Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

thanks for stopping in. i have not had much success with CL, to be honest, but i think maybe having an actual property would make a difference. i do need to get a flyer up at the one store that has a bulletin board too.

accomplishing what i need to on my to-do list depends on how focused i am. right now i'm a lot more focused than i have been. i was fortunate when raising my kids; i was strict and they knew when and when not to bother me. they were good kids and very close and i was able to be so much more focused back then. the last several years have been harder with mom sick, moving back to IN and going through all these health challenges. it's nice to see that i'm improving. one thing i will say about my kids: they all do very well focusing. i wish i could say i passed that on to them.

at least now you have some help from your husband. i've been enjoying reading about how he is coming along. i'm so happy for you. and congrats on this deal too!

today was much cooler and we finally have a little sunshine this afternoon. i'm watching the Colts game; mom always loved them and Payton Manning especially. i've been cleaning this weekend and doing pretty well considering it usually totally exhausts me. i'm drinking my EmergenC too, which gets me through every day. i'm so thankful i have it. i have been going through everything i can find on L/O's. i truly believe that i need to "throw" everything else out for now and concentrate totally on doing L/O's. that has been what i've always wanted to do for years, despite what anyone else has said about what i should be doing. i did not realize how many people are "experts" at them, yet most people don't know about them. i plan on becoming the L/O expert here, then moving out of my area. i intend to work with Realtors at some point, but i'm not sure i want my broker involved. so, i may just wait until i get my broker's license and go out on my own. i'll be posting another ad on CL this evening. i got a few responses, but no one has sent back the questionnaire i send everyone right up front. if they don't want to fill that out, then i know they are not serious. so....no serious inquiries last week. once i get a property under contract, we'll see if i get better responses. tomorrow i will start marketing for properties. i have been marketing for buyers for months; now it is time to see what having a property will produce. i'm not a fan of ghost ads myself, although i know others use them successfully. maybe it's just my attitude toward them and i've felt that way from the very beginning.

I like your plan to become the L/O expert in your area. You know so much about them already. I think it's a wonderful idea for you to get your broker's license so you can reap the benefits and call the shots.

Best of luck with all the C/L ads and thanks for the tip on when to run them. Like anything else there are serious L/O buyers out there it's just weeding through the other ones that takes time.

Lea

ads to your website and have a lead form there. That has worked great for me! It weeds the serious buyers out.

Use your proptrend to find preforeclosures and find an owner who will lease to you and go for it! Buyer + Seller = DEAL! Woot WOot!

thanks for stopping by. great to talk to you this morning.

i am excited and ready to go with the L/O's. now to get others to do business with me.

thanks for stopping by. i have done what you suggest with CL and tried other things too. not much success so far, but i will keep plugging away. it could just happen all of a sudden.

i like that idea on preforeclosures. i will have to try that too.

i am moving right along, but now it's getting a little scary. i actually posted a CL ad for sellers. i just threw something together to see what kind of response i'll get, if any. i will be actively looking for ads that have motivated sellers too, but i wanted to see if i can get any response from running an ad myself. we have a house behind us that has been a FSBO for a couple months, maybe 3, now. Chuck wants me to knock on the front door and introduce myself and tell them what i have to offer. i told him i'm really working on getting out of my comfort zone, but that is way too far out for me right now!! i've been listening to some recordings on L/O's and the Q&A segments too. i'm saturating myself with all of this because the more i listen, study, etc., the more i want to go for it. Lea called this morning and we had a nice visit. she is moving in a great direction for her that covers 2 of her passions. i love it. a wholesaler friend of mine had to pull his contract on a house. the seller didn't have it secured, there was possibly a squatter in the house and it takes a couple thousand dollars to get them out, and there was more wrong with the house than originally suggested. L/O's seem such a better way to go for me. i emailed my friend in Tulsa to just check in with her, and her husband was going to court to evict one of their tenants. they really don't want to mess with their rentals anymore and i'm going to suggest they offer them as handyman specials on a L/O. i have to get my scripts, contracts, etc., in order so i can take calls. my coach has always wanted me to take calls and that is mostly what i'm hearing from everyone else, so i'm going to bite the bullet and do it.

it's cloudy and cold here; feels kind of like winter. i'm not quite ready for that. time is moving so quickly and i just have not kept up. i worked quite a bit today on my tenant and seller scripts. i even made a separate script for cold calls to sellers, but it may take me a while to work up to that. i did find some good texts for texting to sellers and will try that through google voice; it's free to do it that way. i can also call through google voice and not have my personal phone numbers show up on the call. i also posted seller and buyer ads on CL. i printed off some ads for buyers and sellers i have with a course i bought some time ago. they are simple and we will see how they work. so far, not much going on. i know that this is holiday time and things usually slow down during November and December, but i've always done the opposite of what people say. when we put our OK home up for sale in October 2004, the realtor told us it would be on the market for months. we sold it in 2 weeks. so, i don't listen to that stuff too much. anything can happen and it's how you think about it and your attitude toward it. so....i'll probably have at least 5 deals during the slow time. now, that's something to get excited about! i have some videos to watch now because my schedule has been out of whack all day. then i have a webinar on L/O's at 9pm and i pray i can stick with it. i'm sure it will be very interesting and helpful, but those late webinars are hard on me.

Here is a link I think you'll like.

http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/marketing-buyers-and-sell...

Lea

cool. thanks. and thanks for all the stuff you sent me. big help.

can't wait to hear about your call this afternoon. $3000 drop is not bad at all. it could have been worse.

what a day. last night i was on a webinar at 9pm and barely made it to the end. i was so tired i could barely walk, but i took good notes. first thing this morning i went to the dentist. everyone there is very sweet and gentle, and they do a good job. my teeth quit hurting a couple days ago, which always happens. they ache for 2 weeks before the appointment, then stop right before. my teeth and gums are great, so i don't know what the deal is. Chuck told me i was clacking my teeth the other night and i know i grit them in my sleep too, but he was laughing in his sleep. got my car washed and put my magnetic signs back on my car. i had taken them off while i was out of town and decided it was time to get back to business. came home and posted 2 ads on CL. the seller ad did not get posted and i'm not sure why, but i have just learned that you should always check your ad to make sure it really did post. just because they send you a confirmation email saying your ad was posted does not mean it really is. make sure! i will try something different tomorrow. i also posted for sellers and buyers on my facebook page. something new. i may just do it again tomorrow. my Success Academy coach called me for the last time and we both felt so bad about it. she has been wonderful and such a huge encouragement to me. she said i have to email her with my first deal. i will. we've really enjoyed our calls and hate to see them end, but i guess it's time for me to "grow up". i will still have access to all the coaches, but she is very special. i got a call from a T/B lead today. we'll see if i get the questionnaire back that i emailed him. i never had any problems getting those back before. i also got a call from an investor down in Indy. he may have a referral for me. he called me back about the split if he gives me a referral and wants 50%. i'm okay with that to get my first deal, i guess. if he's only giving me a name, i'm not sure that is worth 50%. anyone have an opinion on that? i emailed him the questionnaire and the "spiel" about what we do. he also tried to pick my brain a little about lease/options, telling me he has done them for years but who do i follow? i gave him a couple names. i told Lea he sounded like a big talker, but he may be for real. who knows? i just have to tread carefully. Chuck mentioned that he is concerned about his job situation. i keep bringing up the REO thing with the banks. what is it gonna take to get through??? just because i'm slow doesn't mean he has to be. oh, except that he is slower than i am. help!!!

For the 50%, tell him if the T/B ends up purchasing a home from you, you will give him a finders fee of $ amount or %. If someone is going to give you $20K option fee, its much different that someone giving you $3K option fee, so it would all depend upon the amount of an option fee they pay. Fill out a bird dog agreement with him that lays out the terms, and also if it makes him feel better a NCND form.

About the FSBO next door. What do you have to lose? I KNOW its outside the comfort zone, but at least take the number down and give him a call. Use your questionaire sheet you got with the RESA workbooks. Start asking questions, find out motivations, and get into it. My first call was horrible, but after 10 of them, all the inhibitions were gone and I actually started getting pretty good at it! To the point I'm comfortable with making calls now! (even with screaming kids in the background.

At least you got a personal coach the whole way through. I got one call at the very beginning, and that was me on my own! LOL They didn't tell me I had to pay more for a personal coach. Couldn't go more that $7500 though! Even that was pushing it way past the limits!

On your forms, I always find interviewing them over the phone about what they need and can afford is very forthcoming. They will share because its more one on one than an email. SO, for your follow up email maybe try sending them your phone number (or putting your gmail phone number in the ad itself) so you can have the personal contact with them. You'll get them fast that way! Just have a form all ready to go (the retail buyers form from the RESA workbook is all I'm using) is sufficient. It will guide you right through the interview with them. I wish you luck! Excited to see you into a deal of your own too!

Thanks for sharing the info about double checking CL ads.

About the guy giving you a name and wanting 50%. I suppose if that is what it takes to get the deal done then it's worth considering but it sounds steep for a lead. I guess that's one of the things you'll have to weigh out.

I'm with Tammy about you talking to people. You WILL get more comfortable with it. You are already a natural and have so much knowledge. I think you will be happily surprised and impressed with yourself My first cold call was terrible. Now they aren't scary and I even enjoy them at times.

Lea

i really did some thinking about that fee for a name thing, and there is no way he is going to get 50% when i'm doing all the work and he only gave me a name. even with a deal happening, which is the only way i would pay anyway, it's not a good deal. i think he was pretty slick and thought that of himself. probably testing me to see how inexperienced i was. but, i am happy with my decision and will post what i emailed him.

yes, i do need to call that FSBO. i may text them first, then let them call me. i have heard that texting is a good means for first contact and i can do it free through google voice.

i only paid what you did for the personal coach. i think they tailor the program to a specific person's needs, from what i am reading on the website here. i am not sure how it works exactly, but i was really specific about what i wanted since i had been burned twice before with other programs.

i had 2 calls yesterday and i am seeing the value in talking to them over the phone. i have to make myself do it, but i think it is worth it.

thanks for your input. i appreciate it.

yes, i had to rethink that lead payment. i was just taken off guard and had a mental block for some reason. but, it got unblocked. i will post what i emailed him this morning.

i don't do too bad on the calls (except for sometimes giving away the farm!), but it's just something i have in my head. not sure why because i love to talk on the phone and i've been doing it personally and professionally for years. kind of a dumb idea, in my opinion, and not sure where i got it. but, i am forcing myself to do it and just get on with it. i think it does make a difference.

as per my post from yesterday, i put a lot of thought into why i said i would pay this guy 50% of my deal for a name. i was cooking (danger zone!) and i got to thinking about it. i don't know where my mind was when he asked me, but i was totally dumbstruck that i would agree to that. not sure where my mind was at the time, but i think i have it back now. i emailed him this morning and this is what i said:
"i got to thinking last night and i think i totally misunderstood what you were saying about splitting the deal with you. if you are just giving me a name, there is no way i can split the deal 50/50. i would be doing all the work and then giving half the money away. maybe i'm misunderstanding what your input would be in the deal, but since you're in Indy and i'm a couple hours away, i see it as me doing the work and paying 50% for a name. for that, i pay $300-500 depending on the specific deal, especially in this economy. i apologize for the misunderstanding."
i didn't want to say too much and just blamed it on me misunderstanding what he was saying. hopefully it works out fine, but i have to remember that i have never met him; don't know what he looks like and he doesn't know what i look like; this is purely business and i have every right not to be "taken". so we'll see what happens. plus, the person whose name he was going to possibly give me wants a house in an area i don't work in.

yesterday i mentioned that i posted ads on my facebook wall and one of my investor friends from my REI club messaged me to contact him today. he wants to meet for lunch and run a few things by me. he is a serious, full-time investor so my interest is piqued. we'll see what happens. i hope it's not something about me doing anything wrong. i shouldn't think that way, but you just never know. i do trust him though, so that's a good thing. he would only tell me something to help me out.

well, i guess i better get back to work. this REI keeps me busy.

i may be doing this throughout the day. who knows? i talked to the investor friend and he wants to have lunch with me and talk to me about where he's headed business-wise. then see if i want to get involved somehow. should be interesting. he's going to call me back later since he was driving when i called.

i just got a call from one of me T/B ads, but i'm not too happy about it. i recognized the name immediately and was on guard. he is very crooked and is a contractor/REA. i will have to be very careful here because he cannot be trusted. i'm very uncomfortable here. he can be very charming, yet it's not the real him. he mentioned doing a land contract and i said i only do L/O's. i also told him i require 3.5% nonrefundable option consideration down (FHA guidelines) and that they do credit repair and talk to my mortgage broker. i did send him my questionnaire and acted professionally, but i do not trust him for one minute. not really sure how to handle this. i can't discriminate against him so i just pray he goes elsewhere and leaves me alone. of course, his money spends just like everyone else's but i would have to be really careful. ugh!

i now think that this prospective T/B (bad guy) holds his RE license with my broker. he filled out the questionnaire, then had the receptionist at the office call and let me know he put it in my mailbox. i'm really uncomfortable with this. i am meeting with my investor friend tomorrow afternoon and i plan on asking him how i should handle it. he's very professional and hopefully he can help me. i am supposed to be working on my contracts, but that hasn't happened yet. every time i think i'm ready to work on them, i get interrupted and side-tracked. it doesn't look like it will happen tomorrow either. on top of that, i have to apply for more insurance. the guy that helped me with the company that just declined me did some checking and we're going to try one more company. at least he cares; the other agents have just blown me off when i was declined. i've about had it with insurance. i talked to Jared a little last night and he has a cold and they are working over 12 hours each day. he said his runny nose is driving him nuts. i will have to suggest he just stuff kleenex up each nostril and go about his day. he's just the kind of kid to do it too. then Danelle called and said Grayson may have the chicken pox and was sent home from pre-school. then i get an email from my sister that she is on the way to the ER because she can't breathe. at least the hospital is right down from her office. at least i am doing pretty well today, despite that call from the bad guy. i have not heard anything back from the guy down in Indy that wanted the 50/50 split for a name. duh! where was my brain? at least i am moving forward and i'm learning. sometimes it's a little scary!

i may have to get on my soap box just a bit here. bear with me. this week i truly changed my attitude and said i'm getting deals, ready or not. this was after reading an e-book by someone who is not my favorite REI, but it still hit home. since that time, things have ramped up this week and are moving faster and faster. whether it lasts or not, we will see, but this week has been interesting, to say the least. i found out that the "bad guy" prospective T/B is not a realtor with my broker, so i am thankful for that. i haven't figured out how to handle the situation as of yet, but i'm still working on it. any suggestions would be appreciated. as i was getting ready to leave for my meeting, the realtor who originally recruited me for this broker (he is now gone from that broker) called and we set up a lunch meeting for Monday. he wants to touch base and give me some ideas and let me know what is going on with him now. Chuck is convinced he's not just interested in me as a realtor, but i reminded Chuck that i am no spring chicken either. he does seem to keep popping up and "watching over" me, but maybe he just thinks i need his help. i'm very interested to see what he has to say about RE. i met with my investor friend who is really ramping up his business. we talked quite a bit and he is always so helpful with information. i will share what he told me in a bit. the reason he wanted to meet was to ask if i would be interested in being his property manager after the first of the year. his business is growing so much that he can't do it all himself and is now working on outsourcing. he would pay me the customary 10% of gross rents collected, but let me tell you, it's a lot of work for that amount of money. my thinking is that he would help me with my own deals (he said he would) and i'd have access to all kinds of information/learning. he knows my full intention is to invest. he said i can do L/O's all day long because that is where it's at right now. i told him i am interested and he said let's leave it that i'm the one he has asked. i reminded him that i would need to be taught a lot because i'm basically green on all this, but he said he can teach me everything but honesty and that's why he came to me. that made me feel really good because my whole reputation is built on honesty. he also needs a realtor to do the management and be legal. my broker would have to be in on this so he is checking into something for me. i would definitely want to get my broker's license if i was going to continue with property management. it's always been something i've wanted to do, so lots of pluses. here is what he told me about L/O's in IN - they have to be under 3 years or it's automatically a land contract and that gives the T/B equitable interest and they would have to be foreclosed on if they defaulted, instead of evicted with a L/O. i have decided not to give rent credits because it's just increasing the price and then giving it back as a rent credit. silly to me, but it makes people think they are getting something for nothing. it ain't so. i'll just tell them up front about that. also, in IN if you give rent credits, they come right off the top so they are issued to the tenant even if they pay late. you can't disqualify the rent credits for any reason. so, they are out. he also recommended using www.mrlandlord.com for my credit, background and criminal checks, which was what i was thinking of doing. he checks it on everyone 18 years old and older and charges them for that. i emailed the credit repair company that my mortgage broker recommended and they called me this afternoon. really nice guy and the main office is in Louisville, KY, right by Fort Knox. how cool is that??? anyway, he is emailing me his information. i would be able to access and monitor my clients' information so i make sure they are doing what they agreed to. my title company lady emailed me back and she can't do anything i was hoping for, but i think everything is still good on how i will proceed. i also got a call back from Nancy at www.reportrent.com. they report rent payments to Trans Union for people trying to rebuild their credit. i can sign them up or the T/B can sign themself up. it's $199/year per T/B and no monthly fees. what i'm thinking is that i can tell them i report their rent to the credit bureau and then charge them the $199 in the option consideration fee. that way i can report it whether they pay or not, and they will be more inclined to pay on time. then i'm probably only going to do 12-month L/O's with the right to renew if they have fulfilled all obligations and everyone is agreeable. then, if they do renew the L/O, i will charge them a smaller option consideration and add the $199 to it again. lots of things to figure out as i go along, but no more excuses for waiting and analyzing and studying and not making any deals/money!!! i'm so ready! how about you?

WOW! You are on a roll About the bad guy (wolf in sheep's clothing) you kind of gave yourself an answer on that already in your last post in a different section/topic. You wrote "my whole reputation is built on honesty." You have worked hard and long to get where you are. Let no one take this away from you. You're gut is telling you something and you have every right to protect your business and reputation. Keep this in mind when you 2 speak. Please keep us posted on how this goes.

Lea

yeah, i hope i stay on a roll. i am still working on how to handle the bad guy. i want to be professional, yet protect myself. part of me is saying it will work itself out; i hope that is true.

Chuck took me to breakfast this morning, then i headed to my REI club meeting. i find it interesting that the woman who wanted to be me (poor thing) has not been to the last 2 meetings. not sure what is up with that, but we'll see what happens in January. we don't have meetings in December because it's too close to Christmas. we had an attorney speak today and he was very good. i took a lot of notes. here is what he said: "you can have your business account at the same bank as your personal accounts. you can even use your personal account as a business account at times, but never the other way around. if you have a single-member LLC you still are protected if there is a charging order against your LLC. (i was told that you lose that protection with a single-member LLC, but apparently that is wrong.) always be sure to keep annual minutes for your LLC or other entities. do not pretend to be the entity. you are an employee only. when you sign a check or other paperwork/contracts, sign your name and Member, President, etc. keep yourself separate from the entity; it is not your alter ego. you say your company owns these properties; they are not your properties. he likes limited liability entities best. do not put high-risk properties in the same entity with low-risk properties. L/O's can be considered the same as a land contract when you start giving rent credits. it starts giving them equity, so in my opinion, one more good reason to leave rent credits out of the picture." that's not everything, but most of it. it was a good meeting. before the meeting we were all talking and i brought up the bad guy. the attorney told me that i can just say i can't help him. if he questions that, i can just say it's business and a direction i don't want to go. i'm not breaking the fair housing laws because i'm not discriminating against him for any reason included in the laws. i need to check and make sure my S-Corp in OK is still valid. i don't remember receiving anything from them this summer for me to file. i should do my OK deals through that S-Corp if it's still "alive". after the meeting, i was talking to a realtor who's been one for 25 years and really now just invests. he told me that he still pays his broker his split, even on his personal deals, because if he gets sued, his broker has to go to court too. as long as you are a realtor, you are one 24/7 and the broker is liable. the way he said it made me feel it's the right thing to do with my broker and not try to get out of it. through talking with him and then the guy who wants me to be his property manager, we decided i need to get my broker's license right away. so.....i have to come up with the money to do that. i am figuring it will cost about $1200, give or take, to take the classes, the test and pay certain fees to be a broker. it would most likely be worth it, so i have to get some deals popping. my investor friend told me to get my broker's license, then let him know because he wants me on board with his company. he also said he will help me with all my deals and teach me at no charge. so.....i guess i better get on it. there is a married couple in our club that just started investing, but they are moving right along. the wife is a real go-getter and her husband is real quiet. after the meeting her husband asked what kind of houses i'm looking for and could they send some my way. i said i want pretty houses and not listed on the MLS. i'm not quite ready to approach that yet. i want a few deals under my belt, then be able to present that to realtors. being a broker myself will just strengthen the whole thing for me. i did manage to clean a couple rooms today too, which means i'm getting stronger and better. i didn't sleep too well last night and was so tired when i got up. Chuck made me my EmergenC energy drink and after a few sips, i was good to go. i'm still going. i emailed a DG friend i've been concerned about and i heard from her today. she is really busy and has been through so much, but she is hanging in there and studying tax liens. life can really throw us curve balls but i so admire the people who take it in stride and keep right on going. have a great weekend!

today is warmish out but gloomy and wet. we need the rain, but it's been sparse. i hung 2 flyers at the grocery store on their bulletin board. i just placed 2 ads on craigslist and we will see if they actually get posted or not. i called the OK Secretary of State to make sure my S-Corp there is still in good standing and asked how to update the information. it will cost me $50.00 to file an amendment changing my last name and address in the information. they are supposed to send me a form to fill out but i can also do it online. then i called the OK Tax Commission because i never received the annual franchise tax return notice. it was due in July, but since i have no income to report, there should not be a fine. they are sending me that form with my new address. hopefully it gets corrected for real this time. i went to lunch with the realtor that recruited me for the broker i'm with. he paid, so it's always nice to have a free lunch. he is no longer a realtor, but is available if i have any questions. he is a very straight-up guy with regard to how things should be done, so that will be a big help to me in the industry. he is getting his mortgage broker's license and will be working about 4 miles from my home office. of course he wants me to send business his way, but he mentioned not having anything to do with people he can't help. gee, who could help them??? i told him to send them my way and when they cash out a home, i will recommend him as an option for financing. he seemed very happy with that. i cannot pay him any kind of a fee because here in IN a realtor cannot pay anyone a fee who is not a realtor. bummer!! he too agrees that i should become a broker and do my own thing. i do not have an employee mentality and unlike the rest of my world, i'm very happy with that! i did get a call from another prospective T/B yesterday and sent her my questionnaire, but i have not received it back. i know there are good T/B's out there and they WILL find me.

i am waiting on my middle daughter, Danelle, and her 2 kids to get here. she left OK at 3:45am and is almost here. over 750 miles with a 2-year old and a 2-month old. i can't wait to see them and i'm sure they are ready to get out of the car. they are gonna stop here for a bit, then are staying with my sister who has more room and a 5-year old with lots of toys and a big playroom. i texted Jared and let him know his room and bathroom are ready. he said awesome! i'm sure he's ready to get here too. they've been packing all their gear up for Afghanistan, so this Thanksgiving is very important to me. Lea and i got to talk a little this morning and yesterday afternoon. so much going on right now with business and the holidays, but it's so good to talk with a good friend. the guy i met with yesterday emailed me a really nice email and i need to answer him back; just haven't had time yet. he met with his boss after our meeting and she was very agreeable to sending leads my way. he said he values my knowledge of the business, which is a huge compliment since he was a realtor for 15 years. he and his boss want to give me leads that can't get a home loan for at least 6-12 months and i would think that would mean farther out too since i can do a L/O for up to 35 months. i guess i better start finding some houses to put these lovely people in. rather exciting, but again, i feel like i'm faking my way through. okay, I'LL FAKE IT TIL I MAKE IT!! we had to go to the grocery store last night for a "few" things and i got to see my 2 flyers hanging on the bulletin board. i hope i get some seller responses. CL flagged and removed my seller ad and i'm really getting frustrated with them. gimme a break!! i've never had that happen before and i think they are getting a bit carried away. i don't think i mentioned that a couple in my REI club found a couple of their properties on www.kijiji.com. it's not as popular as CL and all that good stuff, but they have had luck with it. i will be checking for properties on there. they are associated with ebay. well, i guess i'll finish up and keep an eye out for my kids.

i hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. mine was extra special spending it with my son before he deploys to Afghanistan and i hated to see him leave this morning. my middle daughter and her family are still here; her husband flew in this morning. right now i have a little break while Chuck is hunting and Danelle and family are at my sister's. my grandson has been a little sicky and granddaughter had ear infections in both ears and some respiratory stuff going on. i woke up yesterday with my throat almost swollen shut and my ears and body hurting bad. i went to Redi-Med right away, but before i went i took 5 ibuprofen (doctor said i should be careful about that) and drank my EmergenC drink. my throat went down and my ears were just fine. the doctor did give me an antibiotic and i'm doing better today. trying not to overdo it so i can get well quickly. Will probably be a few days before i get back into the swing of things in REI. kind of hard to do anything with a house full of company, and the baby's bed is in my office. barely enough room to get in here and sit at the computer. i am missing it! may the start of December bring unbelievable REI deals to us all!!

i cannot believe it's almost December. where does the time go? i have some time to myself today while the kids go to see Notre Dame and a winery. i didn't think i could take the ride today and figured i better do some work. the "bad guy" called me yesterday, but with my grandson hollering and playing, i could barely hear him. i did email him today with more questions because i was unclear about some things on his questionnaire. he is not looking to move until February, so not sure why he wants to stay in touch right now. i did some quick looking for the type of properties he wants, but so far not much but one MLS property listed with an agent i will not approach at this time. she has quite the reputation around here and i'm not ready to get that far out of my comfort zone. i did some looking on www.forsalebyowner.com and i need to start contacting these owners. i hope to get on that Thursday or Friday. the kids are heading to Jared's on Thursday, but most likely it will be late in the day. they want to spend a little more time with him before heading home on Friday. it is really dreary and cold today, but i guess that means it's almost winter. i was reading another journal on here earlier about "driving for dollars" and getting to know your neighborhoods where you want to invest. a really great idea. i looked up the house we made an offer on back in July. it finally sold for $25,000, which blows our minds because it will take at least that to rehab it and then it might sell for $55,000. maybe they intend to keep it as a rental. i also noticed that the selling agent is the one that works that neighborhood pretty hard, so i bet he has plenty of investors he works with in that area. i'm not interested in wholesaling at this point, but it is definitely something to keep in mind. i have not been running ads through the holiday/company time because i did not want to have to answer phone calls with lots of noise in the background. i will start running them again after the kids leave. i applied one more time for health insurance. this is the last time. i have talked to the underwriter a couple times and she's very pleasant. i asked if she considers how well i'm doing now and she said yes. we'll see how that turns out. i finally decided to leave it in God's hands. He knows i need good creditable insurance and i've done everything i know to do. now God can take it on and work it out. i'm done with it. at least i should have insurance through my realty company, but it's pretty crappy. better than nothing, i guess. i touched base with my friend in Tulsa about doing some deals together. does anyone know of a good partnership agreement? we are good friends but i wouldn't do a deal without benefit of that agreement. i guess that's all for now. i just don't feel quite right if i don't post on here regularly. one good habit i have formed and i'm working on the others.

today we are getting what i call our first real snow and it's sticking. it is cold and windy out too, but kind of fun to be out in it. this is the kids' last day so i won't get much REI done, but i did get a call from another prospective T/B. he got my information from a flyer i put up at the grocery store. he said they have been renting for 6 years and are tired of it. we'll see what happens. sounded like a nice young man. i keep reminding myself that i can have all the prospective T/B's i want, but i have to have houses to put them into as well. so, i will be contacting sellers as soon as i can. it might not be until Monday, but i'm doing it. at least i know that my ads/flyers are getting a little response. everyone always thinks i have what i call a "stable of houses". i think i better get to work on it ASAP!

Glad you are enjoying the day with your family and the first real snow fall. It started out nice this morning and has gotten colder every hour all day. Tonight will be in the upper 40's.

Glad you got another T/B. I know the properties will be coming soon . Good going on the fliers.

Lea

You are going to do a deal soon! I can feel it!

We had our first snow in the mountains very early this year! It came the weekend before Thanksgiving! So the kids have gotten to sled twice already this season! We just bought them ski passes for the year! They are so excited!

I just closed on my deal; what a lot of unnecessary headache and stress! I will not be switching lenders midway through EVER again! No matter how good another one sounds, promises or even approves! Best to you!

thanks for stopping by. back to work today and trying to do more catching up. i miss the kids but have to keep moving forward.