Destrie's Journal -

Masha'Allah you just hang in there, you hear! I don't know how religious a person you are but I will say this that God has your back & rest of DG family does too! He's going to Bless your family and you with what you need for your family. Your past is heart wrenching but as you know with any difficulty comes ease. You're on track to change your future, for you and your family, for the better. Keep Him first and He will run to you. God Bless in your REI and with your assignment too.

Thanks for the kind words. We are religious, and I believe that God will help us out of this. I'm not sure if I made Him upset, but boy he has taken us to hell and back. I know that God won't give you more than you can handle, but I didn't think I could handle all that and then some!! This site gives me inspiration as well as motivation. I look forward to when I can send in my video and story and help others that may be in the same position as I am.

Destrie

Where I work in bend is a thrift store were we give people furniture, clothes, pots and pans camping gear whatever. Do you have a St. Vincent De Paul or a church in your area that does that kind of service? Onward to success and selling your property. Keith

Destrie,

I feel for you! I know you can get this assignment done! I just know it. It sounds like too good of a deal (from your other post). Keep thinking positive on it! It will happen for you!! Imagine the best scenario of your life right now and just meditate on it and smile on the beautiful thoughts and visions you have of that life. And of course pray. Pray knowing that He will be there for you and beautiful things are awaiting you and your life. God is FOR you, not against you no matter what! Know this, and know your journey makes you stronger and makes the joy that God will bring that much more sweet in the end (easy for me to say, I know! I know!!)...but imagine that rainbow, and that beauty on the other side. At an extremely difficult point in my life, I looked up in they sky and saw a double-rainbow...just a full complete circle in the sky. Everyone stopped what they were doing...I'm sure it was some amazing phenomenon and I know I was not the only one affected by it. I was in the parking lot of Home Depot, and I just dropped my bag and bawled my eyes out. I did not see a miracle the next day in my life, nor the next. But it was the beginning of my healing process, and it was truly marked with that day as the beginning and not just my "hope" but my "knowing" my life would be better. It took 6 months (not to have a perfect life, but to have a healed one), and I was transformed in that time, and I give it all to God.

I'm excited you have this property locked up.

You have much to be grateful for...and just think, you have 1/2 of your deal already done!!!!! Just 1/2 more to go!! YOU CAN DO IT!

I liked this post from Sistreat and I hope it helps you market your property: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/marketing-buyers-and-sell...

Take care of yourself and be good to yourself. I look forward to following your HUGE success. Your motivation and your prayers will GET YOU THERE!

Cheers!
Louisa

All things are possible with GOD, always remember that. Give Him all the
praise, honor, and glory, for all the good things he has done for you and
your family, GOD LOVES YOU ALL, and cares. The other guy is getting very
nervous and upset, because you want to better your lives so he throws a
monkey wrench in your way, his full time job is to ROB, STEAL, KILL. Resist
him, and he will flee from you, cuff yourselves to GOD, just trust and obey
for ther's no other way, I pray for a hedge of protection over you and your family, I will keep you in my prayers GOD BLESS

George41

Your story touches my heart. You are a strong, caring, determined person and I know that things will get better for you. I will keep good thoughts for you and your family and keep you in my prayers. I know you can be successful in REI and wish you the best in all that you do.

In the town next to us is a 'no frills' grocery store, it is a warehouse style store and the savings on groceries is huge so I hear from one of my friends (2 1/2 gallons of OJ for $2.) The only requirement they have to shop there is that you are not working a 40 hour work week. I don't now if there is anything like this in other areas. My friend heard about it from her church.

Take care,

Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

I’m so glad you shared your story with us. You have a lot of people here praying for you and your family. I believe your at this point in life for a reason though it may not be apparent right now. I’ve always believed that after going through struggles like this that it brings us to a new level in life. Perhaps it’s God’s way to motivate us to find a new door to enter into. I truly believe that REI is that new door for you and your family.

I sometimes wonder if Dean has any idea how monumental God works through him to bring this door to a lot of people who are struggling. Your going to make it. It’s going to happen for you. You hang in there and keep the faith.

My best wishes for you in your REI career.

Barbara

Congratulations for taking action and starting your journal. Each day can be a fresh start to make a difference and a change in our lives. Sometimes we do not understand the challenges we face, but it makes us stronger and prepares us for the future. Try to take each day and work on one thing at a time. In regards to the foreclosure see if you can contact the bank to inquire about new programs to do a restructured type of mortgage. In regards to your husband's job see if the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) act can help with the situation. Keep the faith and good luck with real estate. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Well, right before my husband came home from work, Mark ( a buyer who backed out of the deal) called. He had talked to the his banker and a real estate agent. They thought the property for 10K was an okay deal. Well, after negotiations back and forth, we have agreed on a price. The price is 6K. Since this is my very first deal, and I terribly lack the confidence right now, as well as desperately needing some cash in my pocket, I agreed. He is paying for all the closing costs, minus the title search. So, the way I look at it is this: what is half of nothing??? So, 800.00 is better than 0. It's not what I was hoping for, but I feel a little bit more relaxed than I was. After this assignment, I will have the confidence to be a little more aggressive on my asking price and will negotiate, but not to this extent. I called the seller, and she was extremely happy. She had just gotten her cell phone shut off, her vehicle broke down, and she is in need of some cash as well. Since she doesn't have any transportation to the closing, I told her I would be happy to pick her up and take her to the closing.

I think I'm missing the picture here. I was wanting to do real estate because of the money. I was thinking about myself. But the reason why I want to do real estate first and foremost is because I want to help people. The money will come after that. I know that God will provide, and that if He can provide for the birds and insects, I know He will provide for myself and my family.

I have to go meet with the buyer today and have him sign the Purchase and Sales agreement. I now have to make an appointment to get this property to closing. We do not have a title company near us. I thought an abstract company was the same, but found out yesterday that it's not. So, I have to find a lawyer who will get this property closed for me. Marke (the buyer) wants to close on this property ASAP. He knows he got one heck of a deal, and he doesn't want to lose it.

Also, another way I'm looking at it, is that he is paying me 1,000.00 to be put on my buyers list. He has already let me know that he will be happy to purchase more properties from me.

It's not a whole lot of money, but it's more money than what I have right now, and I'm definately in the black with all my expenses taken out.

Pressing on to succeed.....

Destrie

Destrie, that is awesome, not only did you get 800 dollars that you woulnd't have had, but look at all you've learned. You now know how to negotiate, how to talk to buyers and sellers, deal with attorneys and do a closing (soon). All of these "ingredients" can be put into your next recipe to make your next deal. Happy Friday!

Cathy

Last night at 5:00 pm, my husband and I drove to the property in Riceville to meet with Mark. This meeting lasted a whole 10 minutes. He had signed all of the paperwork and we are heading into closing. All I have to do now is get a updated abstract (title search), and schedule a closing. Hopefully we will close this coming week or the week after. I have no idea what I'm doing, so I am extremely nervous about the closing. I'm afraid I'm going to forget a document and everything will fall through. Keeping fingers crossed for my first deal....

Destrie

Hi Destrie,

Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to post your "closing" question to me...mainly because YOU got to closing before I did, which I AM THRILLED for you!!! YAY! You have got this deal almost done and that is AWESOME!

I haven't gone through it before (other than to close on my current house).

What to bring?

Well, as I see it (and people feel free to add here since I haven't been through it on a deal), if you have a closing date, then you have found an attorney as that date works for them too. If you are searching for an attorney, try to find one specializing in real estate, and hopefully they will have handled assignments of contract (feel free to ask questions!).

They will ask for all of this and pretty much tell you what you need to bring, if anything. You will of course need: Your signed purchase contract with your seller, and your signed assignment contract with your buyer (but your attorney will need these as soon as you lock in a closing date with them). Your attorney should be preparing all the necessary documents and will ask you questions per what he/she needs. You'll be letting the attorney know you will be assigning this deal and have a contract in place with the person whom you are assigning it to...what fee...and feel free to ask how the money transaction will work. No question is dumb to your attorney (or it should not be...you are their client)...after all, they will get paid by your buyer for your work! YAY! Make sure you are coordinating and relaying any necessary info with your buyer and seller.

After that, all you will need to do is show up and collect your money!!

Someone else may have advice to add...

Also, I think I heard this tip from Matt Larson...can't remember if it was online or in a video or what...But he said attorneys usually always schedule 45 min or 1 hour for closing and it sometimes only takes 20 minutes or 30 minutes (you can find out through his/her assistant how much time has been scheduled for the closing). Keep tabs on this time. If there is "extra" time and your buyer/seller are done/leaving, you personally take those extra 15 minutes with the attorney (after all, they are already paid for) and ask questions. Not necessarily about this deal, but any legal questions you may have on any real estate transactions, contract review, whatever you can think of. Prepare them. Think...you have 15-25 minutes of FREE time with an attorney. Ask away!!!

Congrats on your first deal!! And just think a mere couple days ago, you were worried you wouldn't have a buyer. I knew these buyers that "fell through" had to be thinking twice....when you have a great deal, you have a great deal. AND you've got a repeat buyer!! YAY!

SOOOOOOOOOOO excited for you Destrie! Sky is the limit!!

Cheers!
Louisa

Thank you so much for the information. Mark asked no questions as to what he was signing last night, he said he can't beat 6,000.00 I just hope that everything works out. I told him I would pay the 200.00 for the updated abstract on the property, and he would have to cover the other expenses. He said he would pay up to $400.00 for the closing costs, he said that if they are more than that, then he wouldn't want to do the deal. I told him that I would cover up to an additional 300.00 (I would still make a profit...although not much..lol) But, it would give me the experience and still money in my pocket. Once this deal goes through, I will be much more relaxed on the next deal I do.

Destrie

Okay we're all learning from each other here how great is that.

My questions are:
A. Am I missing something here or is it normally the seller who pays closing costs unless otherwise negotiated.

B. Is it necessary to have an attorney at closing or is that just a preferred method or what exactly am I missing here on this.

Thanks.

Congrats again Destrie.

Barbara

I think what has me confused is I was thinking once you've assigned your deal to an end buyer that your pretty much finished besides setting up the escrow with the title company. I thought it would be up to the end buyer to bring in an attorney or further negotiate closing costs. Is this wrong?

Some clarity anybody?

Barbara

I'm so excited for you. The fact that you got your first deal done is priceless. Like I said there is grit in this business. So the next one will be a breeze. Now I'm have to go get my first. Success be with you.
Keith

Congrats Destrie on that deal and after reading your journal I have to say that your not alone and kind in the same boat so i can relate too that, but we can't let that stop us from moving forward and you are an example that this can be done also in very hard times that we all face from time to time and also thank God for the D.G's family out here that can help each other out when we can. Once again congrats and keep looking forward.

John Lewis

It is 11/19 ---and I'm coming back to this post to say in advance ---please beware, I am NEW and I have already caught some info I put below isn't all correct, so please take with a grain of salt! I'll come back and correct, but wanted to get this little word in!!
*****

Hi Destrie - hope you are OK with me responding here to Barbara's questions, and feel free to fill in the blanks as I am DEFINITELY still in the learning process and haven't finished one of these out yet You are 2 days away, yes!? Let us know how it goes down! YAY!

Barbara - All caps are meant to be bold not yelling From all I understand, it is usually the BUYER who pays closing ALL closing costs, (but as Anita, [Anitarny] always says, EVERYTHING is negotiable!) Buyer paying all closing costs just tends to work out best when trying to negotiate the best "rock bottom prices", so at least seller understands "what they are getting" as a bottom line. Or buyer and seller split closing costs down the middle (1.5% each), but in the typical "as is / where is" deal where the buyer pays all closing costs (which you make a good point, isn't necessarily happening here, but each deal is different)---the only thing I've been advised to typically ask seller for is a title search using your own title company, so that you are in control of it. So, in essence, have seller pay for title search that you initiate through your title company. (Because if for some reason the deal falls through, then you wouldn't have paid for the title search ----but it is best for the seller to have paid for it because they will have & need that title search for anyone else that they would sell that property too anyway). All other closing costs are buyer's costs. Usually a pro-ration of taxes is done for closing table and/or buyer may be responsible for all past or current taxes (depends on the deal...most of the time pro-ration ends up the most fair, however, if deal is great and it's worthwhile for you to pay because seller is unable, etc...and you're fine with it to get the deal, great...if they owe a ton of back taxes that you're not interested in paying as it chunks away at your deal, then best to negotiate for them to pay). Again, everything is negotiable.

To your point about assigning it being "off your plate":
YOU are negotiating the initial contract with the seller (which includes who pays closing costs, taxes, etc...) so usually (again from what I understand...please more experienced people feel free to chime in here), but therefore, in signing this purchase agreement and getting it "locked up" with your seller, you, in turn, when assigning it to a buyer are assigning all the terms that you HAVE ALREADY agreed upon (i.e. including earnest money, or whatever terms may be included)....assigning every one of those terms to your buyer. So no, your buyer really doesn't have "room to negotiate these things" on their own, unless your contract with your seller did not specify, which I would think, not be in the norm, but possible I'm sure.

But you bring up a good point regarding Destrie's contract here because she mentions there being a "limit" to what her buyer will pay for closing costs. The only thing I can think of is that those "closing terms" are not included in her contract with her seller. Otherwise, if they were, there wouldn't be any question as to how much the buyer is paying towards these...it is outlined in that contract. I'm unfamiliar with this area of "bartering with buyer on details" as Destrie mentions above since I think some of these details would be in the original contract? (But hey, every deal is different, so I would love to understand this point on this one!)

Attorney at closing - I'm thinking it is preferable to have an attorney and/or title company at closing...at least to sign your closing documents there as they will be preparing them for you. From what I understand it is more important to have the right title company than the right attorney (at least from this DG site), but I'm still learning! In the deal I'm hoping to work right now, it is an out of state transaction, so everything will be done by fax and overnight, but I plan to go sign everything on closing date at my attorney/title company (happens to be all under one roof) who is representing me, as a buyer (seller has their own title company), so I know mine will have my best interest as a buyer since I'm their client. In my case, I will most likely do a double close (which is why I'm going that far to the closing table). But if I were assigning the contract...yes, I would be done with it (or at least I would think so?) when my buyer signed my "assigning contract" (if I collected my fee upfront and received the earnest money from my buyer).

Hope my two cents has helped....I'm still very much learning and can be corrected anytime!!

Cheers!
Louisa

Boy I'm sure glad you answered that for me Louisa. Somehow I got that all turned around in my thinking. Thank you so much for clarifying that for me. Wouldn't I have looked a little silly had I gone on thinking that way. You saved "face" for me.

Barbara

Is it closing day for you Destrie? Just thinking about you!!

I just made a call to the seller to let her know that closing is Tuesday @ 4:00 Pm....Yay!!!!

To answer all questions: THe seller didn't want to sell the property for 5K..she wanted 10K...so I told her that she wouldn't be paying any closing costs....part of my negotiation.

Buyer didn't want to buy for 10K..wanted to buy for 5K.....I told buyer that we could settle for 6K.....but he would have to pay for the majority of the closing costs....he agreed to pay up to 400.00.

So...with me being desperate...there is some money that will come out of my profit.

Destrie

You have just mastered the "negotiations" on this one and figured out "how it could work" I mean really...

Seller wanted to sell property for $10K
Buyer wanted to buy property for $5K

YOU ARE MAKING IT HAPPEN when most people would have said "nope, NO WAY!"

Congrats to getting creative and getting it done!
Louisa

Thank you for sharing your story...
I pray for you & your family

My best wishes for you in your REI career!!!

Today's the big day! Can't wait to hear from you about how it goes!

Cheers!
Louisa

Hi Destrie, I have been reading all the blogs and I can really relate to you. I live in sacrmento california and just joined deans family. I am a single grandmother of two and tired off working a back breaking job in the deli at a market; this course called out to me but it is far out of my comfort zone I am scared to death. My goal is to secure me. and my granddaughters future. Enough of me I hope all works out for you and if you have any good tips I would gladly appreciate them my email is [email protected] have a great day S.

Well, I was supposed to close on the property yesterday at 4:00. Well....I talked to my attorney's secretary and my lawyer had an emergency juvenille case in Decorah that he had to attend to. In Iowa, children take precident over everything else. My closing didn't happen yesterday. I am penciled in for today at 4:00, but that's not a guarantee. The only thing that they could guarantee me was that my closing would happen this week. So, hopefully it will happen sooner or later....

Well, no worries...as soon as it closes, you've got to post to MY DEALS (section of the website) and go get your DIAMOND (you know, the little DG site badge diamond for a deal) ha!

YAY!

And you realize, this will be TWO deals, right!? It is considered a deal that you bought it, and a deal that you assigned it.

Forget about the delay, and rejoice that you are closing this week!! Can't wait to hear about it when you close.

Cheers!
Louisa

Okay, so I have the property locked up in Riceville. We where supposed to close on it last week...well.....

The attorney had an emergency court hearing to go to.....No closing

My attorney called me back the following day and stated that everything looked great except one thing.....An abstract to the property.

I called the abstract company and the lady stated that maybe I could track the abstract down..she gave me the attorney's number who did the closing on the house with the previous owners.

I called that attorney and got a name....I called the previous owners and was told that they had passed away and the kids threw all of their paperwork out that they didn't think that they needed.....

I called back the abstract company and talked with the lady again (she's been a saint...thank goodness)

She told me that she will get started on it again..but there's one small thing...it's going to cost $500.00

Called the owner of the property, she's not happy but is willing to fork out the $500.00 to get it done.

Called back the title company and told them the okay to go on with the new abstract....

It will take around 5 business days to get that done.....

I hope this is worth it.....

Destrie

It's a good thing the owner of the property is willing to pay for it to get the deal done. Reading your post and a recent post of Rina's makes me realize that it takes some hoop jumping to get to closing. In the end it will be worth it, when you walk out of closing with a check in hand.

Take care,
Lea
SPR Property Solutions, LLC

You are right, I will be on cloud 9 when I walk out with the check in hand. It just is really frustrating right now. But, I'm sure I will get more proficient when I do my second deal....a.k.a. asking if the sellers have the abstract..

Destrie