The Journal of the Daily Adventures of Indiana-Joe

Thanks for the nice comments, we apprecite it. We are having a great time with real estate investing and trying to learn a little more each day. We are very happy that Stacey and I can do this as a team. We each have certain aspects we enjoy more and area a little betteer at doing. Stacey and I really enjoy being a part of the DG family, reading about other's adventures and being able to contribute and help others. Continued success. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for the nice comments and prayers, we appreciate it. Soemtimes in life we realize their are some challenges that are so much larger than others, but we keep the faith and keep moving on. I hope you have a great pumpkin pie and don't forget the whipped cream and the large glass of milk! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I really enjoy reading your posts as well. Thanks for your words of advice and encouragement to those of us just beginning this journey. I like your home run analogy. It is so true. I need to be trying to get a deal done, any deal. It doesn't matter what kind of deal it is at this point or how much I make. The experience of just doing it is what I should be looking for not the big payday. That will come after I have gained some experience and confidence.

Keep sharing your insight. We are all benefiting from your wisdom and experience.

Bruce

Thanks for sharing your nice comments and insight, we appreciate it. The deals will come, so take everyday and maximize your fun and knowledge for real estate. Each day is a new adventure, a new journey and a new discovery. You can do it! The next deal is right around the corner so keep up the good work. Your knowledge and effort will continue to grow into bigger and better deals. Congratulations for being in the game! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Let's hear it for Frdiay and the weekend! This is probably one of the most favorite days of the week. We have had so much rain these past few days that the area rivers are rising fast. The street sewers could not keep up with the water and we had some streets that were a little flooded. At least the rain stopped this evening but there is a chance of rain for the weekend.

I met another real estate investor in the area and they want to meet in the next few days to discuss some real estate opportunitites in the local area. The other investor stated that they may have access to some funding if needed. Thus, the more investors that have available funds for real estate investing can expand your real estate acquisition possibilities. I will meet with the investor and determine if we might consider pursuing a future deal together based on what we may accomplish if we worked together on a future deal.

A key to a real estate partnership is to be sure that each partner can bring something to the table and each partner knows the expectation and their responsibilties. Another key to remember is if you can do a deal or transaction by yourself, you may be better off than taking in a partner. A partner is usually brought in to accomplish something you can not accomplish on your own. Thus, always consider the advantage and disadvantages when considering a partnership or joint venture with another party.

I have a few new listings to take a look at this weekend. There are also a lot of Fall festivals going on and I hope the weather is nice to spend some time outside this weekend. I hope everyone has a fun filled weekend and finds a lead on a few deals. Keep the search going and keep doing tasks to accomplish your goals on your action plan. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

on taking in partners in REI.

Thanks for the comments. Each day we may find other deals or opportunities and the more options we can create to complete a potential deal can further propel us toward our goals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Okay Holiday shoppers...this is your friendly reminder that there are now only 2 more months until Christmas Eve! Yes, time is running out and you don't want to put off until tomorrow what you can achieve today...right? Let's stimulate the economy with a little shopping. It can be that special toy, sweater or even a single family home or duplex for yourself!

I had a chance to look at a duplex today and it was not what I was looking for. However, I had a chance to meet another investor in the area. It was interesting to hear the other investor's perspective on the area. He only cared about income per square foot and did not care about anything else such as type of building or location of the property. To me this was very different compared to my approach when I have a selected target area that I look for deals.

Everyone has their own approach to investing and often you have to use what approach works best for you. The key is to learn but not be influenced by what others are doing. Lately, I hear many people in the community talk about how terrible the real estate market is. This is great for buyers because sellers hear the local chatter at the grocery store and maybe they start thinking that low offer they recieved last week looks pretty good right now. So a key to remember is follow-up on your previous offers and a "NO" yesterday could be a "YES" today on the same offer!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying the Fall season! In the Midwest, the Fall season is such a vibrant time of year. The landscape and the sunsets are great. One of the best rides is following US Route 12 (Dunes Highway) along the Indiana Dunes National Park Lakeshore. Today, I drove down my local streets and there were the colors of the rainbow on the trees lining the streets, bright reds, oranges, yellows, greens as the leaves change colors for another Fall season spectical. Good luck finding that next deal. It is just around the corner. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

It was a picture perfect day today in the Midwest. It was sunny with temperatures in the mid 60's. You could not have planned for a better Sunday in late October. I know it will be a matter of days before the trees are bare of leaves and the vibrant colors of the Fall season will be a faint and distant memory. I know I should have done some yard work this afternoon or cut the grass for the final time of the year, but today I choose to have some fun time and relax.

My fun time included spending time on my favorite website dg.com, watching football and spending time with my family. It is always nice to slow down once in a while and truly understand what is important in your life. When you have time to enjoy yourself and enjoy your free time with others that care about you that is a true measure of success. I really enjoyed the movie from 1986 (has it really been 23 years?) "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" where Ferris states..."Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller. These can be words of wisdom!

I spent some of my day doing real estate research on-line today, looking at listings and reading articles, as well. The best thing you can do for yourself is always continue to learn. Learn as much as you can about real estate investing, your market and your proposed niche for your area. Try to see what others do not and soon the deals will begin to formulate for you. You can do this!

One big myth is you have to be an "expert" to succeed at something or a "professional". You do not have to be an expert or a professional to be successful at what you do. Do you think that the "Professionals" at IBM ever thought that a young kid like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs were "professional" in computers or the information technology world when they started their careers? Tom Rickett and his family are in the process of purchasing the Chicago Cubs baseball team from the Tribune Company. When Tom was a Cubs fan and in the bleachers in the 1980's at the ball game, who would have ever guessed he would be a future owner of the team! An eagerness to learn and be the best you can be will get you a lot farther in what you want to achieve! You may not be where you want to be today, but tomorrow that does not mean you can't get to where you want to be! So when others tell you that you are not a professional or expert with real estate investing, just smile. Because these "professionals" may still be working when you are a retired real estate investor!

I hope too many people do not have the "Monday Morning Blues" yet. It may not be the job but it could be the commute from the job. The best advice I can offer is to stay passionate about your real estate goals and dreams. It makes each day a little better when you have that passion to get home and spend a little time investing in your future by learing more and more about real estate. This week is going to be your best week yet! You can do it! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

JOE you seem to have been out there awhile? how many deals do you have ? do you just buy and hold? how are you funding all these? PLEASE IF YOU COULD ANSWER SOME OR SEND ME A PERSONAL MESSAGE BACK THANKS SO MUCH

JOE you are amazing , i`ve never seen anyone find as many hours in a day as you I COULD REALLY USE A MENTOR EVEN ONE OUT OF STATE

Hi Joe,

The newest video with Dean is awesome! Just one more inspired moment learning about real estate...

Your most recent post above really hits home for me today. I have the tendency to slow down or avoid doing the next logical thing or tough thing when I feel I'm not "ready", or an "expert". Your words ring so true. I can only become an expert or experienced by starting where I am, trying, learning from it, and trying again. Thanks for the reminder, and the wake-up call to go do it!

Tom

Joe, if you don't mind my asking, when are you and Stacy planning on retiring and doing investing full time? I'm kind of assuming you're almost to the point where it would be possible. Sorry if that's too personal.

I finally was able to see your video meeting with Dean out hear in AZ. Was it warm enough for you?? I hope you and your wife had a really good time. You both deserve to get the trip to see Dean, and the video was pretty powerful!

Way to go my man...

Take care....

Thanks for the comments. We have completed 8 deals to date and will be closing on Deal #9 and Deal #10 in the next few weeks. We always are interested in no money down or very low money deals that have great cash flow and make sense. There are a variety of ways such as doing a refi on a property to be able to get your cash out if you have the ability to put some cash in the beginning. If you borrow the cash and then cash out, you could have a nice buy and hold property. We have had a few different banks also off us 100% financing on REOs properties they have held. We currently are buying and holding the properties but considered selling a few if we could get a good price. There are so many good deals now we have considered selling 1-2 properties to enable us to buy twice as many new properties based on the current deals.

If you have limited cash funds, you may want to try to do a few assignments to build up some cash. Another good way to get started is find a cash equity partner for your potential deals. Look into joining a local area investment club to network and make new contacts. I hope this helps. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for sharing your comments. Chances are other DG Members may feel the same way you do so it is great that you can share your thoughts and give others motivation to take action because they are not alone. At some point, it is so important to take action and not hold back until you feel you may be ready. Each day can be a learning experience and each day does bring a new adventure!

If we strive to learn a lttle more each day about real estate it will prepare us for tomorrow's deals. As we learn we gain confidence and before you know it, you actually do know more about real estate than you may give yourself credit of knowing. So you can do it, take action and good things will happen. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for stopping by my journal. It is always a pleasure to answer your questions or receive your insight. It is ironic because Stacey and I have been discussing that very topic the past few weeks. We have been so fortuante to be able to use Dean's principles from his books and programs to achieve success in real estate that it has opened up more options for us. We now have some options we never thought we would have about our careers.

I really enjoy Accounting but I have a passion and a burning desire for real estate. It is true when you enjoy doing something like real estate, it gets in your blood and doesn't even seem like work anymore. The weekends go by fast because we really enjoy what we are doing in real estate. With real estate, I believe if I had more time I could probably even accomplish a few more deals. Therefore, I am considering going full time with real esatate (and retire from the day job) around December 2009. I will keep you posted on my target retirement date and let you know about my progress! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Joe, thank you for your inspiration. I just got caught up on your journal. You have some wonderful insight. for example you spoke about keys to success with partners. I agree totally.
Also, I thouoght I was the only one who is thinking of real estate EVERY HOUR I dream or real estate, I think about it constantly, I am sure people around me wonder if I am ok
I Just wanted to says thank you for inspiraing all of us out here in DG land.

Donna

Thanks for checking in. We had a great time in sunny Arizona. The weather was sunny and hot and we had a great time as we also took in a few of the sites. It must be a great place to live year round. Arizona is very scenic and we had a great time shopping and going to the local restaurants like the Rustler's Roost! Dean is the real deal and is so generous with his time and effort to make a difference in his student's lives.

I can't believe all the great FREE information Dean has provided to us through the Success Fest. We registered for the Wednesday conference call and we can't wait to get the latest information. We wish you continued success in all you do. It looks like the Cardinals are starting to warm up and the Bears are going cold. It should be an interesting game when they meet on November 8th at Soldier Field in Chicago. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Sounds like it was a great trip to AZ. You are doing amazing things in RE, I hope you are able to retire in DEC and enjoy life to its fullest. That would be an awsome feeling just waking up and deciding what you want to do each day.
Well, maybe we'll meet on the cruise if Rina has her way
until then,good luck.
Richie.

Thanks for stopping by my journal and the nice comments, I appreciate it. Real estate can be a wonderful thing to change your life. The more we learn the better we can prepare ourselves for tomorrow. Sometimes I believe if we sacrifice some of the free time activities we do today on little hobbies and devote it to real estate, that in the future, the passive income from real estate will provide us with more free time to do even more fun activities than we could have ever dreamed of. Good luck on all your real estate future deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for the nice comments, I appreicate it. Real Estate has opened up some possibilities for us and we are very grateful for Dean's books and his programs. I really look forward to becoming a full time real estate investor and can hardly wait for that to happen. The year 2009 had some ups and downs for us but overall it has been a good year and one I wil lalways remember. We are looking forward to a great 2010. I look forward to meeting you at a future event such as the cruise or the gain the EDGE 2010. Good luck and continued success on your future deals! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

We had even more rain on Monday and by the time I left work it was dark and dreary for the ride home. On Saturday night we go back to Daylight savings time and have to move the clocks back 1 hour. This will make the daylight even shorter and by late November early December it will be night time by 4:00 PM. At least there will be more daylight in the morning for us. Most of you may or may not have to worry about moving your clocks, but there are usually one or two I forget to change.

I looked on the MLS on-line today and there was too many new listings. I was surprised to see some of the current listings had price reductions already. I will keep a closer eye with these properties on my radar. I believe there may be a number of people waiting not knowing the best time to buy proeprty and they are waiting to "follow the herd" of others. Sometimes when you follow others it may not be the best thing to do. This is where confidence and knowing your market comes in handy. If you can make money on a deal, it make be worth pursing. If you can purchase a property and buy and hold it for a nice positive cash flow, it could be the best time to buy that property.

Sometimes another key to remember is you may make more money on some properties than others and you may have better cash flow on some proeprties than others but as a whole how does your portfolio of activity look? If you areelarnign and making money as a whole then you are moving in the right direction. You are gaining valuable knowledge by analyzing or doing deals so keep up the good work and more opportuntities will follow.

I have a few other things I need to take care of this week such as paperwork and making some new signs. Each week I like to try to do a number of things on my to do list to better prepare me for my new week of activities. I hope everyone is having a great week and finding a lead toward the next deal. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Joe,

I have read your journal and seen your video with Dean. Great Info and great inspiration.

If you do not mind my asking Would you have been as much successful if you had not joined Deans School. I am reading the Dean's book for the second time, haven't completed as I have been busy at work and with preparation for a new job.

Wishing You and Stacey All the best for the planned retirement.

Regards,
Bimal

That's great to hear that you're going to try to retire in December! I can only imagine how pumped you are for that. Of course with any lucky I'll be "retired" by the time I graduate from college haha. Sure I'll be doing real estate but I don't consider it a job since I'll love it

Thanks for the nice comments, I appreciate it. I know a lot of students have spoken very highly and have achieved much success with the information they learned in Dean's Success Academy. The program teaches very good information and is a structured approach to learning with the assistance of very dedicated coaches. However, Stacey and I did not go through the coaching program.

We were fortunate enough to attend Dean's live Gain the EDGE event in April 2009 and read Dean's books. The event and the books gave us the motivation to hit the ground running, formulate a plan and take action. I believe Dean's books and the live event changed our lives. Therefore, do all you can and learn as much as you can with what you may have available. If you learn a little more each day that will better prepare you for future deals. Good luck and continued success with investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for the congrats, I appreciate it. It is almost unbelievable. I am very excited because I will then be able to devote 100% of my work day to real estate. Since we enjoy real estate so much it won't seem like work. It is funny how much we enjoy going into the home improvement centers to look at materials or get ideas for future projects. I am sure if you stay focused you can do it too. It is a good idea to get the college degree and you will always have options with that degree. The passive income from real estate will give you more options as you enter your professional career. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

The rain continued for almost the entire day as the skys were overcast. It reminded me of a typical October day as I watched the leaves blow down the street and each day the trees become more sparce of the colors of the Fall season. Sometimes when you try to take in things each day you may notice things that use to pass you by. The same is true about driving and looking for deals in your area. Try to keep an open mind and an open eye as to the properties you pass by each and every day. Some for sale signs are only very small and can be missed by others as they hurry through their day. Notice what others may miss.

Today, at work there was a point that I had learned that I wanted to share with others. We had a staff meeting and staff discussed their financial department accomplishments for the current period ended. I noticed some staff that did not have as favorable results were more critical of others that did have better results. When ever you assist people and want to make a difference it is a good thing and don't ever let anyone may you feel bad for wanting to help others or doing what you believe is right.

I believe we can make a difference each day and together we can make a larger difference in our communities. Another important key is to know you are heading in the right direction and what you are doing will make a difference. We all have problems and issues that we have to deal with and a key to remember is to never lose hope. Hope is what keeps the passion alive and keeps you moving forward toward your goals.

I hope everyone is having a great week and you are on your path toward your next deal. You control your destiny and you can make a difference each day in all you do. So keep the faith, keep learning and keep being the best person that you can be. If you do that each day, you are already a success! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

am pretty new however, am getting close to my goals... but I need to know how to make offers on propeties.

Thanks for stopping by my journal. I always like to hear from new DG Members and encourage any member to leave a post on my journal. Recently I met a few other new DG members and they were "afraid" to leave posts on the DG forums because they did not want to say the wrong thing or look like they did not know something. This is an official invitation to all members to jump into the discussion at anytime, we want to hear from you and the more information we share will benefit even more members. So don't delay, participate in the DG website discussions today!

There are a few keys to making offers that you should consider. Here is a quick list for your reference:

- learn and study you target investment area
- get to learn pricing in your area, how does the list price of properties differ from fair market value
- what resources do you have available, this will affect your offer. Are you looking tomake cash offers, no money down, lease options, etc.
- try to determine your niche in your market area based on your market and what techiques you are trying to use
- try to find great deals; properties that are available at 50% or less of their fair market value. This will give you more exit strategy options with the potential deal.

I hope this helps. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe