Lea's Journal

I appreciate your thoughts on L/O (and any thoughts you ever have.) Yes, I would be sure to get a non-refundable down payment (including $ for us.) Thanks! It was nice talking to you the other day even though one of us hung up on each other. LOL I don't know what happened. Our power may have gone off and on quickly because it was raining when we spoke. If that's the case then since we were on the magic jack line that explaines it. Will talk to you soon.

Take care my friend.

Lea

I can't tell you how nice it was to get to talk to you the other day! Getting to talk to you and hearing your voice after all these posts made my day. About that picture I don't have any because I don't like (hate) having my picture taken. LOL! Like you, Linda brought that up once too.

That is great news about the realtor getting pics for you. Yes, please keep us in mind for anything that comes up we are happy to help. Denny and I will have to drive by this property anyway. He said that I know it and that when we lived in a different neighborhood closer to it (about 6 years ago) we used to check it out all the time. I don't remember but he swears it will come back to me when I see it.

As Richie says you are to 'blame' in helping with his creativity. Now look at what you went and did HA! HA! HA! Like I told Richie at this rate they will have to name a street after 'him' and after 'you.' There is just no stopping either one of you About the other property he told you about, get with him. He is being creative again

Whenever you and Richie should get down this way you can bet that Denny and I will certainly roll out the red carpet for you both.

Lea

Hey,you ladies are giving me a complex
I do loving think ways around things, I always believed there is a way to get around most problems if you think outside the box like Dean says. Laura definately had a hand in getting me going from the time we were house hunting together.
Spoke to Laura on that home Lea, I told her about another ave to look into if she wanted to pursue that deal.
I have decided to hire a private detective to photograph you when least expected. I may be able to sell it to the poparazzi since no one has a photo of you

Good luck on those deals and keep pushing to get them locked up.

Richie

Glad Laura of all people got to hear the 'wisdom' of your words on that property. Don't get a complex just get another duplex HA! HA! OK even I'll admit that was corny.

You are toooo funny about the photo and poparazzi!! Guess I'll have to go out now incognito LOL! Well here's a pic of us in the field, sorry we didn't get the plow horses in too LOL

Thanks Richie for your support and well wishes on those properties and for all that you do. Will absolutely keep you posted.

Lea

i didn't realize how short you and Denny are. how are things going with the multitude of properties??? i think you and Denny have kind of started your own "property locator" business. way to go!

HAHAHA, you got me. Its all good, my mom never like being photographed and neither does my son, SO i hear where your coming from
That being said, I am glad you are pushing to get your comps on those deals.
Like I said, if need be we can go the other way like I suggested. We have to get you rolling either way so you can make your offers and find out if it works for the seller.
Well I did tell you about the utilitys on the duplex, that was more than I expected but it had to be done. hopefully Tom gets started like planned and we can get the one unit up and running soon. I did gert a positive feed back on my letter to the bank. I will post it in my journal tonight. Also I recieved an e-mail that the property I had bidded on andlost out is still available. I guess Laura didnt want it either since she is going forward with the St Lucie one possibly.
Happy Birthday to DENNY!!!

TALK TO YOU SOON. You guys are doing great and I know you will get that deal done and some of the others your workinig on.

Richie

Aka my cool breezes Linda, as Richie mentioned and we talked about this afternoon it's been tough getting comps. Thanks for your thoughts and guidance on this. I enjoyed talking with you today. Richie, thank you for your help with this too! I spoke with the property owner again today and he has been ever so patient WOW! All I can be with him is honest and upfront and he seems to appreciate it. As I've mentioned an an earlier post he is a caregiver to his wife who was in an accident and sustained a permanent brain injury. My heart goes out to him and I have some understanding from my days as a caregiver to my Dad. So I have put him in contact with some local resources that could be helpful to him and his wife.

Richie, about the utilities, at least you'll get the money back after your tenants move in. For some reason that area has much higher utility costs (different company than here.) I'm so happy that you are getting positive feedback from your letter YIPPEE I'll keep my eyes on your journal for your post on this. Interesting that the property you put a bid on and lost is now available again - Go Richie! Please keep in mind the other duplex I heard about today. When it's ready I'll let you know immediately. I'm looking forward to hearing how the PSL property Laura is interested progresses. Thanks for the Happy Birthday wishes to Denny. I've been having fun calling him an old man all week LOL! Don't know why I'm laughing I got my 1st AARP letter a while back (but couldn't help but laugh at that too ) - guess it's some kind of rite of passage LOL!

I got the details on a grocery store (in the town where your duplexes are Richie) and it is designed to help folks who are out of work or have had there hours cut back to buy affordable groceries. This could be a resource for your tenants if necessary or anyone for that matter. The folks that used to make donations to this store are now receiving donations from it.

Again, thanks to you both for EVERYTHING!

Lea

just glad i can help. did you get something worked out on the comps? i'm so glad your property owner is being so patient. it's rare when you find someone who's upfront and honest, so he's probably just thankful to be working with you. when i talked to Denny, i forgot to tell him happy birthday. please tell him for me if he doesn't read my post. have a wonderful weekend!!

You were a big help. I spoke to one today who was attends REI meetings in our area. He said he would do these comps for us. Will keep you posted.

Thank you for the Happy Birthday wishes to Denny. I'll be sure to pass them along.

You have a wonderful weekend too!

Lea

First - belated Happy Bday wishes to Denny! I'm laughing about your first AARP letter...I actually get a 'senior' discount at the local pancake house now haha. Oh well - if we're gonna get "old" we might as well take every advantage of it, right?! We've earned it! All that aside - love following all your real estate action and interaction!

Denny says thanks for the belated happy b'day wishes. That's funny about your discount Yes, we should take advantage of these things

We are progressing slowly on these properties. As I've said before I am grateful that the owner is so patient. He said he is not in a hurry. I've asked the owner for a copy of the leases. He said they are month by month rentals but I believe one of them has 8 or 9 months left on the lease. When him and I talked we were on the phone for a while. For the most part I just listen. Remember, he is a caregiver so he doesn't get out much or have many people to talk to. We've developed a nice relationship.

We did get comps for these properties and drove by all of the comps and properties to compare to see if the comps are good. Overall they are good comps. One of the properties is a 2/1 but they are in the process of turning it into a 3/2. When we looked at the property they hadn't started the work on the 2nd bedroom yet. What they are considering a bedroom is really a family room unless they close off both sliders, one going in from outside and one next to the living room and then add a closet. It's a fair size room. We have our offers ready and once we get the leases we'll be ready to go.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here but feel it's worth mentioning about our ex-partner. We made a mistake and relied on someone else who wasn't up to par to help with things like comps and follow up. We are still in the market for a REA. I had hoped the agent who gave us the comps would have worked out better. I'm not sure why he doesn't return phone calls but am guessing that investors who are 'heavy hitters' are keeping him plenty busy. Still overall this has been a great learning experience for us.

Next week we are meeting with a short sale investor. I do not want to be as heavily involved in short sales as we were. It's time for us to branch out in a new direction. However, it's likely we'll be in contact with people who want to do a short sale on their property so I would like to have a GOOD, no EXCELLENT person to put them in contact with.

Work is going good at Richie's duplex and Denny is going to check out it's progress today.

Lea

Glad to hear you are still progressing on these properties. Its good to do all your due diligence - its not like they are going to disappear overnight! I'm glad you are taking the lessons learned from your bad experience and moving forward! I like to remember there arent really any failures unless we DONT learn the lesson from them, which you have
By the way - I laughed so hard at your post in Richies journal I nearly peed my pants !!!!!

THANK YOU for your support and words of wisdom on this. It means a lot

I'm so glad you got a good laugh from the 'incident' too! When Denny told me we were both laughing so hard we were crying. Poor Tom, but he was laughing too! I called to check on him last night and he is doing fine. He's getting lots of extra pampering and TLC from his family. Without him knowing next time we are there we are going to put a sign that reads 'Hard Hat Area' on the cabinets LOL He will be wearing a hard hat now while working on Richie's duplex.

Lea

that was hilarious!!

Yes it was funny. Just goes to show you the difference between a woman and man's mind sometimes. A friend of mine and I were carrying a plastic table to the street and our yard goes down hill a bit. I un-gracefully fell. My friend of course was all worried and concerned and gave me a hug asking if I was OK. Denny on the other hand couldn't stop laughing It was funny but would have been funnier if it was someone else. LOL!

Have a great day and a wonderful REI week!!

Lea

i finally found my magic jack! i had to get it set up again and jump through a bunch of hoops, but i got it done. i'm taking it to OK with me and i can use it to call from my daughter's home phone if i want to. i put it in a suitcase i don't use and decided to put all my books and magazines in it to take with me. i never would have found it otherwise. what possessed me to put it in there? i will find a much better place for it when i come back home. duh! anyway, i feel much better now that i found it. please don't let me put anything in a safe place for you. very dangerous!

Linda, Well at least you know that you are very good at hiding things Maybe you didn't really mean to put it there at the time and then fogot - who knows. But I sure am glad that you found it!! It will come in very handy for your trip too And the countdown for that is on

Lea

Hey Lea and Denny, just checking in. I am so excited that you have your lease agreements to look over so you can figure out how the rents would work against the price you will sell for. I know you guys are a little nervous but I believe you will make a nice sum if the owner agree's with your offers.
So get those things done and submit them!!!
I am sure I will give you a call tomorrow anyway to say good morning
Keep up th hard work and thank you for all you do for me too. You are a big part of why things are going well for me doing long distance investing.
If things go my way with the bank refi people I may be visiting sooner
But I dont want to get ahead of myself. good luck and go get em!!

Richie

Sorry I took so long in responding to you but we get to talk every so often and I just wasn't thinking. THANK YOU for everything!! Denny & I do enjoy working with you, it's been a pleasure Will let you know when we here back from the owner of these properties. We will be honorary attendants at the grand opening of your duplex substituting for you LOL The work is winding down so almost one down and one more to go!! and another and another and another ...

Lea

We got our offers in for the 7 properties. It took a while because our lack of our lack of experience and because the owner and his son kept changing their minds about which properties they want to sell. It kept ranging from 6-8. We should hear back in less than a week.

One of our buyers is interested in this deal and wants to be the 1st one to be notified even though not all of these properties fit his criteria. The owner said he will only sell these properties in a bulk package no cherry picking.

The above mentioned buyer lives in TN and is planning a move to FL and buys properties in both areas. We have never met in person but have had some nice conversations by phone. In a couple weeks him, his wife and father-in-law will be here for a get away to do some fishing. He said he wants to get together with us for dinner one night while he is here.

I have to say a special thank you and shout out to Richie and Linda for all of their thoughts, help, suggestions and time they took to share their knowledge with us on this. Without them it would have been harder for us and not nearly as much fun Now I really 'get' why other DG family members have said that even though a deal didn't go through for them they were happy for the learning experience!! We will be better at this next time around.

We attended a different REI meeting recently that is by invitation only. We enjoyed it and got to talk to everyone there. Some folks we've seen in our travels and others we just met. It was great networking. The other group we have attended spends the majority of the time selling stuff and not a lof of networking.

Unrelated to REI, last Thursday night we went to a bowling fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association. One of our cash investors met us at the restaurant next door and he brought his 2 daughters. The restaurant was donating 15% of their profits from the check. A friend of ours joined us too and we all had a meal together before the bowling started. All of us had a fun time.

Yesterday was my b'day. My sister-in-law is coming over this weekend. She is bringing a little bottle of tequila because she insists that a woman 'my age' should have tried a shot of tequila at some time in her life LOL! We'll be playing the song 'Coconut.' If you wnat to share in the celebration on Friday night here is a link to the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA9OqUuA6a0 We'll be dancing around like they did in the movie practical magic

Lea

sorry i missed your birthday. happy belated birthday! how was the tequila? we have a running joke in our family that my kids will never let me drink much because they are afraid of what i'll do (like dancing on the tables, etc.). that REI meeting sounds awesome and the fundraiser. can't wait to have a real talk with you soon. take care.

Congrats on getting those offers submitted! I just love watching you progress with this deal and cant wait to follow along as it unfolds and I wish you guys great success with it! Its been a long time coming!

AND HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LEA!!!!!!!
Hope you had great fun with your sister in law...and that the tequila didnt killya haha!

Thank you for the belated b'day wishes. Tequila burns! Denny's sister and I did 2 shots. Denny didn't have any. I think it's the 'ceremony' part of it that makes it fun and funny (lime and salt.)

We did enjoy the REI meeting.

Denny's sister went home this afternoon. The time flew by quickly.

Looking forward to talking to you when you get back home. I peeked in on your journal and am glad Danelle, the new baby, Grayson and her husband are doing well. It's so kind of you to help out. I'm sorry you weren't feeling that great and that Chuck isn't feeling well.

Seems no matter where you go you end up cooking LOL!

Lea

Thanks fr following along and for your well wishes on this offer Your right it has been a long time coming.

Thank you too for the belated b'day wishes. My sister-in-law told me I qualify for discounts at restaurants now LOL!

The tequila didn't kill either of us LOL! But the way it burns WOW!

Hope all is going GREAT in your REI world and all that you do.

Lea

just stopping in to say hi. seems like i haven't had time to read journals for a while now, but i'm trying to catch up today. we're all resting and just doing things we want to today. tomorrow will be laundry and packing up to go home. fun! sounds like you are doing well.

Hope your trip home is a good one. Thanks for stopping by. I am looking forward to talking to you once you get back and caught up. I've been having 'Linda withdrawal' symptoms LOL! Thank you for sending the photos. You have a beautiful family

Lea

It's been a while since I've posted in my journal because I feel it gets boring for others to read. I have a vivid picture in my mind of people snoozing at their computers instead of taking ACTION! This isn't good for Dean's site or the good folks on this site LOL!

Anyway, I got to talk to the homeowner of the multiple properties. It's been hard to reach him because he doesn't have an answering machine or e-mail (he's an older gentleman.) He called today (at least he saw our ph# on caller ID) saying he wants to sell one of the properties now and the other ones later. I did tell him that if he waits too long our offer could very well change depending on the market. He isn't sure about parting with ALL of the income the properties are generating. I suggested he pick one or two properties to start with and we'll go from there. I told him we are flexible. He is having surgery soon and is scrambling to get 24 hour home health care for his wife who requires major care (feeding, dressing, bathing, etc.) while he is in the hospital and then home recovering. He said he has a time share in Orlando not from from Disney and Sea World that he would 'throw in' with the other properties. I don't know the details on the time share or even if it has appeal to anyone but will find out.

After our conversation I called one of our cash buyers who asked to be contacted first on these properties and sent him info (no address of course until we have it under contract.) He is the one we had planned on meeting but his wife and father-in-law said NO REI while on vacation. Sound familiar to anyone? He'll be coming down this way again alone soon for REI only and we'll get to meet up then.

I re-read Dean's probate finder and will be marketing for probate properties.

A lady called this week who had asked us to help her with a short sale last December. She wanted to know why our partner never got back to her after their initial conversation (he told us he had but she is part of a growing number of people who have expressed the same thing.) Of course I apologized and let her know we aren't working with him any longer. She had already set up a meeting with another short sale investor to help her. I asked her if it would be OK for us to contact our new short sale contacts and give her contact info to them and she said it would be OK. I contacted these 2 investors who have asked for leads. One never got back to me and the other one is interested. I'll follow-up with her this time and see how it goes for her. I believe that regardless of of whether someone wants to help her (or anybody) or not she deserves the respect to be given an explanation. I've learned that I must always follow-up with the homeowner myself regardless of what I'm being told.

We are back to square one searching for a REA again so wish me luck on this. The 2 we started working with recently never called back.

I got to check out Richie's duplex this week and it has come a loooong way from when he purchased it and is looking good!!

Lea

wow! lots happening and it sounds good. be persistent with the REA. there has to be someone who is willing to work with you. if i was there, i would take you on. i intend to call tomorrow and we'll have to catch up. will need to set the timer or i'll have you on the phone all day.

Glad you got home safely (I just checked your journal.) It would be so much fun if you could be our REA. We'd make a great team !! I'm looking forward to talking to you hopefully tomorrow!

Lea

how goes it with the hunt for a REA? we would make a great team and i wish i was able to help. i'm still playing catch up and am getting a little closer each day to being caught up. (am i fooling myself?)