The Journal of the Daily Adventures of Indiana-Joe

....Thanks for stopping by the daily adventure journal. We had about 2 feet of snow as well. It is amazing to see how much snow is on the ground! The plows did a great job keeping up with it, but every time I shoveled, they pushed more snow toward the street parking. In my old neighborhood people often shovel out their street spots and then put a chair out to "hold" their spot.

I have been able to travel to various real estate markets from coast to coast and have met so many new ambitious real estate investors. It has been an awesome experience. I hope to get out toward the East Coast this Summer and if I do we can meet up. We need to chat before the Dean's Gain the EDGE event to brainstorm on the 2011-2012 DG Winter Cruise. I have had several people ask about it.

Also, we can put together a plan for a few deals especially one maybe in sunny Hawaii (island of Maui or Oahu). I am finding good deals on condos their, but the association fees are very high. You also have to make sure if the land is fee simple or leasehold because this adds another cost.

Good luck on your 17th/18th deal. It sounds like you are in high gear! Keep up the good work. Looking forward to chatting with you before the EDGE event. Feel free to email me or call me next week. Have a great week! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

....Another Monday as the year continues to move at warp speed. I decided to take a look at 2 town homes that I made an offer on. I made an offer, sight unseen, but had my contingency for inspection. The seller did not want to allow 10 days and wanted the inspections completed in 3 days. I suspected their were issues and therefore I decided to setup a time to view the townhomes.

The first town home I looked at looked okay howver there were a few items that I had noted. The second townhome had multiple issues. First of all the owner decided to remove a wall to convert a 2 bedroom into a 1 bedroom. This can hurt the value of the townhome. A two bedroom is worth more than a one bedroom. Whenever, a wall in a property is removed you always need to ensure it is not a load bearing wall.

Another issue was they built up the floor. The townhome was built on a slab and did not have a basement. They built up the concrete floor with wood. Thus, there were probably issues with the floor. I did not see cracks in the building so I believe the issue is in the flooring. Thus, I made a counter offer and lowered my offer by $15,000. A property can be a deal if you get it at the right price.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Each day can get you closer to where you want to be. Keep reviewing deals, keep making offers and keep closing deals. Have a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the day:
“You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.”
~ Adlin Sinclair

......There are about 10 new REOs that hit my market today. I am in the process of making offers on these homes. It is amazing to see the amount of inventory on the market. The more inventory, the better the deals. It just becomes a numbers game.

The weather has become very cold so it can be fun running errands. The key is to be as organized as possible. Write out your plan and work the plan. I hope everyone is having a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
"The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense." ~ Thomas Edison

......Its mid-week and the month is moving by fast. There is a chill in the air and a little snow was coming down. The snow was not enough to shovel but was still was thick enough to cause a little grief both walking and driving the neighborhood.

I was going to take a look at another market. It is always fun to meet new investors and see new markets. There are good deals in every market, you just need to spend the time to find the good deals. Sometimes good deals are not just laying there, good deals are created by the offers you make. The key is to make enough offers to create some deals.

The time is now to take action. What have you done this week to move closer to your goals? Keep moving forward. The next deal is right around the corner. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
"Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiselingand scraping and polishing." ~ BC Forbes

....The day started out with a little snow. We spent the morning looking at a few homes in the area. We sifted, sorted and screened through several listings that realtors sent to us. We narrowed it down to 6 homes to take a look at. Believe it or not, before we could get through all 6 homes, 3 of them had received accepted contracts on them. This market was moving a little faster than many other markets I was in.

Always determine what type of market you are in and channel your strategy around the type of market you are in. The sooner you know your market the better offers and decisions you can make. Part of being a successful investor is knowing how to gather information and how to apply that information you learn.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Now is the time to drive your market and start filling the funnel to find deals. Keep networking and the deals will come. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.”
~ Charles F. Kettering

.....Friday is here and the weekend is right aroudn the corner. As I awoke, I saw the snow beginnign to come down at a pretty could pace. I headed over to Tim Horton's to get something warm to drink and a donut. We had several properties line up to see today so we wanted to get going bright and early.

We thought if we started early we could see moe properties. This was a hot market and if proeprties were priced right, they weremoving fast. Ocne again a few real estate agents told us there were not many good deals in the area, but we id find several. It comes down to perception. If you try hard and look you can find deals.

If you can't find them work to create them. We also took a look at a pocket listings. This was a good deal and I knew it would sell by the weekend. After we looked at it htere were 3 offers that came in. The market was amazing to see how fast it was moving. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Work this weekend to create some smoking deals! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“People believe I am what they see Me as, rather than what they do not see. But I am the Great Unseen, not what I cause Myself to be in any particular moment. In a sense, I am what I am not. It is from the Am-notness that I come, and to it I always return.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

I really enjoy reading your journal . The quotes are great as well. You have a whole wealth of knowledge posted right in your journal.

Randy Sherman
Elkton MD

...Thanks for stopping by teh daily adventure journal. We are glad we can offer insight and tips form our day to help others along their journey. Each day we create our own adventure by the actions we take. Good luck on your future real estate deals. We look forward to sharing more insight and tips during the year. Have a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

.....The weekend has arrived. Are you ready to drive for dollars this weekend? How many homes will you look at? Do you know your local target market, what is selling at what price and how many days on the market? If not, than that's part of your homework this weekend. Find a new realtor and get the answers you are seeking.

How are you going to fill your lead funnel? Are you posting fliers passing out business cards and hanging bandit signs this weekend? Does your car have a magnet that states "We Buy Homes"? When you go to Target or Wal-mart this weekend is your car with magnets (your billboard in motion) parked toward the entry or exit to these type of mega stores?

If not what is your plan for next weekend? Are you in the game or still in the parking lot wishing you were inside the stadium ready to see the plays? Get it in gear, build that power team, recruit more bird-dogs and start taking more action. Action will lead to knowledge and knowledge will lead to better offers that lead to more deals!

I hope you have a good, restful and productive weekend. Get creative this weekend and start filling that funnel with leads. I want to wish my new friends success with real estate investing. You can do it in your market! Just take action and apply what you have learned. You never know what you might find during the next few days. Never lose sight of your dream! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?”
~ Unknown

Thank you Joe for sharing your daily adventure with us and all of the great tips for REI.

Steve.

...Thank you for stopping by my daily adventure. I hope your having a great February as we are thawing a little with all the snow here in the Midwest. The weather forecast for Friday is around 60 degrees. This is unreal for Chicago in the month of February! I am concerned that all that snow is going to turn into a lot of excess water.

I believe this Spring will be a great time to find deals from coast to coast. As DG Members lock up these deals we can toast the multiple opportunitites the new year has brought to all of us. We are looking forward to seeing you at Dean's Gain the EDGE event in May. Have a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

...The day started out with snow and cold. I was traveling back to the Chicago area and I decided to stop and get a Fuddrucker's Hamburger on my return home. These are very good burgers and you can pile high as many toppings as you desire. Isn't it funny how many hamburger chains have their own niche when selling burgers. From White Castle (sliders - buy 'em by the sack) in the Midwest to In-N-Out Burgers out West, each one has their special taste and niche. Well, real estate investing can be the same thing. What niche will be your acquired taste?

If you develop your niche with real estate do what you like and have success with it. Try several different combinations to see what works best for you. Only you will find out what is working best for you through trial and error. The key is to find your niche and become the best you can at it.

As I returned home, I had to check out the new active real estate listings on the market via the internet. There were several other properties I had my eye on. One home was a HUD home that was open to owner occupants first before investors could bid on it. It sold prior to being offered to investors. I am looking at another possible deal. Can you believe if I get this other deal the cost per square foot will be around $10 psf. Yes $10 bucks! That is almost unbelieveable. I know you could not even build this home for $10 psf!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Do not forget to do your Valentine shopping early. Tomorrow will be one of the busiest days at flower shops, candy stores and restaurants. Buy early and avoid the long lines and limited selection. Have a great week! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the day:
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

...It was another magnificant Monday but the deep freeze turned into the quick melt as temperatures got up into the low 50's today. The snow was melting faster than a popsicle on a humid 99 degree Summer day in mid-July! This was a good thing but I hope the local rivers could handle the excessive water flow from all the melted snow.

I went to look at a foreclosure because it was priced so good. When we got there, the realtor did not know the property doors were covered with sheets of plywood. This is where preparatin can save you a lot of time and effort. Luckily, I had a cordless drill in my car with a bit to remove the screws. The relator was happy that I came prepared. The home was very large but needed a tremendous amount of work including a new roof.

I will crunch the numbers on this one but the amount of work may deter me a little. The point is the faster and quicker you can do deals the better. So this one might be a better candidate to lock up and assign to an end buyer. Later in the day we went out for a nice dinner. The restaurant was so crowded there was a waiting line just to park your vehicle. I could not believe how crowded it was. The economy was booming at least for one special night of the week.

I hope everyone has a great day. Be sure to celebrate with someone special or just go out yourself and treat yourself to a movie, dinner or just a night out. We work hard all year and need to find time to smell the roses every chance we get. Have a Happy Valentine's Day! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
My momma always said..."Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." ~ Forrest Gump

I like your story about the home we looked at on Monday but you left out the part where I had to climb the fence in the back of the property to see if the rear door had a lock box on it. Sometimes with snow and foreclosures, you have to find the way in especially when the realtor is not sure where the lock box was installed. Just want to let others know to go that extra mile as they are in search of that next deal. Carpe Diem! :0) - Stacey

...Each day continues to be an adventure. Sometimes it is funny as we look at properties we have to get creative to find the real gems. The Winter time of year is always a fun time because the elements can make things interesting. You never know what may be needed but if you have enough gear in your vehicle, sometimes you have the right tool for the job. Keep up the good work. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

.....Tuesday is here and I had various errands to run this morning. I often start my day by catching up on emails. There were a few proepreties that I wanted to take a drive by. I also needed to contact one of my realtors to be able to make some counter offers. They day was off to a fast start and it wasn't even 7 AM yet.

I went to Mennards (Midwest version of Home Depot or Lowes) to get a few items that I needed. It is just like going to Wal-mart because you always tend to buy more than you planned. Just when I was going to make it out of the store with under $20.00 in purchases I spotted the heavy duty car mats slashed to an unbelieveable $9.99 on a discount rack.

In Winter, these are a necesscity because of all the snow, ice and bad weather. Spring is still a few months away and I am sure there will be more fun filleddays of snow. Normally these mats can be $25.00 to $30.00 per set. Thus, 2 sets found their way in my shopping cart.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Create your action plan like your shopping list and just keep crossing out those things you complete. Each day you will see progress toward your goals as you ask the right questions and your power team helps you along the way. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers." ~ James Thurber

You certainly are prepared when you look at properties! I've learned to carry bug spray during the summer months here when looking at properties. I laughed about Stacy's comment about her climbing the fence. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.

I'm keeping good thoughts on the snow melting gradually so it doesn't flood the rivers.

Lea

...Thanks for stopping by the daily adevnture. I have learned that you need to carry a little of everything when looking at foreclosed homes. One of the unique things is the milkbones for angry dogs that live next door and bark, bark, bark. If you make friends you can find out lot of great information from neighbors. I guess the slogan for DG real estate investors is "whatever it takes". Have a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

....The weather is warming up in the Midwest and it may be 60 degrees by Friday. I was heading out and decided to take a drive by the water and it was fun to see some of the large homes right on the water. There were a few for sale but I did not want to know what they were asking because most homs in this area are millions of dollars.

On the way out, I stopped off at a local real estate office and picked up some Home and Land magazines. I enjoy going through these books to not only look at property listings but also to look at advertising. Soemtimes you can find good leads by some of the ads in the book. It also helps you tpo get more familiar with certain areas.

I hope everyone is havign a great week. We are half way through the week so what better time to make your plans for the weekend. Set up some homes to take a look at, crunch the numbers and make some offers. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” ~ Mark Victor Hansen

Today is a warm spring like day Joe ( here on the east coast ! )

I always enjoy reading your journal.

Thank You ,

Randy S.
Elkton MD

...Thanks for stopping by my journal. There is somethign about those first few days days that come after the Winter thaw. It is kind of a sneak peak at Spring half way through the Winter season. The sunshine, the meltign snow and there appears to be deals in the air! What a great time to be invloved with realestate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

......The day started out with some sunshine as I was in another new market. I enjoy see some of the sights along with the real estate. I decided to take a drive by the ebach and there were some wind surfers. It was cool to see how they would quickly glide across the water. The sun, the sand, the surf it was awesome.

As I got to take a look at the market, I spoke to a few new realtors and heard the standard "there are no good deals here." If you hear this in your area tehre could be a few reasons. The agent does not want the competition if they are working with other buyers or they do not know how to find the good deals. There are good deals everyone just go ahead and cast you net wider and wider.

Go out there and find the right people to work with. Create the deal! Create the opportunity! now is the time. the deals are everywhere. How large is your search area, how big is your bag to gobble up those deals? Have a great day. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll

.....The week was flying by and the holiday weekend was almost here. You might want to look at potential deals this weekend if you have a little time. Keep those leads coming in and the deals will follow. If it is warm get out the grill this weekend and cook up some deals.

Today I looked at several homes with some new friends. It is always good to know the area and know some potential issues that can be unique to an area. Eacvh potential deal that you review andrun the numbers it helps you for the next deal. Today there was a huge lesson that were learned by many as a few homes had multiple offers.

If you want to get deals you have to make offers. Sometimes banks will lower and lower a price of a property and then all of a sudden there are multiple offers. Where as if you made an offer sooner you could have the deal rather than the multiple offer situation.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Find some time for fun and real estate investing. Once you find success, every day can be a holiday! You will have all the time to do the things you want to do! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the day:
“To believe in yourself and to follow your dreams, to have goals in life and a drive to succeed, and to surround yourself with the things and the people that make you happy - this is success!” ~ Sasha Azevedo

...Saturday was here and we had several homes line up to take a look at. It is funny in some markets how homes will sell or get a price reducion andthen have many showing due to a drop in price. There were a few homes we wanted to view but since they already had an offer we decided not to.

Each home you go through you can learn something from. Take the time to look at each room and decide what you might do if you were going to rehab the property. If you do this for enough homes, the process will become easier. This is a great way to work on your creative vision.

Later in the day I stopped at the local Home Depot. Most of these stores are identical but it is always interesting to see some of the minor changes. I believe it is time well spent and you can learn, network and make a few contacts with each visit. Its like the old saying of sometimes you have to create your own opportunitites.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I want to wish luck to my new friends in southern California. It was a pleasure meeting you and you can do it! Keep the momentum going because there are many deals aroudn each corner. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death.” ~ Robert Fulghum

...All the snow was almost gone due to the warmer temeopratures. It was amazing to see how quickly 2 feet of snow could be here one day and gone within several days. I often believe Sunday is a great day to recharge and also keep the search for some deals.

I have a closing on Monday and we will be making some other offers. The key with any closing is do not foget to change the locks after you take possession of the property. I will also meet a few contractors to gameplan on what needed to be completed and when. Even if your not ready for carpet make sure your carpet is ordered and ready to go so when you want it installed they have it available.

I stumbled upon another home today. I could not believe the asking price. I actually offered a little more than asking because this home was so under market. This would be an awesome property to get because it would make a nice rental with about $35k in equity. As you look to find some gems, sometimes you get lucky and find a golden one every now and then.

I hope everyone has a great week. Make sure to plan out your weekly actiiites and work your plan all week. If you want more deals, review more deals, run mroe numbers and make more offers. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up.” ~ Abraham Maslow

.....I hope everyone is having a great Monday as many may even be enjoying the day off for the President's Day Holiday. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quotes of the Day - by USA Presidents:

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” ~ Calvin Coolidge

“I am a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down...” ~ Abraham Lincoln

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~ John Quincy Adams

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

"Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims, of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions." ~ John F. Kennedy

"When you are in any contest you should work as if there were - to the very last minute - a chance to lose it." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

"A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits. ~ Richard M. Nixon

"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." ~ Calvin Coolidge

"Confidence... thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligation, on faithful performance. Without them, it cannot live." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Don't be afraid to see what you see." ~ Ronald Reagan

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." ~ Barrack Obama

.....It was a busy morning as we began another rehab on the latest acquisition. There were several things to get completed and the best advice I can offer on any project is to produce a list with a budget and timeline. Time is money whether you are going to flip or rent a property.

When you review a deal to make an offer you already have an idea of what the property will take for a rehab. Thus, you can get a jump on your list of what needs to be done at what price. The more you get done ahead of time the better.

later in the day we submitted a few additional offers. Now it is the waiting game to see what offers wil lmaterialize into deals. I hope everyone is having ag reat week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“Act as if it were impossible to fail” ~ Dorthea Brande

........The real estate market is the same in the USA whether you are in the beautiful islands of Hawaii, up north in Alaska or down in the lower 48 states. When you start to contact real estate agents about the local real estate market they often tell you...."there are no deals here." The key is to find the right real estate agent that works with invcestors and you will find the deals.

There are deals in eahc and every state. if you do not see the deal with the large neon sign over it, you need to dig deep to look for the deals. Like any good detective or PI: Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Columbo, Magnum PI or Monk, you have to see the clues that other investors often miss!

When you spot these clues, you have found the deal submitted the offer and hopefully closed the case with a big deal. Often if you find a few really good deals it was well worth the effort. Be sure to sift, sort and screen through the active listings to shake out the gems that others will miss.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Go out and make sure you drive your local area. Get to know your neighborhood and find your target areas. Advertise and network to find those deals before others even know they were for sale. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the day:
“Do what you know and perception is converted into character.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

....The day started out with high winds as the snow battered the mountains in the distance. there was a chill in the cool crisp air as the city got ready for the Fur Rondy Festival. The streets were being closed and snow was being positioned for the race to begin. It was great to see all the local activites and the excitement in the air. "The Last Frontier" has so many treasures and this festival is one of them that goes back to the 1930's.

It is always great to see a new real estate market and meet new friends. No matter how far that market is, there is alweays a need for housing and with housing comes investment opprotunities. I was surprised to learn than almost 40% of all the housing in Anchorage, Alaska is rental properties. So yes there is more than oil, gold and cold in Alaska. It is a tremendous place to visit any time of year.

I contacted a few realtors and we met up with a "rock star" realtor. not only did he know the local market like the back of his hand but he provided us with a tremendous amount of additional contacts and resources. This Realtor was actually a super hero and I am sure he had his cape tucked into his coat. As it has often been said, a good realtor can make all the difference. We called around for a good "investor realtor" and heard the standard..."there are no good deals here." Then we found this Realtor and the sky was the limit. He had potential deals around every corner.

I hope everyone is having a great week. I am off to dinner to get some fresh halibut and chips! Good luck locating and locking up that next deal. Be sure to find your super hero realtor today! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Quote of the Day:
“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” ~ Napoleon Hill

okay, i am so jealous. Alaska is one of the last 4 states i have to make it to. sounds like you are having a great time!