Louisa's Journal - The Sky is the Limit!!!

sounds like you are doing it all. i'll be interested in hearing how your co-op L/O's go. i've got 2 houses under contract for wholesaling L/O's. it is challenging. one seller has been difficult to work with and the others are pleasant. did put a handwritten sign at the new one and got 4 calls on it yesterday. it's hard to see and read, yet it's pulling calls. had to work with what i could find. everyone says those handwritten signs work best. i'll be interested to hear what you find out about that. take care of yourself. : )

Interesting...handwritten sign in front of the house. I like it. I know handwritten works best for Bandits, but didn't realize the "Rent to Own" also worked best that way once you have a house, but totally makes sense. Can't wait to hear how you set these tenant buyers up....I hope you find a great one that works! Glad to read your post because I have a professional sign that I was planning to use on my L/Os, and reading this makes me question that "too professional" approach. Looking forward to hearing your progress.

Thanks for your post Linda! Always great to hear from you!!

Cheers!
Louisa

I just wanted to stop by your journal and say hi, so "hi" I've been kinda slacking off the REI lately but really need to get back to it because I'm broke! Good reason, huh? lol. I think I got completely information overloaded big time but I think I'm narrowing it down, finally. Good luck to you in your pursuits! Take care,

Lisa

in reference to the signs, in 1 1/2 weeks i have had probably 30 calls or so, and only a couple have been from my CL ads. i just put on it:

RENT TO OWN
NO BANKS!
PHONE #

and it has pulled calls like crazy. it is on a busy road. now if i can just get someone to L/O it!!!

Hello there. I'm just catching up a little bit each night this week. Thought I'd stop by. Like to see you're doing well. I was thinking of putting a 'rent to own' sign in my own yard to see what call I'd get. These homes are very popular for rentals and/or L/O. Well good luck with all of your REI and the family.
Blessings,
Cathy L

Hey girlfriend! How are you. Sorry we played phone tag and never connected. I'm not on the site much lately either - just not enough hours in the day! Love catching up on all your action here - and trust me - hand written signs in black marker on bright yellow board works wonders. We have filled two lease to own houses with them in about a week each after posting! Glad you are well and we'll catch up soon! xoxoxo Laura

Running hard. All is well. Thankful for your posts. Very thankful. Will respond more later....LOVE YOU ALL!!! Laura, I swear you have ESP. More later.

Rental got hit by tornado. No one hurt. But damage done. Time consuming, but blessed no one was hurt! Just insurance, etc...very thankful though.

QUICK UPDATE
One rehab finally done. Hits MLS tomorrow. Another one beginning on Monday. Goal is to have rehab complete and lease purchase option tenants in by the time THE EDGE begins!!! Would also like to have closed the sale on the first house too. And have at least one other L/O done by then. So much to do!!!!

REHAB LINK
Main thing I came here to share with you...is this rehab link. I THINK IT IS AWESOME if you are doing any kind of rehab or planning on it to check this out:
http://www.creonline.com/money-ideas/mm-067.html

Loving Dean's blog this week.

Hope you all are doing great!!!!!!!!! Sorry I have been absent here for a bit, but I do get the posts instantly. I feel so behind here, but at least I'm working hard on the RE outside of here.

The Edge is almost here...I can hardly wait!

Cheers to everyone's success here...I don't know what I would do without this site!
Louisa

Hi Louisa,

I love your journal. I have modeled mine after yours in the fact of constant updates. I haven't had a deal yet, but, after reading yours for the last few weeks (15 pages is a lot in one sitting!) I am inspired and know I will be able to do Real Estate full time like you! I love how you are on fire now as well! You took the time to line up your team and understand everything during your first deal, which sounds like to me, that is what has propelled you to the speed you are at now...correct?

I hope you keep journalling, I love reading yours....

I hope you are at the EDGE having a great time!

P.S. - I am a singer/musician as well!

LisaG ---Thank you so much for your thoughtful note. I'm glad my journal could be of some help to you. The deal stuff takes time, so I hope you are hanging in there....once you get your first, you are hooked! I have a long, long way to go, but I love this business and I'm still constantly learning all the time. I look forward to meeting you.

Randy ----did you call for breakfast this morning? I was out walking with Zachary and Jamie mentioned the phone rang twice but he didn't answer (we were up a bit with the baby). Anyway, you came to mind ---if so, sorry I missed you...rain check. I'm here through Tuesday late afternoon---look forward to catching up more..we should book a time...ha! Great to see you at your throne at the fire pit last night!

Jay & Karen ---great to see both of you all this morning! Can't wait to catch up more with you. And I look forward to meeting Justin! How exciting that your son is participating in this stuff with you!! What a great thing to pass on to your son.

Brad ---if you are reading this, I know I owe you a phone call ---so sorry ---rent-to-own ----I'll call you while I'm here. I've been running hard for 2 weeks and haven't stopped...literally worn out (in a good way) with real estate, learning lots, and learning how to streamline this process some more for efficiency. With the baby, it has been a lot....if I'm not doing RE until late, late, I'm taking care of him and Jamie travels 4 days a week! It's a load! I'll give you a ring this weekend.

QUICK UPDATE
The rehab I mentioned above that I had listed on the MLS a few weeks ago. I got it under contract last weekend. Very excited. Inspection is today. I'll look at my figures, and outline the specs out on this deal next post. I will also post a Before/After slideshow link on this one soon.

The other rehab that I was going to do a lease purchase on ----I decided to sell instead (there were some things that came up that made selling make more sense), so it has finished up, and I just put it up on the MLS yesterday. I'm still very "pro"lease purchase for sure, but wanted to get a couple flips done for the cash, and I'd like to make L/O the big priority. The crew on this second rehab did in 2 1/2 weeks what my other crew did in 8 weeks. They really got on it, and I'm excited about the prospects of working with them on future projects and just cranking these things out. And a nice little bonus, the hard money lender I used on the first one (which was my only way I was able to get going on 2 rehabs at once)...

THE EDGE!!!!!
All I can say, is I'm so grateful and thankful to be here. This will be the most inspiring events of the year (as it was last year) and I'm so excited to be here with all of this talent and knowledge, and sheer inspiration. If you could not be here this year, just start ....not just dreaming, but truly creating a vision of yourself actually here at this event next year. I really believe that me setting up my plans to be here regardless of knowing if I would be able to go or not, landed me here.

With having taken a break some with RE when Zachary was born, we didn't have the cashflow coming in during that time (which is why this year's priority is cashflow!), so a couple months ago, my agreement with Jamie (my husband) is that in order to go to the Edge this year, I would need to have one of my flips under contract. So I made the plans to come. As soon as I could book the hotel, I did and I started building my itinerary for my extra days here. I told everyone I was going, and I just knew I would get a house under contract. Well, that rehab took 3 times as long as I expected due to the crew, so it took me longer to get it listed for sale, and cutting it close to The Edge dates.

So just 7 days ago, while my plans were all set to come to the Edge (flights, hotel, everything), I did not have a contract, or even an offer to consider. I was prepared to have to cancel everything, but I thought, I don't know how, but I believe I will be there....there is still a chance. So, less than one week ago, on Saturday, I got an offer that turned into a contract with a little negotiating. And I was thrilled...I did not "give in" either just to come to the Edge. I was prepared to walk away when the buyer was offering $10K less than I wanted....I stood firm...I got my list price minus $3500 closing cost for the buyer, which was exactly where I expected and wanted to be from a profit standpoint on the project. Saturday I left the house to go see Jamie and Zachary at his swim lesson (yes 9 mo old swim lesson!), and when he got out, I said "We're going to Phoenix!!!" I was so happy I cried.

Now, I say all this, but I totally understand a contract is not a closing, for sure! We still have hoops to jump through ----inspection, and FHA financing, and as most of you are probably thinking, anything can happen! But the funny thing is, during those last few days, I had more traffic to the house than I had ever had, and had someone else even interested in making an offer, and I think I was in the right price pocket and I'm confidant that if this contract doesn't close, I will have another offer in no time.

TODAY - THE EDGE
I will probably be MIA until tonight's registration and gathering at the cocktail party. Jamie is leaving today for work to Orlando (we spent a couple nice vacation days together here before The Edge starts) and we're making the most of today while he is here. My Mom is coming in this afternoon as Jamie leaves, to help with the baby and I'm going to help her get settled.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVERYONE HERE!!!

YAY!!!
Cheers!
Louisa

Louisa,

Congratulations for making it to EDGE this year! It's very exciting to be there with other DG students. We were there last year and had a wonderful time. We couldn't make it this year but, plan on being there next year. Enjoy!

Cheryl & Dave

That hard money lender I mentioned....while I was thinking due to the points and profit I gave up..."I won't do this again"....they keep asking me when I'm going to start another deal with them. I finally told them yesterday in an email that I really needed them to fund 100% to make it happen (of the property and the rehab). And that my rehab loan from the bank was just a much better deal (not to mention, I did add that my bank doesn't do walk-thru's if the LTV is right, they just give me all the money upfront, whereas the hard money lender has weekly walk-thrus of the project --to ensure things are getting done and funds are being used for the project-- and I have to coordinate with a guy that travels 50% of the time to meet there and take pictures....and so I'm driving there with the baby for these things taking away time from other deals, etc... It's a real pain!

I got an email back that they want a conference call ASAP on this. I told them I could do it this Wednesday--YAY!

I'm sensing for the first time, that I may get to call the shots a little here?

I'm still waiting to also set up a line of credit with the bank after another 1 or 2 deals -- THAT would be ideal and keep this ball rolling. But I always want to keep my financing options open (because why use one type of financing, when you could have more projects going at once with more) and if I can turn a hard money lender into giving me SIGNIFICANTLY better terms (like NO money out of my pocket), then I don't mind giving up some profit when I couldn't have done the deal anyway myself. And if this is what I have to do until private money comes out of the woodworks, then fine!

I think with this new rehab crew, I'm turning a big corner to ramping up big time, as long as I can get the funds in place on each deal. And with a little help on some part-time childcare with these last two flips hopefully closing both by the end of June (that's my goal anyway), I will be freed up to pursue more.

You know that first year is so hard. And I still often feel like I'm going through the hard part of the trenches, building the team, and getting people in place to call and turn to, lining up financing, lining up cash buyers, and finding the right people to work with to propel you to success. But occasionally you have these moments of awareness that something you just accomplished with a 10 minute phone call, was due to the fact that you spent time in the trenches networking or calling or finding someone that could help you in some way one year prior, and all of a sudden, that person's name is staring at you in your phone and you think "I've got to call them ---they could get this done" ---and they do! And it only took you 10 minutes or less. All due to your work (and some divine intervention) one whole year BEFORE. It pays off, so be thankful for all of the "trenches" work because once you are set up, it slowly gets so much easier.

My son is sleeping ---and I'm watching him ----otherwise I'd be out and about finding Edge people as they arrive! See you all soon!!!

Thanks for the note!! (I got it after my last post) We will catch you next year!! Hope all of your RE is on fire!

Cheers!
Louisa

Louisa, it's amazing how perseverence pays off! Also, faith in stepping out for your goals (and keeping God #1). You made the preparations to attend the EDGE and had your buyer come through! Amazing story...wow.

I hope you are enjoying the event. I will be there next year. I want to have at least 3 deals done by then if not more. I am still working on the starting point for deal #1 - going to REIclub meetings, talking to Title Companies, talking to other investors, compiling my buyers list, etc. I have driven around several neighborhoods in the last 2 days. Now I just have to look up their owners's names and phone #s and give 'em a call.

I see that your husband is in Orlando now. If you are ever here as well, I would love to take you and your family to lunch!

Have a great week and I am excited about your upcoming closing!

Thanks for the note! Yes, I constantly get caught up in pursuing RE and trying to do so much and have to remind myself, it's not my time, it's His...and everything will come in perfect time. OH....I thought you were here and I was wondering if you were here last night In fact, I was going to hop on this morning and tell you to just come find me and introduce yourself! Also, interesting about the singer/musician in you as well!

It sounds like you are doing all the right things to get going on your first deal, and those little steps of action are so crucial so congrats on wading through all the info out there, not letting it overwhelm and getting it done!! You will be here next year!

My husband has a project in Orlando and it will be ongoing for a few months, so we have discussed me going with him for a couple days at some point (but I must say, I'm hard on myself as far as vacation goes...I won't let myself go if I haven't gotten several things going in RE beforehand so we'll see!!) All the more motivation to get it done! I'll keep you posted if I join him sometime and we can meet up!

All the best to you in this journey and keep me posted Lisa!
Cheers!
Louisa

I've enjoyed reading your journal. I read page 1 and page 15. Wow! What a different voice of accomplishment comes through. Your experience speaks! Your planning is paying off. I also LOVE your reminding yourself who is in charge. The great I AM! You are blessed with a super marriage and awesome gift of that little baby...keep those priority clear and all else will follow, in Him, as you so willingly recognize. All in His perfect time. Enjoy the journey.

I am a single mom who gave up my career so I could be home with my baby. 14 years later I have no regrets and love that I have been able to work from home and support our lives. RE is the perfect tool for the lifestyle I live and yes, He is in charge! I've had a couple rehab rentals but now am pursuing the assignments and lease options. I found the DG family and am blessed by all the golden nuggets and encouragement I see everyone give each other. Truly a great network. Thanks again for sharing your journey. Blessings -

I am always following. I know you have been busy and the phone call is not needed at this point. The deals we were taling about are upside down at this time. One is still working and I backed out on the other. Thank you for the note.

Brad

It was real nice to meet you in person and have lunch with you on Saturday at the Edge. My wife and I have been to Nashville several times in the past. We liked it out there. At one time I was going to be the next Garth Brooks then I found out that every waiter in the area had more talent than I wish I had. So we stayed in Northern Indiana at that time and played in a local band up there.

Any way it was fun to be at the Edge this year.

Steve and Veronica.

Just wanted to say how great it was to see you again, and meet your beautiful son and Mom! Always so great to be with everyone sharing the enthusiasm, knowledge and success stories! What a shame its a whole year before we get to do it again lol.

It was great to get to meet you at the EDGE and sit around the firepit! My kids kinda took over wanting the marshmallows and s'mores there for awhile. Wish I had more time to enjoy talking about REI with everyone. You are on fire! I need to talk to my HMLers about setting my own terms. You are doing great!

Hey Lady,

It was sooo wonderful to see you at the Edge again this year. You look wonderful and sound like you're enjoying your life. I'm just sad I missed seeing your little man. Talk to you soon!

Andrea

it was so great to see you and family at the edge and hang out at dinner ...was a BLAST and we had some intense real estate brainstorms !!!! i cant wait for the cruise ..i hope you guys can be there .lil zach is such a ham.was great to meet your hubby and i wish we could have met your mom but hopefully some day.keep up your inspiring enthusiasm ...you r doing AWESOME!!! i dont know where you get all your energy !!
jay

You are such a dynamo!

I am thrilled that I got to meet you in person @ the Edge. Just wish we could have had time to sit and chat for a while. Hopefully, next time.

Until then, I love reading your journal!

Karen

It's been a long time. I actually just finished reading your journal. Al 15 pages:O ! Your journal reads like a good book filled with Real Estate nuggets. Congratulations on your success in real estate and your lovely family!

I took some time away from REI but I'm back and will use your energy and focus as inspiration. First two orders of business is to restart my journal and make concrete plans to attend the Edge in 2012.

Best to you in 2011!
Fish

I am going to be back East the end of June/beginning of July. I will be visiting my family in KY and then am planning on making a big loop visiting friends in GA and SC.

Maybe on my way to Athens I could sidetrack through Nashville and we could meet for lunch.

Karen

Wow. It has been awhile! I have made a couple posts (literally something like 2 or 3) since the Edge this year in May, and I have missed you all dearly! (Although I have been a bit of a "lurker" here, time has been too short to respond). I have still been at it in RE, and will update the action in the next post.

First of all ----to address all the kind notes!!

KARENG ---I hate that I missed you Karen and hoped you got my PM that we had family in during that time. What fun ---your WORLD TOUR OF DG!! Congrats! I would love to spend more time with you some day, and get a chance to talk to you more than our "hello" at the Edge! Please do contact me again if you come this way, or if you are on your way back from somewhere. We will work something out for sure!

CFISH32 ---Wow! Long time no see! Thanks for popping in and catching up in my journal. I hope to report back more often. Hope you are at it and taking action my friend!!

JBTOGGS ---Jay, I'm thrilled that you have so much going for you right now. I caught your Deal 21, 22 and 23 blog....AWESOME! So fun to see you & Karen, your son, Tiffany and just hang with you guys at The Edge. You get me motivated to want to post each deal as I get them going. I need to post more often. If Zachary were only grown up a little bit more! Dean's slide show showed me at 4 deals or something All I could think of was...wow, I'm behind in updating them (deal 8 just closed last week. deal 9 closes tomorrow)!! I have some paperwork to send in for sure Thank you for being such a light in this little place called DG.

CHIP & ANDREA ---Time was so short at The Edge!! Hope to be able to visit more next year. You all are so much fun, and I love hearing about what's going on with you. Thanks for stopping by

TAMMY ---I totally understand on the kid-thing. It is hard when they are little!! You have your hands full for sure, and I'd love to chat more next year. And hope to catch up more on what you are doing here in your journal. I know you are on fire as I catch your posts often!

LAURAJ ---Hey girl!! Thanks so much for the note. So awesome to see you at The Edge and glad to hear about all you all have going on in Kansas City. I may have to call you at some point on the partnership stuff and how you have some docs in place. It is the nitty gritty that I'm trying to get a grasp on as I'd like to line up some more private money lenders to take it to the next level. It's like I'm ready for that workshop..."here's the docs to present yourself" and what you need to have to get PMLs in place, etc... I'M READY!!!! Hope you are still having fun in KC and that life outside of RE is great too! I gotta touch base with Randy soon! I miss you guys.

STEVE AND VERONICA ---I'm so glad I got to meet you all at The Edge! Yes, great to have lunch with you. Steve, love your note about Nashville. Yes, the music brought me here as well. I was one of those waiters for awhile! But God led me to RE, and I still love the music and love this city! I think it is awesome that you still play in a band up there!!! It's so great to keep that music connection alive If you guys ever pass through here again, please let me know. We'll hit the music bars, and talk RE. All the best to you all this year!!

CIRCLE3 ---Brad, thanks for the note above. Hope you are still at it and doing well. Always like to hear what is happening with you. Keep me posted when you have time!! I know I'm terrible at keeping this place updated. Pop in and send a note when you have a moment!

JHOLDEN ----What a sweet, encouraging note! Thank you for reading my journal. I hate that it has taken me this long to get back on here and get back to you. I have had good intentions, and just been overwhelmed with life and RE, and good things, and have needed to pop back here not only to update and give back, but also to take in the wonderful knowledge, encouragement and inspiration this DG family brings!! So glad you have found this place too, and my hope and prayers that you, Miss Single Mom, are staying strong, seeking Him, and taking action!! God Bless You and please pop in and keep me posted. Sounds like you are taking action and doing great things! All the best with your assignments and lease options...these are such great money makers and what a perfect time for it!

CATHYB ---if you are out there, we have to catch up on your deals! Man, I know you probably have lots still going on, and I can't wait to hear about it. I haven't had a second to catch up on journals here yet. I'm going to Detroit in Sept to catch the next L/O bootcamp (both cooperative & sandwich all in one)...I'm attending with a RE Agent friend out of Boston who wants to get into investing. Anyway, just mentioning it in case you can go! I know life is so busy. Let's talk soon!!! I HAD SO MUCH FUN HANGING WITH YOU AT THE EDGE!! Sorry for the "after" time...wished it worked out better. I know you were probably ready to get home! Look forward to chatting about life and RE soon.

NEXT UP....Update on what is going on...typing it right now!

RICHIE ---if you are out there ---miss you buddy, look forward to catching up soon!

Cheers!
Louisa

Hey All ---so I'm a bit behind here! I actually had to count up my deals once more, and I realized when I said above that deal 9 closes tomorrow, it is actually deal #10. I forgot to include an assignment from last year ---the one with Chip and Andrea. Also, I'm counting deals just as the Success Academy does, which is one deal when you buy (if you are buying it right as a wholesale deal, and one deal when you sell). So one house may equal 2 deals. Just wanted to clarify (as some people may consider I have done about half of those deals depending on how you count it). That assignment deal last year was just one deal for me, as Chip and Andrea had the other side of that deal (acquiring the house), and I brought the seller to the table.

Status for 2011 so far:
----Have made a ton of offers, a couple have worked out as rehabs. I have still yet to grab one of those super cheap offers, and pass it off to another investor for assignment like I have wanted to often, but at least I have all the contract verbage worked out, so that I can do that on a property.
-----Still seeking out the right agent relationship to get in those 20+ offers per week, and get one accepted, and get them wholesaled off in addition to keeping up with a retail flip and/or cashflow rehab to rental for cashflow
-----Still working with original agent from this year. But decided, why limit it to one? He can't keep up with my offer process for the 25:1 plan, but did find an amazing deal for me lately, so I'm keeping him in the mix in case he brings me a new deal, but adding another agent who has more time to get me my criteria for deals weekly, and get those weekly offers cranking.
----Trying to get up to the 25:1 speed with another agent...will probably take another couple weeks to ramp up with what I've already got going on.

SO FAR, DEALS THIS YEAR:

DEAL 6 & 7 (Purchase, rehab and retail sale) - Love Joy Court
REO Purchase - Retail flip ---3 bed / 2 ba 1200 sq. ft.

FUNDING: bought in March w/ hard money + personal funds, rehabbed, put on market in May, closed in June.

PROFIT: $14K NET profit (after tax)

WHAT I LEARNED: Realized hard money is not cheap and did take a lot of my profits. But you know, I still made $14K, so I'm trying to keep that in perspective. I learned that I want to keep more of my money, make more money per retail flip, and I need to figure out how to better sell myself for a better return on my money...and line up more private money than hard money. But absolutely better than nothing!

BEFORE & AFTER SLIDESHOW OF REHAB - LOVE JOY CT:
http://s938.photobucket.com/albums/ad226/integrityfirstinvestment/Love%2...

*****************

Deal 8 & 9 (Purchase, rehab and retail sale) - Pennington Ave.
Proud of this one mainly because it was a 3rd or 4th repeat offer on an REO that finally got accepted when the agent said Day 1 that it would NEVER fly.

INITIAL GOAL: Rehab, lease/option to tenant for cashflow and payoff if tenant exercises their option.

CHANGED GOAL MIDSTREAM: Due to a changed thought about property during rehab. Didn't want to hold it long term. But a good retail flip.

TIMELINE: Purchased - April. Application for rehab loan 2 weeks. Rehabbed. Hit MLS: Day 1 of The Edge in May. Under contract by June. Closed last week (sale to retail buyer) in July.

FUNDING: Private funds provided for cash purchase for short term (less than 3 weeks)
---Confirmation w/ bank ahead of purchase about proposed funding
---Day of closing w/ cash, applied for rehab construction loan from this same Dream Bank (if you read back in my journal) and got full funding for property including closing costs and all rehab costs to reimburse my private money immediately and begin rehab on project with no draws (was awesome compared to hard money here!! Truly was a dream in comparison! Realized I want to continue to work with this bank until they give me a line of credit to keep doing this over and over)

PROFIT: $18K NET (after tax) ---definitely my minimum on flips. Happy with this. No regrets. Would like to make $20-25K, but overall, happy with the $18K.

BEFORE & AFTER SLIDESHOW - PENNINGTON AVE:
http://s938.photobucket.com/albums/ad226/integrityfirstinvestment/Pennin...

DEAL 10: CLOSES TOMORROW
Super excited about this one as it finally focuses on my goal of 2011 which is CASHFLOW!! Would consider L/O or rental on this one.

HOW I FOUND THE DEAL: This is one where the squeaky wheel gets the phone call on the deal. My agent, who works with multiple investors, knows I'm always on him to get out more offers, etc... He can't keep up with these (even though we already have that signed contract in place that we can get out quickly), however, due to this, he gave me the first phone call rather than his list of investors, for a property with an out of state owner, and someone who just wanted to "dump it". He paid $66K for it in 2008, and put $50K into the rehab (granted, I think he overspent for what it is, but I must say, it's in pretty good shape since he poured some $$ into it). Then he moved to NY to be with his fiance, never rented the place, and 2 years later, he is trying to dump it.

SPECS: 4 Bedroom / 2 Bath
Sq. feet: 1656
Nice vaulted ceilings, new laminate floors, new kitchen, new carpet
PURCHASE PRICE: $50K (not recording this publicly with the deed)
CURRENT MARKET VALUE: $90K
REHAB: I could put $5K in it and rent it out for $900 a month, which would be good, but I have decided to bling it up a bit, and pump up my rental cashflow. So I'm putting $25K into it (yeah, I know, it's a lot), but my return will be strong. That number would probably be more like $15K, but it is a huge lot and I'm adding a fence and a deck. Sounds crazy, but rent will now go for $1450+ ----it will be worth it and will be a great long term investment or lease option to the right tenant. And I believe it will also attract a long term tenant and/or a great lease option arrangement as the rental market in this area is super strong.

AFTER REHAB MARKET VALUE (literally by day 3 after closing): $120-140K
Planning to rent for: $1490 per month

CURRENT STATUS: Deal was locked up earlier this month. I requested to be able to work on the property before closing. Agent had seller sign a waiver that I could work on the property and seller is out of state. WHOO HOO! This was one of my favorite parts!! So it will literally almost be ready to go by the time we close which brings me to....

FUNDING:
---Private money for closing which will be returned within 2-3 weeks by bank line of credit
---Fix ups that I've done up to now---had some personal money from last retail flip
---Instead of applying for a rehab loan like last time, this time, since there will be so much instant equity with this property since I was able to do most of the fix ups prior to close, this time, I'll be applying for a line of credit based on the upgraded appraisal of the house (yay!!), and will use that line of credit to pay off private money, and still have a good deal of equity in the property, plus extra funds to invest in other properties. I have spoken to the bank about this, and lined it up to start the process as soon as I close.

PICTURES: I'll post pics when I have them uploaded on BEFORE/AFTER.

So Deal #11 will be when I find a renter and/or lease option this property to a tenant which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks.

********

JUST FOR KICKS, in case you are new to my journal, here was my first major rehab (I try to go for just cosmetic ones now...this one was a dog, but it was my first!) so I learned a lot, and to this day, made the most on this one...believe it was $36K net on this one: BEFORE/AFTER: http://s938.photobucket.com/albums/ad226/integrityfirstinvestment/908%20...

*****

ON THE LOCAL FRONT: LOCAL REI CLUB
I'm trying to be sure to stay connected here. I went on a Tour of Homes in May and met another investor who had not flipped properties but has a TON of rentals and has been very successful with those. He and I now have a standing coffee every Saturday morning. He gets advice from me on flips as he is in the middle of his first flip. And I get advice from him on rentals, and on anything finance oriented as that is his specialty in his career, and he has lines of credit, and has dealt a lot with banks, etc... So I run numbers with him all the time.

QUICKBOOKS PRO---Just purchased this to keep my finances in line. I have not set it up yet, but there is a Quickbooks Pro genius who presented at our RE Club who will set it up to be Investor-Friendly for all your properties (rentals, flips, everything) for $120. I hear it is MORE THAN WELL WORTH your time and $$ to use her, as someone who has many properties said their accountant charged them hundreds of dollars to do it and it wasn't nearly as user-friendly. I'm glad to have found this contact and hope it helps get me more financially organized!!!

FINALLY DOING TAXES (from last year!) I know there will be some lessons learned from this year's flips as well, and I'd like to become more financially tax-savvy in setting up my deals and profits long term.

BENEFITS OF LLC vs. BUYING IN YOUR OWN NAME AND USING AN UMBRELLA POLICY FOR PROPER LIABILITY COVERAGE:
I'm trying to figure out the benefits of purchasing properties in an LLC, and the benefits of just having an umbrella policy cover your properties and rentals and purchasing under your own name instead. So far, I've been purchasing properties within my LLC, but I have received conflicting reports from other investors as one says "why do that and have to pay self-employment taxes...just get an umbrella policy to protect you instead." Point well-taken. I do want to also establish credit to get more credit in the future. Of course I'd like to pay cash for properties in the future and not have to use banks, but there are always commercial deals too, and I'd like to establish business credit for these reasons as I think long term, I'd like to take this to the next level (as always), and would like to have that long term business credit developed with multiple banks. I'm still open here on ideas, thoughts, and what works best for others, so please chime in if you have opinions on this!

WOW, so glad to finally have this done, and hope to stay caught up here!!! Life is so busy!!

My baby Zachary turns ONE on Saturday! I can hardly believe it! We are having a Veggie Tales family pizza party and have arranged for him to swim just before the party. He loves to swim (as some of you saw at The Edge)! He is just about to take his first steps any day. He stands all the time and then plops down. He is so full of life and laughter and one of the greatest joys of our lives! Jamie is doing great, and we celebrated our 4-year dating anniversary a couple weeks ago...haha...we hadn't thought of that in a while, and it popped up on his calendar. He brought a single rose home...it was sweet and made me smile. Life is good and God is GREAT!

There are always struggles at every level of RE, and I really can't wait to have some cashflow coming in as funds are not flowing even after all this hard work (sometimes I'm like, wow, I'm working so hard, but when will I have extra funds to get a haircut..it's definitely feast or famine at times!) but I'm still working towards it, and know that the reinvestment in my real estate is worth it for sure, and excited about this latest cashflow deal so funds WILL be coming in! I'm so grateful to be able to work this business and spend time with my family and my baby! It just wouldn't be the same if I had to work until 5pm, punching a clock, commuting, and no time for anything else! If I ever get down, I remember this. It's all about the marathon and not the sprint.

Hope you all are having success with your RE. And know that if you are down and out, things will turn up if you LOOK UP, be THANKFUL, and TAKE ACTION!! There is so much knowledge here so soak it up. Dean is AMAZING. If you happen to read this ---thank you Dean for all you do and all that you are to all of us! Can't wait to see the rest of your Blueprint training videos!!

Cheers!!!!!
Louisa

WOW there is alot of action in those posts above !!!!! excellent job on all you have done and happy birthday to zach.karen and i had a great time at the edge with you and enjoyed meeting your family.way to go on all you have accomplished.
i just bought quickbooks also and the lady u say is going to set it up for you sounds like a fantastic idea...and reasonable...does she do it long distance or ??? the best thing for beginners to do is start quickbooks right off the bat and its easier.when its all entered it will be a sigh of relief...its great to hear from you !!!
keep CRANKIN the deals out !!!
jay

Thank you for sharing all your deals for 2011 with us; it's very inspirational! since we're only half-way through the year I can only imagine you getting many more deals in the next few months!
Congratulations on accomplishing all of this while taking care of your little one! enjoy him every minute- they grow very quickly!

Learning and progressing every day,
Valerie

JAY - Great to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, you are SOO right about Quickbooks!! I wish I used it from the beginning!! I just spoke to the QB lady, and yes, she does do it from afar and has several out of state clients. She can set up the whole thing (the investor friendly way) via WebEx on the computer so they can take over your computer and set up while you all are on the phone. It is a 2 hour consult for set-up ($120), and then if you need further instruction/follow up, it is $60 an hour. She said typically people end up calling for one more 2-hour appointment as they get up and running. My referral from the investors group said the way they set it up works extremely well for all of her properties and that her accountant charged her hundreds of dollars and it wasn't nearly as seamless as this process. She wished she had called her from the beginning! If you're interested, I'll give you her number in a PM.

THE CRUISE!! Jay, don't think I haven't thought about this! It is very much on my mind! I may not get in on the awesome group price, but if there is any way I can manage it by the end of this year, I may be a "late sign up" person. If I miss out on the group dinner stuff due to my late sign up, it will still be more than worth it to go, and I know it will be a blast along with some amazing synergy and ideas. Thanks so much for organizing this, and I'll do my best to be there!

VALERIE ---Thank you for the encouraging note!! I really appreciate it!!! Great to hear from you Thanks for popping in, and all the best to you and your deals this year. I hope to keep up more here!

Cheers!
Louisa

Well Louisa, all I can say is "wow," that was some update! I'm back on the site and back to RE and reading your big update post was inspiring. You've been doing great things and having such good success -- it's great to hear. And the more you do the more things will continue to happen and things will start rolling along easily with deal after deal after deal, I have no doubt! The photos you shared were great - the houses look terrific.

Well I just wanted to stop by and say hi and it seems my timing was good since I was able in your one post to catch up with you on so much!

All the best to your and yours!
Nancy