The Journal of the Daily Adventures of Indiana-Joe

...You may want to consult a real estate attorney in your area. Each area is a little different in the process of how they handle these transactions. Based on a tax sale, it can depend on the type of deed that is isused as well as a perfection period to get a quiet title for the property. Thus a real estate attorney could provide a wealth of guidnace with this process for your state. I hope this helps. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

....In regards to the banks and the REOs, if you locate some potential cash equity partenrs, this could be an option. Also if you build a buyers list this could be a possibility for a deal as well. If the banks are motivated, they will deal. Practice and become confident and always ask for an email. Then uin the future you can email them and inqurie about an updated list. Persistence should pay off. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

....Thanks so much for the congrats and feedback on the Craigslist and eBay Profit from Home informercial. I am so excited, because I believe this book can help so many people. So often people look for something, anything, to get ahead. This book is a proven system that gives them my many years of tips, techniques and strategies for Craigslist and eBay. I wish I had a step by step guide like this when I started turning clutter into cash! Thanks again and have a great holidy weekend! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

P.S. Become a member today, its FREE!
http://www.sellonlinenetwork.com/

...Sometimes you have to go where the deals are at as long as they work for your exit strategy. I believe these $50k homes in the Midwest will go back up to $100k or more in the future. They are lcoated in very good blue collar rental communities. It is just a waiting game whether its 5 years or 10 years (who knows). But the great thing is if they are cash flowing and get paid off over time, the potential is tremendous when you go to finally sell them.

Believe it or not there are also some areas in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan that are economically depressed areas where homes can sell for under $5,000. Yes, $5 thousand dollars! However, I would not invest in these areas because the potential is not there yet in my opinion. However, I believe if you can buy in good rental communties these are the $50k "nugget" real estate deals that may later turn into your golden treasures!

I have not been to the courthouse steps for foreclosure / sheriff sales because often the banks in our area pay what is owed. I have done some tax sales and it can be a profitable process if you have the patience to perfect and get a quiet title over time. I would say check out the tax sales in your area. Each area can be different and it could be an opportunity but the more info you gather the more options you may have. Good luck and have a great holiday weekend! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Well the houses I will buy they really are not in blue collar area but thats all I can afford at the moment. All I'm looking for is if they cash flow and if over time they will double in price.

Wow $5000 that cheap... Yes, I think your smart to stay away from those. In time maybe just keep and eye...

Sheriff sales is that what they are called? This month I will go to the court house steps just to watch a sale. I'm very curious how it all works.... I don't know to much about tax sales just what I've read in Deans books.

Joe, have you talked to Mat Larson? I know he's done very good. I guess I've heard he retired since joining Deans program. What kind of deals did he do to retire in five years. ? He's not on the site very often or I would ask him.

Joe, have a very safe 4th of July. Good luck investing.

Rick

Joe,

I just got caught up on your journal. I have noticed that you are consistently helping and encouraging everyone that you encounter here on DG.com. You are an inspiration and I believe you are achieving your goals and building your business. I know you will keep us up to date on all your progress.

Tim

....Thanks for stopping by my journal again and I appreciate the well wishes for the 4th. It was a great holiay weekend and I want the summer season to go a little slower this year as there have been so many fun things to do.

Good luck with the sheriff sales, sometimes even if you do not buy at these types of auctions you can meet other investors and network. It can be interesting and informative just to attend.

I believe from what I have read that Matt does many of the regular residential types of homes. He perfected and introduced the 25:1 strategy in Dean's books. Matt presented at this year's Gain the EDGE event where he presented some great information on how to go fast with real estate investing. Matt is truly an inspiration for all that meet him or read his story. It is amazing how many lives Dean books, programs and events changes. The ripple effect of the lives probably is almost unmeasurable.

This past week I saw some great homes in Illinois for under $50k. I am so grateful there are so many good opportunties in the Midwest. Good luck on all your future real estate deals and I look forward to reading about your latest deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

...Thanks for stopping by my journal. It has been a busy few weeks. It seems like there is even more to do in the sumemr and to have a few extra hours in the day would be great. I am meetign several new investors and having a great time helping them as i can. I have found more great deals in Illinois/Indiana and have several properties on my radar. I feel a few offers may get accepted in the next few weeks. Thanks again for checking in, I hope all is well for you in Sunny central Florida! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Joe, thanks for the reply. I have not tried Mats 25:1 strategy. Here in CA the realtors are very spoiled. They do not want to work that hard but I will find someone very soon to work with.

Over the weekend I found a investor with lots of money......He wants to buy 5-10 homes at one time from me for 30-50% under FMV.... So now I'm on the search for great deals. I will keep you posted.

Rick

Well, we went to the bank yesterday and had to pull out money from the savings. We are under the amount we like to have in the bank for a cushion. Gulp! We have had Dean's information since last Oct. when we joined the Success Academy. We also moved into a dream property that needed work, a month after we joined. More money and work then we realized. We have put in a few offers but we are fearful of not having buyers soon enough. I would LOVE to mentor with someone. So your idea Joe is a good one. My husband seems to be depending on me for leadership but I don't know all the answers! I have put some adds on Craig's list looking for buyers. I have a buyer looking for a 16 unit or under Apartment Building, turn key, with in 300 miles of there home in Ca. I made an offer on a half completed house where the owner said to, "Give him a realistic offer." (He is not in touch with reality) So I'm in the game, But I feel pulled into so many directions and a little panicked that we waited too long.

...Sometimes everyone wants to do thigns as they always have and some realtors may be no different. However, I believe more realtors are beginning to realize there is more worked involved today than previously. Each market is a little different so the market and the clients will drive the effort. The jey is find a relator or even more than one realtor that is familar with the markets you want to look at. If you are intrrested in 3 different markets, you could find 3 different realtors to see what type of edeals they can help locate and are they flexible in submitting low offers. Good luck finding some of those great deals for your new buyer. Keep up the good work! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

.....Congratulations for taking action and as you have seen, one of the keys is building the buyer's list and then finding the deals that buyers want. It can be a numbers game and the more buyers you can build a profile on the type of deals they want, at the price they want, in the area they want, the better.

You may want to check out these other awesome forum posts and information on-line on the DG website for building a Buyer's List:

Dean's Success Academy Coach Jeff Jenson Building Buyer's List Tips:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/marketing-buyers-and-sell...

Video by Dean on Building a Buyer's List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/emd/videm/buildbuyerlist

Conference Call with Dean and Jeff Jenson on Building a Buyer's List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/content/conference-call-tuesday-december-22n...

DG Success Fest link to download (Chapter 1) a FREE Guide to Building a Buyer’s List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/content/new-week-new-successfest-treats-you

Each day learn a little more and do a little more to get closer to your goals. It could be finding another buyer or findign a new realtor to assist you with your efforts. Take one day at a time and do not get overwhelmed. You can do it! Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

The rain is coming down in buckets as I awoke to the thunder and downpour of rain today. We have had an abunance of rain as the grass is still rather green and our old friend August is already on the calendar. I have been busy doing many things over the past few weeks and been have a great time with real estate, Craigslist,eBay, etc. I often wish I could have shared each and everyday on my daily journal but I found sometimes I just need a few more hours in the day.

I am so excited over Dean's new program that I believe this will take everyone's game to that next level. If you haven't seen the videos, I have watched them a few times and the videos really get me motivated to even take greater action. I will be getting caught up in the next few days with some postings and pms and look forward to any and all comments on my daily adventure journal. I would love to hear from you on my daily journal as the adventure continues to move into the next chapter! Good luck with real estate investing! You can do it! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

glad to "see" you back. i miss not having that daily does of REI wisdom you dish out so well. i know you are really busy with everything so it's nice to see your post. can't wait to see another one!

I 2nd what Linda said. I enjoy reading your posts and hearing about what is going on in your REI world. Glad all is well and you are as busy as ever.

Lea

Thanks for stopping by my journal and the nice comments, I appreciate it. It has been a fun Summer and my grass is growing like crazy from all the rain. I get confused on someof the homes in my area because it is hard to tell some of the distresse hoems form other that just have long grass. I can't believe the humid weather we have been experiencing. I wish I could bottle some of the heat for January! Looking forward to more real estate fun in the next few weeks. I have been driving the local area looking for the next deal but only have sunburn to show for it during this past week. The new adventure continues....Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for stopping by my journal as well. It is fun to catch up on what my DG friends are up to. The real estate is keeping me on my toes and I have having a great time. The best part is you can have fun with real estate and make money all in one. I had a realtor call me a few weeks back about an REO before it went to auction. The asking price was $55k and I offered $20k. The bank wouldn't budge on price and countered me at $32k. Still a good drop in price but not my price. It was on to the next one.... Hope your having a great day! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I love you stick-to-it-iveness on the REO price. You know what numbers work for you and when to walk away. I've talked to other local investors dealing with banks and they consider going up above what they originally planned to meet the bank's counter. Maybe these numbers do work for them but I wonder if they could be getting overly excited about a not so great deal. When I hear this I always think of you.

One investor told me that the banks here (maybe everywhere?) are incurring fines for unmowed lawns at $100 a day. They are adding this to the price of their REO's. The local investors I've talked to aren't going for this but from what I hear out of state investors are.

Stay cool and beat the heat. Let us know if you find a way to bottle that summer heat for the winter months

All the best to you and Stacy.

Lea

It is so true that real estate can be an emotional business. Some people want the numbers to work so bad they adjust their numbers to get the deal. I see people go above thie price at aauctions very often. The less margin you have on a property, the less options you have and a good or great deal may not turn out that way if you go above your ceiling price of what you should pay.

You bring up an execellent point about banks adding costs such as fines to the cost of their REOs. I have seen it many a time where a Bank's asking price will just be a total of "their" total sunk costs. Usually this number is higher than what the property might even be worth. Like with any seller the more information you can provide a bank on the market and why your offer might be a solid offer the better. The bank like most sellers will become motivated over time.

Another key point is to check to see if their are any liens against the proeprty. I heard of one city that will file liens for unpaid fines after the property is sold. It may be frustrating but at least you can factor in the costs or include a provision in your contract that the bank may be liable for any and all fines prior to the closing date even if you are billed for a prior fine after you close the deal.

I think about that other business potential of "bottled heat"? It worked for bottled water, why not bottled heat? In any event, there is always the option to head south for the Winter. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

......Can you believe it is August already? I often believe that Summer is the fastest season of the year! Often I wonder if the calendar doesn't move a little quicker through the months of Juen and July. Whjen we were kids we could not wait until Summer vacation. Now most of the schools are goign back mid-August and well before Lthe Labor Day Holiday in September. When I was a kid it was always back to shcool after Labor Day and we would be sure to shop Labor Day weekend for the "Back to Schools Sales". I shop for the deals but that is for Craigslist and eBay, buying local and selling global!

I have been making offers and busier than this Summer. I have found time for Summer fun and also a chance to see a lot of properties. The more numbers you run on potential deals, the more accurate figures you may have on your future deals. The key is to find the deals with the best profit margins.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Remember tomorrow is a new day! Drive your neighborhood, look for deals, post fliers and make the deals start coming your way! Creat your opportunity today! Good luck finding that next real estate deal. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." - Walt Disney

...Another Tuesday is here and the week is going by. I often like to plant some seeds early in the week so I have my week and appointments planned out for the end of the week or the weekend. I always try to do at least one thing each day to get me closer to my real estate goals. That could be contact a realtor, find a new bank or add a new member to my Power A-team of prefessionals. The word of the day is "LEVERAGE". Can you leverage time? Can you leverage money? Can you leverage a new opportunity? Yes, Yes and Yes! It all starts with the right mindset.

I had some questions about contested tax deeds., I called a few real estate attorneys today and several were less than helpful. I asked a few of my power team of who was good in the area and I received the same name more than a few times. I called this attorney and had a great convesation for nearly an hour. The best part was no cost to me but a treemendous amount of insght and information. The people for your power team are there to help you, you just have to build your team with the best possible "players"!

Today is the day you build your power team or even deepen your bench of "players". Where do you need to add? Are there any members you need to release? What type of A-players do you need the most? The time is now to get those players and they can provide the leverage and the insight you need. Good luck! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

P.S. I had a friend today offer me some great insight and words of wisdom. I am truly fortunate to have this friend in my life. A true friend is priceless!

"We must develop knowledge optimization initiatives to leverage our key learnings." - Scott Adams

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” - Henry Ford

Thank you so much for the amazing conference call last night! My husband and I are also from the Midwest with small children and everything you and Stacey said just hit home for us. Before the call, my husband said that something on this call "is going to speak to us directly!" And we really feel like your story did that for us. I almost have tears just writing this. I just feel really inspired right now like all of these pieces are being put into place for a reason. We keep getting very close to our first deal and then something happens that we just can't get past. So we needed that inspiration that we can do it too! We had already made up our mind before the call that whatever Dean offered we were going to get and we did! We are so excited for the future!

Your post on your power team hits home too, because we have a "not so powerful" power team right now ! We definitely need to work on getting everyone on the same page as far as our teams goals. You and Stacey would make wonderful one-on-one mentors. If you ever decide to go that route, we would be the first in line too! Thanks again for all of your wealth of knowledge that you share!

...Thank you for visiting my daily journal and for all the nice comments, we appreciate it. As times goes on they are so many things we encounter in our daily life. Sometimes we think can we make time for another thing such as real estate. Real estate can take some time but it can provide the future time and choices that we all want out of live. Stacey and I believe are so grateful to have found Dean's program, books, etc. Dean has empowered us with knowledge, information and inspiration to take action and strive for success with real estate. I will always remember that day (late night) we saw Dean on tv and we decided to take that first step and order his book. Some decisions can change the path of your lives (or even your destiny) and this was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Your first deal will come. Don't worry if it has not happened yet. I always believe if it does not work out there is a reason why it didn't. I often believe if you are looking behind you at the past, you will miss what's coming up ahead. I heard the expression before that is why your rear view mirror in your car is so small but your windshield is so large.

Remember each day do a little more that gets you closer to your goals and dreams. A key that I learned was to celebrate what I did each day and not to beat myself up for the things I didn't find time to do. Tomorrow was another day and a chance to get more things crossed off the to do list. We have been blessed and happy to help others as we continue on our adventure. The future for us may hold other opportunities and we would be delighted to assist as mentors in Dean's Success Academy program. Good luck and remember you can do it! Believe and Achieve! - Joe and Stacey

Do you know how long it takes to read all 36 pages of your journal... WOW... I have at least a 40 hour work week in just reading yours, lol.

Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the posts, it has been enlightening(sp) and alot of fun to read. There were times that you had me laughing out loud and some of my co-workers would look at me and just wonder what was so funny.

I haven't been able to get my first deal done yet but I have been very close on a number of occasions, it will come and then they will fly.

One question for you, How do I get in on the conference calls? I have signed up to be notified and have not heard of any? Is this something you could help me with?

Kevin

.....The rain was coming down fast and furious with winds up to 55 mph. This has been a very rainy season. There were a few rivers that were rising rather fast as the street sewers in the area could not handle the mas amount of rain water. This is the time you keep your fingers crossed on how good your sump pump is and how water proof your basement might be. I always believe it is a great time to look at homes because if there are water issues in a basement the heavy rain should point you in that direction.

I ran some errands in the afternoon and could not believe how busy the streets were. There always seems to be traffice when you are in a hurry. I did notice a few more for sale signs as I wrote down a few numbers and addresses. Always remember to keep a few pens and notebook in your car to get those numbers when you se them.

Here is another tip:
If you don't have a pen or in a hurry, take a photo of the for sale sign with the camera in your cell phone. Also, even another photo of the property. If you have internet on your cell phone, youc an also email it to yourself. This way you never have to worry about that little piece of paper your wrote the phone number on if you don't have your large notebook.

I hope everyone is having a great week and finding some good leads to real estate deals. Keep driving the area because that next deal could be right around the corner! You can do it! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

"A picture is worth a thousand words" - Unknown

...Thanks for stopping by my daily adventure journal. Like any good epic, there is always a new adventure on every page. The first deal can sometimes be the most difficult, so keep doing all the right things and it will happen. Each day you can learn a little more that better prepares you for that next potential deal.

When you review a lot of properties and make multiple offers, it will build confidence. Your confidence will be based on the knowledge you are gaining on your market. If you signed up already for the conference calls, you will be notified when Dean has his next call by email oir even posted on the DG.com website. The replays of the previous months conference calls can be found at:

http://www.deangraziosi.com/category/events/conference-calls

Good luck with real estate investing. Keep up the good work and good things will happen. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

...The rains have finally stopepd and we had a chance to see some sunshine again. The humidity was back but not as bad as it was the prior week. It just felt good to soak up some sun rays as I headed into the city. Traffic is as bad as usual with Grant Park having street closures for another Summer festival. You just always have to allow for some extra time.

The funny thing is in Chicago, you have to have hands free when on your cell phone. When sitting in traffic people are tempted to make that quick call but there are police on bicycles that will pull you over and give you a ticket. It's easy because if you are sitting in traffic, they don't have to ride far to pull you over.

I contacted my realtor and inquried about a few properties. He informed me that the Asset Manager he normally deals with got transferred and the new asset manager is not sending as many REOs his way. The key for everyone is networking so hopefully my realtor can get more listings from this new asset manager. I know he is trying because the more listings the more chance for him to make more money.

Make today the day you make those phone calls you have been putting off. You probably know the ones I'm talking about. The calls that you say you will make when you have more time or when you feel ready. The best time to make the call is right now. You might even leave a voicemail message to at least "break the ice". Good luck finding that next potential deal! It could be just one phone call away! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

"As an old reporter, we have a few secrets, and the first thing is we try the phone book." - Andy Rooney

Thank for the quick reply.

I will continue to push forward and make my own success because of people like you that inspire others to go out and do what you are doing on a daily basis. It has become a routine to read all of the journals and see all the great information that is posted.

Question for you.
When building your buyers list and adding what they are looking for... when you find a home that they possibly would want, say under contract and I want to assign it to them, how do I word my fee that is above the asking price.

Here is what happened, I found a buyer that is credit challenged and wants to do a land contract, he is willing to pay X dollars down and X dollars a month for 24 months, I found a home that is listed for 97,500. How do I make the 2 work together and still get paid? I have noticed that they are looking and finding alot of the same deals I am so they are aware of the price of the homes in the area... Im just a bit uncomfortable and uncertain how to make the 2 marry each other without risking the deal.

Any advice on this would be great.

Kevin

I have found when you do things each day then often it will become a habit and part of your life so you don't have to think about it as much as it happens. The journals do have a lot fo good information and tidbits of information.

As you build your buyer's list it is key to understand what the buyers are looking for. The type of property, the amount of repairs then will do, how many deals they can close a month, how quickly they can close a deal, the areas that interest them the most and most importnatly what is the percentage off of ARV (after repaired value) if repairs are needed or the Fair Market Value (FMV) they are looking for.

For example, for Cash Buyers:

- property needs repairs for $3,000
- property is estimated to be worth $100,000 after repairs
- you can lock up the property under contract for $45,000
- your buyer will pay 60% of FMV or ARV
- Thus, the most your buyer will pay for the $100,000 home will be $60,000
- thus if you assign the contract for $45,000 the buyer would do the $3,000 repairs needed and pay your assignment fee of $5,000 .... The total the investor woudl tie up would be $53,000 which would meet their criteria for buying the proeprty at $60,000 or less

For Example, Non-Cash Buyers:
In your example of a buyer that wants to buy on contract, the key is doing a sandwich lease option. Greg Murphy is "the King of Lease Options." Greg's Chapter # 4 in Dean's new book "Your Town Your Real Estate Proots!" gives Greg's blueprint for sandwich lease options. In short, you tie up a property the same way under a lease with an option to buy and then turn around and lease option the properrty to the end buyer. It is a sandwich because you are in the middle of the transaction. The key to the deeal is to get more money for a down payment from your end buyer then you put down and to get more money each month to cover your total expenses than what you are paying out.

For example, you find a home that meets your buyers criteria. Your down payment is $3,000 and pay $1,000 each month. Your end buyer pays you $5,000 for a down payment and pays you $1,200 each month. As long as these cover all the expenses, it should work. Always ensure to do your due diligence on any home you acquire via a lease option. You want to ensure you know all liens against the property etc. Greg's chapter covers this in great detail.

The better the deal, the happier the buyer will be. So, they should be happy to pay you the assignment fee if the deal and property meet their criteria. I hope this helps. Also, listed below you will find some great links on DG.Com to reference for building your Buyer's List:

Dean's Success Academy Coach Jeff Jenson Building Buyer's List Tips:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/marketing-buyers-and-sell...

Video by Dean on Building a Buyer's List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/emd/videm/buildbuyerlist

Conference Call with Dean and Jeff Jenson on Building a Buyer's List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/content/conference-call-tuesday-december-22n...

DG Success Fest link to download (Chapter 1) a FREE Guide to Building a Buyer’s List:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/content/new-week-new-successfest-treats-you

Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Welcome back Joe! Been missing your posts!