Roger's REI Journal - Twin Cities!

...It was a pleasure to be able to spend the past few days with you and assist you with your real estate investing efforts. The Fall weather was just picture perfect and the potential deals were even better! You have a tremendous amount of opportunity in your target market area. Keep up the good work! Be sure to keep building that power team and buyer's list. Keep looking at those deals by running the numbers and making calculated offers. Be sure to keep working on that action plan and make adjustments and note progress as you continue forward.

I know you have the right mindset and determination to be successful with real estate investing. Good luck with your current and future deals. Every deal you review and every offer you consider will be a learning experience even if all the deals do not happen. You can do it! Believe and Achieve! Your friend. - Joe

Thanks Joe,
It was great having you here. I was pretty excited when I learned you would be making your way to Minnesota to spend a few days with me. I was not disappointed. What an awesome kickstart to my business. I've already completed my followup today with the fantastic realtor we identified so I'll be getting some comps and then meeting again next week.
It will be fun working these offers and backing into the right numbers to offer at based on what I plan to do with the property.
I've got a lot of work to do but at least I know what it is I'm supposed to do and understand more how these pieces fit together for the payoff.

Have a great rest of the week.

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

Very excited. Signed another contract! This time for rehab on our house in Minneapolis. Finally! It took an extra month because we did not get our G.C. (General Contractor) signed up quickly enough a month ago so he took another job that distracted him. We had a couple other G.C.s stop by to give us their bids but it just wasn't working out so we called the original G.C. back and good news he was finishing up the other job.
We had some really good discussion and I just love sitting down and doing contracts, rearranging, adding, subtracting to make that contract what I want it to be. I got most of what I asked for, he was very open to my ideas so I was quite pleased. We were not that far apart but there were a bunch of things that we had talked about that were not written down, so we got them written down, signed and the rehab begins tomorrow.
I just added up that I have so far signed major Real Estate agreements for six different events since I started in February.

1) Job was eliminated so signed a Sale Agreement on our Principal Residence in order to be proactive and avoid possible foreclosure. (It Never Sold)
2) Signed purchase agreement on short-sale property for new Principal Residence.
(This is where we now live)
3) Signed an agreement with a Tenant Locator to rent our home (our former principal residence), then signed a 2 Year Lease Agreement with the tenant.
4) Signed an Agreement to underwrite the purchase and rehab of a property in Des Moines, Iowa with another RE Investor. (Currently hold a mortgage on that property)
5) Signed an agreement with a wholesaler that allowed me to purchase a property in Minneapolis. (Now own that property)
6) Signed agreement with General Contractor to begin rehab on property in Minneapolis.

Contracts 'R Us

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

your journal Roger! You are really on track to become a millionaire doing something you love!

I have a question. When you say 'coach' are you referencing the success academy? You are not the first to mention you have a coach. I don't have any 1 particular coach, but I can call the RESA line anytime and talk to whomever answers the phone. I started with a gentleman named Matt (not Larson) who set me up on the assignment track and that was the last time I spoke with him. He left me a message once, I called back and left him a message and never heard back from him again. So, I don't have a one on one coach with the academy at all, and they said I wasn't missing out on anything when I asked them. Just curious as to what everyone else has access to. I enrolled in the 2nd tier of the academy.

Here's to your success!

It is CERTAIN we will SUCCEED!

Hi Tammy,
Thanks for stopping by my journal!
Let me tell you what I know about the one-on-one coaches... NOT to be confused with the 3 day onsite personal mentor that you get with Level 3 to 7 of the Success Academy. Someone from Dean's Team please correct me if I miss something here or am out of line... !

The one-on-one coach does not come with the Success Academy. The one-on-one coaches come from one of the education fulfillment companies that contract with Dean for the right to teach/mentor/train Dean's students that might want personal one-on-one coaching. I know of two companies ... Professional Marketing International (PMI) and Global Education (Dean's in-house education fulfillment company???). The education fulfillment companies have in their ranks X number of personal one-on-one coaches with a track record of Real Estate Investment experience and success. These individuals are paid by the education company to do the personal one-on-one coaching.

I have hired coaches twice. And I did not initiate either of these. I was contacted by someone in the education companies that is marketing for them to determine whether I am a candidate for their one-on-one coaching. What do you get with the one-on-one coaching? I will say that this depends a lot on who is selected to be your coach. I now have a coach I am very pleased with. I am really working hard to raise the level of my game for this coach. He inspires me, he will talk about more than real estate.... he is not only a mentor for real estate but he is also a life coach... and he has a HIGH DEGREE OF ACCESSIBILITY (the most important thing to me) and that despite the fact that he is mentoring 25 students.

So. What are you signing up for? You are signing up for one hour a week with the one-on-one coach for a specified period of time (ie/ 6 months). This person is responsible to help guide you in your Real Estate Investment business. You are signing up because you want guidance. You want to cut short the amount of time it takes to get your business going. You are willing to do everything in your knowledge and power to do your part to make the coaching sessions, and your business, a SUCCESS.

You may, or you may not get what you want.

If things are not working out with your coach, I would advise you to take action. Do what you have to do to rectify the situation. You have a signed contract and have paid good money up front so if for some reason that coach is not a match for you GET A DIFFERENT ONE. You ROCK THAT BOAT until it works out for you. There are too many of us that have had coaches that are not good fits and basically we haven't done anything about it. Might as well walk over to your window, open it up, and take that money and throw it out the window if you don't do anything about a mediocre or bad fit with the coaching.... I know there are good coaches out there because I now have one. [OK. I think I have now said enough about this.]

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for a personal one-on-one coach:

Someone who is INTERESTED IN ME and is INTERESTED IN MY BUSINESS.
Someone who is KNOWLEDGEABLE about Real Estate.
Someone who can EMPATHIZE with my challenges and obstacles and will help guide me through them.
Someone who is ACCESSIBLE. I want an e-mail address (I do more by e-mail than I do by phone) and I want a phone number that I can call if I need to.

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

See, I'm with PMI, and I have through level 6 of the Success Academy, and I did not receive a 1 on 1 coach other than the first person I talked to who determined which path I should be on. When I called asking about it, they said I can call anyone there and do not get a personal one on one coach. So, I'm confused.

Is this ONLY available to those who entered the highest level of the success academy? (I pd $7500) I stressed to them how beneficial this would be to me, but they said that I should just be calling in the regular line and speak to whomever answers the phone. I see on the Edge someone teasing Nathan about losing hair because he's a hair restoration specialist and he's his personal mentor. I REALLY feel I could use this, I NEED that, especially! I feel so left out, yet they tell me I'm not supposed to have a one on one coach. They mention I missed some call at the very beginning that I have no knowledge of. Now, I'm REALLY wondering what I did wrong?

Thanks for all that info! I'm going to call them yet again. This is so frustrating to me to see everyone else with a personal one on one coach and me being told I don't get one.

Hi Tammy,

"Let me be clear" to quote the favorite phrase of our president.

You will have a 3 day onsite personal mentor included with the purchase of Level 3 to 7 of the Success Academy.

You DO NOT get 1-on-1 coaching unless you purchase that separately from one of Dean's Education Fulfillment affiliates. When I mentioned that I paid up front for the 1-on-1 Coaching please note that this was something I paid for under a separate contract with an education fulfillment company and did not come included with the Success Academy. They contacted me, gave me a sales pitch and I signed on the dotted line for the 1-on-1 coaching.

I noticed that I have been a bit "inexact" in my use of the above terms in previous journal entries. When Joe Jurek - aka Indiana Joe! came up here to MN a couple of weeks ago, he was my 3 day Onsite Personal Mentor.... not a 1-on-1 coach. My 1-on-1 coach is Bobby G from the Midwest originally, now residing in Florida!

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

so I should get an onsite mentor? I have the levels 1-6 (The $7500 package). I'm confused because so many students have the 1 on 1 that paid much less than me and I guess I do feel that my money didn't go as far as other's did.

You are doing so good on your journey, and I can see the one on one is a great benefit to you. Keep on going!

Hi Tammy,

You will need to talk directly to Dean's Education Academy about the specifics on your contract. I don't think they would have any incentive to give you less than what you paid for.
I do not know what others who have paid less than you have, I only know that I paid more than you (I selected the highest level) and it did not come with the 1-on-1 coaching.

Roger

...Glad to read that you signed your rehab contract. I hope the project is moving along on track. I hope you have had some time to attend some REI club meetings and are reviewing more potential real estate deals. Try to keep control over your time by leveraging the time of your power team members. Keep up the good work and have a great week. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

...It looks like the Twin Cities is having weather like ours here near Chicago. Snow and cold has been the order of the day. Thanks for the email and the update. I am buying some last minute items for the holidays today and catching up before the big day arrives on Saturday. I just wanted to stop by and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Keep up the good work! Believe and Achieve! Your friends, - Joe and Stacey

All the best for 2011!

Thanks Tammy and Thanks Joe!

It's going to be another exciting year doing what we love to do. I am very excited and will do my darndest to keep on track in 2011!

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

Am working my darndest to start this year with not one, but two deals. I am doing my best to accomplish one of these without using any of my own funds since I want to commit my own funds to doing a Spring rehab project here in the Twin Cities.
I am trying every avenue I can think of to come up with these funds using OPM (other people's money).
I have contacted Hard Money Lenders, colleagues (other Real Estate Investors), and also Private Money Lenders.

As far as my own funds, I want to bring in another investor to provide half of the funds because I want to do a bigger deal. The intention is to be in (or close to) the fastest moving market segment here in the Twin Cities ($150K-$250K).

What's really cool is that I know I have such good deals here that it is just a matter of whoever comes up with the cash first gets in on the deal. It really is a "you snooze you lose" type of thing. I will show you what kind of advertising I am doing on these.

PROPERTY 1 --- Des Moines, Iowa

This property lead will be bid at $55,900 and will require $13,900 in rehab for a total of $79,800. The investor wants to do a 50/50 equity split. In other words, in return for providing financing he will part with 50% of the profit. The property could sell for $100K to $110K but he plans to list it immediately for $99,500 and a quick sale after 3 weeks of rehab. (I always add a week)
Projection is to have it rehabbed and sold within 3 months but I am asking for 6 months financing to be safe.

The easiest strategy to getting paid on these is to have a Promissory Note written up which will give you a specific return of 5 points up front ($3,990) plus 10% annual interest rate for up to 6 months ($3,990 if the entire 6 months). If it only goes 3 months obviously there is less interest paid but the funds are turned over more quickly. And of course the investment is backed by Real Estate because a mortgage would be filed on the property at the Polk County Recorder (I handle this among other things).
The last property I did with my investors there took 88 days from property purchase to payoff of the note.

PROPERTY 2 - Brooklyn Park , MN

I am working with a great Real Estate Agent on this property. This is a truly cosmetic rehab. The house is in very good shape and it's in a very good neighborhood. The average days on market for a property to sell in this neighborhood is at 48 days currently.
This property can be purchased for $75,000 and requires about $15,000 of rehab. This property can be resold for $130,000.

I am asking for $50,000 in financing and I would provide the other $50,000-$55,000. (ie/this should cover closing, holding and marketing costs)
On this one we are talking about a specific return of 5 points up front ($2,500) plus 12% annual interest rate for up to 6 months ($3,000 if the entire 6 months). I bumped up the interest rate a bit because there is more of an equity cushion on this property. The investment is backed by Real Estate and a mortgage would be filed at the Hennepin County Recorder. Any individual can do up to 5 of these per year without being considered a Mortgage Company.

These properties go fast. They are usually gone in a day or two but no worries, if these two are sold there is always another one.
I guess the selling point here is that I handle all the paperwork! Very nice.
Also we are heading into the spring market so the timing is ideal.

Have a great Week!

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

Am trying to negotiate with a Hard Money Lender for a 50/50 financing deal. He puts up $50K and I put up $50K for a really great property that my Real Estate Agent found.
Don't know if I overreached or what because he hasn't gotten back to me. His terms were unacceptable so I counter-offered to give him 20% of equity in addition to 5 points and 14% interest rate. His offer would give him 5 points, 14% interest rate plus 35% of equity. A bit steep do you agree?
I will be interested to see what kinds of terms Dean's HMLs will be offering.

If you want more information, see my ad in the Classified Ads under Property For Sale - Killer Deal to Start 2011 - 50/50 Equity Split.

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

Do as Nathan Street tells us to do; go to the auctions and get up the nerve to talk to the people who are winning the bids. It is SO hard for me to do this, and just to work up the courage to approach a total stranger took every bit of courage I have, but the ONE I did manage to finally approach was an all cash buyer and would do HML! Not bad. 1 approach and I have not only a cash buyer, but a HML!

Also, try your REI clubs. What you're offering that HML is VERY steep!

WIsh you the best of luck, it is CERTAIN we will SUCCEED!

BTW , did you get my message?

I put an offer in on a house the day before yesterday and am now waiting to see if my offer is accepted. I should know by today I would think. Here are the details:
I am offering $74,100 for the house. Rehab will be $15-$20,000. ARV for this house is around $130,000. It has all the things I want... nice neighborhood (neighbor is shoveling the snow while it is vacant), truly cosmetic repairs (only heavy thing we will do is add an egress window and a bedroom downstairs), house is in great shape, roof and siding < 7 years old. Already has replacement windows (very nice here in Minnesota), good school district and close to a park.

I will continue to pound the pavement for a good HML source though I did find a lender that has better terms than the previous offer.

Previous Offer: 5 points up front ($2,500 on $50K)
12% interest rate ( $500/month on $50K)
plus equity on back end ($6,000)
other terms : 4 months

I was prepared to use the above money becuase even though they are profiting 19-21% because I would still be getting 23-33% ROI on my money.
BUT I kept looking for other HML because I thought I could do better and also I was concerned about 4 months term. ie/ 1 month rehab, 2 months to sell, 1 month closing ----- I think if something unforseen happens I have no wiggle room on the short term money.

So I got a better offer with a different HML. Still pricey but better terms than the last one.

Current Offer: 5 points up front $3,750 minimum ($3,750 on $75K)
16% interest rate ($1,000/month on $75K)
No equity to lender
other terms: 12 months

I like this offer because I only have to use $30,000 of my own money for this deal which will greatly improve my ROI... and leave enough cash to possibly do another rehab at the same time. I would love to have two of these going at the same time.
How cool is that? I told my RE agent last month that I wanted to do ELEVEN in ELEVEN. (11 rehabs in 2011)

Roger Schafer
Jaguar Investment Group

Nice to see you here in Mn with all of us. My name is Dennis and I am a wholesaler up here and I am looking to possibly flip a property. I have been researching HML as well and have you heard of Red Dirt Lending? They are pretty good I hear. You might want to try them out.

Hello Dennis,

Thanks for posting. I am aware of Red Dirt.... do you go to the MNREIA meetings? I learned of Red Dirt Lending from their flyers they hand out. I went as far as having them file a credit report on me which cost me $100.... I sort of blew them off though when they wanted $500 up front just to analyze the property. I suppose I should be more business-like and actually plug in their numbers to know who will give me the best overall deal.... I kind of doubt they will come in cheaper but its worth a look.

Roger

This has been a very busy day in RE for me today and I thought I would catch you up with where I am at today. If I don't mention a property or a deal here that I have previously mentioned in the journal its probably because that deal is dead.

As a preface though, let me mention that even though there is hardly any time left.... I am going to work my absolute smartest and hardest to complete my 5 deals by my April 28th deadline. I have one deal completed and another one in progress that will easily meet the deadline. There are many mistakes I've made and also some not so desirable situations that I find myself in that have been caused by some well intentioned but misguided people but I am not making any excuses. I still believe that I could make my deadline. And I am finalizing plans to do just that. Even if I didn't make it, either way I am heading in the right direction so 5 deals in one year or not, I am going to make it.

My completed deal (DEAL #1) was a Hard Money Loan for an investor in Iowa for which I netted around $7K.

My biggest project (DEAL #2) is my rehab in Minneapolis. I just wrote an incentive addendum today to try to get my rehabber moving more quickly on this. We are converting this from a 2/1 to a 4/2 by completing the upper portion of the house in addition to a full rehab on the rest. Here are the incentive details. If he completes this project by March 6th he will get an additional $1,500 bonus... and from there the incentive will reduce by $250 a day. For every day completed BEFORE March 6th he will get an additional $200 above the $1,500 bonus up to a maximum incentive of $2,500. In the future I will have both incentives and disincentives for all my projects based on completion dates..... IF I think I need them. This project will have a total expenditure of around $75K and has an ARV of $100K but I will be happy with $95K. I can either sell this property or do a Lease w/ Option to Buy on it to qualify as DEAL#2.

I joined a health club here two weeks ago while the snow is so deep so I can do my jogging indoors and the Personal Trainer marketing guy saw that I am a Real Estate Investor and wants to do deals with me. He is collaborating with his girlfriend on this and they want to start in March. They are putting in $15K each. We'll see where that goes.

This week is crunch time. There are two HUD homes (DEAL #3 and DEAL #4) that I will be offering on this week. I don't want to jinx them so I will give you more details once they are in the bag.

My investor friend in Iowa put an offer in for a best and highest on Friday, we'll see if his offer is successful. We had talked about doing this together as a 50/50 equity split but my backers (the couple mentioned above) are a bit slow off of the starting block and I may not be able to get in on the deal in time even if his offer IS accepted. I had previously done the Hard Money Loan with this investor which qualified as my DEAL #1. Big question on this one though... would it even be possible to get this one in on time? (by April 28th?) I'm not 100% confident that this one could be completed on time. I will discuss further with him if his offer is accepted. Our last deal took 88 days. I've got 73 days remaining to complete my deals.

I am undecided on what I will do for DEAL#5.

Somewhere among deals #3, #4 and #5 I will need to do an assignment. In fact, two deals will probably need to be assignments. It makes sense that I fill out completely my allotment of two qualifying assignments because they are obviously going to be the quickest turn-around time. I know, I know, not always as easy as it sounds so I will definately need to draw up a plan on this one.... where to start? One idea I have is that if I am successful in acquiring both my HUD properties, I will advertise them to my buyer's list (another failing of mine... I would actually be using another investor's buyers list) and have them walk through both props and cherry pick the one they want. I will then do the rehab on the other property. Not an issue because both have about the same amount of rehab at around $20K.

The honest truth is that I would rather do a Hard Money Loan as DEAL#5 if I could guarantee that the investor could turn around that property quickly enough to complete the deal by April 28th. I really enjoyed doing my DEAL#1 Hard Money Loan. I will have to take a closer look at my cash position to deterine if a HML is an option for me or not.

That is all.

Oh, one more thing. I signed up today for EDGE 2011. I felt, what the heck. Let's do it again. Besides I've got some great friends that I know are going! You may know some of them.

Roger

Just stopped by to see how you were doing DOWN there in the southern end of the state. Haven't read the whole journal but got the jest of it. Good going but the clock is running, right?

Where are the MNREI meetings held? The 3 groups I found down there were in the Edina, Hopkins, Eden Prairie (southwest) area. That'd rack up some 400 miles miles round trip for me. Plus I didn't have the greatest luck trying to talk or the most friendly attitude from them.
What are the costs too, if you don't mind saying?

I like your idea to reward the contractor. Wonderful positive approach. Make sure to call PMI and run ALL your deals by them There was a particular very creative deal I did that I didn't even realize would count, and sure enough it does because it brings in $100/month. You may have one of those and it will just pop up and surprise you.

All the best!

It is CERTAIN we will SUCCEED

Hi Michael,
Thanks for stopping by to comment in my journal. You are right up there in Saginaw where I pass through on rare occasion whenever I go to the BWCAW (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - for the non-Minnesotans out there). I have also passed through there occasionally travelling to my brother's place in Grand Rapids, MN. Normally I take a different route but have gone that way once in awhile.
I read your profile and some of the unique challenges you have. And as a matter of fact I can identify with some of those challenges. There are some deals that are just not going to work for me like they work for others because my situation is different than theirs. Everyone's situation is unique to a degree.
But, I did find something that has worked for me. Necessity is the mother of invention... as they say. My 401K is what bailed me out. Converted that into a Real Estate friendly IRA to get the ball rolling, and from there was able to get some funds into my business account. Like I said, everyone's situation is unique to a degree and as you said, you do not have the 401K option available to you.
It sounds like you are looking at Carol Stinson's case as similar to your own. I wish you the best.
Regarding the MNREIA, we meet near Roseville on the first Tuesday of every month. I think the cost is around $250 a year. First time is free, I think I went twice before having to pay. Two e-mail accounts? Don't remember how I got through twice. I really think the president of the club is the person who sets the tone. And this is an open group in my experience. There are some DG'ers there too. The president is Mike Jacka.

Tammy,
You are the greatest. I know it sounds simple but, You know what? As a matter of fact there is a possible deal that I did that I had not considered and it just may qualify. That would be so cool if that turns out to be my elusive DEAL#5 (well actually it would be DEAL#2 but whatever).
Regarding the incentive for my contractor, I FAXed that over to him as a change order and called it the "Need for Speed" Incentive. An investor friend advised me against doing that because he said, "I'm not going to pay someone extra for what they are supposed to do". But I am happy with my little incentive. My contractor is doing a great job, but at this point I need him to do his magic a little faster. I watched the "Bewitched" movie with Nicole Kidman last night with my kids.... yeah, kind of like that first scene of the movie. Just wave his hands or wiggle his nose and POOF. Real Estate deal done.

Roger

Thank you. Rosville is closer. Would you send me a PM with contact name, number, etc. please. Might have a chance depending on info to get there. That's ~300 miles 'round trip. (I'm up near the 33 53 junction.)
Yes, generally US169 is shorter to G.R. depending where you're starting from.
G.R. is the closest place to get some of the less expensive rehab stuff (still 130 mile 'round trip) unless Menards or L&M has something in clearance corner.

Michael R.

Another busy day.

Went to get oil changed in the AM then from there went to my home in Minneapolis (DEAL#2). I had a few things to do all at once. Planned to do some cleanup downstairs so I can finish putting foundation repair on some of the walls. I got that done but I will have to do the actual cement work tomorrow.
I had three reasons for going to the MPLS prop today. 1) an electrician was coming in and I wanted to hear what he had to say... my contractor told me there would be some extra work and I wanted to find out what that was all about. 2) The listing agent stopped by the house and I wanted to be very clear on what we should have on the MLS for this property. and 3) The basement work I mentioned above.

It seems that we might have some issues with the electrical. Due to some concerns that our electrician had, now my contractor is going to have a Master Electrician come in and do a walkthrough. I really want to be there for that. I want to understand what the issues are so all these things are factored into any project before they begin. I guess I have been naive to think that just because my contractor has done more than 50 of these rehabs in MPLS that he would have considered all these things at the start of the project.
The good thing is that if I had not put a timing incentive on this project then who knows when they would have been dealt with. Now at least we are looking to resolve any of these issues immediately. It looks like we will need to pull permits for all of these things...... Oh no. Makes me think more delays.
It would certainly seem to me that it is very unlikely that this home would be sold AND closed in time to qualify as DEAL#2 so I think the only way to get the deal done in April would be to do a Lease with Option to Buy.

DEAL#3
Offer went in today. Should know by tomorrow if we got the property. I can't wait! I was more encouraged about the property we are trying to acquire after walking through a property in Brooklyn Park today. I actually like Brooklyn Park more than Brooklyn Center (where DEAL#3 is located) so I thought I would take a look at a property that minnesotarehablist sent to me. I had to laugh. They said it only needed $20-$23K of rehab. $45-$50K would be more accurate. Everything needed to be redone on it. For starters needed new roof, new driveway, and to replace all of the windows. The property I am offering on today I think will require $20K of rehab but it already has a decent driveway, a decent roof, and all new replacement windows.
I don't know if my Real Estate Agent is back from Hawaii yet, he may have put the offer in from there. But, I will need to sit down and talk to him about how he feels about me assigning these properties.... we had already agreed that he would take a reduced commission of 4.5% on the sell side (I am assuming 1.5 for him and 3 for buyer agent) on both of my houses. (DEAL#4 offer will go in on Friday).

I get up early tomorrow, I started these lifting classes that I want to do twice a week. Tuesday is great because it is at 9:30am, but on Thursday I have to be ready to go at the gym by 5:30am. Last week I was super sore. I had a lot of difficulty even lifting my arms to shave.

Roger

This business can be frustrating but above all from speaking with you over the months I can tell you've gained a ton of experience. The offer I put in was rejected, but another one just popped on the market that I will be taking a look at tomorrow so if you want to do a hml this may be a way to do it. Have you found out anymore how comitted the guy from the gym is? Hopefully the incentive for your contractor will work well for you.

Mark,

It would seem that he is very committed. He got together with his gfriend on Sunday to lay out a plan and they both want to start in March with $15K each. Apparently he has been wanting to do this for quite some time. Both he and his girlfriend feel pretty comfortable around me. We had some good rapport when we all went out to visit my Minneapolis property. Said they wanted to wait until March because they want to be 100% certain they are ready to go and do not want to cause hold-ups like before.

Roger

As mentioned earlier, DEAL #1 is already in the books.

DEAL #2 - rehab project in MPLS.
We had a Master Electrician come by to take a look at what we need to bring everything up to code, and it does not sound too difficult... only that we will need to replace the current electrical box with a different one with more capacity. We thought it was going to be worse and feared having to replace the electrical meter too but that is not necessary so I think we have the electrical issues nailed. Total cost for all electrical including upstairs will be $1,500. Now we are looking into the final word on the plumbing. Some are saying we will need to update the plumbing in the entire house to code because we added that new bathroom upstairs.

I placed an ad today for a Rent with Option to Buy on this property because I want to see what kind of interest is out there... and also in order for this deal to be done on time, this may be the only way to do it. I have until April 28th. Selling, and then closing who knows when will probably miss the boat..... pretty scary.

DEAL#3 and DEAL#4
These were two properties in Brooklyn Center that we offered on last week, or at least we were supposed to. I am finding this rather strange that I now have 3 different properties in that area that have sold just DAYS before we would have gotten them. Perhaps I am "wearing the tinfoil hat" or being a bit overly suspicious... but the only thing that all these properties have in common is that my HML knew each one of their addresses. The last one dropped off the market ONE DAY before we would have put our offer in. I mean you do have to admit that it is POSSIBLE that he has colleagues that he prefers working with... people that are better funded than I am who don't mind making $15K per property instead of the $25K that I am looking for on each of them. The only way to prove that would be to see if the same person or company bought all 3 of those properties.

I have now replaced DEAL#3 and DEAL#4 with two other properties and nobody except my RE agent and I know about them. I will contact the HMLs after I get them under contract just to be on the safe side. I plan to assign one of them and rehab one of them. Only the Assigned property would come in on time.
We will see if my Real Estate agent will agree to put offers in on both of the above properties.... I really only have the funds for one of them so I really MUST assign one of them. Perhaps I should assign both of them??? That would be great but I don't know if it's going to happen. For the moment, I am just calling this DEAL#3.

DEAL #4
DEAL#4 is the reason why I only have funds for purchasing one of the above properties. Backtrack up to DEAL#2 above. It just so happens that the Master Electrician that visited us in MPLS has his eye on a nearby property that he wants to fix up. He does not have the disposable funds right now to purchase the property so I said.... "I'll do it".
We plan to get him into the property on a Lease Option and he will be responsible for fixing up the property.
We are going to the city of MPLS tomorrow to get the ball rolling to determine exactly what work needs to be done to get a Certificate of Occupancy for the property. If it's too much work the deal falls through. But if it's not a lot then I will go forward with it in hopes to complete another deal by my April deadline.

DEAL#5
I am going to be scouring for a Sandwich Lease Option to fulfill Deal#5. I will be on the lookout for properties and understanding sellers.
It's possible that this deal will not be necessary because there is another deal that I did with another investor that may qualify already for the refund... but it pays to have a little insurance just in case.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! 2 months to go....

Roger

Its ironic that I too, with a partner, was working on a deal that had no interest prior, all of a sudden got an offer within MINUTES of me putting it in. The only other person who knew about it... was our lender. It was not on the MLS and it was a private sale I got a tip off from a company I work with. Other prior clients also had access to the deal as well, so you never know, MAYBE it was a legitimate buyer.

It was one that we had to close in 5 days so we had to seek out financing first. It was a townhome. In hindsight, I would have made them sign a confidentiality and NCND agreement, or not disclose the address, or just give an 'example' of what the property offers and what it is. But we had to be able to close in 5 days or lose it, so we wanted to make sure we could get the funding first. This business is cut throat, and there are MANY shady people in it, unfortunately. It really sucks! I wrote up that huge proposal for the HML and put a lot of work into the presentation of the property. Guess I did too good of a job.