Lea's Journal

We are still on the hunt for an REA. Yes we would make a fantastic team! That's one of the wonderful gifts of this site, getting to know other's here and establishing relationships with them.

Playing catch up takes time so no you aren't fooling yourself

Lea

Tomorrow we are meeting the owner of the multiple properties and his wife to sign the paperwork for one of the properties. This particular property is being converted from a 2/1 to a 3/2. Anyway, we are meeting at the owner's favorite restaurant for pizza. Signed paperwork and pizza at the same time (I've been eating healthier these days so the pizza will be a treat!) When we spoke he said he is still interested in selling his other properties too.

I've done my probate resesarch and sent some probate letters out this week. I'm excited about this new direction and believe this is a very good avenue for us.

We are still in search of a good REA. I know in time we'll find the right one.

Lea

We met with the owner, his wife, their aid and his son over pizza to sign the contract today. Denny spoke with the owner and his son at a separate table after we fnished eating and us ladies had 'girl talk' (the owner didn't want the aid to hear the conversation.) So I wasn't involved in the conversation however the owner will get back to us in a couple of days. Patience, Patience. If he had e-mail or a fax I would have sent it to him ahead of time to look over but I thought he would sign it today. He is motivated just taking the time to look everything over. He also said that he wants very much to sell the other properties but wants to wait until this one is sold. So Denny re-iterated that if the market drops our offer will have to change accordingly. He understands and is now on his son to get things moving with the current property rehab. His son is anxious for all of these properties to sell so he can move to Orlando.

We stopped by Richie's duplex afterwards. Richie, if you read this the kitchen looks very nice now (unit a) with the new cabinet. It's so much BETTER than it was when you first bought it. Just goes to show me, in person the value of rehab work even though I've always appreciated this 'art.' Rehabbers definitely improve a neighborhood!

Lea

you are on your way! i know the waiting game can be a challenge, but it will all come together. it just might work in your favor. yippee!!!!

Lea, I am really hoping you get the paperwork back soon for the house. I think if you do sell it quickly he will give you the rest of the properties. I think this is a test before he commits the rest to you. JMO
I really cant wait to see the duplex, I am curious to see what I did to it lol. I will be even happier when it is finally finished and rented.
Talk to ya soon.
Richie

I used to be one ofthe most impatient people and have 'practiced patience' over the years and am getting pretty good at it now LOL Good thing huh?! You're right it will all come together, thanks. Will keep you posted.

Lea

Thanks for keeping good thoughts on this for us. You bring up a good point I hadn't thought of, maybe this is a test to see how we come through for him. AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! A test LOL! It's funny at first he said they HAD to be sold all together and then changed his mind. I bet you're right.

I can't wait until you see what you did to the duplex too HA! HA! HA! Ya' did good. I will be soooooo happy for you when it is finished and RENTED!!

Yes, we'll talk soon.

Lea

Lea, try this link and see if it helps you find a good REA. hope it helps.

http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/60818/...

Thank you for the link. I know that finding a good REA to work with is a challenge for many of us. I'm keeping the faith It was great talking to you and I'm glad the check is ready for you

Lea

I continue to do my probate research and have sent more letters out to the personal reps. I'm looking forward to our response from these letters.

So far no success finding a REA but I know we'll find one. There has got to be one out there just eagerly waiting to work with us

I'm making our game plan for the location of the signs and fliers once we get the property under contract. Thanks to JJD for sharing his fliers we have some nice fliers/tear sheets to put up about this property. The property is in a different town so we will find out what stores/locations in the area we can display these fliers at. Thanks JJD for so generously sharing!! We will also put lots of bandit signs up in the neighborhood. As I mentioned we have a buyer interested in this property but until all is signed and done we'll move forward as if we don't have a buyer. It will also help us to add more cash buyers to our list.

In the mean time Denny is going to put together a ghost ad for this property. He is much better at writing an ad than I am.

Linda and I talked recently and I told her about a bird dog deal we did but never mentioned in my journal. Because it wasn't a property we purchased or had under contract I never thought of it as a 'deal.' However, Linda said I should have mentioned it in my journal or in my deals. A local investor had a property he was selling and I mentioned it to one of our buyers. I put the 2 of them together. They closed on the deal and we made $1K.

Lea

sounds like you are prepared and ready!!! wonderful. i just emailed a REA i know that may have moved to FL. i'm not sure about anything at this point (long story), but i asked if he was in the area or knew someone that could help you. we'll see what kind of response i get.

Thank you for thinking of us and helping with this! It's much appreciated! Have a wonderful, productive and successful week this week.

Lea

that idea on the REA didn't work. he was in FL for a while, but apparently he is back in IN. weird situation. i know you will find one that is just right for you.

Thank you Linda! It was kind of you to keep us in mind and look into the possibility of this REA working with us. I think I'm supposed to be learning a lesson here about finding one on my own Still no success but this will get better with practice, right? I'm working on a better appraoch. The REA I spoke with this morning said she only does comps for her own listings and also said she is bad at doing comps ... Denny is finding REA's that are advertising saying they work with investors and will be calling more tomorrow.

I spoke with the homeowner today, finally reached him this afternoon. He definitely wants to sign the paperwork and will get back with us in a couple days. He is pinning down his crew to a date to complete the addition of the BR and bath. He is also planning surgery, recovery time and home health care for his wife while he is recovering. I could hear how tired he is and didn't even recognize his voice when he answered the phone. I told him about an upcoming caregiver conference(free) and he wants to go to it but it might conflict with his surgery date which is a tentative date. So he wants his son to go in his place. I know this isn't all about REI but REI is about relationships too.

Lea

I got to talk to my TN/FL investor. I wanted to touch base with him about the property he is interested in so he doesn't think we fell off the face of the earth. I always enjoy the conversations with this investor. I also talked to one of our 'old' investors who told us a few months back that he isn't investing anymore. He said he is back in the game and wants to be notified of great deals. Some people can't stay away no matter what He rehabs/flips and has been doing rehab work for other investors.

No word from the owner of the multiple properties. I need to have more deals going on at one time. It will increase our chances of getting deals closed. When one doesn't work out some of the other ones will and it will increase my knowledge and confidence. I still believe he wants to sell. Even if he doesn't I'm glad we had the opportunity to check out so many properties and learn more about the market. I know that some experienced investors find this too time consuming of a task for a 'maybe' deal. But for me I need to get a better understanding of the properties on the market. It's fast changing these days (per conversations with local investors.)

Denny ran some ghost ads from the property (and the multiple ones too) we are working on and nobody called. He keeps running more ads. The numbers are good (65% of ARV minus repair coss, cash flow good, price $36K with current long term tenants who want to stay, rent $1000 mo.) I spoke to a local investor and he said that his cash buyers are getting slimmer these days. When I spoke to my TN investor he said that investors he knows up his way are becoming unhappy with the comps they are getting (too many REO's and short sales.) So some of them are going by the number that works for them because they just don't know. In my humble opinion since the REO's and short sales are dictating the market than that is what it is.

We are going to be looking at FSBO's again. I checked out a FSBO website and found that most of them are priced way too high still. I guess they have nothing to lose by listing the property for whatever price they want. I'll look into this further and follow these propeties. I have no interest in properties that are upside down because it hasn't been proven to me yet that the short sale investors (who negotiate with the banks and double close the properties) are able to get'r done. I'm not saying they aren't good at what they do I just haven't seen it firsthand. It's a numbers game to them too and if they have enough of them they'll do well. For the homeowner I feel like it's a crap shoot but better than no option at all.

Did some probate research and sent out more letters. There aren't really that many of them, so far I've sent 8 letters. When we did the short sale letters we tried a lot of different styles so to speak. Hand written letters get more responses. However some people commented that not seeing letterhead (yellow lined paper) made them feel less trusting (but they still called.) I'm hand writing these probate letters.

Denny is now the 'official REA hunter/finder.' Nothing yet with this.

We are enjoying the cooler weather and being able to open up the windows and doors I've even worn jeans instead of shorts a few times. One night I wore a long sleeved shirt.

Lisa (Smurfy) recently brought up an older post of Matt's called 'Pride Cometh Before a Fall". Here is the link to it if anyone wants to check it out. It's definitely worth taking the time to read if you haven't read it already. Matt's words are so true. http://www.deangraziosi.com/node/6228

I recently discovered a beautiful video called "The American Indians 10 Commandments.' It is not REI related, however it delivers a message worth hearing about life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQxj4Fo3pNc

Lea

you might check out vacant properties in your area too. even though they might not be up for sale, if the owners are out-of-state, they might be "don't wanters". missed our call on Friday, but we'll have to try again for this week. i hope to be back to "normal", whatever that is, by then. have a great week!

What are you doing on page 2, You are way too busy to be here
Linda has a great idea on the non listed properties in your area. Maybe there are some out of state owners that are just letting the homes go.

Oh what the hell , I will call ya in a minute to say hello

keep up the har work

Richie

Thank you for your vacant property input! I always appreciate your thoughts Q while back we did get one short sale that way. We looked at 52 houses, sent 52 letters and got one short sale out of it. I hope you are feeling better soon!! Take care of yourself.

Lea

Thanks for your input on Linda's suggestion too! What would I do without you guys! Well, it's nice that you got to talk to Denny at least LOL! Wish I would have gotten to talk to you too.

Lea

Well I heard you have a head ache I am sending you a DO NOT ENTER decal to stick there, now you and Tom can trade stories, maybe he can lend you his hard hat hahaha. Thanks I really needed a laugh. But on the serious side,
I do hope your ok.
Denny, head for cover !!!! lol
talk to you soon.
Richie

I can't believe Denny told you about that. Is nothing sacared?! But heck, what's a little head injury among friends LOL! That's what I get for laughing so much at Tom but THAT WAS funny! Now, time for a chit chat with my husband. Thanks Richie and I'm sure Denny will be thanking you too.

Lea
p.s. Denny may be interested in in 1/2 of your dplex now

Love following your story - keep it up!

Stuart

Thank you for stopping by my journal and for taking the time to comment. Do you have a journal? If so what is the title? I see you have been in REI for a while and are a family man too. I wish you great success in all that you do.

Lea

I enjoyed reading your journal and the responses that you are getting from other members. Congratulatons on all that you have accomplished!!
I live in Houston, Texas and i want to start networking with lots and lots of investors through out the country.
So, how is life in the sunshine state??
I hope we can work together sometime in the future. I am also constantly building my buyers list... I got lost at the biginning spendign too much time in the rehab world.... but I am trying to focus now in helping people to be able to help myself too.
Take care Lea and talk to you soon!!

Thank you for stopping by my journal and for taking the time to make a comment. I wish you the best in REI helping others while you help yourself. What direction have you taken now?

I've always enjoyed seeing the work rehabbers accomplish on a property. A local rehab investor recently purhcased a 4/2 REO. The kitchen was stripped and the carpeting taken out and some other minor things. He did a beautiful job on the property making it look very elegant (we saw it before and after.) He's closing on this property soon selling to a retail buyer and will make about $30K. Not too shabby He bought another REO that is in worse condition and will fix/flip to a retail buyer. An electrician we have worked with recently told us about a buyer who LOVES to rehab Chinese drywall properties. This same buyer just purchased an apartment complex with Chinese drywall and is fixing the place up. We've got to get this guy on our buyers list! The electrician will be giving us his contact info. I guess my point of all this is to say I don't think time is lost on rehab unless the numbers don't work out. I have a lot of respect for the work rehabbers do.

Best of luck to you in REI and all that you do. Do you have a journal?

Lea

I've been a bit under the weather and have been less productive this week. I did get some probate research done and sent letters at least.

We had a 'tentative' meeting set up this week to meet with a local investor for coffee, lunch or dinner. I'm hoping we can set it up for a definite time next week. We've talked on the phone (he originally called us from a bandit sign) and have bumped into each other at REI meetings. He is a rehabber who flips sometimes to other investors but more often to homeowners.

Unrelated to REI I've lost 5 lbs. Must be the healthier eating habits. Now, all I need to do is get more exercise into my routine.

Lea

You and Denny must forgive me for not stopping by until now to drop you a line or two. Its been so long I feel like I almost lost my next door neighbor. lol Honestly I immediately came to your page to drop you a line so I really have not caught up with your journal, but I know that you guys are still rocking and rollin. I always did admire your persistence and consistency.

Speaking of that let me check your journal out, I might learn a thing or two.

Best Regards,
Shane

Howdy neighbor! Thanks for stopping by. You know about persistence and consistency! Nothing will stop you and I enjoy following your journey. It will be fun for you to look back from the TOP and remember where you've been and how you got there.

Lea

I've called some rental properties in search of tired landlords and cash buyers. I spoke with one who is interested in selling his tri-plex (1 bedroom units.) He bought in 06'. He paid 185K and has 50K in it and wants 148K (he owes 145K on it.) He said he has other sources of income and will keep the property if he doesn't get the right price. Later he said he would go down on the price and pay the difference to the bank. After doing some research I found the property is worth about 68K. I left him a voice mail message to call me back. Well at least I've become a lot more comfortable and confident cold calling.

I got to talk to the "Chinese drywall investor" (he rehabs and flips to homeowners), got his criteria and added him to our buyers list. He does any rehab work A to Z.

Denny is working on find the elusive and mysterious REA for our team. LOL He is learning and also finding out what makes them tick (better yet purr like a kitten ) Denny is more methodical in his thinking than I am and I'm impressed with what he is doing/learning. I know we will find a good one(s) to work with and do great things for each other, our sellers and buyers

Last Friday night on of our dogs got into a Bofu toad (they are poisonous toads that grow up to 9" around and weigh up to 2 lbs.) This can be fatal to a dog but thankfully she is doing fine. Now when it's dark we have to take our girls out on a leash and carry a flashlight. There doesn't seem to be a sure fire way to keep them out of the yard (the yard is fenced.) The aren't native to FL so don't have natural enemies here. Now when I hear wildlife at night I visualize these toads going thump in the night

Lea

Hi Lea and Denny.
I am sorry for not stopping by too often but wanted to say hello and I know you're doing great things I'm sure. I'm kind of like Shane I didn't read a whole lot but found it interesting about the buyers being thinner in a previous post. Well keep moving forward. I keep seeing perseverance mentioned in the last few journals I've looked at and ironically I posted that in my own.

Take care and blessings,
Cathy L