Lea's Journal

for your encouraging words. Thanks also for the update and keeping me posted.

I Talked with the out of state lady today and she is indecisive right now and said she needed another week to figure out what she is going to do.

Found a couple more commercial properties if anything comes of them I'll be sure to post more about them.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

and his REA haven't had any success tracking down the owner of the strip mall yet. The apartment complex is in an area that our investors aren't interested in and needs a LOT of work.

I found a property that the owners have been paying on for 29 years and they are behind in payments, sent them a letter.

Left a voice mail message for the lady up north.

A wholesaler from Tampa (other side of state) contacted me to see if I would bird dog some properties for him. We have one cash buyer who will purchase properties in that area. We are getting the paperwork together. Wish me luck on this.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Hi Lea,

I have been so priviledged to have your words grace the pages of your journal, that I immediately came over here and read your whole journal. I so admire the progress that you and Denny are making. Reading your journal give me an accurate reality check on the things that I am and not doing. You seem to have a consistent strategy to finding Pre-Foreclosures. I know I could learn alot from you and its nice to follow your path because it is definately one that I can relate to.

I feel like we are in the same generation of this DG Family of REI. I am rooting for you and know that you will make it and achieve your REI goals and dreams. A famous Dr. name Keith Black said that it takes 3 qualities to become successful. 1. A Vision, 2. Passion, 3. Hardwork. You posess all of these characteristics. Keep up the Good Work!!

Best Regards,
Shane Gore

Hi Lea,
Thought I would drop in to see how your doing. WoW. Your moving right along. You guys are doing fantastic!!! Shane is right. You do have a way of attracting those pre-foreclosures. I’m going to have to start using bandit signs too.

I like the LO thoughts. I know you guys are just considering but I think that it might be a good way to go. I need to learn more about them.
Keep going Lea…
Blessings,
Barbara

Thank you so much for taking the time with your busy schedule (you always have so many REI things going on) to read my journal and for your kind and encouraging words. It's great knowing you are in the corner rooting for me. Thanks too for sharing Dr. Keith Black's wisdome.

Take care,
Lea
SPR Property Soltuions, LLC

Thank you for stopping by my journal. It's always great hearing from you.

The bandit signs generate phone calls. That is when most of them aren't taken down. I can tell when they have been taken down early from the lack of phone calls. One lady who called this week from a bandit sign is a new DG family member. We had a nice conversation and will be meeting next week to talk REI over coffee.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Thanks for sharing the success of the Bandit Signs.

Also for LO I suggest reading Peter Conti's book. He explains in very plain English.
But Dean's site also has wealth of information all under one roof, it is just to be searched.

Regards,
Bimal

Thanks for the info about Peter Conti's book. Hope all is going well for you these days.

Take care,
Lea
SPR Propety Solutions, LLC

Ok, so I had some time tonight, and didn't have to work *yay!* so I thought I would re-read a section of Dean's book, and finally catch up with some friend's journals here!! YAY!

I have loved catching up and reading about your past month. You are doing awesome, and I hope you are feeling great with all the momentum you've got going!!! I have had the BPO come in higher than actual market value and it is so frustrating!!! AHHHHHHH!!! And after going through the process with the bank negotiating the deal for 6+ months, and have the super-high BPO get in the way, I feel for the homeowner and feel your pain with your hard work. As usual you have an awesome attitude, and I know all of this is going to pay off in March with the new BPO or some other thing that comes your way in the meantime. As Dean always says (in his own way...not quoting him here)....but the more action you are taking, the more you will find over time that being "in the game", things/deals will come to you eventually if you are taking action and putting it out there.

You and Denny are rocking the house in the "taking action" department. I am just thrilled for you and know you will be spilling your successes here in your journal soon enough!!!

Thanks as always for your thorough journal responses...I'm thinking you and I did exchange emails as I believe I responded to your journal post back to me in Dec....wow, so much happens and times flies, and I lose track!!!

I second Bimal on Peter Conti's books! AWESOME!

We need to call you "Bandit Lea" Pink Panther-you! I'm excited for all your progress on these foreclosures. You have a warm heart and a sincere spirit, and I know you're going to be helping so many along the way too. Tell Denny I said "hello" and I'll keep on keepin' on reading your success here.

Cheers!
Louisa

Hi Lea. Thought I would stop by and read your journal. I read through it over a couple of days. How awesome. This just really helps me to just go out there and do it. Everyone is right about the take action and more comes your way. It's the hard work and it will pay off. Thanks for all of your support and taking the time to post on other's journals. I too will have to check out the Peter Conti's book.
Cathy

I'm glad you had some time off and had the opportunity to catch up with the things you enjoy. I'm so glad to hear that you have more energy now (just read your recent post in your journal.) You are going to be a fantastic mom!

About the BPO - at a meeting with our partner a while back before this happened, he said this is not unusual at all. Some of the lenders are from different states and don't know the market in other areas. I agree with you (and Dean) that if we have other things we are working on it gives us positive, forward momentum (and more opportunities.)

Thanks too for the 2nd on Peter Conti's book.

I talked to a friend yesterday who just got layed off (she has a 2nd job with a pretty good income and her husband still has his job.) She is well liked, well known and well respected in the community and good at what she does so anyone with an opening and 1/2 a brain would hire her immediately. She mentioned that she & her husband had considered an SS on their home but are hanging in there. My point is that I don't have to look too far for people that can use our help.

Thanks for the 'hello to Denny.' He is out at the moment but I KNOW that if read this he would say hello back to you so hello from Denny. That's funny about 'bandit Lea.'

Take care and I am so glad to hear you have more energy!

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Thank you for taking the time to read my journal and for your comment. You are right about taking action it takes hard work & perserverence (spelled right?) I remind myself that hearing 'no's' will lead to a big fat 'yes.' I wish you the best in REI.

Take care,
Lea
SPR Property Solutions

and found a vacant house not too far from us that is overgrown and they used to keep it so nice. We'll be sending them a letter.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

and her 8 year old daughter is OK but she was hit by a car yesterday. She has 2 broken legs. The good news is only her legs appear to have been injured which is a miracle. She was on a skate board and went into the road and a 88 year old man did not see her & hit her. Her right leg broke up by her hip & pelvic area, and her left upper leg and near her ankle are broken.

They have inserted rods in both legs, she is in metal braces on the thighs and a cast on the lower left. They said she should be able to walk in 6 weeks. That is also a miracle! She should be home in a few days. She was airlifted to a hospital in W Palm. Please keep her and her family in your prayers and thank God that she is still with us.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

HI Lea, I am so sorry to hear about your cousins daughter omg!! Thank god she is going to be ok. It kills me to hear about any kid getting hurt bad or worse. I guess I always picture my kid in that spot and it scares the hell out of me.
Well I am glad to see you found a vacant property, good luck on it and i will check in down the road to see how you did with it.
Richie.

Thank you for your prayers for my cousin's daughter. I know exactly what you mean about how hard it is to see kids getting hurt. On the upside she'll be getting lots of hugs, kisses and prayers going her way.

Thanks for the well wishes on the vacant property.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

I am glad that your cousin's daughter is okay overall. It's awful for an 8 yr old to be laid up for 6 weeks. She could always play the kid version of the cash flow game. Good luck with the letters and preforeclosure homes.
Cathy

Good idea about her playing the kid version of cash flow. Just talked to my cousin again and it will be a week before her daughter is home. She is in the trauma center at W. Palm. She is having leg spasms that are causing her a lot of pain so she is on some strong pain meds, meds for leg spasms and naseau meds. Once they straighten her legs out the spasms will stop and then she'll be in less pain. She is having nightmares about being hit by a car and wakes up crying. But we are all so thankful that she is going to be OK. She won't acutally be up and running around in 6 weeks, but they'll get her up to start walking in 6-8 weeks. The car ran over her and she is so little. The man who hit her is beside himself and wants to help. My heart goes out to everyone involved. The road in front of the house is all marked up and the homocide dept. was there.

Anyway thanks so much for your well wishes with the letters. This weekend so far 4 people called from the 15 bandit signs. Usually we put out 25 but because of the rain there was too much water to put the signs in as many places. We have NEVER had 4 calls from only 15 signs before so this is good. I talked with one of the people (left messages for the others.) I don't think this particular one will be going anywhere right now.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

Not Really, things are very challenging these days for me, No job, mounting debt and not able to put my 100% in real estate investing. I so want to attend Deans EDGE event and but just couldn;t do it due to job hunting. On the postive note I will find something very very soon.

But I keep watching Dean's weekly blogs and keep my motivation high. I just finished watching the FEB 8th video and was very happy that I did as he is asked to do an exercise to put things in perspective.

I wish you all the Best in your venture and hoep you close many many deals this year.

Best Regards,
Bimal

I'm sorry to hear about your job and mounting debt and wish you the best with your job search. I know how difficult this is but am glad to hear you are focusing on the positive and watching Dean's blogs & videos.

Denny lost his job in Aug 08 along with lots of others where he worked that day (and lost of others afterwards.) At 1st I was shocked & angry that anyone could 'do this' to him. Then quickly realized its business, the economy and it is what it is. I refuse to allow myself to focus & panic about this. I've been down this road before a long time ago when I was single. Not job loss, just not making enough money to cover expenses and not knowing where my next meal would come from. I could hear gun shots at night sometimes that would wake me. I know that this too shall pass.

I wish you much sucess in all that you do and LOTS of GREAT and successful deals!

Take care,
Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

a gentleman called in response to one of our letters. He wants to do a SS ASAP! I realized yesterday how much I enjoy talking to these folks that call now, when a short time ago I was petrified to talk to anyone about REI and feared sounding unknowledgeable! When he said 'I hope you can help me I gently told him "I'm at your disposal sir" and he laughed and I could hear the positive change and how he relaxed a bit in his voice. If he signs the paperwork we'll have have 2 SS's in progress.

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of meeting another DG family member. I believe her & I will be able to help & support each other and even work on some deals together in the furutre.

We've had more calls this week from bandit signs than ever before. Thanks to Tim & Elena for taking the time to give me info about loan mods. Earlier in my journal I mentioned finding someone who I can refer people to who are looking for loan mods. However he works for an attorney's office and charges people. Many of those out of work, upside down & behind in payments can't swing this. I was able to give him info thanks to Elena & Tim. A BIG THANKS to both of you. You don't know it but the info you gave me made him very happy. Which just goes to show you that you never know where your helpful and caring actions will end at the end of the day and how helpful and uplifting this can be for other people I asked that he keep me posted on his results/experience with this and he said he would.

On Monday, I spent the day at the hospital in W. Palm with my cousin and her little girl while Denny held down the REI fort. I'm so glad that she will be OK but she has a long and difficult road ahead of her. She was in a lot of pain Plus her pins must be cleaned once a day and this is extremely painful for her but as time goes on and her skin 'toughens up' and the open wounds around the pins heal it will get easier every time. My cousin & I held her hand and talked to her but it's a tough thing to see a little girl go through. It was a happy time though that evening when lots & lots of people came to visit her, they were lined up out the door, bringing smiles, laughter, paryers, hugs, stuffed animals, flowers, coloring books & crayons, etc.

Later today I'll be taking her other son to the orthondontist and bringing a few meatloaves so the family can quickly grab a sandwich as they are on the run. My cousin & her husband leave early in the a.m. and stay late, come home tired and probably hungry so I figured it's quick to throw a sandwich together and go to bed.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

just catching up. WOW, what your cousin's little daughter has had to go through. Thank God she is doing better.. You are a good friend to be there by their side.

Congratulations on all the REI action! And the short-sale. You surely have a way with words and a comforting spirit. I think the pre-foreclosure niche fits you perfectly. Looking forward to hearing the awesome heart-felt story that comes from you working with these people. Again congrats, and keep it up! Thank you for all the inspiration you give us.
(and thank you for the opportunity to read along)

your friend,

Rina

P.S. I second the thanks to Elena and Tim for giving some great resources. You should go back a year or so and pull out some of Elena's most inspirational threads. So glad she's back on the site more (Love you, Lena!).

Thanks for your time, kind words and words of encouragement and inspiration.

Congratulations on your two SS's.

My prayers for speedy recovery of your cousin's daughter.

Regards,
Bimal

Thanks for the tip on reading Elena's older posts, I'll do that.

Thanks too for your encouraging words, it means a lot. About Elena & Tim's help it is awesome that other DG members are willing to help even with their busy lives and that Dean gives us this weabsite to reach out to each other.

Your friend,
Lea

SPR Property Solutions, LLC

We have to keep moving forward in a postive direction and YOU WILL succeed!

Thanks for your congrats on the SS's in progress and for your prayers.

Take care,

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

First of all I send my prayers to the fast recovery of your cousins daughter. As you know I have a daughter too and my heart pains for her when I think of the preciousness of life.

As far as REI you are definately Rocking and Rolling. Believe it or not you know just what to do to spark action. Sometimes I read your entries and I feel like Im looking in the mirror. I most definatley admire and respect your dedication to REI and I am looking forward to running with you and Denny on this work out.

Keep up the good work because you motivate me too!

Best Regards,
Shane Gore

Thank you for your prayer's for my cousin's little girl.

Thank you also for your moral support and kind words. Regarding your comment about how you feel like your looking in the mirror sometimes reading my entries - Great minds think alike huh? LOL. We'll meet you at the top.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

who called last week signed the paperwork to start the SS on his property this week. When we first spoke he said that he was inundated with letters from attorney's and REA's about his property. He threw our letter in the trash and then took it out. What appealed to him about us is 1) We are a family run business and 2) We don't charge him for the SS. That was interesting feedback.

We met with our partner yesterday. He is so busy that he doesn't send letters to everyone who is behind on payments so he'll be giving us their contact info - YIPPEE! The info he gets is much more up-to-date than the lis pendens we get from the court house. We'll still be getting the lis pendens in addition to these new leads.

He could also use help with the negotiations of the SS's so he'll be teaching me how to negotiate with the banks. I could use the knowledge & experience and extra $. Having a better understanding of the entire process will be a benefit and build my confidence when talking to folks about the SS process.

The DG family member that I met with a couple weeks ago has expressed an interest in getting involved with SS's too so she may be working with us & our partner. They'll be meeting each other this week to discuss the details.

Because of the bidding wars on foreclosed properties in our area the FMV on foreclosed properties are now close to the same amount as SS properties which will make these SS properties more appealing to our buyers. Although there have been cash investors willing to pay SS prices all along.

I referred another lady to HUD for help with her loan modification & also gave her contact info for attorney's in Tallahassee who are doing pro bono work to help folks with loan mods. She said she would let me know how this goes for her, otherwise I'll check back with her. If this doesn't work out for her she'll need to do something else.

A while back I mentioned the 1st SS in progress where the bank's BPO came out too high so this stalled the process. This one is moving along again. The bank is doing another BPO on this property & our partner's REA will also submit comps.

On the home front my cousin's little girl is home now and doing better every day She is not in pain anywhere near like she was and off pain medication all together. Once the pain is completely gone she'll be able to go back to school (the school has wheel chair access.) Right now they are sending work home for her so she can keep up.

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

I'm glad to know your cousin's daughter is finally home and not in the pain she was previously. Still a long road but I'm sure everyone is glad to be home.

As far as your SS it sounds excellent all that is going on for you and Denny. Can't wait to follow up more on that. I found out recently through realtor that some of the banks are holding on their REOs and some SS because they took out insurance on the loans/properties so collecting insurance payments on them. Not moving on them very quickly. I just submit offers and move on. Didn't know if you heard of anything like that. And I'm not sure I got it exactly right either. Way to go and can't wait for the rest of the story about these SS.
Blessings,
Cathy

Thank you for the info you received from your REA. It certainly makes sense that they want to collect their insurance money before they sell the property. I hadn't hearrd about that. I think too they are busy and have a hard time keeping up.

Thanks too for your kind words about my cousin's daughter, she is on the mend.

Take care,

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC