Jack and Michelle, New to the Game GET SOME!!

Fired up, HUD accepted our offer, my realtor can't believe they took it. Now we have 48 hours to work the paperwork with the IRA company(not local) and get it in the hands of HUD, and we can close in 30-45 days. Accepted offer was $27,950, needs about $5k worth of work, and then we need to decide if we want to sell or keep it as a rental. SWEET! Looks like another night of no sleep due to the excitement!

I want to wish you both a TON of success in REI. Me and my husband are both from Jersey (middlesex cty and warren cty). I love meeting people from Jersey on here. We are currently wholesaleing in PA FL and NJ (warren cty).

Well the paperwork did not go in correctly so HUD now rejected our offer and told us we can rebid when it comes back on the market, which should be tonight at 1am or tomorrow at 1am. What happened was we put our SSN in the online offer to HUD but it needed to be the EIN of the IRA company, which they, the IRA company failed to let us know. So we may have lost this deal but hoping we can slide right back into it this week.

Met with the GC for our next flip today to work on the floor plans, he plans on getting them to the draftsman and then have the new plans back to us on paper on Fri or the beginning of next week. Can't wait to get this one going!

Rarely do deals go perfectly. I guess that's why they are called "deals". There are always hiccups and things to work through. You'll get and do well. Good job! Keep it up!

Ha, thats one thing I have learned since starting this. We definitely have had to change and adapt to things but its been fun, for the most part. We were able to get another bid in on the one so we hope to hear on Mon if its accepted, we decided to not do it with the IRA since the IRA and HUD have certain processes and if they are not done exactly right, the deal is off. So we actauly reduced the bid again and will see what happens. Fingers crossed!

Lost the bid on the mobile home. I hate when things are done wrong that cause losing a deal. But that just means we are ready for the next one, right?!

Still waiting on the plans for the rehab, I need to learn patience!

Signed up for Insider Elite and watched Dean's webinar tonight and it was awesome. Since I got off the webinar I talked to my realtor and him send me the properties in the 3 counties around me that had been sold in the last 90 days for cash, ordered 100 signs, and am having breakfast with my realtor in the morning to talk to him about really cranking on the 25 to 1 strategy. He already has us receiving email lists every morning in certain criterias we asked for but we haven't been doing what we need to with those. We also have about 25 calls to make to folks that answered our latest letters campaign that we haven't gotten back to. We need to get moving on these wholesale deals instead of just thinking flips. Speaking of, we have agreed on the floor plans on our latest flip, the draftsman needs to finalize them and then we need to get engineering to approve and then the city. Excited about the progress but wish it was going faster.

I hope joining IE is going to light this fire and keep it lit for a long time. Sent out 100 letters to absentee owners, set up our answering service, Patlive(already getting calls from letters sent out on Mon), ordered 50 bandit signs, and they arrived and we wrote out 25 and put them out tonight. Our floor plans and elevation are ready to go for our flip and the engineer is finalizing his part and they should be going to the city for approval next week. Looking forward to some calls from the bandit signs so we can get working on our first wholesale deal. Funny thing about putting out bandit signs, I had my neighbor go with us since we are going to pay him to put them out for us on the weekends. To set this up, I have been trying to get him interested in real estate for over a year, have even lent him Deans books. Well after driving around and helping out up signs he started putting 2 and 2 together, if he puts up signs with us he gets a fee for every deal we get, if he puts his own signs out, he can get his own deals and wholesale them for thousands. So I think we trained our bandit sign guy but he plans on quitting already, ha ha. I laugh because he is a great friend, former Marine also, and I think he'll still put mine out also. I need to hit the rack, just fired up right now and had to share. Later

Heading to close on a deal we got from an absentee letter. Its a 1620 sq ft manufactored house, 3/2, walk in closets, big master bath with garden tub, on .667 acres, with a 15x20 workshop in the backyard. Woohoooooooo, closing on it for $14k, going to put $5k into it and rent it out for $800-$1000. We got a $20,000 unsecure loan for it, should be great cashflow. This will be our first buy and hold property. Heading to look at another house we were contacted about from our absentee letters before, then after this closing we are heading to check on our flip house. Its going to be an exciting day!

We have been MIA on DG but things have been going on. Our big project(third deal) is cranking and we hope to have it done by mid March and under contract before its complete.

The mobile home took a little more to get ready, we decided to put more into it and get it looking nice so we can get top dollar for rent. We ended up putting about $11k into it, $2600 of that for mold remediation, about $2k on knocking some little trees done, lawn had to be cut 5 times to get it down, brought in 2 truck loads of dirt to even out where there were holes, and some mulch, we replaced all the lights and door handles, appliances, etc. We signed a contract with a management company and they are looking for a renter now. We were going to manage it ourselves and find a renter but after meeting one possible renter out there, we knew it was not for us. I do not do well with folks who lack integrity and red flags were flying all over but dollars signs were knocking them down, so I knew I need to get a professional company to handle it so I wouldn't make a bad choice. We also decided to look for PML and my mentor's girlfriend had a ROTH IRA so we took a loan from her so we could get our cash out and pay the unsecure loan back and now have $300 a month payments with the ROTH loan, Taxes, and insurance. Can you say nice cash flow once we get a renter? Looking at a few other things now to, need to get some buy and holds!

OK, a few things have taken place that I had updated on other posts but I plan on just keeping this one for new projects. We closed on our new build a week and a half ago and the profit was $49k.

We purchased 2.5 acres a week ago for $20k and put a for sale sign up for $65k and have already had 2 calls for possible subdividing with each 1.25 going at $35k, meaning $70 total, so hopefully we can work through that.

Contacted a desperate selling this evening off of CL, plan on running by there tomorrow, well I guess later today since its so late, with a contract and hope my lawyer can do the title work and close on Fri if it looks right. The numbers look good for a quick flip, he wants $15k, needs about $10k-$15k of work, FMV is $45k-$50k. Hope to get him down a couple thousand and then squeeze the subs on this one so the numbers work out even better. Hope to have some good news on this one tomorrow!

Spent 3 days with Dean and Matt at the Area Manager training this past weekend and we are fired up and ready to roll!

Went out to the house of the motivated seller and there was just way to much work needed and not enough profit in the area. I was walking around in the attic and saw a gun case and figured maybe he might have something in there for sale, told me nope except some ammo. For anyone that knows about buying ammo, its near impossible right now and very expensive. I asked what he had and how much he wanted, so I walked out with a little prize for my time driving there! Got home and got a call from someone I contacted on facebook that had a wholesale deal, so I went out there yesterday and think I like it. Mama Knucks and I had talked about trying to get some smaller projects instead of any major rehabs but this might just change our minds. Called a GC friend to see if he wanted to check it out and come with a quote but he is out of pocket until next Tues, I need to make a few calls to see if I can get some folks out there to get me some estimates.

Also went out to my property to put more signs pointing to it and ran into the neighbor, they have several lots out there, one for their $500k house on it and I introduced myself to her and got some good scoop about the neighborhood. Her and her husband might be interested or know folks who might be interested in our prop also.

Got a call from a letter we sent out 8 months ago, the lady is in Cali and wants out of the prop here in NC and wants me to make an offer.

Got another call today about a shortsale for a townhome a neighbor of mine is getting rid of. A lot going on!

Fired up about going to the REIA tonight, love networking and we are taking our boys with us, they both want to be involved more. LATER

We have gotten a good amount of calls on the 2.5 acres we bought last week, hope to score nicely on it when we subdivide and sell 1.25 parcels for more then what we paid for the whole thing.

Decided not to go with either of the 2 houses we were looking at, to much work and the numbers are not looking good. Got some more info on the short sale and plan on driving by it on Sun, maybe even getting into it. There is a renter in there, so we'll have to work that out. The owner lives in my neighborhood and told me I will be working directly with the bank on this one. They want it gone, no MLS, no realtors, just me and the SS contact for the bank. This could be huge as far as having a contact for listings before they ever hit the MLS.

Busy day tomorrow, taking mom to breakfast for a mother son breakfast for her birthday that just passed and then doing a movie with our non profit at the Veterans Administration Nursing home, and then taking dad to a minor league baseball game for his Fathers Day present.

Loving life, THANKS DEAN for the fire you have put under Mama Knucks and I!

We got a bunch more calls today on our 2.5 acres. I had made a few more signs that had arrows pointing to the property from a nearby church, when I was about to drive out to it I got a call from someone that was at the prop and wanted to know more so I drove out there and he is a broker looking for prop for a builder and thinks they will want it. When I drove off after that meeting I was at the stop sign leaving the neighborhood I got another call about it so I turned around and went back to meet that person. He has several friends and family that want to buy a lot in the neighborhood, so I am fired up! But up some more bandit signs out on my way home.

Heading past the townhome tomorrow and also left a message with the owner of the short sale that we want it and will talk to the bank. Hope to get a good bank contact out of that one. Life is good.

Get out and make things happen.

Had to laugh when i saw the title on this thread tonight! Bet you aren't feeling so new anymore, are you?

You guys are doing great! Congrats on finishing and closing on your big rehab!

Karen

Wholesale that thing!! (Just kidding?) You guys make a great team. It's really nice when a husband and wife can work together and share the vision. It was a pleasure hanging out with you two last week.

Talk to you soon,
Michael

We are still wet behind the ears new! Once I get a couple wholesale and lease option deals under my belt I might start feeling a little more comfortable. As long as I keep having Michael(a post directly under yours) reminding me about getting a wholesale deal done it will happen soon! We need some buy and holds, whats your thoughts on vacation rentals down there in MB?

No way we are wholesaling this property, to much profit in finding a builder or selling to someone wanting to build on it later. We bought it from a wholesaler, he made $7k off the deal. We hope to come close to triple our money after closings on this one!

But we are working on some other things, can't wait to report in that we have our first wholesale! It was great hanging out in Arizona and can't wait to share the new things we get into. Mama Knucks is ready to roll, I know I have it made with a spouse that is 100% behind real estate and ready to make it happen.

There a a HUGE amount of props for sale here! If you can keep it rented, you could make good $$$. I will let you know what I come across to see if you are interested.

If you want to partner on any L/Os until you are comfortable with them, let me know.

We just wholesaled another one today.

Karen

I saws where your going to be stuck in Atlanta tonight, be safe. Yeah please check on some vacation rentals down there, it might be another avenue in investing we want to check into. If we get any LO opportunities we'll partner with you so you can train us on how best to do them. Where did you latest wholesale happen? MB?

I haven't posted on here in a while but we are still slowly moving forward. We are getting calls weekly on the property we have for sale. We have subdivided it and I THINK, we are planning on building a spec. Still talking with GC's, while fielding calls from people interested in it. Had two calls last week with offers, the highest and best so far is $49k, would be a nice profit since we have about $22k into it, but doing a couple of new builds(specs) really has my interest, so I am going back and fourth with that.

We have made 2 loans with Michelle's IRA lately, one was for $32k, terms are $2500 fee and $1000 a month for 4 months and he pays it off if he can't find a buyer. He has several buyers but is trying to get top dollar instead of just making a small profit. The other is for $100k, closes tomorrow and he has a buyer closing on it in 2 weeks, terms are $2000 fee to borrow, $1000 a month payments for 6 months, balloon at the end if he wasn't able to sell. He also has $100k in this deal, so there's plenty of skin in the game on his end and we are in first position on both.

We got an email today from another investor in town that said his lawyer has an estate they need to close ASAP, so Mama Knucks called the lawyer and we headed up there today at lunch to check it out. The realtor was there putting in the sign and said they already had one offer(emailed without seeing the prop) and a few more folks coming to see it this afternoon, so we needed to put in our best offer now since they will take the best Fri evening. While there the neighbors came over and they are putting in an offer and another investor came by to look. The neighbor came over bad mouthing the property so we wouldn't be interested, just so he could have a better chance at it. This rubbed the realtor wrong and she told the lawyer so they don't want him to get it. We talked to the realtor for a while and then spoke to the lawyer and Mama Knucks hit it off with both of them. They want it closed on Mon, yeah, this coming Mon and told us if we offer the asking price($65k) then pretty much we'll get it if we close on Mon. The realtor had already told us that the asking price was at least $25k less then what she would of put on it but the lawyer wants it gone ASAP, as well as the family. So we plan on closing on it on Mon and then going to speak with the neighbor to see if he wants to buy it from us and then we'll just make a few bucks or we might do a rental rehab on it and keep it for us. So much going on in my mind tonight about this stuff, as you can tell by me being up and typing at almost 1am. Life is good and Mama Knucks and I are trying to make some things happen.

I've been checking out your journal and am inspired that you all jumped in there and are making things happen!! I'm a newbie myself (with actually doing something) and will keep and ear and eye on the two of you to get me through. Thanks for posting your progress!!!!

Hey Kim, glad you came by and read what we have been doing. We are not moving as fast as others or like we'd like to be but at least we are moving forward little by little. Are you involved with your local reia up there?

Didn't get the house we spoke about an the earlier post from the lawyer, they ended up having someone offer WAY above us, so we dropped it. We have one offer in on a major rehab right now, not sure the bank is going to take our offer but lets see how the counters go. We closed on the one IRA loan last Fri, loaned $32k for 50 days and made $4200, the other IRA loan is supposed to close tomorrow or Fri, a quick $2k for loaning $100k for 2 weeks to one of my buddies(mentor) here that has helped us get our investing going. We bought a mobile home today, its in a mobile home lot that only owner occupy can live in, our plan is to sell it owner financing. This will be a nice learning experience since its our first MH in a mobile home community. Hopefully we'll have some great news on a buyer in a few weeks, hopefully before the next lot rent! We were contacted by a realtor who had a possible buyer for our property and wanted to know if I would pay her a commission. No problem, we'll pay 3%. We met them out at the property to walk it last Fri, they told us an offer was coming by the end of the week. The realtor hit us up last night talking about what we paid for it(we stole it!) and were hinting that they were not happy that we were asking so much. I told her we wanted $55k and left it at that. Hopefully we'll have an offer soon or we'll go back to the thought of maybe building the spec. I think we should of taken the $49k now, and actually called the people who offered it and told them we'd take their offer, they said they'd be back in touch. Crickets! Life is good, THANKS DEAN!

We got an offer on the 2.5 acres for $50k, we countered at 52,500 and its been accepted. Should be a nice $28k profit for holding the property for just over 4 months. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes! Have 2 folks checking the mobile home, one cash offer and another would be us financing it, hoping we can work out the cash offer now. Was talking to someone I go to church with Fri night and told them how we use our IRA to do some real estate and he had never heard about it, after talking he might have around $60k for us to use as private money at 8%. Life is good!

Ok, some more things have happened and we are still in the game. The best news is we sold the mobile home today, cash offer, no financing from us! We had verbals but they backed out until this latest guy did last week. He thought he wanted it but his sister was having him check out other places also. Thought it might not happen, we ended up having a hot water heater issue, a heater issue and also a plumbing issue this week, this after he said he was a go for buying it. So we spent $300 more to get a new breaker, new wiring, plumbing checked out, but we ended up coming home with a check. Lessons learned, NEVER buy a mobile home in a owner only mobile home park and don't pay to much for a mobile home.

As far as the 2.5 acres, our buyer backed out after a month saying she wanted it, the property didn't appraise high enough. I called back 4 cash buyers that told me to contact them if the deal fell through. We met one out at the prop on Mon and he gave us a verbal for $48k, its less then we wanted and had under contract before but its still great cash flow. He has $45k cash already and said he needs a couple more weeks to get the rest. He is latino so there is some communication issues, but he has a lawyer and said he is going to get a contract done by them and put $1000 down with him. Hope that happens this week, still marketing it until I have a contract and the EMD.

We are closing on our next flip tomorrow. We haven't been able to get any crews in to see the place yet, an ex wife lives there still and we have only been able to get into the place once. The agreement is also that she can stay there the rest of the month even though we are closing tomorrow. We have $10k being held back in escrow if she messes the house up, which we are pretty sure she won't because she is getting some money when she leaves from the ex's family. Hopefully with the holidays we'll still be able to have this completed by the end of Dec, new kitchen, new master bath, tile flooring in bathrooms, paint, carpet upstairs, some exterior work on the house and yard.

Life is good!

Best week so far! Sold a mobile home flip, verbal on 2.5 acres(flip) to close before the end of the year, bought our next flip yesterday, AND today we FINALLY got an offer accepted on a live/work townhome that we have made offers and been beat out multiple times over the past 8 months. Our highest and best this time was $15k lower then our last best and highest from months ago but they took it this time. From reading others posts here on DG I learned that stay with your numbers and if you have a chance to bid on a property you liked before but lost out, go back to your lower offer, increase if need be, so we did that, our realtor was ****ed. He was mad and saying we needed to put in our highest from before if we were serious, I told him to put in the highest and best I just told him, $15k lower and they can have it or not. He called today to say it was accepted and I reminded him that if I took his advice over investors I follower here on DG, it would of cost me $15k more.

Michael M, AGAIN, THANKS and great talking to you tonight!!

Congratulations! Good things come to those that are determined and diligent!
Blessing come to those that give back. You guys fit into both those categories.

As always, thanks for your service and we will talk again soon!

Michael

Started out rehab this past week, should take 3 weeks. 80 bags of leaves and a couple monster piles of branches and bushes all ready to go to the dump. They finished the demo last week and start putting it all together on Monday.

The verbal on our 2.5 acres didn't come through so we're still trying to sell that. Not in a rush, we don't want it to sell in 2013 anyway for tax purposes.

We close on the live/work townhome in 2 weeks, excited about that. Looks like we already have the renter for the work part, now to find someone for the upstairs apartment.

Life is good, looking for the next project!

I can't believe that I have not been on here since last summer! Have no idea how that happened!

Well, I'm all caught up now and am so happy for all the things you are getting done. Such a variety of things, too.

You are always working so hard for our vets. Thank you. You bring many blessings to those whose paths you cross.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Karen