Jen's Journal

Thank you for checking up on me. Things have been really rough around here and we are just trying to cope the best that we can. It is going to be a really rough day tomorrow as we are holding her funeral and this will be the last goodbye. I am trying hard to be strong for him to help him be strong for the rest of his family. We are trying to stay as busy as possible so that we can keep our minds from wondering.

I do want to say a special thank you to everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers through this difficult time.

I do want to keep moving forward with my career in REI, but I think that things will be a bit slower, but I hope to keep moving forward.

Jen

My condolences to you and BF. You just take your time (everyday living and REI) and continue being Strong Woman that I know you are! We're here for you when you need someone to chat with or shoulder to cry on. We have you in our prayers everyday always.

8/03/2009

Hey everyone. I wanted to throw a special thank you to all of the people who cared so much to keep checking up on me and praying for our family with these hard times. I know that I need to get back into the groove of things and it will make things eaiser, I just have not figured out how yet. Any ideas will be helpful.

Again thank you to all of the people who care so much. I hope and pray that God will make everything better.

Jen

8/06/09

Today was another one of those days. Life has been really tough around here for the last couple of weeks. It feels like we are being dealt bad hand after bad hand. I know that sometimes life is hard, but come on. I need a break.

I realized last week that I needed to get the ball rolling on my REI career again. My boyfriend and his family all took the week off and went to the ocean. I was invited to go but low and behold not only can I not afford it but work will not let me have the time off. That is when the whole thing hit me like a ton of bricks that my job sucks and I am really tired of someone telling me how much money I can make a year and how many vacations I am approved for. I want to work for myself. So I have hit the pavement running this week and met with a mortgage broker. He was wonderful! I told him that I would like to make sure that he is apart of any deal that I can make him apart of and he referred me to his own personal real estate agent. I found a property that I was really interested in and they took my appointment that day. Not like the other realtor that dilly dallied around for 2 weeks and then stopped calling me. Everything seems to be falling in line. I just found out that my boyfriends dad even wants to get involed with my investing. That is wonderful because we now have more money backing us up. We will not make as big of a profit, but when it comes to family I am willing to share.

I think at this point I need to keep moving in this direction. It seems to be working. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Wow...awesome...sometimes in the bad times, good times come out of it...if you look FORWARD...Of course, things slow ya down, but that happens to everyone..I know everyone has problems, or things come up that really aren't fair, but its what you do with them that makes you stronger.

since you decided to keep moving forward, you ended up meeting a great broker it sounds like, who in turn ended up pointing you to a better agent...

That is awesome and something to look towards...great feelings when you accomplish something great...and even though that may seem small to most people, that could help turn it into something huge down the road...

and now even your BF's dad wants to possibly join your team...WOW...Sounds like the last week or so, you have come a long ways...

I know the feeling about not being able to take time off, or having the money to do what you want...just use that as leverage, and work your butt off to get out of that situation...You know as well as I do, that one situation keeps you down and holds ya back...So just don't let it, cause there is SO much better out there...Good luck and am so happy you are back and running towards your goals...

How has everything been going for you?

Keep the faith and work on your plan of action. The more you plan the more you may begin to move things forward. Try to network with others and if your boiyfriend's Dad has an interest in real estate the additional access to financing may giove you more options. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

there are so many journals.. today is the first I've read through yours. You have been through so much (reading back from the start)... I'm glad you are keeping your faith, and I wanted to add my encouragement to all the DG family's that have been here for you right along. (And I hope the past couple weeks have been peaceful)
It sounds like you are ready for REI to bring you the financial freedom you deserve. It's great that you have family that want to work with you. Just keep learning and persevering and success is a sure thing! You've done so much work already, you are that much closer to kissing that day job good-bye. And I hope the past couple weeks have brought you more peace.

Blessings to you,

Rina

I know you popped on for at least a little bit since you posted in my journal...So how are things going with you?

11-01

I have not been posting in my journal as I am supposed to. I need to be more consistent with it so that it helps keep me on track. I have been having to re-motivate myself her lately. I will get really excited, then something will happen to discourage me and I will start all over again. I believe that I more motivated now than ever. I have been working so many hours at work here lately and I am working a dead end job that I do not enjoy. I know I keep saying that, but I think that it is the one motivator that keeps me going to try to find something to make my life better. We have been playing the lottery, but I feel that I have a better chance at making my REI business work before I win the lottery. I told Marc earlier that I had an epiphany and I think that I have figured out how to make this business work for me. I have set so many goals for myself and I have not accomplished most of them. I love how Dean does all the little things he does to keep us all motivated. I also love how he comes out with new materials for us all the time as well. I am really bummed that I could not afford to buy the EDGE kit and because I have been working so many hours I missed out on the last offer he just put out. Again this just shows me what I need to make my priorities. I am going to try to stick to accomplishing my one goals I have for this week:

Find a Real Estate Agent (my star)
Find a Title Company that does double closings
BUILD A BUYERS LIST

11/02/2009

I am really proud of myself that I accomplished one of my goals from yesterday. I built on my buyers list. I placed a ghost ad on CL and received a response from a local investor. I am going to set up a phone conference with her and discuss what her criteria is for homes and what she is currently looking for. I am really excited! This is the first step to my new beginning! Now what I need to do is find myself a good title company and my Star Real Estate Agent. I think that I need to go back and read Deans PFRERN and find that cover letter and start emailing it to all of the local REA's and see if I can find someone wonderful. I would like to work in assignment contracts and also get my feet wet with the double close. We will see what happens and what the situation is for which one works.

yea!!!Good job accomplishing that...Def let us know how the phone call goes for ya...You shoulda heard me the first few times I made phone calls, or talked on the phone...I sounded like an idiot times 10...You have no idea...I was so nervous...I would pick up the phone, and put it down...Then pick up the phone, start dialing, and hang it up...Finally, when I made the phone calls, I guess they didn't go as bad as I thought, but I could tell in my voice I was nervous...But aw well...I have learned, and have gotten better...Not that talking on the phone is my strong suit anyways, but aw well...

as for "star" agent, it could def be one of your biggest and best things...Good luck with that...If you do decide to use the letter from the book, let me know how that works for ya...I am interested to see how that goes for you...

I am SO happy you are getting your butt motivated again...It really is so hard to keep going and not get sucked back in to the normal crap

I totally know what you mean by staying motivated to not fall back into your old work habits. That is my number one issue. Thanks for the encouragement to stick with it. I will let you know how the phone converstation goes with this investor. I am way more confident calling someone than doing the person to person thing. I have also decided that tonight as my homework I am going to write down a list of questions that I would like her to answer when we talk tomorrow. That way I can record everything and learn from it.
As far as the letter to the agents goes, I will let you know how that works. Keep me updated on you as well. I really like having you as my supporter and I will continue to be yours as well.

Jen

11/03/2009

So I come onto here more excited than ever! I am really excited that I have a phone conference with an potential client tomorrow afternoon. I am in the process of writing up a series of questions to ask her about what kinds of properties she is looking for. I am ready to make some money and make this my new life. I am also really excited because she also sent me a duplex that she is looking to get rid of as well. I am looking to see if this is something that I would like to invest in or if this is something that I would like to market to some of my other investors that I have on my buyers list. I also talked to our UPS man at work today and his brother is looking to unload his house in the next couple of weeks after he is finished building his new home. I told Kevin (the UPS man) to get all of the information from his brother and I would see what I could do to help him get rid of it. I am just beside myself with all of the potential deals I have! I love how things are just coming together.

isn't it amazing that when things start rolling, how nice it is when things start coming together?

it seems as if ya push and push and nothing happens...then all of a sudden, a few things start happening at once...its like, whoa!!!awesome

11/04/2009

I have the phone conversation with Ebbie today and it went very well. I was very nervous but once we started our conversation, it was hard to find a place to stop. She was very wonderful and she said that she would look at any property big or small if the numbers worked. I also talked with Kevin our UPS driver and he said that his brother wanted the house to stay in the family so there goes that deal. But he did tell me about his room mate who owns a house that is currently being rented and she is sick of renting it out. The tenants are becoming later and later on their rent each month and that is making her late on her payments to Kevin. He said that she may be looking to unload that house here very shortly and he said he would let me know what she wanted to do. I am excited as this is another potential project for me. The other thing that I was excited about that Ebbie told me about a duplex that an agent she knows just went on the market today. The units already have solid renters and they are not planning to move anywhere anytime soon. The comps in the area are $210,000 to $230,000 and they are only asking $152,500. This price includes the closing costs and realtor fee's. I think that I can get the property for less than that as the person who purchased it just bought it in March of this year for $87,000 and is now trying to unload it for $152,500. That is almost a $70,000 profit and this is not doing any improvements to the property. I was told that the roof is good for another 5 years max, if one of the tenants do decide to leave I would need to replace the carpeting and paint, and maybe replace some appliances. I really would like to look into this but I need to figure out how to do it with no money down. If you have any great suggestions please let me know.

Now I am off to make nachos for dinner yummy!

Jen

I'm so glad you are "back" because I just got involved on the journal side of this site in September, so I had missed your journal before until now as it has rotated to the top and I'm so glad.

You have been through a lot, and I'm glad you are back, motivated and fired up! Thank you for sharing your journey with us.

So on this duplex...you could go after owner-financing (for the no money-down deal), but my main question is, what is the seller's motivation? Did "life change" just dictate they needed to sell this duplex because they are moving the area? Are they under a deadline to sell? Or have they just decided they "think they can make a lot of $$$" on the re-sell this early? It would take some creativity to think about how to make everyone happy (i.e. agent) with the no money down scenario...it would be a bit easier if this were an FSBO. But not trying to put obstacles in front of you for sure!!

Look forward to hearing more about this one!
Cheers!
Louisa

I am glad that I am "back" as well. Lance and I have been through some really rough patches this year and it really set both of us back. But now I am more fired up and motivated than ever!

I am thinking with this duplex that is on the market, the person who owns it is trying to make a quick buck. He purchased the home back in April of this year from a tax sale for $87,000 and now is trying to sell it for $152,500. He didn't even do anything to the property. The roof needs to be replaced within the next 5 years, and if a tenant moves out, the unit will need some cleaning. I guess the tenants have been living there for quite sometime and have no intent to move anytime soon so that is always a good thing. This price is the FMV of the property and the comps are really good in the area. I was thinking that I would ask if the owner would do the financing on it for a no money down strategy, but I will see if a bank will finance it first. I know that there are still 100% financing opportunities available out there, I just need to find them. I think that it will help that I also have decent credit.

I am now going to write another entry in my journal and I am going to check yours out as well to see what you have going on.

Talk with you soon,
Jen

11/05/2009

Today was a really good day. I got another hit from an investor off of my craigslist ad. She told me that she wanted me to add her to my buyers list and send her any properties that I have locked up. I also did a search online today on Google. I put in the search box "Cash for houses in Washington State" and a couple of investors names popped up. I retrieved their emails and sent them an email asking what their criteria is. I also told them that I would put them on my VIP list to make sure that they are the first to know about any deals I have. Hopefully this will spark an interest. I also spoke with one of my co-workers and him and a friend are wanting to become investors as well. He was telling me that his friend spent well over $10,000 for this real estate investing program and he does not know half as much as I do! Imagine that. I told him that if he would like I can put him on my buyers list and send him the properties that I have locked up. I also told him for a small fee I could bird dog and find him great deals. I am really liking this networking thing and how it really works out well. I am really excited because I am slowly but surely building up my buyers list and when it comes time to make a deal, I can.

11/06/2009

Today was not as productive but still a good day. I did not even want to work at my other job today. There is just so much to be done in such little time and my other job is just interfering with my progress. I did what Destrie's post advised and that is going to your county assessor's website and run a report of all the names of investors who have purchased properties. The search did not go over so well in my county as I can not figure it out. But I was successful to be able to do it in a neighboring county. There was 64 pages of name of investors that I was able to retreive and I am going to start calling them tomorrow to see if I can add them to my list. It is just amazing how you read Dean's books and put the words into action how far it can really take you. I am really proud of myself and feel so accomplished. Even though I have not made a deal yet, I have a really great feeling that there will be one happening soon.
The other thing that Dean always talks about are the negative people in your life. I think that that was part of the issue as well as the unfortunate circumstances that took place for all of my discouragment. I spoke with my mom last night on the phone and told her that I did the opposite of what she told me to do and that is not looking at being an investor. She was pretty upset with me and told me that it was not a good idea and she is just looking out for my best interest. That may be, but I am the one in control of my life and I am going to make this work and make a better life for myself. She is also a real estate investor, but she thinks that the only way to make money is to purchase properties and rehab them for a quick buck. I am more bound and determined to prove her and my dad wrong that their way is not the only way to make money.

I just spent time reading your journal from the beginning. You are a great inspiration of strength, determination and courage! I am really proud of you for perservering through all your trials, and always coming back on track and making progress. Good for you! Before you know you will have your first deal under your belt. The best thing to do about negative people is ignore them. I know you cant totally ignore your Mom of course! But just avoid the subject. Thats what I did. And now that I have few deals under belt all those naysayers are now asking me if they can get in on things with me! So keep hanging tough and moving forward!

Thanks for the encouragement. Like I said before, I am more bound and determined to make this work and prove my mom wrong. I normally do not like to do that, but I want to show her that what Dean teachs really works. My plan is to avoid the conversation with her until I can make my first deal and then tell her what I did.

I don't have much time right now, but just wanted to say I am very happy for you...Things seem to be going well for ya...and the only reason things are going well for you is because you are "taking action"...GOOD JOB!!!KEEP GOING!!!

Thanks for the Keep Going! encouragement. I need it every once in a while. I am really excited with all of the things that have been falling into place lately. How are things with you? Have you made any other deals besides the multi-family unit?

I just finished reading your journal. You have been through a lot. These days you are doing so good in REI. I'm to see so many positive things happening for you because of your hard work & efforts now in REI.

Take care,

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

11/09/2009

Ok so every morning we drive by this house. I has been vacant for months, if not the whole year. So the other day it hit me like a ton of bricks that this could be my potential first deal. There was a sign in the yard like the house was listed, so I thought that I would start with the MLS and go from there. I go to work and I am on my first break and I cannot find anything on this house. So I figured that I misread the sign and maybe it was a for sale by owner. Nothing came up in the search field. So I went onto my county assessors website and looked up the address. Low and behold the owners still live in town, but they are living in an apartment complex. I thought was a little strange. Live in a house, live in an apartment, live in a house....you get where I am going with this. So I took the person's name to dexknows.com and did a look up. Of course my luck is they are unlisted. So I did the next best thing and I wrote them a letter. All I said in the letter was that I drove by their house every morning on my way to work and noticed it had been vacant for quite some time. I asked if it was listed with a agent and what company. I also said that I could not find their house on the MLS, which means for me that if the agent let the listing expire, that is one less person they have to pay in the end. I also asked if they are still looking to sell. Still waiting for a response back. I am going to wait for two weeks of the mailing date and send them the exact same letter again. I will continue to do this until a response is given. I am going to be persistent with this one. It is in a very nice neighborhood and the house looks like it needs a little TLC but not much.
So I have been excited about this one that all of the sudden on the way home on Friday I noticed that we drove by this boarded up house. We have drove by this house maybe 100 times and this is the first time that it has EVER caught my eye. It is amazing what you find by just paying attention and opening your eyes. There is not one agent sign in the yard, not for sale by owner, nothing. So I went and stalked the address down. My way of doing this is by using googlemaps.com to find the house and then go to zillow.com to get the exact address. I went on to my assessors website and found that the person who owns it lives in the local area. I am going to send him and letter because low and behold no one lists their phone information any more. I am going to write one up and send it tomorrow. So again we decide to take a different route home. We have 3 or 4 due to traffic. I must have seen this house about 100 times and it just popped out at me like the other one did. It is all boarded up and it has been like that now for more than a year. The owner of the property unfortunately lives out of state and the mail takes longer to get to California. I am also going to send him a letter as well. I am hoping that at least one or all respond and I could have a great thing going on here. Especially if I can nab them at a great price I could have a potential investor interested.

Looks like your making some good progress. I can't wait to read about your first deal. Keep it up!

11/11/2009

So I sent out my letters yesterday and I am really hoping for a response from at least one of the houses. I was on craigslist today and advertised for a real estate agent and I am hoping that I find my "star". I also found some fantastic deals on craigslist and now have to do the comps on them and see if it is worth making a deal one them. I have investors waiting and I do not want to keep them waiting any longer. I do not have a lot going on today so this is going to be a short blog.

WOW...Very impressive...Nice job...Jeez, you keep this up, your going to have deals all over the place...my goodness...good job tracking things down, and def be persistent...It is the only way...I am excited to see where the letters hopefully lead to...

You are making great strides and taking action towards your goals. I wish you the best of luck in getting response from your letters. The one with the owner in California could prove to be a real good deal, as long distance owners are still paying taxes, utilites, etc. and will most likely be really happy to get an offer pop up in their mailbox! Now run comps so you have a starting point when any of them contact you! Looking forward to your continued posts.