My path to success

It's almost been 2 months, and I'm still working on my property. It's taken a little longer than I thought it would, but plans always change and i'm cool with that. It's looking really good, and we should be done in the next couple weeks. Only paint and carpet needed to really give it the completion look. I just put together a final checklist for us to go over next time i'm there. Still trying to decide if I want to try section 8 on this property or not. Sounds like it would be a good idea, but i need to find out what do you need to qualify. I'm still under budget but it is getting close.
I've made a couple of other offers, but none were accepted. Really waiting to blast offers until i finish this property. I think i'll feel more comfortable with a little money in the bank and making offers.
I also had a meeting with my cousin the other day. He has his own website and does internet marketing. I'm gonna set up my website next week. We had such an empowering conversation and he has a vision very similar to mine, changing our families history and being the first to reach real success. We are on our way, and I can't wait!!!

OK, something inside of me is changing drastically. I am on a constant desire to learn and get educated, AND I LOVE IT! I can't stop reading, I can't stop listening to informative podcasts and Itunes U and I can't stop looking at TED videos on YouTube! There's so much information out there, AND IT'S FREE!!! JUST LIKE THIS WEBSITE, All of this information is obtainable. I'm currently studying psychology at Yale and MIT, IN THE COMFORT OF MY OWN HOME, AT MY OWN TIME!! WOW!!! Technology is so amazing!! There's nothing stopping us from success but our self! Now don't get me wrong, even though i'm reading all this stuff and gaining knowledge, I know knowledge without results is worthless. But believe me, i'm putting into action all the things i'm learning. I wish i would have had this desire years ago, i can only imagine how much further along in life and success i would be. Oh well. Can't change the past, but I can determine my future by decisions I make today. Thank you God for opportunity! Success, HERE I COME!!!!!

Where do I start? These last two days have been the most exciting days in my real estate investing career!!! I was one of the three chosen for the internship with Laura and Randy, and I still can't believe this is happening. They don't even know it, but i'm about to go so far above their expectations, and I can't wait to prove it to them! Makeba and I have been learning so much!!! This is something that i've wanted for years, and it's finally came to pass. Having an opportunity to learn from superstars that are currently buying and selling properties, WOW!!!! There's no way I won't be successful now unless I'm just super irresponsible (which i'm not) so in other words, SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!
As for an update on the above post, I haven't yet opened my website, and the property still isn't completed. I now understand why people say it always takes longer than you expect, especially on your first property. I'm still trying to learn how to be a good leader, because I see how important that is when running a business now. If you set standards, your team will abide by them. If they don't, get rid of em and find new team members that will, THAT SIMPLE!! I think right now I want to commit to just learning as much as I can from Laura and Randy so I can get better my skills of being a successful real estate investor. Just kinda playing it by ear now, but that's the direction i'm leaning towards. I'll keep you guys updated on our progress. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

Job Well Done - Good Stuff!

Well..... I'VE GOT MY RENTER!!!! SUCCESS!!! Property will be 100% complete by the 14th. Replacing knob and tube wiring now, calling lowe's to set up carpet install tomorrow, and last but not least will be the radon mitigation. It's funny because i've showed my property to about 15 different people, and the person renting it out from me is actually a friend (I know I know, don't rent to friends or family). They're paying me 6 months in advance on a 6 month lease, so I really didn't see any reason to not go with it. I learned so much every time I showed the property, and now I have a better idea of the right questions to ask people to find out quicker if i'm wasting my time or not. This has been a great ride so far, but it's only the beginning.
Also found me an investor today. I actually asked this person about purchasing the property when i first got it, but they weren't interested. Also tried to get him to invest when I first purchased, but i didn't have any real numbers ready only estimates. Today i had real numbers, and I already had a renter lined up so he was happy to invest. I understand what it takes to get an investor now. They want to know for sure that their money is for certain, and his is now since I have a renter. I know they say it's not for sure until you get money in hand, so i'll update in two weeks with the update. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

Went with Laura and showed some properties last week, but still haven't found that first deal for them yet. Working on a nice list now of about 25 properties. I'm sure at least one deal will come out of this. I'll update as soon as it happens. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

Well I said i'd update in two weeks, but I see that time has flew by and it's actually been four weeks. Starting with today, my wife and I went to the movies with another couple and saw ACT OF VALOR. GREAT MOVIE!!!! Afterwards we went and socialized at the Melting Pot. While we were sitting and talking, I brought up the idea of business and actually found out that my home boys wife (who we were there with)wants to own her own business. THIS BLEW MY MIND!!! She wasn't really particular on what type of business, so I asked how she felt about real estate investing. We talked about real estate and I told her I would get her a book to read and she was down for it. She expressed a little fear in real estate with not knowing property values because of the market, but I explained to her how comps work and she had a better understanding. She has an accounting degree and said she's very focused and can put together financial statements and get task done. I was very excited after having this conversation. I love finding people that have the same interest as I do, especially when they're intelligent and you can tell they wouldn't drag their feet when it comes to handling business. You never know who you already know, that you may be able to do big things with. It was getting a little late so I didn't get to ask all the questions I wanted to, but I would like to pick her brain a little more and see if we possible could get some things going together. VERY EXCITED!!!1
With my property situation, my renter fell through on me so i'm still trying to find a renter. Had a few calls this week, but still nothing for sure. For some reason i'm not even worried, just keeping my head up and knowing that every time I get a no, that yes is right around the corner.
I've been communicating with a bank about refinancing the property (the same bank I purchased from) for about two weeks now, and I finally got the call today from them saying they will approve me. AWWWWW YEAH!!!! Lol. Now I just need the property to appraise at 43750 or more because the banks minimum loan amount is 35k. I'll find out all this info next week, and I will keep making progress no matter what. My investor did come through, and we worked out a deal where I would give him a 20% return over a 3 month period. Since I don't have a renter yet, I've been paying this out of my pocket but It hasn't caused any problems since I was prepared.
I've been spending a lot of time on this property, and I know I need to hurry and make some type of progress with it so I can continue making other progresses. I haven't been able to focus on finding properties for Randy and Laura like I want either because I've been focusing so much on my investment property. It's all part of the learning curve, but I know I will be great at this. It's just taking a little longer than I was hoping, but none the less IT WILL HAPPEN. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhllllllllllllll yeah!!! As you can tell, i'm very excited. I got my appraisal done a couple of weeks ago on my property, and it came in at $45,000. THANK YOU JESUS!!! I received my check yesterday of $31,000 from the bank. I can't express in words how excited I was to accomplish this task. It's been a long time (7 months to be exact) and I know I can't take that much time on one property ever again. I still haven't found a renter yet, but I already have funds allocated for 6 months of payments. Besides, my first payment isn't due until June. I did meet a guy last night at my REI meeting, and he's going to hook me up with a guy that he used to get 100 calls in 3 days on a property he had for sale. This stuff really does work guys. My confidence in myself is so high right now because i've accomplished what I set out to do, I made money, I learned a lot during this journey and now I know I can do it again. Don't get it confused, I'M VERY HUMBLE!!! There's still so much I need to learn. I'm constantly reading books, listening to books and listening to podcasts. I've been searching through the MLS like crazy over the last few days since I knew I was about to receive my check. I drove by a few properties today that have good potential, but I have to go to my day job over the next couple days so i'll have to wait until this weekend to submit offers. But I'm about to start firing offers off now so I can get my other 4 properties done by July 28th. Do you think I can do it? I DO. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

Today was a good day! I think I may have found my first renters today. It's a young couple, and one of them is a student studying pharmacy at the university close by. THEY LOVED IT!! Paid the application fee, and want to move in on the 1st of may as long as everything's comes back ok. This has been a great week so far! Earlier this week I received my check from the title company, now I may have gotten my renter. It's funny how everything works out. All this time I've been waiting for the bank, and when it finally goes thru, I get my renter the same week. HOW AWESOME IS THIS!!!
I also went to an investor meeting yesterday, and received so much insight from another investor. It's amazing the things you never even think about, but when someone mentions it to you, you wonder why you hadn't thought of it. I gained a lot of confidence yesterday from this, and I love that there's actually other investors out there that are willing to help you, and answer any questions you ask to help you along your journey. This ride thus far is so awesome, and I can't wait to see what the future holds. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

You are an inspiration, glad to hear your persistence paid off, great job. One question how was your credit when you got the property from the bank? Did you pay it all cash? and how much were the repairs? thank you .

Money never sleeps....

Well, it's been almost a year since i've posted in my journal. So many changes!!! I now have 2 properties, and I've been searching for the 3rd. I did hit a rough spot for a little while when I purchased my second property. Reason being that I purchased a property that was already rented out, but it needed work on it. It was cash flowing good, so I wanted to purchase it mainly for that reason, and I knew it was at a good price for that property. Long story short, I took the cash from the refi of my first property and put 11K down on the property. The problem I ran into was raising the value of the property, and pulling out some of the equity. The people staying there weren't the cleanest, and it was hard for me to convince myself to go and pour money into this house just to have them tear it back up. But, i had to put money into it anyway because Wyandotte County Kansas makes you have whats called a renters permit, and they come and check out your property to make sure it's up to code. I'm currently in the process of getting the property appraised and refinanced, I just keep running into problems with the foreclosure on my credit from the real estate training program scam i was involved in years ago. There's always a problem, nothing ever goes smoothly how you want it to, but i'm learning you have to be persistant and find a way to make it work.
I will get back into updating my journal because I see that's when I was having the most success. Why stop doing something when it's sewing good fruit?
Over the last few months i've made a lot of good contacts in the real estate business. I've been going to alot of investor meetings and just being active so people can see my face, and know that I am serious. I've been reading Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" and it's helping take my mind to a whole other level. I just recently started a mastermind group where we're reading Think and Grow Rich, we'll meet and discuss our different outtakes, and after we read the book we're gonna see where our minds are, and what kinds of ideas we have as far as doing business(s) together. We have 6 people in the group right now, and everyone brings something different to the table. I can't wait to see where this "Mastermind Group" goes, and how much it helps me with my mindset for my real estate investing, and my life in general. I said it before, and i'll say it again. SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!! 2013 IS MY YEAR!

It is good to hear that you are moving forward, Brandon. Keep up the good work.

I finally gained the COURAGE to put out my bandit signs, and it seems like a whole new world has opened to me. I've been getting phone calls from motivated sellers, I've locked up 2 deals in contracts, one I've already found and signed the assignment of contract with my end buyer, and the other I haven't started marketing yet, but I'm sure it will go fast. Over coming my FEAR of doing something wrong, and just TAKING ACTION is what made the difference. I've learned so much since I put out the signs, and actually have to ask people certain questions, but more importantly listen to their answers. I've been having a blast!! Meeting new people, negotiating, selling, educating, I love all of it!! My wife hears the excitement in my voice every time I talk about what's going on in my real estate endeavors, and she knows I'm on the way!! No looking back!! Progress everyday!!! Meeting with another seller Tuesday to sign a contract, and that'll be deal #3. I haven't received any checks yet, but please believe I will post them when I do.
If you haven't already, put out your bandit signs. YOUR PHONE WILL RING!! YOU WILL FIND DEALS!! YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO TALK TO PEOPLE!! YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO GAUGE MOTIVATION.
JUST DO IT!! SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!!

Talk about motivation, man! It'd great to hear your spouse is on board, when not many partners or spouses will do it, or believe in you. Thank you & keep up the good work!

Wifey is definitely supportive and believes in me and my dreams, visions and goals. I'm so thankful that GOD gave me someone that would help build me up, and not tear me down. Now I just gotta get her more involved into the business.

WOW!!! This is really happening!!! My first wholesale deal is done! Money in the bank! Check in my hand! THIS STUFF WORKS!!! No money down! 10 hours invested into the deal, and I made $1,000 bucks!! $100/hr!!!! I don't even get half that at my day job, and I make pretty good money!! Lol. It only gets bigger and better from here. I CAN SEE IT, I CAN FEEL IT. I already have another deal set to close within the first week of May. $2500 on that one, and that'll be about 4 hours total time invested. $625/hr?? Thats freaking unbelieveable!!!!! Well, atleast it used to be to me, but not anymore. I'm building more momentun everyday, learning more every day, getting closer to that goal everyday. DON'T STOP! BE PERSISTENT!! MAKE PROGRESS EVERYDAY, AND IT WILL COME!! I'm living proof!! My goal is $15,000 by June 15th. Can I do it? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!! I CAN, AND I WILL!! SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!!!

Well.... Starting off, I didn't reach my goal of $15,000 by June 15th, and my other deal that we supposed to close fell thru, but no worries, Dusting off and continuing on this journey.
In other news, I'm about to be 30 in about 15 days, and my mind has been racing with so many thought, ideas, etc... The main one being that I want to quit my job, and pursue my dream full time. I've come to realize that I don't want to be that guy that says, "I wonder if I would've" or "I wish I would've". I'm gonna be the guy that says, " I tried it" or "I took that chance".
It's a scary thought, but thank god I have another source of income so I won't be completely tapped out. I've thought it thru, and I think its time for me to take that chance and to take that leap of faith. I plan on working a lot of overtime over the next few months, building up a nice nest egg, paying off my wife's vehicle and all credit card debt, and then taking that big step.
I'm ready to start enjoying life!! I'm sick of not doing what I want to do with my time!! I feel like a slave, AND I'M READY TO BE FREE!!! SUCCESS, HERE I COME!!!

I DID IT!! MY FIRST OFFICIAL FLIP!! Talk about a feeling of accomplishment. To have a dream, to work so hard, and to finally see it become reality is one of the best feelings in the world. I've been 30 for about 7 months now, and the first major breakthrough just happened! I was afraid of becoming 30, but as long as the 30s keep going like they are now, I'LL LOVE MY 30's! Lol.
We made a total of $45,000 on this one property!! CRAZY!!!
Details:
Purchased in May of 2012 for 43K. Was already rented out, so we let the renters stay and had them sign a new lease with us.
We cash flowed $542/mo for 12 months, and 400/mo for 4 months. We released the tenants in October 2013, and started rehab later that month. Rehab was $22K and completed at the end of December. Placed on the market on 12/31/13 and had an offer on 1/18/14. Asking price was $107,500. Negotiated down to $105K. Appraised at $106.
Sell price: $105,000
Purchase price: $43,000
Rehab price: $22,000
Profit from renting: $8,000
I'd be lying if I said this was a stroll in the park, because it wasn't. A lot of mistakes were made along the way. I've compiled a list of things I'll never do again from this experience. But I enjoyed every minute of it, and I'm ready to do it again.
Don't let anybody tell you you can't do it. Don't let anything stop you from continuing. I faced multiple challenges on my way to complete this deal, but I kept the end in mind. That kept me going. Be sure that you never stop learning. Knowledge and information will take you so far in life, but you have to be willing to put in the time. I've become obsessed with books and information over the last couple years, and it's changing my life.
ANYBODY CAN DO THIS, it just takes persistence and dedication. SUCCESS HERE I COME has been my slogan since I started this journal. Well my new slogan is, SUCCESS, I'M HERE!!!! And it's only gonna get better...
-BJACK

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've wrote a journal entry. I really need to get back to doing this on a persistent basis. Well...these last few months have been AWESOME!!! I've sold 3 houses in the last month. I've been focusing on contact for deeds lately, and I really like them. I met a guy at a Real Estate Investing Barbeque event a couple months ago, and this is by far the coolest, most patient, down to earth person i've ever met!
I've been looking for a mentor for years, and I've finally found the right person that's willing to teach me what i need to know in order to become successful FASTER. He's been teaching me about contract for deed and subject to existing financing deals, which is how I sold my last 3 houses. One house I actually bought for $13K for no money down, and a payment of $200/mo which wasn't due for another 2 weeks after the closing. Sold it in 3 weeks on a contract for deed for $5K down, and a payment of $550/mo. REAL ESTATE IS REAL!!! BUYING PROPERTIES WITH LITTLE OR NO MONEY IS REAL!!! Now i'm just looking for the $100K + house that I can get into for little or no money down.

If you're in the Kansas City area, and are looking for deals or may have some let me know.
BJACK