OfflineHello everyone. I am Lisa. I have spent the last 30 years of my life, raising 3 amazing children basically by myself, who are now productive members of society with families of their own.
I spent most of my life working for someone else, sometimes 2-3 jobs, to pay the bills and make ends meet. It meant being away from my children and missing many of life's precious moments. In the last 10 years, I had a wonderful career in Healthcare, where I was able to make a positive difference in patients lives, everyday. I worked really hard and those above me enjoyed promotions and raises as a result. I also traveled, a lot, and the fast paced always on the road lifestyle, took a toll on my health and my relationships.
I lost that job 13 months ago. Since then, my health has improved and my relationships are stronger and healthier. Then in, my mother broke her back. I find myself now as a parent to my parents. While she is healing and back at home, after 11 months in the hospital and long term care setting, I still am drawn to assist with daily activities that my aging father is not able to do. They live an hour + away, so this has been my full time job since Jan. 2013.
In the Weekly Wisdom last week, Dean perfectly described what you are about to read below. A Mazerati engine with Pinto breaks.
August 2013
Dean Graziosi and his wonderful staff found me. They said, Be in charge of your own destiny, the best way to predict the future, is to Create it. And I hit the ground running. After the initial 3 day workshop I was a wild woman, networking trying to build my power team, interviewing RE Agents (went through 9 right out the gate) reading books, learning the software and starting my new life. I finally found a Realtor, who is an investor and we clicked. He talked a great game and was eager to teach me. I signed an exclusive agreement with him which only a week later, proven to be a no-no.
September 2013
I attended the Boots on the Ground Training. As is my nature, a goal of 25 bandit signs was placed for me on night one, so I made 45 signs and placed 31. The phone started ringing. I can do this. After the BOG Training, I was on fire! I placed ads on CL and made more signs and began my buyers list, qualifying buyers and was really excited when I had 11 on my list, and another 15 that were not quite ready to buy.
October 2013
Las Vegas!!!! The buying summit was amazing. I learned so much and met some really great people. I got my Veil package to set myself up safely and came home ready to roll. My Mentor Randy came to town the following week and reinforced what I was doing right and redirected my energy into more suitable neighborhoods to target. He met my Realtor and confirmed why you do not sign an exclusive. I put signs out to generate buyers and sellers,,,but no calls. I found a couple of properties that would be Great Deals, but had no buyers for that area. After a couple of weeks with no investor calls from that area, I decided to start again a little closer to home. Hey, if it worked for Matt Larson, I will work for me.
November 2013
So I put out my signs, went to auctions and started to develop a buyers list. With 10 qualified buyers, stating they wanted to buy and hold in my home town, ready to roll in 3-4 weeks, I contacted a tired landlord, who is getting ready to retire. As luck would have it, he had two properties in the same neighborhood he was willing to part with, that met several of my buyers' criteria (or so I thought). Cool Beans. He offered them as a package deal. So I ran the numbers, and both were Great Deals for a buy/hold strategy. My market has a very slow resale market and the local Redevelopment and Housing department is desperate for rentals. I was able to get the properties under contract. Before the ink was dry, I sent pictures and emails to each of my investors with details on Section 8 rental #s, showing each property would generate a 30% cap rate. The investors should be all over this.
Nope. Each one had a reason, tax increase of $.04 at the first of the year, neighborhood, heating system (oil) etc. I put out more signs in the neighborhood and placed ads on CL. While I got quite a few (65+) calls, no takers on my properties. I was insightful enough to put a 15 day inspection by partners contingency clause in the contracts, just in case, and sadly, today I have called the seller and used my contingency to back out of the deal.
I have refined my existing buyers criteria to meet their newest expectations and will begin again with my signs and ads, but as you can imagine, I am a little sad. I did learn a lot from the experience which will help me going forward, but I am feeling disappointment.
December 4, 2013
So,,,,,today I start again. Focusing on adding more buyers to my list. I am researching a few properties that meet the criteria requested, but I am really going to pound the pavement for seasoned investors.
I know this was a Really Long first post, but I wanted to get everything that has happened down before I go farther down the path to success.
I welcome any and all tips, comments and encouragement anyone has to offer.
I CAN AND WILL DO THIS!!!!
As I expected, my Seller was upset about me backing out of the contract on his house. I explained that my partners had inspected the property and it did not pass inspection. He stated he is going to go ahead and finish the rehab and rent them out again.
The surprise came in when I notified the closing attorney that I was exiting the contract based on the failure of inspection. I had placed $200 EOM on the properties. Their charge for the title search that had already been done was $250. Hmmm, my next call is to the Hotline to find out how to avoid that next time. Another lesson learned.
I am headed out now to put my signs up in a new target area of my qualified buyers preference.
December 11, 2013
I have decided to work outside the comfort zone of my town. While heading to the "City" this week during the storm, I was forced to take back roads to avoid a terrible accident on the main highway. I found two abandoned brick SFHs. I was able to get the addresses to begin researching. They are just outside the city limits in the next town over, which boast 3 times the population, good school system and decent tax rates. While I am attempting to contact the absent owners, I will start putting my signs out in those two neighborhoods. My thoughts are, when the phone rings, it will be an investor who frequents the area or someone who needs to sell their home.
Focus item: Buyers List
I have 40 bandit signs ready to go out for the weekend.
I have carefully constructed an ad that I am placing on CraigsList and BackPage.
I have plenty of Investor Checklists printed and ready to fill out.
Locked and loaded. Wish me success!!
Great job on moving your blog over to the journal area!
Wow, I'm in awe of your drive and determination. It's clear from your journal that you're not afraid of hard work and you don't give up. Those are two of the most important characteristics of a successful person.
I know it's disappointing to have to start over again. But keep in mind that the first time is always the most difficult so this time will be much easier for you. You've definitely got this!
I'm so impressed with your work ethic and I'm inspired to be as relentless in my pursuit of success as you are in yours! You're amazing!
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I'm sure it will inspire many others to move forward and keep going. I look forward to keeping up with your story as it unfolds.
Happy Investing,
Samuel
If you have a problem contacting the owner of the vacant houses, I have actually stuck one of my bandit signs in the front yard. The owner will often call you.
If not, sometimes buyers call, interested in purchasing the property. Don't tell them you don't own it yet or they may beat you to finding the seller. Tell them you haven't decided yet what you are going to do with it. Get their info and what they are looking for and add them to your buyer's list.
What's the worst that can happen? You get yelled at and you just sweetly apologize. I actually nailed one on a dilapidated, falling down house once and they called yelling at me because they were still living in it! Whoops!
Karen
"You're never too old to be what you were meant to be!"
www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59128/day-for...
"Shining Like a Star & Dancing on Sunshine"
"Shoot for the moon! Even if you fall short, you'll still land among the stars!"
Thanks for the positivity!!! I am tenacious by nature so failure is not an option. Not being afraid of hard work has made my previous employers $$, now it is the foundation of my legacy. I just find different ways to accomplish my objectives. The encouragement from other investors is helping me stay motivated.
I haven't checked your update for today, but I am sure you are on track.
I look forward to reading your successes as well.
Brightest Blessings,
Lisa
Whoops indeed, lol. It breaks my heart when I see people living in those types of conditions. I haven't had that happen yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of time. I have made some great contacts at several city offices and they have been very helpful with providing owner information. I also know how to skip trace, so that comes in handy.
I was working on a property with another wholesaler and we found out it was nonconforming to current city codes. The house really needs to be torn down and start again. The price is right to do that, however, if we change the foundation of the house, we have to follow current coding. We wouldn't even be able to build a house of cards on the lot.
So we found out who owned the empty lot next door. He is out of state, so I hand wrote him 2 postcards and a letter over a 2 week time period. The other wholesaler mailed him a offer to buy with a contract. We still haven't heard anything back. My mentor suggested we send him another letter via FedEx (who doesn't like to see a FedEx truck pull up) and offer him a $50 gift card just to call us. I wrote the letter today and we will send it off tomorrow.
I will let you know what happens.
Brightest blessings,
Lisa
I called my Realtor to have him revise the search criteria to produce more properties. I look forward to a new set of properties to sort through tomorrow.
After writing ads to post on Craigslist and BackPage, I went back into the Marketing section on PMI and neither ad passed "the test". So I went through the ads on both sites and called 10 "we buy houses" ads. All the ones I called were wholesalers so we exchanged information with hopes of doing business together. They each had a few buyers on their lists that could move in <4 weeks so they will be a great back ups on deals.
I braved the cold windy day and headed out to place signs. My goal was 10. After the second sign, I came across a For Rent property whose sign had blown over. I pulled in and fixed the sign as best I could. Once back in the comfort of my warm truck, I called the number. He gave me the specifics on the house and asked if it met my criteria. I explained I was an investor also and I was looking for rentals for distressed homeowners that I was working with to prevent foreclosure. I asked if he had any rentals he was willing to sell, he doesn't. I asked how many of his rentals were vacant and he said this one had been vacant for about 6 weeks and he had one other that was a total rehab that was coming along, but would probably take another 3-4 weeks to finish. He stated he buys his rentals at Tax Lien Auctions. I asked him if he was looking to expand his portfolio and he said not until he got the other rental completed. We are going to meet on Saturday to walk the properties and I will have a Buyers Form with me.
I placed another two signs before I came across a FSBO, an abandoned house and two more For Rents. I wrote all the addresses and phone numbers down and have lots to do in the morning.
Well, I met a potential buyer, found a couple of great houses and got four signs out. I call that a win. That just means I have 16 signs to put out tomorrow. Thankfully, it is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer tomorrow. Yay!! Time for hot cocoa.
I have been on IE learning and working toward my path to success and opportunity to shine,,,,,I will copy and paste some of my notes for those who follow me but aren't on Insider Elite.
I went to my first REIGroup meeting and met only half of the participants, but they were amazing. I have an Attorney now, a home inspector and a property manager that I can contact for advise and ask questions. I also met a tycoon that is working on a multi-property package for a hedge fund. I am meeting with his team to get criteria so I can be a part of his amazing business and learn while I earn.
While the personal side of life has been challenging with aging and ailing parents, being able to help them has been wonderful and really helps me focus on growing my business so I can help more. It takes time away from learning and taking actions sometimes, but it has it rewards also.
I look forward to catching up with all of you I follow for inspiration. Happy Investing!!!!!
Welcome and Best Wishes!
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