Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

it is miserably hot and humid here today; will probably go past 100 degrees again today. we did have a couple days that weren't too bad and some rain, which was badly needed. i'm doing my best to read all the postings on the forum "30 Days Quick Cash Formula". i know how i can get some EM for deals and we are going to see what i can accomplish when i get home. i really haven't had a chance to do anything here, but that's ok. the time will come. i have seen a couple L/O bandit signs out here by Danelle's house, so i know that is a good way to go. my granddaughter, Kadi, gets her cast off today. very exciting for her. i hope to get some more reading done on this website and to keep myself pumped up for REI. when i leave on Saturday, i still have plenty of wholesaling CD's to listen to. i'm ready!

well, i'm on my way back to Fort Wayne and i am armed and ready to go (maybe armed and dangerous - only time will tell. ) i had a wonderful drive, very little traffic and a beautiful day for driving. i am in St. Louis at my hotel (maybe i will own it someday; i stay here enough. ) just got done listening to a really good webinar on buying HUD homes and i'm going to see what i can do. i believe i can do something with that and it's time to take the plunge. i will also be working on some other things and getting a few things going. the forum "30 Days Quick Cash Formula" has been such a big encouragement to me to get moving and quit playing at this again. i have taken extensive post information so i can go back and follow what i found extremely interesting and helpful. i so appreciate my time alone in the hotel tonight because it will be REI stuff all evening until i'm so tired i have to stop and go to bed. once i get back home, i want to get started on the SA phone seminars. i never did them before and i think it's time i take advantage of them. they sound interesting and since i have paid for them, i should at least make use of them. i also will be getting back to listening to the EDGE 2009; i got side-tracked on that but i will be getting back to it. also will be using EDGE 2011. i'm wondering if we get the CD set when we attend the EDGE; i don't think i've ever heard whether you do or not. mmmmmmm....i have been "releasing" every day (mentioned in earlier posts) and it is working so well for me. my new mantra is: "it's all good and everything is working out perfectly for me". and it is. sometimes i'm just amazed at how things are falling into place and working out, even having some money to invest.

it is official - i am moving back to OK. it may take a little doing and some time, but i am done here. there is some real sadness, but a person can only take so much and then it's time to move on. i listened to the VIP session from EDGE 2011 and got some good notes from it. i am working on some ideas and hope to put them into practice as soon as i can. i kind of hate the thought of learning OK REI again, but i know i can do it and they have a good REI club there. i'm friends with the President of the club and he may be helping me move as well. he's an investor and owns a moving company. when i look at all the packing i need to do and all the stuff i must go through, it's overwhelming. so, i keep working on other things for the time being because i have a lot to catch up on from being gone 2 weeks. i've been making a list of things that have to be done each day to keep me on track. i had to do something today that was very uncomfortable for me, but as i was trying to put it off, all of a sudden something just came over me and i did it. it felt good to get it done and it was a relief. i have some more to do tomorrow, but doing it today really helped me. i must be like that in everything, including REI. Jared is on his way back to Afghanistan today; it will be a long trip. he's ready to go back and he hopes to be back for Christmas. at least i won't have to travel to see him; i'll all ready be there.

Linda
Just read your most recent post, sad indeed but also exciting. You are going to do great in OK. Who knows maybe you'll find the market to your liking.

I was reading your recent posts, and I can relate when you say that there is so much information available to us through the SA that we don't make the most of; the phone seminars especially!
Your move to OK can be the beginning or your renewed rei journey; I'm sure you will have great success there, and what better time to listen to those Wholesaling CD's than when you're on the road!

Wishing you a safe and rewarding journey home!

Valerie

thanks for stopping by and for the words of encouragement. i'm being open to whatever good things come my way. how are things going for you?

what a nice surprise! i actually scheduled my first SA call for tomorrow morning on financing techniques. i'm excited to see what i've been missing. thanks for the encouraging words. how are things in your neck of the woods?

time is flying by and today i am feeling a little exhausted. i had to be gone for over 3 hours today and it was hard to lose that time, but it was all good. my to-do lists are getting longer again, but there is so much to be done. i scheduled my first SA phone call tomorrow where they have little teleseminars on different subjects. this one is on financing and should be very interesting. i listened to most of DVD 1 from EDGE 2011 and Dawn Erling has re-peaked my interest in mobile homes. i have studied about them and then kind of stepped away from them. the HUD webinar i watched mentioned them again and now Dawn. so, i will keep my eye out for those as i'm doing other searches. my desktop computer was really acting up a lot before i left for OK and when i got back. now it is acting almost brand new; not sure what i did or what happened, but i'm so thankful that it is working so well. i love it!

well, isn't life just a bowl of cherries? i have some notes i took on some webinars and i need them and have no clue where i put them. i did this before i left for OK in August; second time i have done this. there aren't that many places they can be, but i have yet to figure out where that is. i finished DVD 1 from EDGE 2011 and it was very good; started DVD 2 and got through Ali Safavi. i would be listening to some other good stuff if i could just find my notes. i plan to get on the MLS and set up a client portal for properties listed as "as is", "vacant" and "price reduced". i also want to see what i can do to get myself a list of cash buyers. i've been told we can't do it on our MLS and that was the Help Desk that told me, but we'll see what i can do. i also want to get on HUD's website and see what i can find there. gotta get moving on this quickly, but it's so easy to get caught up in the studying (i just love learning) and other things. unfortunately that won't make me any money. i've been awake since 4am and up since 4:30am; i am hoping to hold out through a 2-hour webinar tonight. they usually record it but it didn't sound like that would be happening and i think the information might be very useful. we'll see. hopefully i won't be snoring through it!

i managed to finish DVD 2 from EDGE 2011. some good information and i took great notes. by the way, i did find the notes i was looking for yesterday. i put them in a safe place. i ran cash solds yesterday from the MLS and sent myself some properties. i will add some more because i have more agent remarks to use. i also looked at HUD properties here and in OK. i emailed my friend in OK to see if she can tell me the zip codes in Tulsa i might not want to invest in. i may be able to get an extra commission for myself of $1250 on some properties because they have been on the market a long time and they can't get rid of them. some of them i have been in. unfortunately i don't remember a whole lot about them. i know one property went pending and then didn't sell. since it was HUD i don't know that the buyer backed out because they really won't let you. i was on another SA call today on building your buyers list. it was interesting and the speaker is supposed to email us some ads, etc. i have a couple emails to check out about some good information and then i think i will call it quits for today. i guess i should start packing things up this weekend. i hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!!

it's been a challenging week, but i have moved right along. i've been watching the EDGE 2011 DVD's as i can. today i'm on #3 on the second speaker, who was my coach with the SA. i've also been doing a lot of releasing (see earlier posts about it) and that has helped me so much. in the last couple days i have seen where i messed up and how, how i set myself up for failure and misery. no more of that! time to move onward and upward. tonight i'm meeting with some investor friends for Labor Day. i'm sure the conversation will work its way toward REI. my friend in OK sent me a list of zip codes that i should probably stay away from for investing. that will be a big help to me. i have done a couple SA calls and the speaker from Friday emailed several things to everyone right away, which was great. i PM'd someone about interns and i hope to hear back from him this week. i would like to pursue that, but i'm just not sure how to get started. i may have to call the SA hotline to see what they have to say about it. i hope everyone is having a great day off!

Sorry I haven't been here for awhile. Every time I log on to this site you have such a lot that I haven't read that I save you for when I have more time. Of course, by then there is even more to catch up on.

It was great to read that you got to spend time with your kids while Jared was home. And that you were all together for his birthday. Wonderful, special times. And Jared getting to visit with your Dad, too. We never know how many of those visits we have left. I know when I went home recently and left my parents' house, my 78 y/o Mom stood @ the door waving and waving as I drove down the hill. I just started sobbing because I didn't know if that would be the last time I might see her. (had to stop for a minute to clear the tears again)

I am glad for you that the decision to go home to OK has been finalized. I know that it has been a very difficult and emotional one. When will you be leaving?

Even though I am not on here often anymore, know that I am always available to you anytime of day or nite if you need to talk. Just call.

Sending love to you.

Karen

so glad to hear from you. i haven't been able to keep up with other journals and i hate that i miss out on what is happening with everyone else. i'm in a holding pattern concerning moving and we'll see what happens. i'm doing the release technique and it is changing my life, so good things are happening. how are things for you?

how do i get the days to slow down and get more done? i was gone most of the morning, but i got to talk to all 3 kids today. i didn't get to talk to Jared much on Skype; he had just gotten back from a mission that ended up taking 31 hours. i am going to get on the MLS and check out some properties. i'm in contact with a friend from my REIA that might want to do some little quick deals with me. he prefers to do a couple deals with someone and i might be able to help him out. not sure we would partner, but we might be able to figure something out. i relent some money on www.kiva.org to a female entrepreneur in the Philippines. i like being able to do that, helping someone else out to achieve their dreams. i listened to a webinar on buying defaulted paper, but i'm not sure how reputable the speaker was. lots going on and i'm exhausted, but i guess that's ok. should sleep good tonight.

how do i keep up? i have a webinar replay to listen to shortly on L/O's. i want to listen to that last EDGE 2011 DVD, although i may not get through all of it today. i answered an email i got from a prospective T/B. she found a HUD house that looks like a sweet deal. i don't think she and her husband have the credit to buy it, but if it is on the market long enough to be available to investors, i might see what i can do with an all-cash deal. it never hurts to try. i really doubt it will be on the market long unless there is something really wrong with it. the house looks huge and it has lots of property with it, in a nice area. i found one cash buyer off the MLS accidentally yesterday. i was looking at the property Chuck's dad grew up in because it had been a foreclosure and i had put off looking at it. it sold for $18,000 in January 2011 to an LLC in a small town near us. got their information off the property record card and will send them a nice letter. another house i looked at a while back sold in 7 days, so i never knew it was listed. that is what happens when you procrastinate and don't follow up. that house was vacant and on a nice corner lot in the neighborhood i grew up in. another house at the other end of the neighborhood i have been watching for almost a year. it's a short sale that for some reason hasn't gone into foreclosure yet. it's gone down in price from $45,000 to $34,999, but investors are only offering mid-20's and the lender keeps refusing to even look at them. somehow i ended up on a webinar yesterday about buying defaulted notes and i seriously thought about buying the information, but i'm not sure of the speaker. i would really like to get ahold of that property; it's getting more run down the longer they leave it on the market. it was very nice when i first looked at it and only needed new windows and a few minor things done to it. it is a good rental. well, i better get busy on my other things for this afternoon. lots to do and time keeps moving so fast i can't catch it!!

we are on our third day of rain. it doesn't rain hard, just enough to get everything wet. tonight might be a different story. more problems with my desktop computer. i called the MLS helpline and he suggested i get 2GB of memory, which is only $30.00. it's worth a try. i tried to uninstall a program, but my computer froze up. i might try again later. it's really hard to get anything done when your browser keeps crashing and your computer keeps freezing up. i am showing a HUD house to that T/B on Saturday morning. i don't know how they will work it out, but i'm hoping something happens for them. i have so many things to do but i have been slowed down at every turn. better get used to going with the flow.

it has turned out beautiful today and i've been busy, as usual. i just got off the phone with a releasing coach and she helped me about goals, including one for REI. last night i looked up cash solds information, but nothing is up-to-date with the recorder's office or the treasurer's office. huge disappointment because they were working hard to stay caught up before. the recorder actually emailed me last night in answer to my question. i need to contact the treasurer now. it's hard to get information when it's not kept current, meaning within the last 30 days. i may have to go back farther to find buyers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. one of the investors that came up is from my REIA group and he usually buys really cheap at auctions. if they were investing in January, they are probably still investing now. i finished the EDGE 2011 DVD's. they were very good but i wish the speakers would go more in depth about their subjectS, rather than just giving a good overview. i like specifics and step-by-step directions. i hope everyone has a great weekend; i'll be doing REI!! i want to leave you with one last thought: WHAT YOU HOLD IN MIND IS WHAT YOU WILL GET.

i went to show a property at 11am this morning. it is a manufactured home, over 2500 sq. ft. and on over 1/2 acre of land. it has a 3-car attached garage. the prospects really like the area and the home. it was manufactured in 2002 and has lots of cupboard and closet space, large rooms, even a nice laundry room. the husband is pre-approved for a loan and the next step is for me to let him and his contractor in to look things over more closely. the kitchen floor is all weird, probably from water damage underneath the home. there is a crawl space and the contractor will have to get in there too. so, anyway, we will see what happens. when i came home i listened to a HUD webinar where an investor and a realtor went through the process and actually made a bid on a property. i also just found out that the escrow amount that HUD shows is the amount of repairs required to qualify for an FHA loan; it definitely is not the actual amount of all repairs needed. right now i am listening to a webinar on L/O's. trying to get caught up on all this stuff. i have access to such great information, but it's hard to keep up with it all. so, i guess this is a good day to go through some of it. hope you are having a great weekend and making money!

just finished up a webinar on PML, being the bank. my kind of REI! talked to all 3 kids today, 2 through Skype. Jared got pinned a couple days ago for his promotion and re-enlisted for 2 more years. he did get a nice little bonus. i'm trying to think of what he could pay me back for. i think he's going to use it toward the beautiful truck he bought when he was here in August. i listened to 3 webinars yesterday and 2 videos. i did a couple more videos today and 1 webinar. it's like an addiction - i just can't get enough. i'm trying to follow directions and do things step-by-step, but i just wanted to take time this weekend to catch up on things i haven't had time to do. it's been great and it's made me hungrier than ever. that's a good thing. i have an ad i'm going to run starting tomorrow on CL and www.backpage.com. let's see what happens. you just never know! i also may order some new business cards because i have a really good example i want to try. i've had all kinds of business cards done and i haven't been really happy with any of them, so maybe i'll see how this one goes. i'm gonna get it right! Happy Sunday!!!

Trying to catch up on your journal. You are so busy. I really like how your posts integrate what you are doing with family and life as well as your REI. How is being an agent fitting in to your strategy? Still seems like it would be a benefit.

I also have not taken advantage of all the SA offers, I don't think I even knew or remembered about phone calls - I will have to check them out.

All the best, I will try to come by more often.

Judi

thanks for stopping by. great to "see" you. yes, i seem to stay busy; now if i could just accomplish something!

being an agent has some benefit, but it's not really worth the time and cost involved, in my opinion. there are advantages, but you also have added liability and it can be difficult to find a broker to hold your license.

i'm actually on a SA call right now on commercial RE. they are very general calls, but i'm in the mood to just be saturated with anything and everything REI. i'm kind of an extremist.

i'll be looking for you to stop by again. are you keeping a journal?

i'm so thankful that i am healthy and can do what i am doing. otherwise, i would never make it. i emailed the owner of that beautiful house i had under contract. i've had her on my mind for the past few weeks and decided i needed to at least let her know i am thinking about her. i just hope her realtor/cousin doesn't get her into a mess trying to short sale that property. i have done all i could to help her so i need to walk away from it in all ways. usually she emails me back right away, but i have not heard from her. i also have not heard from the couple i showed the property to on Saturday. i am trying out Freedom$oft and getting it set up slowly, plus reading the flip book that came with it. i have to get through all the modules too, but i can only do so much at a time. i'm doing my best not to feel overwhelmed with everything. i'm working on a lot of things in REI to just get me out there and get me some deals. i jsut remembered i need to go to CL and post an ad. i haven't done that in some time. i also was on a SA call about commercial REI. the speaker told about several of his deals and they were very interesting. unfortunately for me, i was really antsy and had a hard time paying attention. Wednesday i'm going to be on one about the REI mind set. that should be very interesting and i better pay better attention! i have not heard back from the treasurer either. what's up with that??? Jared, when he re-enlisted, requested that he be stationed at Fort Knox, KY for another year after he gets back from Afghanistan. that is a go, so i hope to visit him a little more in the near future. talked to both my daughters this morning too because i had a crazy dream about Danelle getting married (today is her anniversary) and Desiree wouldn't let me borrow any of her nice shoes to wear to the wedding. you should have seen what she kept giving me. YUK! we all had a good laugh about that. i would have rather been dreaming REI all night (that is, when i was sleeping a little here and there), which i have done in the past. well, i better get back to work. life is exciting and i'm ready! good things are happening.

i posted 2 ads yesterday on CL: one for wholesaling (the one i borrowed from Jen - BamaGirl) and one for L/O's. i got an email off both. the L/O one is kind of complicated and i'm waiting for her to email me her phone # and when is a good time to call. the other guy got tired of waiting for me to call him and called me right before i was going to call him. he's not a motivated seller at all. he bought a duplex (he said it is zoned for a duplex) 2 weeks ago and then he sees my ad and thought maybe i would buy it. i told him i work with other investors and i would go over everything and see what i can do. it's in a good rental area and he says it only needs $2000 in repairs. he said he's a businessman and has one other rental. i will do some research on it, but he wants $25,000 for it and zillow says the FMV is $38,000. i did tell him that zillow is usually way too high. it might be close on this one, but it's hard to tell until i do my research. i am getting some website stuff done and it's actually been rather fun. i'm doing a lot of setup for Freedom$oft and they do make it very easy. i hope getting the deals and closing them is that easy. for the rest of the day i have some work to do on finding the cash buyers in this area. i still haven't heard from the Treasurer's office, so i may just call. i also want to do some studying on private lending. yes, i tend to take on way too much stuff at once; it's just my nature. i have many interests and they all want "fed". i also have some L/O stuff to go over, but i don't know if i can work it in today or not. just trying to go with the flow right now and do what i can as i can.

i called the county Treasurer's office and a very nice lady there took me through all the steps to find the cash buyers on their website. now i am able to get the information; i just have to take a different route to get it. i also got another call on my ad from a seller that owns the property free and clear and needs to move back to Houston ASAP! he just wants a decent offer, not even what he put into it and repairs would be cosmetic, most likely. i realize everyone's opinion on that is different. now i have 2 to research and see what i can do. that ad always pulls.

it's beautiful here and much cooler. in fact, starting tomorrow we are supposed to be in the 60's during the day. i got a response to my L/O ad and it was supposedly a buyer wanting to know about my property. i explained about the ad and that i didn't have anything to tell her about right now, but if she would like to be on my buyers list, she could email me her criteria. i've gotten these before and i don't really trust them much. i doubt i will hear from her again unless she answers another of my ads. i'm on a SA call right now that is just about to end. i have a hard time sitting still when i'm on these calls, but there is always something worth hearing about. i researched the property with the unmotivated seller and i don't see any way we could work together. the property was listed for $9800 and then expired, so i figure he paid less for it and now he wants $25,000 without doing anything to the property. then he told me it was move-in ready except for $2000 worth of repairs, but not in my opinion. i saw the pics on the MLS and it was really nasty. the term slumlord came to mind and i don't see any of my buyers going for that. the other property might be interesting. he told me he posted it on CL but i couldn't find it so i need to let him know that. i want to see pics of it. then it looks like he has some tax penalties, small, but i don't care to see that. he did say he was getting ready to go pay them and he doesn't know i looked the information up. doing more work on Freedom$oft and i really like it more and more. i can see how it can really help your business become successful. continuing to study L/O's and PML too. it's all so interesting and exciting and i want to get out there and do something! hence, my ads. i'm still working on my cash buyers list, but Freedom$oft seems to have a way to make that happen much quicker, so i will try that one out. it's all fun and i'm really hyped up about it. i do have to note one thing i'm proud of myself for: i did not feed someone's anger yesterday. they had every reason to be upset and venting, but i did not play into it at all. i did my best to encourage and support, without feeding the anger. i also saw myself when i would get upset like that and how destructive it can be. releasing is working and it's working in me!

i am almost ready to make my first wholesale deal offer. there are a few more things to check out and i will do that tonight. i have some other things going on and they come first. it is a FSBO and so i have a little more leeway on things, which i like. my contract says that the seller understands i am looking for an end buyer. if i have to, i will tell him i don't invest in that area for myself, which is very true. i was on the Freedom$oft call last night and learned a few new things. i'm having the hardest time being still on all these calls and videos. i've never been that antsy before, but i'm ready for things to start happening. i have gotten quite a few of my cash buyers' information, but it is very time-consuming. i have a lot of entries to make in Freedom$oft and that is time-consuming as well, but i enjoy it. i've got almost 30 new buyers to add to my list and contact. i will probably do it through their direct mail campaign and ask them to email me their information so i have that email address right off the bat. if you have trouble figuring out how to find your county records online, try www.netronline.com. you can click on your state and go from there. it works really well. working away on L/O information and i will start searching for properties on Monday. my ad on CL only pulled one lead (which is more than usual) and she didn't answer me back. her situation is complicated, but i believe i can help her. studying PML has been interesting and learning how money is created is scary. banks create money out of thin air by you signing a mortgage. as you pay off the loan, the money is "uncreated". if you want to know more you can go to www.youtube.com and search for "money as debt". there are 5 total videos associated with that. tomorrow i will be tied up all day with 2 meetings. Jared called unexpectedly yesterday afternoon and i almost didn't answer. he always calls my cell phone and the area code was 757, which i didn't recognize. i decided to answer and i'm glad i did. it's always good to hear that slow drawl, although it can be hard for me to keep up with it.

well, with sadness i am packing to go to OK. it's time to stop beating a dead horse. i'll get over it. i still hope to snag a couple deals before i actually leave, but we'll see. no use in worrying about it. i have to figure out how i'm going to get moved from IN to OK easily and cheaply. i went to my REIA club meeting this morning. we had a panel on meth houses: health department, cop, inspector and remediators. it was very interesting and worth attending. i guess i better be up for some challenges like never before. i know once i get moved, i will be glad i did. it's just the getting there....

it's rainy here today, but still pleasant. i listened to a video the other day on how to post ads on CL, so i tried it out today. i couldn't do everything suggested, but i tried out a couple things. i will add more as i go along. Friday i talked with a friend from my REIA club and we will try to do a couple deals together to get us both moving forward. i guess i better get on it. we both need to run comps on a couple properties. my "partner" is rehabbing a bathroom for 3 days this week so i'm thinking about making an offer on a property (FSBO) and then if i have to change it after the inspection, i'll change it. i have a few pictures from the seller and it doesn't look too bad. of course, pictures can be misleading. i've had a lot of other things going on today, so i'm not doing everything i would like to be, but that's ok. it'll all work out eventually. i'm just thankful for the things that are going right.

Hello Linda:
I go by the name of Dino. I've never been much of an adademic student and am still having a difficult time understanding the basics.
Needless to say I am still struggeling to get my first deal done.
I see your from Indiana, I spent the weekend in the northern part of the state helping a friend of mine with an estate sale.
I like what I've seen so far and am considering a move to the state, from Illinois. Are you anywhere near the town of DuMont or Hebron ?
I would like to make and stay in contact with people from the state of Indiana and particularly those who invest in Real Estate.Learning as much as I can about the local market, I hear Indianappolis is a highly conentrated area where there are alot of Fix and Flip and Wholesaling going on.

thanks for stopping by. right now i am in Fort Wayne, IN, but i am packing up to move back to OK. i have no idea where DuMont and Hebron are; sorry. Indy is very hot right now, that's for sure. i hope everything works out well for you in your REI. if you have trouble studying, you might see about finding a local mentor who will help you learn by doing and maybe split your profits with him/her. some people learn better that way.