Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

i'm so sorry to hear about your back injury. i had been wondering why you hadn't been on here for a while. i was hoping you were too busy with RE deals. thank goodness you are getting some relief. i injured my back last year and was so thankful to find a really good chiropractor. i think these things come at us to get us off track and also to check our commitment. i'm glad you hung in there and had your daughter's support. i am moving right along, but it's slow at times. i plan to be on the call Tuesday too. it should be exciting. take care of yourself and keep hanging in there!

thanks for stopping by. i'm not sure what post you are going back to, but thanks for your input. our state contracts do have a line to put our license # on if we are buying for ourselves. i know a lot of people out there criticize and make fun of Carlton Sheets, but if it weren't for him, a lot of people would not know anything about investing. his course was the first one i bought and it was the most professional-looking and didn't cost an arm and a leg. i have a lot of respect for that man and he got a lot of people into REI. i'll get off my soap box now.

i probably won't get to do much REI today. i have to start cleaning house (my favorite thing to do - NOT!!!). i want to leave with it being all clean for Chuck and hopefully it will stay pretty much that way for when i get back home. we do keep things picked up. i also have my niece's birthday party this afternoon and i have to get her present wrapped. so, while i'm cleaning and doing some other things, i will be visualizing what i want with REI. that can make the job go a lot faster (although sometimes i'm daydreaming so hard i slow down) and be less nasty. hopefully i will get title information by Tuesday on my HUD deal. i keep saying that. i am believing it will close before i leave town. i hope everyone has a great Saturday!

i thought i would get on here and post, but it won't be about too much. i'm still cleaning house and that is taking almost all of my energy. one of these days in the not-too-distant future, i hope that it won't be that way. yesterday i was so exhausted i was numb, but i got my work done. today i worked on my lovely office, and it is lovely when i clean it. i was able to pitch a lot of junk and organize my papers. i really need to make it a habit to go through everything every Friday and clean out and file. i think i can be more creative and productive in an organized environment. a woman who contacted me through my website with a home for sale has been impossible to reach after my first contact with her. now her email is not working and i just called and neither is her phone. not sure what is happening there, but i hate for her to think i just wasn't interested. i haven't heard from the land contract referral either, although i really think she wanted to try some things on her own. her email doesn't work either. my dates for being gone have changed again. i will be gone almost a month. love that! now i'm leaving on Sunday, the 29th, hopefully making it much easier to get through St. Louis. i hate driving through St. Louis and want to make it as easy as possible for myself. then Danelle wants me to stay through September 20th, so i will head back home the 21st, be home the 22nd, go to the Dr. on the 23rd and get my hair done on the 25th. i hope i survive!!! i was on a webinar case study with J. D. Esajian Friday and it was interesting. he mentioned some ideas that will help us with rehabs and answered some questions i had about some ideas we've thought about. he mentioned that if you can, put a white picket fence in the front yard. it evokes emotion because that is the American dream for women. you can buy a pre-made picket for $19-40 and it's easy to put in and make it look like that special little home. now i'm going to go get some special little rest.

it is beautiful outside and not so humid. i had to run an errand and it was nice to be out and about. HUD called me yesterday at 2pm and the guy i've been dealing with has been pretty decent. he was not happy when he called me and had to tell me that we cannot use a stamp for the Broker's signature. they have been accepting that for 3 years now and all of a sudden, one of HUD's proof readers calls me on it. anyway, the guy working with me told me it's a load of crap, but he can't do anything about it. i asked him to hit the proof reader for me and he said he could do that. my Broker answered my call right away and came back from Indy immediately to sign the papers for me. he was down there to do BPO's on hotels a bank is foreclosing on and now he has to go back down Wednesday. he was really nice about it but not happy at all with HUD. like he said, what if he was in Jamaica or Aruba and couldn't come back to sign??? he didn't want my first deal to get all messed up. anyway, HUD insisted that i overnight it so they just received it and now i've spent almost $20 just in overnight fees for UPS. i'm ready to move forward with this deal and get it closed!!! they may have to resubmit it with the actual Broker signatures now, which means it probably won't close before i leave town. i won't be too happy about that, but nothing i can do. i know who i want to take over for me at the closing if that happens. looking forward to Dean's call tonight. i have my alarm set on my cell phone so i don't forget. i'll probably "see" you all on the call.

i think i might be on the mend. most of the utter exhaustion is starting to subside, although i have been drinking Boost and Powerade this morning. maybe that makes the difference. i got a call from the guy at HUD this morning telling me to get the newly signed documents to him ASAP. i told him i had overnighted them on Monday like he told me i had to and they were received at 12:32pm yesterday and signed for by Johnny. he tells me i could have emailed them, but that is not what he said on Monday. now, i do have to wonder why he hadn't received the paperwork when they were received early yesterday afternoon??? i called my client to touch base with her and since she is a mortgage broker, she is totally familiar with the shenanigans that HUD pulls. you just have to be patient and play the game. i'm not much of a game player, but nothing i can do about it. i will press forward. now every time the phone rings, i wonder if it's HUD and what they want. is that being paranoid?? i was on Dean's conference call last night. the product sounds great and i'm sure the price is very reasonable overall, but right now i cannot buy into it. i would love to and i believe in it, but it is out of my price range by a large amount. for now, i will just have to do it on my own. besides, i really need to prove to myself i can do this before i spend any more large amounts of money. time to do something and not just talk about it and throw money at it. my daughter has an ultrasound this afternoon because they think the baby is too small and she delivers in 3 weeks. her doctor has been kind of weird about everything this time. i am sure that baby is just fine. Danelle tends to be small and they don't think her stomach is big enough to have a fully developed baby. boy, do i wish i had that problem!!! they would never say that to me! my grandson started daycare today and it was harder on Danelle than him. he needs that interaction with others and not be home every day all day with Mommy. he is the sweetest little kid and makes friends easily. i think he will have a great time. he got an Elmo backpack and did not want to take it off and leave it outside his classroom. my granddaughter started kindergarten Tuesday and i can't believe she's 5 years old. her Mommy is working a lot of hours again because of being short-staffed, so i don't get to talk to her much right now. we hope to hear from Jared this weekend. this has been a tough couple of weeks having no contact with him at all, not even a text message. i'm sure he's doing well, but i'm ready to go to the California desert and take over the mission! maybe i can work in a little REI while i'm there?

i forgot to mention the dream i had the other night. i dreamed that we bought a property from Than Merrill in one of the Dakotas. I remember Chuck writing out a check for $8000 (not sure what that number has to do with anything) and i flew to go see the property. it was all very clear and i was so excited. today i looked up the tax sale list for our county. 1872 properties are for sale. if a property is not sold at the tax sale, then it will either go to non-profit organizations or can be bought over the counter from the Building Department. i printed out the "rules" and downloaded the list of properties. the property we were looking for is not on the list because the bank filed an appeal on the tax assessment (i'm sure it was only to keep it from going to the tax sale). as long as the appeal is pending, it cannot go to the sale. however, despite being an REO, it would go to the sale if they weren't appealing the assessment. we are sure this is a stall tactic on the part of the bank, yet their price is way out of the ballpark for anyone. the tax sale list is very interesting. it shows who the owner is, their address, the property address and the minimum bid. in Indiana, you bid up. we may take some time and see what's out there. i don't think i will be back in time to attend the auction, but Chuck might go. it would be worth finding out how it all works. i posted information about that short sale house on facebook. don't know if it will do any good or not, but i thought i would give it one last try. finally got a text from Jared. today is his 25th birthday and we were all texting him. he cannot call us yet, but at least we know he survived.

i went to my REI club meeting this morning and we had Jack Bosch here to speak on land deals. it was very interesting and he did a great job speaking. seems like a nice, good guy and he does offer lifetime support. several people bought his course and it was quite expensive, in my opinion. i think he has a great idea, but i do not need one more course. i have decided to "step down" from my position with my club for now. i have way too much going on in my life and am not sure what is going to happen in the next few days, let alone months. i also do not agree with giving brand new members most of the responsibility for the club. so, i will still attend the meetings and network, but i have no interest in anything else at this time. the client i worked on the short sale with was there this morning and we talked about that deal. if they were to come back to us or if i go to them and they are willing to reconsider, then he would be interested. he knows i will be gone most of September and if he has not found a property by the time i get back, then we may work together to find him a turn-key property. i also have an investor friend who was at the meeting that wants to possibly use my services as a realtor after i get back. we plan to talk when i get back. we're also hoping to get a regular game of CashFlow going since the summer is over. one of our members brought up the game and that they are back to having their monthly game and anyone is welcome to come. i told the story about Chuck and i had one guy come up to me after the meeting and want to find out more about the game. he said it sounded like a lot of fun. i guess i'm glad Chuck wasn't there this morning because everyone enjoyed the story about him. i had to do a give-a-way this morning so i decided to ask for 3 stories: 1. the worst tenant 2. easiest deal 3. deal you thought you had lost but were able to pull it off at the last minute. seemed to go over pretty well and it was something a little different. i hope to attend the meeting of my Tulsa club while i'm there. i do love being involved and at least attending the meetings. hopefully when i attend the Tulsa meeting, i'll recognize a few faces. one of the things with the Indiana club is that we lose our "old" faces and have lots of new faces. i talked with a member today who has become quite successful and only has time to attend a few meetings each year. i still want to be faithful to come to those meetings, just like i will want to keep posting on here. we finally have some rain today and it's cooler, but still pretty humid. i'm very thankful for the rain and that it's wet, but not a driving, hard rain. i talked to Lea yesterday and we were just going along and having such a nice time talking. then she is gone and i'm talking to myself. lately this happens every time we talk. i'm beginning to think that our phones time us and when we have talked long enough, the phones hang up for us. shame!! my week is just not complete if i haven't talked to Lea. i hope you all have a great weekend.

Linda,
I just got caught up on your journal. I empathize with you concerning HUD. I tried to do a HUD last year and it was very disappointing. After jumping through all the hoops and placing the earnest money, they just never responded. I waited for a month with no word. I then withdrew my offer since I wanted to use the earnest money on other properties. After many difficulties, I got my earnest money back but the real estate agent quit answering my phone calls and emails. She must have gotten mad at me for withdrawing and I don't know why. I don't think its unreasonable to expect some kind of response within a month. The only response I ever heard back from HUD was the acceptance of my bid. This whole issue was very frustrating.
I didn't find in your journal why you are tired so many times. Do you know what is happening? Whatever it is I hope it is resolved soon. That has to be discouraging when you are trying to get things done.
Keep up the faith and you will make it. Keep trying and pushing. I think this business is like a freight train. You work like crazy to get it moving, but then it will retain the momentum and grow without a tremendous effort.
I hope you keep safe on your trip and you don't overdo the driving.
Tim

thanks for stopping by. i am very curious about your experience with HUD. i had to have all the paperwork to HUD within 48 hours and i have heard from them several times in the past few weeks. unfortunately, they are very slow and difficult to deal with, but you do hear from them. i have to wonder if something with your agent was also involved???

i am tired all the time due to thyroid issues and stage 2 adrenal fatigue. we are working on both issues and i think things are getting better. plus i just went through gluten withdrawal, which lasted about 4 weeks. any kind of stress and physical action throws me into exhaustion as well. i do believe i'm on the mend; it's just a very slow process.

i will not be overdoing the driving this time. usually i drive the 11 1/2-12 hours in one day, but not this time. i'm going to enjoy the drive, put in my REI CD's and get there when i get there. since i'm breaking it down into 2 days i can leave when i want and all that good stuff. just trying to decide how to handle my gluten-freeness. can't just stop and get a burger and keep on driving. and i will miss that!

you are right about the freight train. my Mom and i always call it the snowball effect, but it's the same idea. get that first deal and everything will snowball after that. can't wait!

Geez - its been a while since I posted here even tho I've been keeping up with you! So many people on DG now its nearly impossible to post everytime I'm on! But wanted to say hi and sure hope your HUD deal turns out with a smooth ending You are doing great with RE along with your busy life! Have a wonderful trip...a month away - enjoy it all

thanks for taking time to stop by. i was just reading your journal earlier and have to go back to it because i got sidetracked. i have a hard time keeping up with everyone too, but it really encourages me to keep going. thanks for your words of encouragement. i will have a great trip and i hope to one of these days be doing the type of travelling you are with my REI deals!

You have plenty of great things going in your REI world now. I know you will have a great time in Tulsa in REI and with the arrival of your new Grandchild right around the corner too It will be an awesome trip for you!

We were having a great conversation and then all of a sudden ... nothing. It's funny how this happens when we talk. Your right, the week is off balance for me if we don't get to talk. I always appreciate your words of wisdom and knowledge that you so openly share. I've learned quite a bit from you. You have keen insight into the view of a REA AND investors.

Enjoy your day and have a great week!

Lea

how nice to "see" you. we are gonna have to figure out this phone thing. i guess since our alarm clocks aren't working, the phones are trying to help us out. silly phones. thanks for the compliment. i think we learn from each other. i'm chomping at the bit to get travelling now; it's always like that. it's like my mind starts preparing me for that long trip way ahead of time. i'm ready to be on the road with my REI CD's plugged in and my bluetooth on my ear. Chuck calls me the entire time i'm travelling to make sure i'm doing okay. i'm gonna start packing Wednesday to make sure i remember everything, and i do use a packing list. my son-in-law is afraid i'm moving in permanently. i told my daughter when he calls from work to see if i got there, we're gonna tell him that it only took us 4 hours to unload all my stuff. that should make him very happy!!! i'm such a nice mother-in-law.

Linda, you are so bad!

Lea

i feel like i've all ready done a day's work and it's only 10:56am! i listened first thing this morning to another recording on the co-op lease/options and i have 3 to go. i want to get through them before i leave, so i will probably do another one today and then i'll have 2 left. i just emailed the realtor who helped me with the HUD paperwork asking if he will go to the closing for me. he's really hard to get a hold of by phone so i gave him my cell number to call when he has time. i called the realtor that taught my Code of Ethics class about how to possibly make sure a realtor/broker actually submits an offer and she gave me some good information. for one thing, Indiana contracts have at the back of the contract a place for the Seller to accept, reject or counter offer and sign. this was not done on the offer we submitted a couple months ago. she told me how to state it professionally that it had to be done and we were all ready to resubmit the offer. well, i went to the MLS to check on the property and it is pending. not possible!!! at this point, we have no way of knowing what the offer is, but i guess we just are not supposed to have that property. dang it!!! so, we are moving on and we are talking about approaching the small local banks to see what we might be able to work out with them, if someone hasn't all ready done that. i don't think it's real well known that you can do that, but you just never know. i will let Chuck do the talking and i will take notes; he's much braver than i am and i can use the practice of going and listening. i'm sure i'll have something to say at some point, but i need to learn from the "wheeler-dealer" i live with. i am also getting my appointments set up with my friend from Broken Arrow (suburb of Tulsa) and Erika from OKC. i get to talk REI with 2 great women, which made me think about starting a networking club for women investors here. like i need one more thing on my plate, but it could be fun and interesting.

finally, i have the go-ahead to request title work for the HUD deal. i was beginning to wonder. of course, i still have lots of questions, but the realtor who is an expert with HUD in our office is helping me. he's been very patient and i am waiting on a call from him about some of the stuff on the title work request form. after this, he'll probably change his cell number and email address so i can't find him. i think i have to get my client's signature on a waiver, which is easy since her office is 3 miles away. the really neat thing to me is that HUD's closing company faxes you a letter that says "congratulations on your winning contract!", and that makes you feel really good. i can tell that they resubmitted my contract and accepted it last week on the 18th. so, why did i have to wait until today to get the title request form? if i had gotten it last week, we could have closed before i left. they require at least 5 days to close once the request is faxed to the title company. oh, well, at least we are finally moving forward. i listened to another recording on co-op lease/options and have one more to go. i'd like to finish it today, but we will have to see. it has been great and i have really been into listening to this information. the "guru" said that he has a student in Florida who advertised for a week and now has 4 deals going all at once. i think it's a great strategy anywhere, except maybe Texas where i've heard it might be illegal. don't know that for sure but i will stay away from Texas for now. just got the call from my HUD pal and he is so good with me. when i asked if he was ready to kill me, he laughed and said not even close. thank goodness!! i don't have to take the waiver for my client to sign because we are using HUD's title company. i did hear back on my health insurance application and they had to send me a form to sign and then i got it right back to them. i hope to hear good news from them very soon. i'm ready to get rid of this expensive, no good insurance! my son, Jared, finally called last night. he is back at Fort Knox. he really did not enjoy his time in the field because of a certain person that i won't go into detail about. this person was "killed" 5 out of 6 times and that was not a good thing. Jared was not "killed" or "wounded" again, which is his usual MO. he did get to shoot the 50-cal gun from a turret and while up there, someone higher ranking mentioned that he could not get over Jared's tactical knowledge. well, my son was born for the military! he did "kill" a lot of the "bad guys" out there so he was happy. i probably won't get to see him until November, which i don't like. at least we know he is safe and did well with the training. i plan on starting to pack tomorrow for my long trip. i have a large packing list as it is, but i've never been gone this long. i drive a Pontiac G6 and i'm not sure i have enough room for everything. i might need a U-Haul to pull behind me. my son-in-law would love that!!! my mind is so ready to get on the road, but the rest of me isn't quite there yet. i know it will be. yesterday was a really good day for me; i didn't get really tired until about 9pm. today i've been on a roll again and feel pretty good. just trying to keep myself from overdoing anything so i'm ready to head out come Sunday morning. still trying to figure out how to do lease/option deals in Oklahoma with my girlfriend that lives there. i think there is a way to do it and we'll have to talk about it when i get there.

only 4 days before i leave and i'm getting that funny feeling.....ready to take off and drive. i finished up the co-op lease/option recordings and they were well worth my time. now to figure out how to put it all together. i have lease and option agreements; now i need to find a plain option and an assignment contract that will fill the bill for wholesaling lease/options. i may be able to figure them out on my own, but i would much rather have some help. i also listened to a recording today on marketing. it had some good tidbits in it and the speaker is someone i trust because she's very blunt and to the point. while i am gone, i hope to start putting a plan together for what i want to do and how i want to do it when i get home. i hope to use my friend as a sounding board; we do well bouncing ideas off each other. definitely will be working lease/options, but i also want to work with Chuck on getting a rehab going and maybe working with some small local banks here. we have a 3 or 4 within just a few miles of our house. we will need to put a plan together for that so we can present it to the banks. Chuck works a lot with the city/county government in the construction business, and he reminded me how important it is to "take care" of those people. a lady named Mary in the water department gave Chuck her direct line to call her when he needs something. last night he called her at quitting time and she was headed out the door. when he realized that, he told her it could wait until tomorrow, but she was ready and willing to stay and help him out. he buys her department candy (we have an awesome chocolate company here and he built their newest store) and always is extremely appreciative of their time and effort. it makes a huge difference on how quickly things get done and how they treat you. i'm still waiting to hear from the title company that they received my title order and how to do a wire transfer. anything over $10,000 now has to be done by irrevocable wire transfer with HUD. if i don't hear anything today, then i will contact them tomorrow. i want to give them a chance to respond first. i worked on an invoice for Chuck's personal company last night and he is actually gonna make a little money for his company. then we revised his resume and that was a trick. we got it all done and had a little time to relax together. Jared told me he got another tattoo yesterday, as if there is any room left on his body. he's over 6'2" and i can't imagine too many more places where he can fit them in. he has a couple i like, such as "freedom is not free", Alpha and Omega, and a big clover with the stem as the letter J, which 2 of his high school buddies got too (John and Josh). i cannot understand the attraction of multiple tattoos at all. well, time to start packing (with all the stuff i need to take it will be tough to get it done in 4 days ) my son-in-law made a remark about seeing how i've packed before; boy is he in for a big surprise!! he's actually a good guy, but he does give my daughter a hard time about her momma. i'm one of a kind, that's for sure.

just got back from running errands. i find this website so very hard to resist. i will have other things i need to do, yet i can barely make myself get off here at times. i went to my realty office and made copies for the agent who will be closing my HUD deal. i also stopped by to see my client because i haven't heard from her lately. she is swamped; business is good. so i am happy for her and glad that i live close by and can check on her when i feel the need to. i have not heard from the title company about my title order. i had asked in the email that they let me know they received it and of course, they did not. so, this morning i called and left a message for the girl i emailed it to. she is supposed to return my call within 24 hours so we'll see how that works out. i also asked for wiring instructions and don't have that either. i get a little frustrated because as some of you know, it's very hard to keep your clients up-to-date when you can't get the information you need. i had to go get some snacks for my trip. since it's impossible to eat gluten-free at a fast food place and keep driving, i will eat a good breakfast, then snack for lunch and eat a good supper. God forbid i would go without a meal! while at the store, i found gluten-free cream of chicken soup, which is a huge deal. i make it from scratch and it's really good, but i also love convenience. my oldest daughter makes the best broccoli/rice/cheese casserole and i need it for that. she hates to cook but will cook that and it's her mother-in-law's recipe, who is a very good cook. so now i can look forward to just using the ready-made stuff. i hope it's good. guess i better get back to packing and getting everything ready to go.

Wow Linda you seem to be taking off and doing well. Glad to see plenty of supporters keeping you company. We had a few months of set backs but maybe coming around now. Life is Good when you have support. Sorry I was gone too long. Tammy

you don't know how happy i am to "see" you again. i've been wondering about you and checking into your journal now and then. i hope things just get better and better for you from now on.

a wild day all ready and it's not even noon yet. i had to fast this morning and go get 5 vials of blood taken. i do not fast very well because i'm extremely hypoglycemic. i told the lady taking my blood that she better not stick me bad because i could turn ugly real fast. she did fine with the stick, but she had that blue tubing wrapped around my arm so tight i thought my arm was gonna fall off i also had to make sure they took enough blood this time because they have been missing a vial the last few times and i have to go back. it's not far to go but i sure don't have the time today. so far i haven't heard back from them. i hope it stays that way. i updated my GPS this morning and it was $20.00 cheaper than when i checked it a month ago. yippee!! i do love to save that money. it was kind of weird how it worked but at least i should be good to go for the trip. i am getting ready to book my hotel on priceline so i should save even more money. yay!! i will stay on the south side of St. Louis Sunday night and then get to Arkansas Monday afternoon. my dad is ready for me to get there. he called yesterday to check on me and make sure i'm still coming. as for real estate.....i never heard from the title company on the HUD deal, so i called this morning and found out some more "great" news. there is a HOA involved so HUD has to clear everything and OK it with the title company. that can take 2-4 weeks, so i could be back in time for the closing. that is good for me, but not my clients. i want them to be able to get their rehab underway and HUD just keeps holding us up. it took them 4 weeks to approve everything, then after they approved it, it took them 5 business days to get it to me so i could order title work. something is wrong with this system and it sure isn't a benefit for the buyers. no wonder the commission is higher with HUD; they make you earn it! well, i have to book my hotel and get back to packing. i got a lot done yesterday but i have a lot to go. where is that U-Haul place again???

we were awake early this morning, so we went to breakfast. it was nice to be together and it was freezing in the restaurant. it's a "hometown" place so everyone knows everyone else, and that was refreshing today. while we were eating, we discussed getting a plan together to really go after lease/options and REO's at the local/regional banks. we have 2 right down the street, 2 about 3 miles away and 1 right by the restaurant we ate at this morning. Chuck would be so good at it, but he asked if i was trying to kill him by keeping his JOB and running a few jobs on the side. no, i'm trying to make it where he can get rid of the JOB! i would help out any way i can and since i "work" from home, i can do a lot of the running, opening the places up, whatever. i would be like his personal assistant and i would make things run smoothly. i suggested we start with one bank, which he knows where he would start and they are just a couple miles down the road, and one property. see how it goes. if things were going well with one bank, you can bet other banks would want to jump on board. i asked if he knows people out of work that would run a good job for him and there would be very few. but, many times he has taken a mediocre worker and made them into a great foreman/supervisor and he can do it again. i told him i believe we can become millionaires in 5 years or less (i plan on less), but he looked at me like i'm crazy. his son has entreprenuerial aspirations and his maternal grandfather owned a lot of property and died a millionaire. Chuck has that in him and in the 90's wanted to start his own business, but he got stopped dead in his tracks and never pursued it again. i'm just crazy enough to believe we can do it. i mentioned i am trying to bring in money and i think lease/options would be a lot easier and quicker than the realtor side of things. he told me to go for it. so, i better be ready to do it when i get home. i know we can do this together! i came home and started doing the essentials, including starting laundry. i still have packing to do and we're going out for a nice dinner tonight so i don't have to cook and do dishes. Chuck is very thoughtful about those things. i talked to my son last night and he and one of his roommates (the one most like Jared) got promoted to Team Leader. he has to do 100 tasks to be certified, but now he has his own team and is very happy with that. a Team Leader has 2 guys on his team. he disarms the bombs and the other two help and keep a lookout for the enemy. i am very proud of him and what he has accomplished, even if it is a little scary for Mom. he and his roommate have also been assigned to do tactical training because most of the unit has never been deployed before. have a great weekend everyone!!!

I see you are still planning for your trip. I thought you had left already. It is really good that you are still working on your REI while preparing to go on your trip. I hope you have a good time and I am glad to hear how you have been saving all that money. Why did you have to update your GPS? I didn't know that was necessary.

Tim

i actually left this morning and am now at the hotel. it's been a long day, but things went really well. my GPS is 2 or 3 years old and it needs to be updated regularly. my dad updates his every week, but i have a different brand. it's best to buy one with lifetime updates as part of the deal. how is the back?

i made it to St. Louis in 6 1/2 hours. it was a long drive, but tomorrow will be easier. Indy and St. Louis are challenging to me. Indy had a lot of construction and lots of cops out giving tickets. i had a detour right before St. Louis, but the GPS handled it just great. you really have to pay attention to directions to get on I-44, but i did just fine. one of the reasons i wanted to leave today was because there wouldn't be much traffic in Indy and St. Louis. there was actually more traffic in Indy, which really surprised me. i made it right to my hotel, in a business district in Fenton, but i am not leaving to try and find a place to eat. Chuck packed me all kinds of stuff and i am eating in my room. i'm not familiar with this area and not keen on the idea of driving around in a place i don't know. i listened to CD's on lease/options and even though i heard them before, i really got some good info this time. the ones i listened to today were about working with realtors and it was all excellent. this time it really hit me. and the woman i was listening to partners with people in other states to do her out-of-state deals. it really gave me some ideas and i hope to present them to my friend next Saturday. if other people can do it, so can we!

Hey you be safe out there. I say you are making good time and gaining plenty of knowledge along the way. A lot has changed since we last talked but I am still coming down to pick your brain. I have some many questions and ideas. I will be busting at the seams with Wholesale and lease/option quetions and thoughts.

Oh well see you soon.

i'm still looking forward to getting together with you. are we still on for this coming Sunday, the 05th? pick a time and a place. if you don't know a place, my daughter will and she can help me with that. i will probably be on overload and you know how fast i can talk. better rest up!!! can't wait to get to talk real REI with someone!!! we will have a blast. take care and see you soon.

well, i'm on the computer this morning before i head to AR. they have a continental breakfast here, but i can't eat anything but the yogurt since it all has gluten in it. i opted for the Boost i brought with me and it seems to be doing the job right now. hopefully Dad and my Aunt will feed me well tonight. i will be listening to more lease/option CD's on my way there and i think i'm on the "buying with L/O's" set. i tell you, the ones with the realtor information was awesome and i will have to listen to them again. i've listened to them at least twice before, so i guess the 3rd time really is the charm. last night there was nothing on TV and i was so tired, but i managed to finish Dean's newest book and started 2 others. i get bored sometimes, so i always have several books/magazines going at one time. last night i started another book on L/O's, which is from 1999/2001. i love this guy's attitude most of all and he was doing co-op L/O's back then. i read the book a few years ago, but of course, did nothing with it. now i'm reading it with a whole new outlook and attitude. the other book is by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone. the name is "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" and was first published in the 60's. i have read "Think and Grow Rich", but i don't like it that well. i know everyone else in the world loves that book, but it didn't hit me like it did everyone else. so far, this "new" one i'm reading is far more interesting to me. i went back and forth between the 2 books last night for quite a while. i probably won't have time to read and work on the computer tonight because i'll want to visit with my Dad, Aunt and some of her kids and grandkids. it's been a while since i've seen any of them. poor Erika and my friend, Cynde. i will be talking their ears off about real estate! i hope they don't gag me and throw me out in the street to play in the traffic with a butcher knife. when i get excited, i talk faster and faster. well, i guess i should get some makeup on so i don't scare the public and then get loaded up and on the road. can't wait to listen to those L/O CD's! that makes a long trip like this so worth while. have a great day!

i finally got here to see my Dad and Aunt. i spent 1 1/2 hours driving winding roads in podunk towns with populations of 721. it wasn't quite the "Deliverance" type of towns like i've been through in Alabama and Florida, but it was bad enough. we are out in the middle of nowhere and this is typical AR. it is very hot and humid too. we are going out to eat in a couple hours, thank goodness. i need a real meal. not sure i have anything here i would want to check into for REI. i think i will keep my eyes peeled, but mostly on the roads because of the constant curves. this actually might not be too bad an area for L/O's, but i will have to see. have a great evening.