Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

Hey Linda,

Just dropped by to try to catch up a bit. Way behind on whats been going on with everyone. See you are still at it hard and heavy! Keep it up girl! We can't always control every outcome, sometimes it's only our actions we can control. With your efforts, don't quit attitude and your desires, it is only a matter of time before you yield the results you want!

God Bless,
Jen

great to "see" you! thanks for stopping by. i appreciate the encouragement. sounds like you are doing great things. will look in on you. have a great weekend!

looked at some properties while driving around today. there are lots of possibilities here, just like most anywhere. i am fairly familiar with this area so that helps. i am still getting emails on the Reed house, despite it not being available for rent to own anymore. it adds to my T/B list. i've also had a few more inquiries on the rental house, but no one can or wants to buy outright. i got a weird email about that property. i answered it and got a response back. i decided not to answer a second time because it sounded too suspicious. i like to be careful when it sounds "off". it looks like it could storm here, but i hope it holds off until we're in for the night. i talked to Jared over Skype and he was called out on a mission last night and didn't get back until this afternoon. then he ate a great big lunch and was going to bed early. i'd hate to see what would happen to the enemy if they ever got between us and our food!! war would be over real quick if that were to happen!

i haven't posted in the last few days because i've been really sick. i haven't been this sick for a long time. i managed to get out and look at properties, but i was not doing too well. i did a lot of sleeping and laying around. i'm doing a little better today and went to see my girls' doctor. i'm now on an antibiotic, strong cough medicine and Mucinex DM. i was only doing natural stuff, which i prefer, but it wasn't working fast enough since i have that big drive ahead of me this weekend. i wanted to be able to enjoy the rest of my time here. the natural stuff i've been taking has kept my lungs very clear, so i'm thankful for that. my doctor was very surprised. Kadi had her birthday party on Saturday and i managed to make it for an hour, then drove 40 minutes home to Danelle's and crawled into bed. i'm seeing plenty of FSBO's and L/O possibilities. i would like to talk them over with my friend, but for 3 days i could barely talk. i would call Chuck and he could tell it was me because there was just weird noises on my end. i don't sound great, but at least people can understand me now. it has been raining here and in IN for days. i hope as i'm clearing up, the weather is too.

i had to call the nurse practitioner i saw yesterday and ask for a different cough medicine. i barely got any sleep last night and i've been coughing so hard it turns into choking. Danelle, her kids and i went to pick up something for supper and my new cough medicine tonight and i saw a house sign. i want to take a look at it; it said it's a Lease/Purchase. the thing that kind of bugs me is that people use L/O and L/P interchangeably, but they actually mean different things. i tend to be kind of anal about that stuff. the property isn't far from where Danelle lives, so i want to take a look at it. there is another one near Grayson's preschool and i want to get a look at it too. i hope to do that during my last 3 days here. i will have to watch the weather and hopefully i won't have to row home.

i finally had to decide to stay longer than i want to in OK. i am not getting well fast enough to be able to make that drive back. we're concerned that i will make it to St. Louis and be stuck there for a few days because i can't make it the rest of the way. i don't want to do that for sure. hopefully i will see some big improvement over the next few days. i sure don't have time to be sick!! i emailed the rental seller and when i can get well and get back home, we are going to talk about doing a rent to own. he's game and we'll see what happens. one of the T/B's that really wanted the Reed house emailed me today out of the blue to check on that house. she said she is still sulking over the sellers' decision to list on the MLS. me too. i looked at a house on the way back from picking Grayson up at pre-school. the neighborhood is pretty nice and the houses can't be that old. it was a FSBO but no information on it. the strange thing was that 70% of the garages in this neighborhood were funkedy. i'm not sure what the problem was, but many of them looked old and were sagging. very strange. we are going out to celebrate Kadi's actual birthday tonight. i warned the kids i am going to look extra pretty tonight (no makeup and barely dressed - wish i could just wear my big cuddly robe and slippers). they will probably try to drop me off at a different restaurant. i am just not up to getting all fixed up, which i hate but nothing i can do about it. i am totally drained and have been trying to keep up with things despite being 750 miles from home and sicker than a dog. i'm such a fun date too!

It's been a long time since I posted here. (Way back at the beginning of this thread somewhere)
I believe very much in natural cures and really don't trust anything from the big pharmacuetial companies. They just want to sell drugs and they really don't care about you. (That's the way I see it.) So get healthy & take vitamin C & D. There's a lot of new information that recently came out about vitamin D. I can send you a free cd about them if you like.

I just got a call from a real estate investor today in Indiana. (I live in northern California.) He recently bought a property in a small town in Indiana which I was interested in and I've spoken to the owner regarding purchasing it. Instead of me buying it -- he bought it and I found out about it recently, so I wrote him a letter last week and asked him if he wanted to sell it and that's why he called today, to talk about selling me his property.

There seems to be lots of low price properties around!
I guess I need to read this thread to catch up on what you've been doing. Forgive me this is my first day back to this thread for a while.
I found a property (in Indiana) yesterday, a 'fixer upper' for around $4000!
It needs a lot of work, but I find it fascinating!

Michael B

thanks for stopping in. i do take C and D3, but i needed some help from antibiotics as well and strong cough medicine. i haven't found anything natural that works as well or as fast in some circumstances, which i'm sorry to say.

where in IN? usually i hear from people in Indy. the prices here are quite low in a lot of situations. if you want to invest in the Fort Wayne, IN area, let me know. i might be able to help you find something. there are lots of vacant fixer-uppers available, but you want to know the area first.

hope it all goes well for you!

i still am not doing real well. i can get through the day, but it's a battle. the choking spells have lessened, but they are still happening and it's exhausting. we went out to eat tonight and i had one at the restaurant. talk about embarrassing. i got some new pills from the doctor for the choking, but so far that hasn't done much. i don't know what else to do. i had to stop taking Mucinex DM because it caused so much choking i couldn't take it anymore. i want to go to the health food store tomorrow and get some things. hopefully they can help me with this choking. on REI, i haven't done a lot besides keeping up with emails and keeping things going as best i can. i have seen a few more houses and want to get some information on them. i would like to leave in a couple days and i may just go ahead, whether i feel much better or not. i love to be with my kids, but i am so ready to go back home. i need to get back to my real life and get some things going. i also need to check in with my investing group. i hope you all are doing great and staying well.

Thanks Linda.
I appreciate your help.

I really wish you would get healthy. (It sounds like you're not as well as you could be, I'm talkin' about health.) Get the basics in - get enough sleep, eat healthy and exorcise) You might also look into Pro-biotics.
Possibly you've already tried some of this stuff.
(I hate to nag at you about this health stuff, but I really believe it's a better route.)

Yes, I've looked a little in Fort Wayne. I'll let you know about a couple properties I've found there. The one I was referring to (above) was a little property (sfh) in the tiny town of Mitchell, IN.

Michael

i work every day on getting healthy. i used to help manage a health food store in Tulsa, OK. i take supplements and study a lot. the thing is i have no thyroid. my doctor has to create a special formula for me for thyroid medicine and my requirements can change at any time. there is no way to control it right now. once the medicine is not right for me anymore, it affects my immunity and everything else. i am taking probiotics, but since i've been on antibiotics it's a waste to take them at the same time. my last dose is tomorrow morning, then 12 hours later i can start the probiotics again. unfortunately, i'm not your typical text book case.

i'm not sure where Mitchell, IN is. we have great places to invest all over the state. can't wait to hear about your deals!

i hope to be on the road Friday morning. i am doing better today, but i did have to have a nap. i prefer not to drive and nap at the same time. i have done it, but i prefer not to.

i went to the health food store to stock up on some stuff that we don't have in IN. they have a lady there i love talking to who is very knowledgeable about health and has been a big help to me.

i drove by a vacant property this morning and it was your typical empty property with the high grass and general look of disarray and neglect. i have seen that a company in Broken Arrow has several L/O properties, but their prices seem high to me. there are definitely plenty of possibilities here. i emailed my investor group to see if anything has been happening while i've been gone, but i haven't heard from anyone as of yet. i know it's a very busy time right now for everyone.

i have several people still contacting me about the rental house. they want rent to own and i want to get home and get it under contract for L/O. it would be nice to get my first L/O under my belt.

what's new??? i was all packed and ready to leave at 8am this morning. couldn't get a hotel for a decent price and so i ended up finally booking one for Sunday night. i should be home Monday afternoon, finally! i'm so ready to be home. i am feeling better and each day i feel stronger. continually getting ideas for REI deals. talked to a couple people from my investor group and we might have some possibilities for deals here too. it would be best to do a few in Fort Wayne first, then we can branch out. i know one couple is willing to take some risks and they have some PM too. lots of possibilities. i just want to be at full force and ready to go pretty quick after i get back. can't wait to get back to Automobile University too!

thank you for the suggestion.

i finally left OK today. i'm exhausted. thankfully God helped me avoid an accident in Springfield, MO. where i get gas is always busy and the way the road is set up is backwards. you would have to see it to understand what i'm talking about. it's a huge mess. i was trying to get into the far right lane, with my turn signal on, and 2 cars almost hit me. don't you love how when you try to change lanes, the cars in that lane speed up and try to cut you off? 3 hours later i get to my hotel. i got a great room, except the internet wouldn't work, so they moved me to another floor. the internet works great but the toilet is weird. i tried to order supper from the biker bar next door, but the music was so loud they couldn't hear me over the phone. so i walked there and had to yell in the girl's ear for her to hear me. waited 15 minutes, brought it back to my room and it wasn't very good. Jared would love the place because it's all biker stuff (a nice clean place). Jared has been extremely busy, which is not something i like to hear. he's getting very little sleep and food, but he seems happy. he'll be home on leave in a few months. i certainly hope my trip to OK then is a lot better. St. Louis is supposed to be a very good place to invest. i don't care for the area myself, but i'm sure there are good places to do wholesale and L/O deals. a couple "gurus" i'm familiar with live around here and invest here. i'm certainly through here a lot when i go to OK. something to think about. Happy Mother's Day!

i got home on Monday at 4:30pm, exhausted. it sure was hard to keep my eyes open all the way, but i think i managed it. i went to the doctor this morning and i have bronchitis and possibly whooping cough. i may be contagious for the next few days. i have to go pick up a new antibiotic and more cough medicines. the coughing and choking are causing pure exhaustion, so we are trying our best to keep it under control. Chuck had to have a cortisone shot for his knee yesterday. we are a fun couple!!! i haven't been able to do much real estate because of being sick. this morning i emailed the rental seller and a person interested in doing a L/O on it to let them know i haven't forgotten about them and will call as soon as i can. my voice is awful from all the coughing and i sound like an 80-year old man who was a heavy smoker for 70 of those years. i did manage to get through 3 weeks of mail and can't wait to read my Insider's Edge magazine. so much to do, but i can't do it all right now. i'm making a small list and getting those things done as i can. then another list for the next day. i'll get through it, just a lot slower than usual. well, i'm off to pick up my meds.

Linda,

Hope you're feeling better.

Cheryl

thank you for stopping by and thanks for the good wishes. i am getting there; just slow going. how are things with you?

Linda,

Glad to hear your moving forard with getting better. I'm still debating whether to activate my RE license or not. We went to a local REI meeting and it was mentioned that people rather work with a licensed person than one who is not. It was mentioned that disclosures could be set up in contracts to protect yourself since being licensed. How does that sound to you?
Thanks.

everyone has a different opinion on that. here in IN, many people don't think real highly of realtors because they don't put their clients' best interests first. it's all about the money and how they can benefit, not about the client. i have my RE license and am waiting to become a broker in the fall, but if i had it to do over again, i wouldn't get my license. that is purely my opinion. no matter what i say or anyone else says, you have to do what works best for you. there are many investors who have their license and always will. i'm extremely honest and believe in full disclosure, which again, most realtors don't. i had a possible T/B tell me to my face that most realtors are not as honest as i am. i think the biggest thing is letting the people know you are going to help them and do whatever you can for them, while being totally honest. that puts you way above the rest right at the start. becoming a realtor is extremely expensive and the ongoing costs can be very prohibitive. you're never really told all that stuff. you might not close a deal for months and yet you are still expected to pay thousands of dollars throughout the year. then you have to find a broker who is willing to have an investor on their team who probably won't do many realtor deals. anything you do falls back on that broker, so it can be a challenge to find a willing broker. you have to look at the total picture and then decide what is best for you. my suggestion would be to do a few deals without your license, then decide if you think you really need to pursue a license or not. there are many investors out there who don't have a license, never will and are very successful. they find a good realtor to work with and go from there. sorry to run on about this, but it's a big "issue" with me because i feel like people really don't know what they are getting into when they pursue a RE license. now, Elix Brown would tell you something totally different because he loves having his license and does investing too. it's all about what works best for you. hope this helps some.

Linda,

Thanks again for your advice. I really appreciate it. I think I just worry too much and should just move ahead and start doing investing!

Thank you and take care of yourself!

Cheryl

you're always welcome. i tend to worry because i hate mistakes and want everything to be perfect, but that just isn't realistic. i work on it every day to get past that. i know you can be successful at REI!

i am still stuck at home trying to recover. i don't know why this has hit me so hard, but it's been challenging. being up is difficult, so i just do a little at a time. i did manage to get through emails, balance my accounts, and do a few other little things this morning. but, it sent me back to bed. i have REI stuff to be doing, but right now i cannot. i pray that this comes to an end quickly; i've certainly had enough. i have been reading the EDGE journal postings. i had hoped to go this year, but obviously that would not have worked out too well. it was bad enough to be sick at my daughter's, let alone at a seminar. i hope to get this all worked out so that i will be there next year. i hope all of you are staying healthy and progressing with your REI.

Linda,

Yes, I have to get past knowing that everything isn't going to be perfect and just move ahead.

Sorry to hear you still are not feeling well. My prayers continue to be with you.

Let us both focus on the positive and picture being at EDGE next year! Thanks again for your encouragement.

Cheryl

you'll get there. it's just hard to let go sometimes.

thanks for those prayers. i'm doing a little better today. i'm so ready!

i'm with you on focusing on the positive and being at the EDGE next year. i'd also like to make the cruise! i always dream big!

i'm doing a little better today, despite only 2-3 hours of sleep each night. i had to get off that cough medicine because it's addictive and i may be going through a little withdrawal. ouch! i have been in contact with a few prospective T/B's and building the list, but i'm so ready to actually be able to do something. i made an appointment with a guy for next week to see about health insurance again. "hope springs eternal". talked with the doctor's office yesterday and they said this stuff is lingering and hard to get over. i have had enough lingering myself. hopefully each day i will see more improvement. i have been reading up on REI since i can't do much else. i always have time for more education. i talked with Lea for a long time yesterday and that always brightens my day. i have also been reading everything about the EDGE 2011 since i wasn't able to make it. lots of interesting reading. stay well, everyone!

Keep it up! You will succeed, keep moving forward. Thank you for the info on becoming a licensed RE Agent. I know I made the right choice now. Realtors here have horrible reputations too.

I'm getting ready to set up an auction on my primary residence. I'm ready to have much more cash available every month.

thanks for stopping by. i really needed to see your smiling face this morning.

how exciting about the auction. i will do my best to follow your progress in your journal. so glad you got to go to the EDGE 2011.

today i am up and around more. been able to do a few things. a referral i got from my mortgage broker last week returned his questionnaire today, so i need to get out and find them a L/O house. got a very nice email from him too. on Friday a T/B checked back on the beautiful house i had under contract, but i have not contacted the sellers since i have been sick. i will get to that, but i have no problem letting it sit on the market for a while. it could make the rent to own option much more attractive. i did email the sellers from the first house i had under contract and i have never heard back from them, and they usually reply quickly. makes me wonder if they are using my contracts and trying to avoid me. oh, well. i am going to work on making some kind of schedule for my daily routines. i've been meaning to do it and with being in OK and then sick, everything has been on the back burner. i'm still having to take it slow, but at least i'm out of bed and able to do a few things. that is encouraging. reading all these EDGE posts and then not being able to do anything is pretty rough, but i'm just continuing to do what little i can as i can. i know it will get better.

well, today didn't go as well as i had hoped. i haven't felt too good all day, but i did what i needed to do. i keep hearing Jay (jtboggs) saying you have to do it sick. ouch! so i went ahead and emailed a seller about getting his house under contract. he's been very patient with me while i've been battling bronchitis. i kept putting it off and then i decided to just go for it. i have to say that Jay's journal and all his other posts since the EDGE 2011 are really getting to me. i hope that's a good thing!!! hopefully this week is the last one where i have to play the "sickish" game. i listened to a quick webinar on flipping commercial properties and it was good. at least it didn't run on and on for 2 hours. tomorrow i am supposed to meet with a guy about applying for health insurance yet again. yesterday i did work on a schedule and i hope to be able to start it next week. right now my timing is off because of having to go slowly and rest a lot. "hope springs eternal." i will succeed at this!