for you. I'm so pleased at your work. Keep it up.

Appreciate your advice!

Yes!!! I got my first wholesale deal done! Well, it hasn't closed yet, but the contract has been signed by the buyer & seller and my buyer has taken it to the title company. We are supposed to close next week. My profit: $4,000!!! I am so happy!!! I called the Success Academy and told them. They said to call back when I know my closing date...maybe I'll get a new pin beside my name. I love the badges or whatever you call them.

I'll post the details of the deal right after it closes. I'm gonna frame my check!

Already working on another deal in Houston...hope to get it under contract next week!

I know the idea of framing your check sounds romantic, but if i were you, I would frame a "copy" of the check and cash that sucker PRONTO!!! ))))

Congratulations, you have worked hard for this!!!

When you post your deal, start a new thread under Deals or some such category so that hopefully they will see it and you get your diamond! We ALL love those things!

I'm proud of you for hanging in there!

Karen

Thanks Karen! Yes, I meant to say a "copy" of my check--not the check itself...LOL! Yeah, that check is going straight to the bank. When the deal gets closed (hopefully next week) I'll make a new thread and post the details! Can't wait to get my diamond by my name...LOL, yeah that's important to me too!

So excited!!!!

...you just might get it. TJ, I told you you were going to make it. CONGRDULATIONS!!! I'm SO proud of you. YOU GO GIRL!!! YOU ROCK!!! Keep it up.

I knew if I just kept at it with persistence that I would eventually get a deal done. And I'm so thankful for the guys & girls at the Success Academy for all their advice & wisdom.

I can barely contain my excitement here at my Just Above Broke (JOB) dwelling...LOL! (Which I plan on retiring from in the next few years--YAY!!)

Have a great day everyone and keep moving forward!!