Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

I am the same as you and have gotten behind on reading other journals.

I am trying to catch up some today. I even was way behind on reading the posts on my OWN journal!

I was flattered that you were able to utilize my thoughts on the rental deposit. Like you, I read info from a number of gurus and talk to lots of other people who are already successful and when I come across an idea that I like, I try to share.

I like that there are a number of us here now who are doing L/Os and can share our ideas.

The new house you have found sounds very nice! Ill bet T/Bs will love it, too!

As far as your points, Dean DOES give credit for them for Edge 2011. Up to 2000 points. Check it out.

Keep up the good work!

Karen

so good to "see" you. i was just wondering about you. how is work going?

i really appreciate your willingness to share. i have read so many opinions just on this one issue, but i think you are on the right track. this house i have under contract - the sellers want a $500 deposit and i can work with that, but usually i will not do that unless the seller is set on it.

i haven't heard back from the sellers from last night, but it's a lot to digest. no matter what, it was really nice speaking to them. i will follow up with them if i don't hear something by tomorrow.

it is so nice out, a little cloudy, but in the high 40's. yes, we are melting! i was going to run errands tomorrow, but i just felt that i should do that today, so i did. everything went so smoothly. i had some old thyroid meds that i wanted to get rid of, but didn't know how. i called Walgreens and they told me the Sheriff's Office not far from us collects them and burns them. i headed there first and the officer i talked to was great. now i know where to take that stuff and not contaminate our landfills and/or water. then i stopped off to see Chuck real quick at his office because he was heading to Battle Creek, MI for a big job meeting and will be home later. i swung around the corner to my broker's office and signed up for the transfer back to his old brokerage name and paid my $10.00 transfer fee. i have to check on insurance coverage since it is through the company he is leaving, but i think it will still be ok from what i'm being told. i'll call tomorrow and find out for sure. i did a few other things, then went out to check on the Omee Court house to see how much snow is still there and if i can get in on Friday. By Friday we should be in good shape. tomorrow i'm going to print a couple flyers and get them taped to the front storm door and the living room window. i also got all the stacks dealt with in my office and am ready to clean it. i keep looking to make sure i'm in the right office. nothing back from the sellers i met with last night. am i being impatient? not me. i would just really like to get my hands on that house and work with those people. (as far as i know, after last night) anyway, i hope to hear from them soon. the wife said they would get right back to me and she does seem to be someone who is very much on the ball. i am seeing where a lot of people post their current deals on a dry erase board and i want to do that. (like i have so many deals to keep track of, but i think it's a good habit to start) i heard Larry Goins say that you can buy white masonite wallboard (that is used in bathrooms) at Lowe's or Home Depot for $20 because the actual dry erase boards tend to be very expensive the bigger they are. i'm going to have to check that out because i would like to get in the habit of that now and when i'm much busier, it will be easy because i've been doing it all along. creating new habits can be really important and that is what i'm concentrating on a lot lately. i did an online appointment-type thing with my doctor and he is going to up my thyroid medicine a tiny bit. i've been feeling so exhausted again, yet stronger than i was before. this should make it better. my cholesterol is doing crazy things. i've been taking aged Kyolic garlic and my LDL went down 30 points, but my triglycerides went up 100 points. so, i will continue with the garlic and add omega-3's. i sure hope we get this right pretty soon. why couldn't i be a textbook case, instead of always testing everything a doctor does/doesn't know???? i guess it gives them "good practice".

i'm moving slow today; had a hard time getting up. can't wait to get on my new thyroid dosage! i called about my insurance since my broker is leaving the company i got it through. the insurance goes with me, which helps. someone from Larry Goins office called me last night (i missed the call) so i returned it this morning and had to leave a message. i had to balance my business checkbook and with Microsoft Money that takes a few minutes. i worked on my taxes a little. i have found that if i do a little each day i am not overwhelmed or so tired of it. it's easy, but tedious. today i worked on them for 30 minutes. i'm close to being done. i fully cleaned/swept my office today and it's so nice. now to keep it that way. i have a little work space again and it feels nice (weird but nice ) i still need to run a couple flyers to hang at the Omee Court house tomorrow and that won't take long at all. need to go through my checklist for that house too. i need to confirm the appointment for tomorrow to show the Omee house and see if she received the questionnaire i sent to fill out and get back to me. i will connect google voice to my cell phone for the appointment tomorrow, then turn it off and only have it for my house phone. i love being able to do things like that. i always thought google voice was free where the cell phone is concerned, but now i'm not so sure. i also want to take some time to start looking for houses for specific T/B's, which should give me an "in" with some sellers too. i have confirmed an appointment for 4pm on Saturday to pick up the contracts and take pictures of the house i went to see Tuesday evening. i think they are excited to get started. when i emailed the seller wife this morning, i mentioned 4 websites they can start checking out for places to move into. i can help them with that and remembered to mention it. what a good girl. i will have my REI club meeting Saturday morning, then meet with my new sellers in the afternoon. i hope i can survive the excitement! i emailed the commercial broker about trying to find out when we can see the 8-unit and do it in daylight, but no answer again. if i don't hear something today, i'll call him tomorrow afternoon. he said my emails go into his spam. maybe he should fix that??

That is great news. Let us (me) know what happens.

That s so cool that you got that new house!

That one should go quickly!

thanks for stopping in. i just need to find some T/B's for both houses now, although these sellers i'm meeting with tomorrow have no place to move yet. i'm hoping to help them with that too.

hey, girl. glad to "see" you. i think it will go quickly but i have to see what the sellers can do about moving out if they don't have a place to move to yet. who said i love a challenge???

i'm so ready for the weekend, yet it's gonna be busy too. showing the Omee house was cancelled due to the prospective T/B needing an MRI this morning. i'm supposed to call her at 7:30pm tonight to see if we can set something up for Sunday. i also had a woman from the Sheriff's Department email me about that house and saying she needs to move asap. that always puts me off a bit, but i sent her the stuff to fill out and we'll see how quick i get it back. she said she found me on www.irenttoown.com. i don't even remember posting on there, but i remember being on that site. she actually emailed me at my new email address and i was surprised. Lea and i talked this morning and went over some interesting things. we help each other with brain storming, etc. Chuck and i are going to be deciding on signs to make for the 2 houses. i warned the new sellers that they wouldn't be pretty but they draw more attention. we are running out to the Omee house to put flyers in the house tonight after supper. i would have done it this morning, but we decided to do it together. i got a call from a young investor that was a member of our REI club. he called on my CL ad for sellers (first person ever!!!) and he has a duplex to sell, but i don't care for the area. we visited a bit and i told him to send me info. a few months ago he bought a package deal of 8 houses for $48,000 and the cash flow is $4000 monthly. he's very happy about that and won't sell it for double. he said he just lost a $1 million lawsuit and he doesn't care. wrapping it up allows him to move forward. he is wholesaling mostly right now and has closed 5 deals since the first of the year. he is a real go-getter. i tried to upload pictures of the Omee house to one of my websites and as usual, couldn't figure it out. every time i want to do something on that website, i have to email the help desk to either have them do it for me or give me the directions. i am so tired of messing with it. the help desk is very helpful, but i shouldn't have to do that every time i want something done. i'm thinking about letting it go, but i paid $800 for it and the hosting is costing me $25/month. doesn't do me much good if i can't really use it the way i want to. Chuck and i are trying to figure out when we can go see that 8-unit. our weekend is full and i'm trying to get him to do it on his lunch hour on Monday. he has a lot of freedom actually so he can work it out, if his schedule will permit. i got a free DVD from a young lease/option guru and then he emailed me a report. i replied back to him with a question and he was kind enough to email back and forth with me last night and this morning. that always impresses me because the old-timers just really aren't into doing that and the ones that say they will, many times they won't. well, i hope everyone has a wonderful, prosperous weekend!

i got a call last night from our HVAC guy asking me if i wanted to attend Tony Youngs' training with him. his wife couldn't go and Chuck can't go, so he invited me. this is training i had wanted to take with Chuck but that didn't work out and i kind of forgot about it. well, now i'm going. i will be in class all day tomorrow and Monday, so this should be interesting. we're going to look at properties and learn how to do searches at the court house. we had our REI club meeting this morning. i have heard the speaker before and she is from Indy, but i find myself not happy when i leave after hearing her. she is very good at what she does and very meticulous, but she makes you feel like you can't do things right and have to have her help. i was talking to a couple about that issue and they said our club President does sub to's and always sends a short letter to the lender letting them know what he is doing. this speaker said sub to's are illegal in IN if you are taking over a home that is behind on payments. as i said she is very meticulous and nothing wrong with that, but she takes it to an extreme. i would rather have other speakers myself. my 4pm appointment to pick up my new house under contract was cancelled, but they want to do it and we hope to meet during this coming week. there was a very bad car accident in a neighboring town and a relative of theirs was thrown from the car. every bone in her body is broken, she is on life support and in a coma with brain damage. she only has a 5% chance of survival so my sellers belong with the family at the hospital. they were so kind to double check that i got their message cancelling and assuring me they want to get this deal going. i called my prospective T/B that cancelled yesterday's appointment to see the Omee house and she isn't doing too well, but she wants to see the house. we hope to get that scheduled this coming week too. i'm doing my best not to get overwhelmed right now. i have everything done so i can be gone tomorrow and Monday that i can possibly do. my club President is so proud of me finally getting a deal going and he has been really excited for me. always encouraging. i probably won't be around the next couple of days but i'll be back!

the last couple days have been great with all the training and interaction, and i am exhausted. before, when i would do this kind of stuff, i would be in bed for days recovering. even though i am really tired and worn out, i'm so thankful that i am up and around and able to function. we had a wonderful weekend of training and learning. there were 10 of us in the group and our club President was around here and there, but he is all ready a successful investor and has been for some time. i was fortunate enough to ride with Tony Youngs the entire time and be around him constantly. he did a great job and he is very much into being there for his students. we have his email address and cell phone number, and only he answers; no other "coaches". i will be on training calls with him on Thursday nights from now on and he does constant training through those. i had really wanted to take this class and i was blessed with an answer to a simple prayer, which i kind of forgot about. (i tell you, those are the prayers that are easily answered for me.) Sunday we looked at over 20 properties while it was snowing, sleeting and raining. these were properties that were not sold at the Sheriff's auction. then yesterday we met at the library downtown. they had a big meeting room we were able to use all day. the weather was treacherous, but we all did fine. we went over to the recorder's office and worked on title searches, which was very interesting to me since i used to work for a title company. (in fact, while we were there i ran into one of the women i used to work with.) federal liens (IRS) fall off after 10 years and you can actually call and ask for an early release. our state liens fall off after 10 years too, except for tax liens. we don't have an answer on that at this time. i will have to call and check. mechanics' liens fall off after one year and i just found out that our HOA re-files them every year, which is very unusual. most companies, etc., forget about them. i also found out that our HOA will work with you if you are in a bad financial position and not able to pay. the ladies at the Recorder's office were extremely helpful, especially one named Sharon. she worked with us almost the entire time we were there. yesterday afternoon we got probably around 15 offers ready to send out. Tony did it from his laptop, had each of us do them also and then emailed us all the offers we're sending out. we are now supposed to finish them up and get them mailed out; each of us are sending our own offers. so, i have to get back to the Recorder's office so i can get busy on that, but again today, the weather is bad and i do not want to be driving around downtown trying to find my way. tomorrow is supposed to be better. i never have been interested in wholesaling at all, but after this class i can see the possibilities. several in our group want to stay together and still do deals together, so i asked our club President if he would help us put things together. we would start an LLC and have things written out about what we can/cannot do and how things will run. i supposed that's an Operating Agreement??? we just want everything outlined properly so we are all fair and benefit the group. we could still do our own deals and even call dibs on a deal, but the group should be compensated, in my opinion. anyway, something for us all to work on and get braver and more comfortable together. i have never experienced anything quite like this and i highly recommend it. we had so much fun and got to know each other better and learned some really neat and good stuff. now it's back to business and i will spend the rest of the week trying to catch up and get my offers ready to go. a class like this can really get you going in the right direction.

i'm still playing catch up and probably will be all week. i'm just going to have to go with the flow on that. i contacted the realtor who helped me with my HUD deal back in September. i hadn't heard from him and then found out he had left the agency. i emailed him and then he called me yesterday. he is very happy where he's at and i asked if i might be able to move over there too. he talked to one of the principal brokers and then i called the same guy this morning. seems like a nice guy and the partners are investors, the realtor who helped me with the HUD deal is an investor and then i am too. we talked a little and i'm waiting to get a text message on when we can meet tomorrow. hopefully we can work something out and i'll be happier. if not, i can stay where i'm at and hopefully do a little negotiating on the terms since no one else should know what the broker works out with us personally. my main mortgage broker referred a realtor to me yesterday and the realtor might have 2 possible candidates for tenant/buyers. she is a new agent and doesn't know anything about land contracts or L/O's. we talked a little yesterday and she was going to see if we could work something out. she was very pleasant and i love that southern accent! my possible sellers are still working around the relative who was in the car crash. apparently they will have to decide about life support this week because the hospital has done all they can and they have no hope. very sad and should remind us to appreciate our lives and what we do have. my possible T/B that wanted to see the Omee Court house has found out she has COPD and emphysema, despite never having smoked. she is hoping she will be better next week and able to see the house. i've been reading another journal on here and this woman is so positive and encouraging (as are others on here) and her journal has encouraged me to take some more good steps in REI. i'm excited. i always appreciate a good attitude and someone who believes in him or herself and just does it and goes for it. i really admire that and there are many on dg.com that are like that. my 5-year old granddaughter, Kadi, just got signed up for soccer and she is so excited. she had to take Desiree out last night in the dark to show her how good she is at soccer. i think she will be and she is a scrapper. good thing because she's very tiny, but i have found that the tiny ones are the toughest. i got to talk to Jared for 46 minutes this morning. i'm really struggling with my websites and i asked if he might be able to help me during his down time. he said to send him the info and he will see if he can do anything. he hasn't messed with this stuff since high school but he's very good at figuring things out. there are 2 packages that he has not received from his girlfriend and sister, and there is no way to track them over there. he is seriously thinking about not re-enlisting. the bonus has been cut in half and he is not happy with a lot of things right now. his captain has asked him to stay and be a part of his unit when they get back to the states. of course, he knows he can work in the private sector and make 6 figures easy. he would become a cop, but they make you go through their own EOD school and it doesn't even compare to the military EOD school, then walk a beat for 2-3 years. what a waste. he also got another email from a special group wanting him to be in their unit. i do know that he researches everything and will make a wise decision when the time comes. his team members are both new to war and he said he really has to get on them when they get upset (afraid). he said they all make a good team, but he doesn't have time to be all crazy upset and all. he said everyone teases him about being so calm. i tend to go crazy at first, then all of a sudden i'm calm. at least he doesn't do that. i need to put in some ads today and work on my taxes. i also have to see if i can find something out about 3 properties the lady out of town sent me that she would be interested in. gotta do that today. i told her to find me some and she did it the very day i told her to. Chuck and i are going out for wings tonight at the restaurant he remodeled. their wings are good and only 2 versions are not gluten-free. onward and upward.....

i went way out of my comfort zone today and am very proud of myself. i was on my way to meet with my broker and his sister called to cancel. sounds like he has the flu. i decided to head downtown right then and go to the recorder's office. you have to understand, i was lost in Tulsa's downtown area for 3 hours one day and no one could give me directions. since then i've always had a fear about going downtown anywhere and i do my best to resist it. Fort Wayne's downtown is much better, but with the one-way streets and the lack of parking, it's still a place i like to avoid. i worked downtown here for a year, but i went straight to work and straight home. i know many people love downtown, but not me. anyway, i prayed and decided to stay very calm. Chuck gave me exact directions to the City-County building parking garage and i went right to it, except that it was full and i had to back out of the lane and get back on the street. i decided to just drive down Main Street and see if i could find a place to park, which i did and it was fairly easy, me remaining calm. i had a short walk to the City-County building and the weather is pleasant enough right now to be enjoyable on a short walk. i was able to spend 90 minutes doing title searches on more properties so i can get ready to send offers out. i had to have a little help because commercial is very different, but the lady was very nice and helpful. then i got my car and ran over the orange cone by it because i couldn't see it. i had to get out of my car and move it, and someone came and got it. thank goodness they didn't know me. i just had a short drive to my meeting at the "new" realty office and it was right across the street from the title company i worked at and next door to a restaurant owned by Chuck's good friend. i knew where to park and i ended parking in the perfect spot. i walked a couple doors down and was at the office. then i got my exercise walking up some stairs and met with 2 young brokers. they own a small realty office and i really like them. they said they really like me too and that they appreciate how straight-forward i am. i told them i am no good at beating around the bush and i'm a terrible liar because i can't remember what i made up. they got really tickled about that. they want to check with their attorney on L/O's because they aren't familiar with it, but they are ready to take me on if everything is good with the attorney. i think it is a much better fit for me in many ways and they seemed pleased as well. it all hinges on the attorney right now so i hope he knows his stuff. while i was getting ready to leave the recorder's office i got a call from another broker, the principal broker for the REA referred to me yesterday. she wants to get together and see if we can work together because it could be very beneficial, but she has no real clue about L/O's either. she asked how many deals i've done and really pressed me on this. i told her i work with people that have a combined experience of 50 years or more; i have consulted with people and helped others do deals for 10 years and i am not new to this. i asked her to email me (i wasn't in a position to write anything down at the moment) and if she does, then we will go from there. having an attorney chime in on this might give me more clout and make everything seem better. i really would like to work with other agents. Chuck keeps talking about me becoming a broker and taking the class in March, so we'll see how that all works out. i need to do it and get it over with. now if i can just get it into my head that i can do this and study and pass tests, etc. i did it last year and i can do it again! the possible T/B from out of town responded to my email (the one about all the houses being sold, HUD, etc.) and she had more houses for me to check on. i think she might be serious. Chuck said to me this morning that he doesn't think people realize how much hard work is involved in REI. it's not a get-rich-quick scheme and it's not something you just fall into. he is right about all of that and i hope he sees how hard i'm working to make this work. sometimes i really wonder, but no matter what, i will keep pressing in.

yes, i'm glad it's Friday. i'm going to try and slow down a little this weekend, if possible. i have some webinars i'm listening to each day for 10 days that take a lot of my time until March 03rd. it's on tapping, which i am liking more and more and i am writing the entire tapping scripts from each webinar by hand, so it's very time-consuming, but necessary. i got a call to my google voice number on Wednesday and the typed message said "hi, Linda. my name is Jane and i was wondering if you box". no, i don't box!! i listened to the message and it was garbled so i couldn't figure out what it was really about. anyway, this morning i realized that it probably was regarding REI, but google voice had botched the message. so, i returned the call this morning and left a message, then the caller texted me. he/she is wondering if i work with mobile homes, so i asked that he/she email me the information. i haven't seen anything yet and i don't know that i can do anything, but at least i'll take a look if emailed. i also had a guy contact me through my website from a CL ad that i borrowed from Jen (Bama Girl). in fact, i think both this and the call i got were from that ad. now to see if i can do anything for them. this guy has a house in a town 45 minutes or so from here and he's on unemployment and can't make his payments. sounds like only cosmetics are needed and i asked several questions. again, not sure what i can do for him, but at least i will try. had a great talk as usual with Lea. i have not heard anything from the broker who called about me working L/O deals with them, nor have i heard from the brokerage i'm trying to transfer to. oh, well, whatever. life goes on. my prospective sellers emailed me this afternoon and just wanted to touch base with me. their relative was taken off life support and passed away yesterday, so they will have a funeral and all to be involved with. then with the 6" of snow we got overnight, the seller husband is out plowing snow a lot, so this has been a tough time to recruit sellers and T/B's. they said they still plan on working with me and that they haven't forgotten about me. makes me feel good about that, especially since 3 brokers seem to have forgotten about me.

regarding that ad i borrowed from Jen - i just got 2 more calls on it within a matter of maybe 15 minutes apart. one guy has a duplex he bought as his first investment property and he is out of money to finish the rehab. there is still a lot of work required and he would stick with it, but he can't find anyone to finance him. he has to have at least $21,000 for it and he estimated at least $25,000 more work needed. i could tell he is very inexperienced and i hate for this to not work for him, but so many people think they can get into investing and just do it without any education. now, maybe that's not his situation, but it kind of sounded like it. seemed like a very nice guy and i hope i can do something for him. i want to at least drive by the property this weekend and see what i think. it's on the edge of downtown, but it's not in the bad zip code. the second call was from a possible T/B off that same "we buy houses" ad. i emailed him my questionnaire and we'll see what happens with that. not going to hold my breath. most of them are not serious enough to fill anything out. somehow i get the impression they think they can just call up and move right in. not in my houses!!! one of the brokers i met with yesterday about transferring to their agency just emailed and they want me to come on over. i got a very nice email and their attorney told them L/O's are fine. thank goodness!!! anyway, i will make a final decision on that this weekend. did i say i was going to take it easy this weekend? who am i fooling? my girls and grandkids are thinking about coming for a visit mid-March, which would be really nice. i miss them a lot.

i am still working on those tapping webinars so it is taking up a lot of my time, but it will be worth it. today one was on procrastination. not like i would need that or anything. we decided to go look at that property the guy called on my ad about. it is probably not worth what he wants out of it since there is no wiring or anything else done on the inside. he used 2x4's to hold up the front balcony and it looks weak and cheap. the back wood work looks much better but we weren't close up. i'm not sure whether to get it under contract or what. i have to think on it a little. might present it to my group, or to Tony Youngs for his opinion on it. i don't want anyone to see it until i have it under contract. we also stopped by the first house our group looked at last Sunday. i wanted Chuck to see what we were looking at. we all had actually liked this property, but we knew there was a foundation issue. i felt we offered way too much on this property and now i know we did! we saw the neighbors out so, of course, Chuck had to talk to them. interesting conversation. it's built on an old city dump site and was built on timbers. no foundation, no slab, nothing. i had found the wood foundation stuff on the front of the house last Sunday and it is rotting. the owner pulled up the floor and poured concrete, trying to create a foundation. it's all whopper jawed! the neighbor's wife is a realtor and sold it once before she knew about the foundation. she said it is a piece of crap. it's in a great rental area, but Chuck said it would take $40,000 to fix the foundation issue. i'm not sure if he was exaggerating or if he was really serious on that. it could be a nice house if not for that. we'll see what happens with our offer. we have an inspection clause in it so that should protect us. by the way, i remember mentioning in a post above not to use bleach to kill mold; it feeds the mold. you can use Dawn dish washing soap and that will kill it. back to listening to today's last webinar. have a great Sunday!

OMG I just got caught up on all of your action and I just love it. You are truly pushing yourself and creating the REI biz you have desired for so long. How of the info in your mind is bubbling over I am so very excited for you. I just get so inspired and encouraged when I read your post.

We haven't talk in a while I am a little under right now got this stubborn cough but, I decided today was a good day to caught up on some reading and posting.

So glad I stopped by..

i've missed you! sorry to hear you're under the weather, but i pray it will pass quickly. have you tried putting Vicks on the soles of your feet and then be sure to put socks on? it can really help with a cough.

yes, i am pushing myself and going out of my comfort zone. i'm gonna have to allow myself some time to recover.

man, i feel like this is a huge Monday for me. i made a list and i'm just burning it up. i hope i'm not feverish!!! i sent a big long email to the brokerage i would like to sign with. i had a lot of things that needed to be explained about my investment deals and i didn't want any misunderstanding. if it's meant to be, they will be fine with it, and if not, i can stay where i am. my REA license has now changed over to the old company and if i change again, i will have to spend another $10 to do so. i guess it would be worth it. i finished up my taxes and emailed the accountant. he called me right back and we had a nice talk and set up the appointment for Monday. i just want it out of the way and refunded to me! i also cleaned my living room and just have to sweep and put all the living room stuff back. i responded to the credit repair guy's email and the home warranty/E&O insurance woman from last week. i was way behind on some of that stuff. i emailed the guy out of town that might have a L/O deal and haven't heard back from him. i am making calls on some houses for another out of town person who wants to be a T/B. most of them are listed on the MLS, but i'll see what they have to say. i guess all they really can say is yes or no and it's nothing personal. it's forcing me to again get way out of my comfort zone. each day i'm trying to shred files i no longer need and that is a slow process, but i'm learning to do a little at a time each day. the friend who invited me to be his partner for last week's training called today and we set up 9am on Friday as time to look at the rest of the properties we didn't make it to and make offers. i emailed everyone to invite our group and reminded them that if they can't make it, we're still doing this as a group for the group. we should have some fun doing it. now to see if we can get ahold of the banks to get in. these are not listed with realtors. i also have to think about what i need to do on that one property we looked at yesterday. i want to help the guy but have to do some research because i doubt he can get out of it what he has in it. the research should come first and then i can go from there. i want to email the guy today to let him know i did go look at it like i said i would try to do. follow up is important. back to work.....

listening to my tapping webinars really got me wound up today. of course, they were on procrastination and flying into action. i was so antsy listening to them i thought i was gonna explode. i still have a lot to do today and i'll have to see how far i get. i'm really tired today, but started my new meds so hopefully by Friday i'll see some results. yesterday our REI group got an email from our mentor that he needed an address for our offer we're sending in for a possible REI club meeting place. the most important one of all and we didn't get the mailing address for the bank. i was able to pull it up through the MLS and get the tax information and send it to him. i am so proud to be able to do that. i got another call off that borrowed ad about a 2/1 rehab about an hour from here. why am i getting so many out of town calls? anyway, guy was really nice and he and his wife have been living in this house, but it needs a lot of work. more research to do tomorrow. i have been cleaning out my files a little each day and i'm to the big insurance file. that should be fun. i called a broker about broker's classes. she had a good reputation years ago but no one really knew what was happening with her. she moved to AZ and we had a couple nice chats. she wants to sell her teaching business and 2 deals on it have fallen through. we talked about me buying it once i have my broker's license and then we looked at all the rules to be a teacher. it requires 5 years as a broker. so, she suggested that i get my broker's license, take the instructor test and ask for a waiver. sometimes they can be easy to get and the instructor test is like the broker test. she would not require any money up front and would take 25% of the net profit of each class until it was paid off. she figured about 4 years. i am a teacher at heart and would love to make these REA classes more exciting and interesting. yes, i know it's mainly to pass the test, but fun makes it easier. she was very complimentary to me and said she would be happy to recommend me if i try to get a waiver. i told her i was mainly an investor and she was so nice about it. said investors usually know more than the REA's and brokers and are more creative. what a shocker!! why is she in AZ?? she said having the school provides for a nice regular income and so we'll see what happens. have i mentioned before that i take too much on at once? who, me? Desiree and Kadi are coming around March 11th and i'm thinking about taking the broker's class on the 14th. i mentioned that to her, but it didn't deter her. Kadi (who is 5) is so excited to come here and she packed for herself yesterday (no telling what is in that suitcase!). i still have to find out how to get in those houses on Friday so i need to work on that some today and tomorrow. i think the short sale house i tried to sell as a realtor was not bought at auction so i need to look that up and see if we want to do anything with it. the house we made an offer on in the summer is still a mess and no work being done on it. the dumpster has been gone a long time. the buyer paid $25,000 for it and our offer was $5000. with all the rehab required and that we might get $50,000 out of it, we couldn't go higher. this guy has been around a long time but i'm not sure how successful he is. a house he owned a few years back was condemned. Chuck still really wants that house, not sure why. i'd like to get it and the one that was formerly a short sale house. i've always said i'd like to basically "own" a neighborhood and why not the one i grew up in. well, i better get back to work. maybe i'll "see" you all on Dean and Matt's call tonight (if i can stay up that late).

Funny I do realize that you take on alot but, I can really see you as a teacher...And for you to own a school I think would be so great. But whom am I to vote.

Well I am enjoying reading about all of your success. You are truly keeping me moving. Everytime I get a chance to read your journal it lights my fire....especially when I have been resting or doing nothing for a few days....Sometimes it is just not doing enough.

I am posting from work tonight...one of my nurses didn't like her assignment so she just walked out so I got stuck covering her shift...which cuts in to my REI time but, oh well I had to check in and see what is going on in the world of Dg.com

you know, you just do what you can and keep moving forward, even when it seems like it's not enough. i am learning to appreciate the small steps and i just keep doing what i can when i can.

i know your REI time got cut into, but hopefully you are making some extra money. glad you took the time to stop by and at least you got a little REI fix while working. i know you are doing what you can, so just keep at it. it will come!

i have to admit i am basically overwhelmed. i "borrowed" that ad from Jen and i get calls every day. it is working, but it's not pulling in what i want. i'm getting rehab properties, which is great, but they want too much for them. then i got a call from a guy that has a rental property for sale with good tenants in it, but their lease is up in May. he has offered it to the tenants for sale but no answer from them. i suggested doing a L/O if nothing else works out, but he was scared of it because he doesn't understand it. i explained the best i could and used rent to own furniture as an example. it's very common in many areas of business, but people seem to have a hard time relating to it. i just don't know how to help these people i'm getting calls from. my prospective out of town T/B has sent me so many houses to check on for rent to own, and so far we've been turned down on every one. she even called me last night! i want to help her just because she is working it so hard! someone else called me on the Omee Court house yesterday, then backed out saying he didn't want to spend that much money. today has been one of those days. i gathered a lot of information on the properties we are supposed to look at on Friday and at least half of them are sold or pending. i emailed all that information off last night and didn't hear a word from anyone. right now i feel like i'm doing most if not all the work and i would like to get a response to my emails, just that they have received them. i really want to help the group succeed, but i think we need more than just my input. i called about the March 14th broker class with the teacher i don't like, and he is teaching it, not his grandson. that is not good news to me. i found out that the broker i sent my email to about investing and being with his brokerage never received my email. so, once he texts me back with the correct email address, i will resend it. i am now a member of the National Association of Professional Women. they called me and went into this long spiel about the different levels of membership, cost and benefits. i nicely interrupted her and said i had the free membership and i want to keep it that way to see if it's of any value to me. she didn't like that too much, but accepted it. why would i pay $450-650 when i don't even know if it's worth it or not? then i had to call Verizon about my bill and got the usual nonsense i get every time i have to call them. i finally got to a woman who said she would give me an excellent customer service experience, and she kept her word. she credited my bill $19.98 for premium messages i never received, got billed for and it should have been blocked from my phone from day one. she was wonderful to work with and i asked her to transfer me to her supervisor so i could tell her how awesome this woman was to work with, which i did by voice mail because the supervisor wasn't available then. one more day of tapping webinars and that will free up some valuable time i really need. i wanted to be on Dean's call last night, but i was way too tired. i didn't think i would get much out of it by staring at the clock and dozing off. i will try to get to it tomorrow. Friday is out of the question since i'll be gone all day looking at properties. i have decided i need to get a sign in the Omee Court house yard and one at the entrance of the neighborhood. i need some help with it and Chuck hasn't been real responsive to it so far, but i will need to really push the subject. since i am supposed to pick up that long-awaited contract on another house tonight and i need to get a sign in their yard, maybe that will help. i emailed the commercial broker about seeing the 8-unit complex Saturday at 4pm, but he never responds without me contacting him a couple times. any suggestions on anything would be great appreciated. thanks!

i'm still feeling overwhelmed, but talking with Lea helped reduce it some. we talked today since i will be out looking at properties tomorrow. i hope i survive it! i picked up my new L/O contract last night, but my camera wouldn't work so i have to go back tonight for pictures. didn't make me very happy about inconveniencing my seller like that, but what can you do? the tapping webinars are finally over and that is a huge relief. now i can try to get back to a normal schedule on Monday. i've been trying to find someone who will do a rent to own for the out of towner, but so far nothing. the realtors are nice, but they want nothing to do with it. they only understand land contracts and i don't care to do those right now. no response to my email i resent to the brokerage i'm trying to join. whatever. broker classes are not looking good and i'm not sure what to do. i barely slept last night, probably due to just being overwhelmed. i have these properties under contract and now it would be nice to get them L/O'd out. i'm not really discouraged, but frustrated. i suppose something good is about to happen and i just need to hang in there. it would help if i felt better physically. i hope to remedy that this weekend, although we have set up an appointment to see the 8-unit complex at 4pm on Saturday. i had to call the broker because he didn't email me back. i made that comment yesterday about feeling like i'm doing most of the work right now for the group, and i heard from a couple of them last night. shame on me. nothing bad. i was glad to know they are receiving the emails i sent. ") hopefully my camera will work tonight and i can get pictures of "my new house" so i can start marketing it. it's a really nice house and once i get it on the internet, i'll post a link for pictures. my word for it is stunning. i think i'll go fix my lovely hair and take a break before i get ready to go. "i will not give up and i won't be defeated".

It was good getting to talk to you on Thursday. You have a lot of irons in the fire! How did it go with the properties you looked at?

Lea

i have too many irons in the fire, i think. looking at the properties went very well, but it sure wore me out. doing it in the rain doesn't help either. we had good times though.

5 of us from our REI group looked at 30 properties yesterday. there were 2 women and 3 men, and we had a good time. we are starting to get more input from others and not just from me, which is a very good thing. it rained the first half of the day and then the second half was a little easier. we found some awesome houses. one was on the "good" side of the bad area of our city and it was an awesome house. you wouldn't want to change the windows and the woodwork was gorgeous. this house would probably cost more to rehab than it would be worth, but it was probably a stunner in its day. we all loved it and i think it made some of us think about doing a rehab together at some point. as we were finishing up, we found some gorgeous roomy properties in good areas of town that would make someone a very nice home. one the bank has had over a year, so it's worth checking into. we also found a house on the street where Chuck and i had made an offer on a really nasty property over a year ago to no avail. the investment company had paid $16,000 for it during the boom and it was worth next to nothing. they couldn't sell it at the price they wanted, so they rehabbed it and it looks very nice on the outside, but it's been sitting on the market for probably close to a year. we were pretty sure our realtor was passing along what we wanted to do with it to the listing realtor. anyway, this house we saw yesterday would be a lot easier rehab so we'll see about that one. still going to see the 8-unit complex at 4pm today and it's been raining since last night. i got a message from a seller for the out of town T/B that they might be willing to do a L/O. will have to check into it Monday. of course, Monday i'm going to have my taxes done with my new accountant and then i have to meet our REI group for lunch at 1pm. still feeling overwhelmed, to say the least. right now i feel i can't keep up so i need to see what i can do about that. hoping to get some rest time in this weekend and regroup for Monday. i hope you all have a great weekend!

we got snow again yesterday and woke up to it on the ground this morning. it was pretty, but i've had enough snow to last me a lifetime! we looked at the 8-unit last night in heavy snowfall and the 2 empty units have a lot of water damage. the porches are in bad shape and the siding is not really siding and will need to be replaced. i think all the units need carpeting for sure and we don't know what else we will need to repair. the owner signed a deed in lieu of foreclosure this week, so now the bank does own it. Chuck does have to check on the sewer stuff because it could cost thousands to change over to city water, which is going to be mandated anyway because of the road construction going on right at the complex. he can't believe they've gotten away with it this long. we also looked at a few of the houses i saw Friday and it was fun doing that in the snow. i have been eating way too much gluten for convenience and it's getting the best of me. i notice i was really mopey yesterday and i can't think as well, so i have to get back off the gluten. if i just eat it now and then and take my pills, i'm ok, but i have been going overboard. it's easier to get fast food when you're with a group and looking at properties, etc., but i'm going to have to do better. i can't let it interfere with my goals. i am so far behind on everything, but i will just do my best to catch up. it's not like it's going anywhere. hopefully i will get some very good news on my taxes tomorrow. i could sure use some good news!

i need to get back to a regular schedule. today i met with my new accountant. i really like him, but i didn't care much for our meeting. i learned some things, but they still didn't make me very happy. this business has to make some real money this year! he found a mistake or two on my 2009 return and amended it. then he needed my 2008 return to see if he can do something "backwards" and i had to run them back up to me. since it's close to 20 miles each way, that made for a lot of driving. in between i met with 4 other investors from our REI group for lunch and to get our offer #'s ready. we have some research to do and we had a good meeting. it's fun. i got home at 3:50pm, am posting and then Chuck and i are leaving at 5:30pm to go look at an auction house and check on the Omee Court house. i want to check a leak under the kitchen sink and see what all needs to be cleaned for some open houses. i'm going to email the sellers and ask them to clean it so i can have a couple open houses. maybe i will get some results since the weather seems to be getting better. i have to get everything going on the Reed Road house this week. Desiree and Kadi should be here sometime Friday, so i have to work hard and smart for the next 3 days. i think i might have gotten a call on the Omee Court house while i was in my meeting so i will have to check that out and see what is up on that. i just want a good T/B in there!!!

i'm am flying through stuff as fast as i can today. i look at my list and have to be careful not to get totally overwhelmed. Chuck and i went to look at that auction house last night and i would love to have it. it is a tri-level and i love those for some reason. it would take about $50,000 to do a rehab on it, but it's in a great area and it will make someone a great home! we may go to the auction Thursday afternoon. after that, we went by the Omee Court house and i was not happy. someone had taken down the flyers i had in the windows. we made a list of things that need to be done to the house to have it ready for an open house and then i emailed that to the sellers this morning. well, guess who had taken down my flyers? the sellers! the husband told me that was tacky and he didn't want me to do that anymore. now, you have to understand that this is not the nicest house and the rehab job is not the greatest, then he tells me flyers in the windows are tacky??? they did an open house this weekend for renters and it sounds like they will get a renter in before i can get a T/B in place. in a way, i'm disappointed, but i have to say that i want that house off my hands! the husband is just not the easiest person to work with and it's not fun anymore. if they will be happy with renters, then more power to them. of course,their last renters only stayed 4 months. then, as far as asking them to clean the house, they didn't like that much either. then on top of that, i get a call from a man who might be interested in the house as a T/B. okay, i refuse to be stressed! geesh! anyway, that house needs to be out of my hands one way or the other. the man that might be interested in it was a very nice older gentleman and we had a very nice conversation. i had to cut him short after about 15 minutes because i've still got so much to do. i called the guy who called on one of my ads about buying properties (thanks, Jen). i ran a general ad on CL about it and i've had 3 people contact me on it. so, i'm kind of stalling them and called him this morning asking if he will let me put it under contract for a month with the understanding (it's in the contract) that it's only valid if i can find a buyer for it. he can cancel anytime if he finds someone to buy it himself. he's out of town for the next 4 weeks, but he's going to talk to his partner and i'm going to email the contract to him. it would be a simple wholesale contract and have the clause in it about finding an end buyer. i don't know what else to do. i probably need to do the same with these other properties i've gotten calls and emails about. i just haven't been able to keep up. good to be busy, but not good to not be able to keep up. i have a lady that might be willing to do a L/O for the out of towner, so i called and left her a message today. may have to play a little phone tag. back to work.