Kristin's RI Journal

OMG Kristen I was there too!

Kristen, I've wanted to call you all week but I've been so busy. Too bad you missed that walk thru it sounded interesting. I'll e-mail you directly.

Jean

I have been sick all week and not accomplished much, but I did manage to buy myself the new Apple MacBook and getting used to it. I haven't used an Apple since I started computer classes at CCRI back in the mid 80's...Dating myself there!

I have contacted a hard money lender and we have communicated a few times through email. I called him this morning at the suggested time of 10:00 (best for him) but had to leave a voice mail. I will hear what he has to offer and see if my deal interests him enough to move forward.

If not I have mentioned this particular property to a friend who states they have good credit and may be able to go in on a mortgage with me. Will definitely research that further since this is someone I trust.

Many possibilities and I am checking each one out. And keeping a positive attitude because even if I do not get this deal I have learned so much along the way.

Kristin

The hard money lender guy was really nice to talk to, but I am not sure if this is the best plan for me since his company requires a large downpayment. Here are the details:

20% down
5-6 points
15% interest
length of loan is 6-12 months with possibility of extending if needed

For a killer deal this may work, but the obstacle for me is the down payment of 20%. I have about 2% readily available and don't foresee having that remaining 18% unless I start selling body parts...Think I'll keep what I have.

So although I cannot move forward with this deal at this moment in time, I have learned to speak with a hard money lender, reviewed the property and estimated costs, calculated cash flow on a multi-unit property, and gained experiences in many other ways. Disappointing not to lock up the deal, but lessons learned in spite of it.

My next step is to speak with my friend who stated they had great credit but not a lot of handy cash available, and see if the possibility of partnering up with him on this deal would work. He has owned a multi-unit in the past and could be an excellent resource. And he is quite handy...

I have not accomplished much this past week and a bit down about it. I feel like I am living in limbo with this work injury and just want everything settled. Hopefully appt with MD next week will give me a bit more clarity on the subject.

One of the local REI meetings is next week and then the second one the week after that. Hopefully this time I can network a bit more with folks and get myself out in front of a few new people.

Not giving up but seem to be just treading water. Time to start swimming!

Kristin

I posted a question about choosing the Success Academy or the EDGE event and got some fantastic opinions and suggestions from some great DG members. It definitely helped me see clearly to what would best suit me at this point in the game, and I chose the EDGE! Now I have to start making my plans and travel arrangements soon!!! This is the incentive and push I needed to get moving.

Kristin

Good for you! I wish I could go too but unfortunatly I just can't. I know it's not for a while but you have to start to prepare already. Hotels room and flight. Still want to get together on Monday? Let me know. TTYL

Jean

Awesome Kristen!!!

I will see you at the REIA meeting next week. I will be sure to say hi.

I am going to the EDGE to, I would offer to share a room, but that is probably not a good idea. I haven't made my travel plans yet. I will probably fly out early Friday morning and fly back early Monday morning. Maybe we can fly down together and come up with a plan to help each other out. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the offer Chris, but you have it right there. Won't go over too well with the significant others. I will find a room soon once I lock up my plans.

Wish you could go Jean, but I totally understand your situation.

I have had a very difficult month of March and am looking forward to it leaving. I was sick for a week with a serious throat infection, healed up to attend my great-aunt Lil's wake and funeral (God Bless you at 96) and then sick again the next day with a massive head cold. Enough already!!!

A bit behind in the scheme of things but am still moving forward. Missed the Wednesday night REI meeting here in RI but will definitely catch the one this upcoming week on Thursday night.

My partner scraps for additional money and met a gentleman who was putting out scrap metal and wooden boards. He was attempting to carry them himself and is quite elderly so my boyfriend offered to help carry them. Then he asked him to come back on the weekend to assist with removing more stuff from his garage. This man is 92 and living by himself, and through conversation told my boyfriend he wished to sell his home and move out to Arizona to be with his daughter and family. He owns the home outright in an excellent part of town, so we are going to chat with him this weekend to see what his needs are and take it from there. This could be an excellent start and going into the meeting with an open mind.

Kristin

Let me know if you want to coordinate flights down, I have been watching the fairs, they have recently started to drop.

Look forward to meeting you at next week's REI meeting.

Awesome on the possible deal! Let me know if I can help you at all. I have some buyers lined up we could work out a split on, or if you lock it up, announce it at the REI meeting.

Action, action, action!

Chris

I hope your BFs good deed come back to you. That's sounds like one of the stories that would be in one of DGs books. I know you've had a rough month hopefully this will be a sign of better things to come.

Jean

Thanks for the thoughts Chris and Jean. Appreciate them. Since this house the man owns is in my hometown of Lincoln, if we can structure some owner financing for a bit then it is a possibility of being a home for my family. Keeping all options open to see what will best suit the man's needs and will go from there.

I have to make sure I have all my ducks in a row for the EDGE and will then make my travel plans. Got to make sure the little one is covered.

Definitely looking forward to the meeting next week.

Kristin

Hope everyone has a wonderful green day!

We didn't meet the gentleman this weekend since it was monsoon season and no one remembered to tell us. But will set something up soon. Want to at least speak with him to get the experience of talking with a motivated owner.

Trying to FOCUS the next few weeks on establishing that Buyer's List and set a goal of speaking or contacting at least 5 people by this Friday. As I qualify them they will be added to THE LIST. I have been absorbing so much information that it has shattered my focus in too many directions. So I am bringing it back into clear view and working on those pesky buyers to make it easier once I have some deal locked up. I also decided on focusing on wholesaling or assigning to get some money up front to get started.

Have been approved for a nerve test that my doctor requested to make sure there is no permanent nerve damage in the wrist, and then hopefully we will get a better idea of what comes next with my WC injury. Ready to move forward and am stuck until this is settled.

Kristin

There you go Kristen! Keep focusing on that buyers list. There are tons of good tips on here and in Dean's latest book. If you want we can work on a deal together and split the profits. Let me know!

See you tomorrow night.

The meeting this past Thursday night was fantastic. The speaker, Steve Moran, was entertaining and very informative about how to make a self-directed IRA work for you. Since these IRAs are what I dealt in at my last position, I can definitely see how much more you can earn this way as opposed to the standard stock market or CDs. We also went to a local restaurant afterward for a very late dinner, and I had the good fortune to be seated next to him and picked his brain about the business. I have learned to speak up and interact with folks to get yourself out there and make those contacts. Never know when it may come in handy!

Today is BUYER'S LIST day since I have slacked off the past few days. I need to get this going since everything hinges on it. I will be reviewing Dean's books (all of them that I own) to get my ideas together and just do it! Will post my progress tonight since this will keep me on track.

Kristin

I have some fantastic leads I have tracked down and will follow up with them on Wednesday. I will also scan Craig's List for buyers looking for specific property and try Carol Stinson's emails on them. (Thanks Carol for sharing!)

The call I received concerning Private Money was indeed a bit of a sales pitch with the gentleman wanting me to become a source for private money lending in my area in a program with a limited number of participants. Why is it once you start looking around on the web for info or "free reports" you get all the emails and calls trying to sell you something? Unless it's a house, I'm probably all set, thank you very much.

BUYERS! BUYERS! BUYERS! Here they come!!!

Kristin

Post some ghost ads on Craig's list, that will bring them in!

Do you know where Matt Larson is? I am looking for him.

I have no idea where he's been hiding! Haven't heard anything back yet on that challenge?

I am going to work on some ads for CL tonight and will get them posted. Already have 6 names on the BUYER'S List and will try to better qualify them before they make it to the final cut. And then I want to get some retail buyers also.

Kristin

How do you qualify the buyers?

Jean

According to what I have read and gathered from a million and one sources, I would qualify them by:

finding out what exactly they are looking for
are they a cash buyer or will need a mortgage
if a mortgage - are they already pre-approved
how fast they can close
and if they are not ready now then maybe they can be lease-option folks in the near future

That's what I plan on doing to qualify them. If anyone has other suggestions to add then please send them on over to me.

Kristin

Awesome Kristen, keep it up!

Also find out what type of properties they are looking for and what type of repairs they are comfortable with.

Ok thanks... for some reason my brain was not equating that with qualifying. I thought you were talking about financially qualifying for your investors. lol This is why I need all your help.

Jean

Sometimes we read too much into things and make them harder than they actually are. No problem Jean, we're here to keep you on the straight and narrow path! Good luck with those flyers and I do believe I am going to create some this weekend to try out in a few locations.

Kristin

Keep up the good work.

Things have been a bit hectic on the personal front, but getting better and allowing me to concentrate once more on my goals. We have so many demands on our time and just 24 hours to a day, so here's to making the best of that time.

I did get an 800# (or actually an 888#) from PATlive and just have to figure out how to set everything up. Working on creating a business name so I can create some more professionally designed cards with an email address, web address, and a toll-free number for more info. I want to go into this correctly from the beginning, but not dithering over details at this time.

Figuring things out as I go and thinking on my feet.

Kristin

You go Kristen!

Can people please let me know where they have set up their business websites? I want a basic one to get started and will put information and a contact me page, and pictures of deals once I have them. I just feel having a website and the 800# gives more credibility to me as a real estate investor to trust. Any opinions are more than welcome!

Kristin

Kristin, I would start with a free one for now. Dean offers a free one: http://www.deangraziosi.com/freewebsite. You also need to promote it, look around on here, I am sure there are a lot of ideas.

Also, promote your 800# on the free classified ads, with flyers and bandit signs. You should be able to find info on all of those in Dean's book and on here.

Good luck!

Thanks for the link to Dean's website setup. Going to check that out now.

It has been about a year since I started this journal. Last Easter I was rearing to go and then life and other things got in the way.

This year I am much more committed and can't wait for the EDGE to add to my excitement and education. Things are definitely moving better this year, and even though I haven't completed any deals YET, they are coming for sure!

Happy Easter everyone!

Kristin

Hi Kristin. I just wanted to come to your journal and tell you a BIG THANK YOU for your posts on mine. It really does help to have others on here post and keep you upbeat and focused. You are doing amazing. By the way we are very similar in the time factor I probably have you beat because I actually committed to a different coaching program 2 years ago and then signed up for Dean's academy when in reality it's just me and not the program. It's what you do with it and taking action. I too have committed 100% to REI this year and it's paying off slowly. I can't wait to meet you and Chris at the EDGE event. It's awesome about your buyer's list. Just keep moving and taking action. I know you will do great things this year.

Take care and many blessings to you.
You Go GIrl!
Cathy