Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

i had a lot of things to do today, including checking my blood pressure at the Redi-Med. they do it for free so i go in once a week right now to keep an eye on it. each time it's down a little farther. i think my body is actually starting to work right. i called on 2 of my business credit cards to see if they would lower the interest rates. no go. not happy about that at all, but at least i tried. they aren't doing it for anybody right now, i guess. i have a good record with them and a good credit score. i posted that short sale information here and on the forum. i have to say that despite my many postings and a few forum topics, i still have not one medal, etc. we ran the numbers on the rehab house last night and they just don't work. we would be lucky to break even. so, on to the next one. i used to do affirmations (i actually call them prophecies because i'm prophesying over my life) all the time, but with mom getting really bad, then passing away, and all the other stuff going on, i haven't done them for a few months. i realized that i NEEDED to do them and now. so, i got started again this morning and i feel much better. in fact, i said i was receiving my money this week. well, i was talking about other money, but i did receive my state refund check today. that was a blessing. i posted 2 ads on craigslist and changed things up a bit. we'll see what happens with that.

Hi Linda,
Thanks for stopping by my journal.
Fortunately, I have not had anybody discourage me yet... though I did get a few horror stories about renters from someone (6 months to get them out) thank you very much sir! I am not evangelizing to others about real estate investment just yet. I keep it fairly quiet for the most part. Ahemmmm. Not even my wife knows what my investment has been so far... no sense in making her concerned for no reason right?!
I know there is a Napoleon Hill quote in here somewhere... I couldn't find the exact quote but paraphrased it would be, Tell people what you are going to do, after you have done it.

Roger

thanks for stopping by. i love the quote and should probably keep it in mind. i'm an open-book sort of person, but sometimes it is best to keep the mouth shut.

pdqservicesinc wrote:

thanks for stopping by. i love the quote and should probably keep it in mind. i'm an open-book sort of person, but sometimes it is best to keep the mouth shut.

Linda, hope you're feeling better and things are picking up for you

i am posting early today because Chuck is getting off at noon and will probably be in and out the rest of the day. his son and my son should be here this evening. the 3 of them, Chuck's Dad and Chuck's son-in-law are going on a fishing trip tomorrow if the weather cooperates. good male bonding time. our sons have never met before so it should be interesting. my mortgage broker fixed a picture of me so i could post it on the MLS. so sweet of her. she is working on setting up 2 accounts for me on her free website thing (i'm so technical ) i will have an MLS account and a lease/option account. once they are set up, then i can go in and input all the info as i have properties. it creates a separate website for each listing and there is no charge. i did go through 88 MLS emails yesterday looking for properties for 2 investors. i need to work through them more specifically now so i send what i think might work. i also have to go through my expired listings and my sold listings looking for cash buyers. i emailed the realtor from the rehab house to let her know it wouldn't work for us. she is really sweet and told me of another property she has that needs minor repairs and has no offers on it. we need to check out the area a little more, but it might be okay. again, i think it is probably overpriced, but we shall see. i have been reading Chris's journal (cbrindamour - hope that's right) and just the first page was full of so much information i had to take notes. his HUD information is very good. i am going to try his voice mail message as an ad and see what happens with that. i haven't heard anything on the 2 ads i placed yesterday but i will use those same ones again on Sunday evening. i don't know if any of you have ever heard of KIVA, but i do micro loans through them to help people in foreign countries start their own businesses and grow them. i figure that is my way of "planting seed" for my businesses. i get to place some more money tomorrow. as the loans are repaid, then i can cash out or loan again. i don't ever think of that money as mine anymore; i just have a blast finding someone else to loan that money to. the more i help people get what they want, the more i will have of what i want. my main realty company's founder and CEO sends out little encouragement messages every day. then he also sends an affirmation CD in your welcome packet. i started listening to mine today. i just put it here in my office and i listen while i work. i also have a Creative Question out that asks 2 questions: "why am i wealthy" and "how do i feel when i feel wealthy". gotta keep my eye on the prize(s).

Greetings and Welcome!
I will tell you this, once you get started, there's no turning back!

Good luck,

Peace and Blessings,

thanks for visiting my journal. i've tried to walk away from REI before; just can't do it. i think it's in my blood and my heart. how are things going with you?

probably not. i think you are getting to know me way too well.

i'm doing pretty good. i think things are picking up for me; i just take it a little slow right now. once i'm good at all this, i will pick up the speed.

Everytime I stop by there is more and more people reading and commenting on your daily story. I enjoy all their quotes and the information is helpful for the long term as well. Its good to hear your blood pressure is coming down weekly.

I wanted to check in and say hello and WOW you are getting so much done! I enjoy reading your posts and appreciate all that you share.

Interesting about your micro loans and very kind of you to help others.

I'm happy to hear about your mortgage broker being such a big help to you with your MLS and L/O account You have a way of bringing out the best in people.

Hope the guys had a fun fishing/male bonding trip!

Take care my friend.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Just stoped by to say Hi and hang in their. As long as you keep taking action things will start falling into place.

Randy

good to hear from you. these journals can be a wealth of information for sure, and the encouragement is worth its weight in gold.

thanks for checking in again. the guys did have a good trip, although my son didn't make it. he got called to take a run to Wisconsin for what they call an "incident". i'm sure he was happy. you can't beat loving your job! you take care too, good friend.

thanks for stopping by. the Academy has really helped me with the Action Taking, believe me.

not much real estate going on today. i only got 3 hours of sleep because Chuck had to be up at 2:15am for the fishing trip. then everyone came over here. they were actually pretty quiet, but i was just wide awake. now i'm not. i did listen to some real short information videos and when i get a chance to check them out, i may tell you about them. i want to make sure they actually work first. just was emailed a possible "handyman special" from the office of one of my investors. i'll check it out and see if we can work with it. you never know. it wouldn't be unlike me to do a backwards-type deal. hard for me to follow the norm.

just got a call from my mortgage broker. she and her husband have been thinking about investing for several years and now they want to take the plunge. i recommended Dean's books and this website because they haven't studied anything on investing at all. they are interested in 2 HUD homes and i told her i would be happy to take them on and show them the houses, but my broker would have to submit the bids because i am not qualified to do that. she is going to call him Monday and see if he wants to work it that way. he is far more interested in commercial deals, and i can show them houses and do most everything else. we'll see what the outcome of that is. i may also set up what i call a "bump out" list to email them properties as they come up. we may start under $25,000 and then increase if necessary. there are many, many properties here for under $25,000. this is a good area to invest in and we have alot of investors. i also suggested again that she visit my REI club to get more help. i get really passionate when i talk about REI and i think i get louder too. hope i didn't break her eardrums!

again, not much real estate investing going on today, yet always moving forward. we went to the lake to take the pontoon up there and between us both, we're so exhausted from everything else we've been doing. i hope we're both back in shape by tomorrow. last night i did get an email from an investor. i went to www.**** about a month ago per advice here on DG. i emailed everyone that had an email address, but didn't really have any response until last night. one of them emailed me back. he was cleaning out his emails and found one from me. he said he would be happy to pay me a fee and he is investing from another state. i will get with him this week to find out more about what he's looking for. it was definitely a nice surprise. Chuck and i did talk about some investing stuff on our drive to Michigan with the pontoon. we had a good discussion and shared some ideas. as i've seen here on DG, i'm the investor/realtor and he's the contractor. makes for a great team, as long as you can work together and be supportive of each other. i'm putting together my idea of a "schedule" to work each week. i need a routine and probably talked about this in an earlier post. i need to have a couple specific things i work on each weekday, such as on Monday research properties on the MLS and do an Academy lesson; Tuesday, drive neighborhoods and call for rent ads; etc. i think that consistency would drive me faster to my first deal and beyond. if anyone has any input on this, please share. thanks.

it's a pretty day out and i'm so thankful to get a break from rain. i emailed the investor who finally contacted me and asked for a good time to call him and visit. i got to talk to Lea from here on the sight this morning and that was so pleasant. she really is as sweet as she seems to be. we're going to talk again tomorrow about that short sale i'm looking at. i'm leaning toward just handling it as a realtor because i don't know that there is a way for me to be an investor in this deal. that's ok. i've gotten one email from my RE club and have someone who might be interested. i'm thinking of using it like a ghost ad too, without giving too much information away. i signed up with Carol Stinson as a Property Locator, along with letting them know i am a realtor. i'm just trying to find a way to do some deals here. i emailed several properties to one of my investors on my buyers list; nothing from him yet. i'm also working on scheduling regular activities weekly so i know what to do each day for sure. the HVAC guy we like from my RE club emailed me to call him, so i did. i referred him to my mortgage broker. i may have mentioned this, but i don't remember: we got invited to play Cash Flow at an investor's house this Thursday. he has a mentor coming from Robert Kiyosaki and the mentor is going to moderate the game and teach us some things. i've only played 3 times and have been talking about it for the past couple months. i'm really excited. we are going to check out a property tonight (do a drive-by) and see if it's worth messing with. we're not too sure about the area.

It was great talking with you today I just pm'd you. Looking forward to talking to you again soon (tomorrow.)

Your DG Sister,
Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

I love your journal and I did what you said I have bookmarked 3 so far and will be reading daily.

Please let me know about your Cash Flow experience, I loved it the 2 times I played and look forward to play in the near future....my problem is the only ones that seem to still play it in my area play on Sunday and that is my church and family time. I told my hubbie that we need to purchase it ourselves and host a group at our home....He is thinking not that open regarding having strangers in the home I told him we could look for another location.

You and I need to set a date to play on line.....I also like your idea about the schedule....I don't know if you read my journal entry today but I took some organizational steps today and will keep working I don't want to waste the opportunity of not working full time right now...I want to be as productive as possible.

Much Success

thanks; i feel the same way. talking to you today was just as fun. i could easily make it a habit if we both weren't so busy. just thinking about our call today makes me smile. i guess we will have to meet up at the EDGE next year. can't wait. talk to you again soon.

thank you. i'm so glad you stop by and read my crazy postings. sometimes they aren't about real estate so much, but i feel that it's a way to know about me. i will let you know about the Cash Flow game; i'm so excited. i do want to play online with you; that will be so much fun. i have to kind of get myself "evened out" here because i'm running in all directions at the moment. i feel like a chicken with its head cut off. i haven't checked out your journal yet today, but i do just about every day whether i post something there or not. i'll be heading over there just shortly. don't be too hard on yourself; you are very productive. we just usually don't see what others see in us. you're doing a great job!

okay, today i feel like a chicken with its head cut off, running around in circles. yesterday i felt a little discouragement toward the end of the day because i just wasn't where i wanted to be. today i don't have time to feel that way at all. talking to Lea the past couple days has been a real blessing. she is so helpful and kind, and we had a couple good laughs too. today i got a bit of a later start than i wanted to because i just couldn't get up, but i am making myself do my affirmations no matter what during the week. that's when i have my privacy and can do what i want during the day. we did drive by a property last night. it didn't look bad, but it just didn't "hit" us upside the head, so we are passing on it. tonight i'm taking my mortgage broker and her husband to look at 4 properties for an investment. they want to rehab and flip. they have cash and own an A+ rated mortgage brokerage. oh, how i wish they would be the perfect investor clients! my sales manager all ready has them making offers and i haven't even shown them the properties yet. Chuck said he is willing to do the contracting for them, if they are interested and he is still saying that today. i had to run over to my realty office to get HUD keys made, then Chuck took me out for a very nice lunch because who knows when we will eat supper (and i can't miss a meal or 20 snacks!). i stopped by the mortgage broker's office on my way home and gave her some info on Equity Trust (self-directed IRA's) and some forms to help with evaluation of the properties. i tell ya, i am awesome (i'm not trying to brag here) at telling other people what to do and how to do it (yes, i'm very bossy and opinionated) and i need to take my own advice. the thing is, when it comes to me, my mind goes blank and that's why i need the Success Academy and other investors. i have been doing consulting on investing for years and people know i'm educated and know what to do, so they don't even care if i've done a deal or not. i have been told numerous times to charge for consulting. maybe i will when i can get some deals under my belt. oh, Lordy!

you better stop playing around and charge people for your time

you are right, but how do i do that in this situation? thanks.

Charge an upfront charge of 3-4 hours of what your hourly rate would be

Make it worth your while, i'd say $20+ an hour, but charge them $80 upfront which covers your first 2 hours and then $20 every hour after that

Your time is valuable Linda; make sure people know it. People tend to take advantage of free things

I agree w/ Elix B if people know they can come to you for free - they alwasy will..you have put in the time and money to gain the level of knowledge you have and that is worth a dollar amount. I like the upfront fee but I do believe you should charge at least $35...people pay for what they want and if they want what you have to offer they will pay you or someone else.

I do you think most of the Guru got started, they realized they had some knowledge that was worth something to someone.

Just something to think about. You are worth more then you know. Add that to your affirmation "I add value to other life - I am worth it"

Wow Linda seems like you are taking off now. I am just trying to read it all and process the happiness you are showing. Good Luck with everything. The cash flow game was it helpful and as fun as it sounds?

Elix and Erika, thank you for your input. now to figure out how to advertise myself and put myself out there. i think your price ranges are right on, especially in this economic climate.

Tammy, thanks for checking in. i'm working on it. will play cash flow tomorrow and post about it on Friday.

last night Chuck and I showed a young family 4 properties (well, one we couldn't get into because the lockbox was broken and the key was missing. i did inform the listing agent.) it's nice to have Chuck with me because he can go over the construction, etc., helping them understand what is going on in the house. they will still have a professional inspection, but he helps them out upfront. they really appreciated his input and think he is just great. he may do the rehab for them, he may not, but he is willing to help in this capacity. i ended up talking to a real estate broker from another brokerage this morning. it was a very upsetting call for me and very unnerving. the first thing she told me was that i made a huge mistake getting my license if i want to invest - double set of rules/laws to deal with. she helps the FBI and they are really getting nasty about every little detail in real estate transactions. for instance, a mortgage broker who buys, rehabs and sells an investment property cannot be a lender to the end buyer. maybe everyone else knows this, but i did not. i went right to my client and she knew all about it and is happy to disclose whatever in the contracts. i believe in full disclosure, but sometimes i'm not sure what to disclose. then this real estate broker tells me she won't touch an agent who does investing, especially land contracts and lease/options because it violates the contract between the lender and the homeowner. if anyone has anything to say here, please do. she also told me it's all about perception, and not just the law. to be honest, i haven't recovered yet from all she told me. i meant to only have a short conversation with her, but it lasted over an hour and made me wonder if i should throw in the towel on real estate period. Chuck came home for lunch and helped me calm down some by just talking about it. well, my client wants to look at more properties and we'll do that Friday or Saturday. tonight i'm going to my niece's T-ball game tonight and hang out with my sister, who should have been a professional comedienne. i remember one time when Danelle was playing soccer and my sister, Shelly, had come to visit and we all went to Nell's game. Shelly told my daughter, Desiree (who would not play sports because she cannot sweat or get dirty), to ask Nell if she could call her "boo boo kitty". Desiree didn't hear her right and asked if Shelly could call Nell "poop on kitty". of course, Danelle said a big no! She hated us yelling "run, Nellie, run!" enough all ready, let alone someone calling her "poop on kitty". this may not be interesting to anyone else, but it makes me feel a little better being able to laugh.

I am sorry to hear about the upsetting conversation you had with the broker . In my humble opinion, if she doesn't work with investors she is limiting the number of folks who will buy. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you here but don't. Maybe Elix or someone else will be able to make sense out of this for you. Maybe someone from your REI group? Maybe another broker?

What I can tell you is when we started we had people say that things weren't legal when they were. They just weren't educated enough to know how to do things legally.

Thanks for sharing the 'boo boo kitty/poop on kitty' story, that is funny . They say laughter is the best medicine and it's true! It's hard to feel bad when you are laughing.

Take care my friend,

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC