OfflineI will have to "be the asset" as I'm starting from less than nothing financially.
Have been reading and roaming around here ever since a reference by Greg Habstritt sent me investigating. Watched through almost the entire RBBP webcast; did have to shut down for a massive thunderstorm!
Aside from being 56, with no financial float, a pile of medical bills from a car wreck and an unpaid vehicle, caretaking elderly mom on SS, and a part-time college teaching assistant job which may or may not be in the budget for Fall semester ... I guess I'm in a pretty good position to do this!
Looking at my plus column:
Just finished Associates' Degree in Advertising & Graphic Design, highest honors, Phi Theta Kappa. Doesn't seem to do much toward "a job" yet, but didn't really want one anyway.
Have gotten good at living on almost nothing, recycling, trading, etc. from years of being a not-quite-starving artist/weaver/designer --- practical, flexible, creative.
Have lived and traveled many places, so very adaptable to people, situations, and change in general.
Have taken NC Rural Entrepreneurship certificate program and maintained connections with SBDC people in 2 counties here in WNC.
Brother in Charleson, SC, area does some high-end historical home renovations and rehabs along with his protoyping and museum displays, so I can probably interest him in working on properties with me there and work with some of his connections once I prove myself locally.
I have cleaned and repaired many rental houses, and worked with a couple of investors on refinishing furniture and home staging my year in SC.
Have started making a list of those and other potentially useful connections where I used to live in the San Antonio and Santa Fe areas.
BTW, what is the difference between a Journal and a Blog on DG? Journal being more individual record and blog being more professional suggestions once one gets to that stage?
Another good mini-lesson starting on this thread:
http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/contracts-and-offers/9077...
with a number of examples of the back-and-forth input giving several perspectives.
Easy to hit overload with multiple opinions and plans of action (or not --- Next!), but I somehow find that more thorough and convincing that any one person's input, especially whenever there's eventually a general concensus. Also amounts to "playing Devil's advocate" in advance as far as being prepared to counter likely objections.
Another quick save:
"How do you Co-wholesale? One quick question, what ways do you use to co-wholesale with another wholesaler? E.g. a wholesaler got a property under contract, and you supply the deal with the buyer.
Do you sign a separate agreement with the wholesaler to split the assignment fee? If so, are there any contracts that we could leverage off DG website?
Thanks for the help!"
from Ken Siew. Answered by Erik:
"Some will want you to sign an Non-Disclosure Non-Circumvent from or other Bird-dog Agreement. Some use a Flex Option. Some just pay a flat "marketing fee"
The procedures, fees they pay, and contracts they use are up to them. I've got 2 wholesalers now, that send properties to my e-mail, which I am free to market however I want. One wholesaler splits his profit 50/50 and the other pays a flat fee that is different for each property.
Just call different wholesalers and ask if they will JV or Co-wholesale. Some will, some won't. They will tell you how they operate and can send you any contracts you will need."
Busy with college, jobs, trying to stay afloat. Still reading here every night. Meanwhile, bounced a couple of email inquiries around with a connection who's a specialty mortgage broker in another state about what his clients are typically looking for, and how many days to closing for his buyers once they've been pre-qualified. Got 2 pages of mostly positive response --- loaded with lingo and acronyms and way over my head, which I expected. Will have to translate and reread carefully a few times before I'm sure I understand him correctly, but it sounds like there might be some possibilities in it.
Another quick save, from plan_E again, because we're in similar areas now, and I used to live where he is, so I understand his learning curve there and think it will probably translate here as well.
"Jazon, You probably aren't going to find anything online for Probates. Most of the big cities have online access to probate info, but if you aren't looking in a big city you will have to go to the courthouse, and even if you live in Big Web Access City USA you will probably have to go to the courthouse to get the whole story anyhow. I live in Small No Web Access Town USA and searching the probates here every 3 months or so is all it takes. Sure, I find stuff. But its mostly vacant land thats worth less than what the escrow costs would be to buy it. Well, I got sick of spending my time digging thru the records to find $1000 properties that would cost $1000 to buy.
So I went to The Closest Small City Nearby USA. They don't have web access either, but they do have enough population and expensive properties to make the Probate files worth picking thru. I really need to get up early in the morning and do that WAY MORE often on my days off.
IMHProbateO - If you live in, or can get to, a city that has "enough" population and probate estates, NOT HAVING online access is a GOOD THING. It cuts out your competition, who are probably too lazy to go down to the courthouse and just skip That City USA because there's no online access.
As far as I know, its possible to skip Probate by writing a Will or using a Trust in any State. But, people are just bad at planning out their personal destiny, and thats where Probate comes in.
Every courthouse is different, but if you go, just find the Probate Files Room or whatever they call it there. Take a Notice To Creditors legal ad if you can find one in the newspaper to show the file # to any clerk you might talk to. Doesn't matter what case #. Just start with that file and go backward or forward to find the ones that are new enough that you can still talk to the Personal Representative before they list the property with an agent or sell it to someone else. Find the Decedent (person who died) Name and cross-reference that in the Tax Assessor records to find any property they might have owned. Then call the PR or send a letter. The PR is the Estate decision-maker. Their name is always in the file +/- contact info. hunt em down."
Great journal you have going here! I was able to re-play in my mind many of DG's blogs, and other members posts (Erik, Michael,etc.)
It's hard to do rei when you have a job, and I know what you mean by cutting on your sleep hours! But if you only have time to read at night, then at nightime it is... there's probably many of us up late at night reading and learning!
There's an acronym thread on this site that Rina started- just enter 'acronyms' in the search box and it will come up.
Wishing you success on your rei journey,
Valerie
Valerie
“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” ― Dr. Seuss
"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends; I am surrounded by angels, but I call them friends" - Unknown
My journal: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/59110/...
Lots of changes since last post, including having to relocate my mother again, along with all the utilities, social services, new doctors, changes of address, and just general setting up new systems that she can deal with. Then the semester ended and once again, no idea if I would be re-employed this semester or if so, how many classes or lab hours.
As of today, looks like I'll be taking 2 classes myself, adjunct teaching 3 classes, plus splitting the lab hours with a job-share partner.
The CEO of the non-profit which runs this historical museum site that I also care-take has just given notice and since I rent/trade for the cottage I live in, my own housing situation may be up in the air again. The Board is in a bit of an uproar, and anything could happen. It's a unique living situation, and it has served it's purpose as far as keeping a roof over my head, along with the "zoo," but it's very stressful for me to have to keep starting over as far as my home base, which is why I really want to get past renting.
Have been reading Totally Fulfilled and Be a Real Estate Millionaire in bits and pices before bed, making or re-establishing local business connections, and skimming the papers and watching the patterns around town as I work and commute.
My head is fairly swimming with information and To Do list overload. Have been popping back into this site regularly catch up, but by the time I do that, I'm too maxed out to do much else (and it's usually 1 or 2 AM by then; have to get back into college hours!).
So here, for whatever it may be worth, is my little bit of market trivia for now, from A Word A Day:
duopsony
PRONUNCIATION:
(doo-OP-suh-nee, dyoo-)
MEANING:
noun: A market condition in which there are only two buyers, thus exerting great influence on price.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek duo- (two) + -opsony, from opsonia (purchase).
NOTES:
Here's a little chart that explains it all: monopoly: one seller, many buyers
duopoly: two sellers, many buyers
oligopoly: a few sellers, many buyers
monopsony: one buyer, many sellers
duopsony: two buyers, many sellers
oligopsony: a few buyers, many sellers
Time Out in Marion, NC
I have had to take a long time-out here in order to take care of my mom, who just turned 89, keep myself and the rescue animals afloat with my part-time college adjunct job plus a patchwork of other teaching and arts gigs, and maintain my partial trades toward rent here on the grounds of a historic museum.
Now looking at possibly taking SS early retirement around January 2017 in order to supplement the adjunct income and get myself past renting and back into a sweat equity homeowner's situation. They need to repair or replace all kinds of rotten wood and black mold sections on this 1930 cottage, and I cannot live/work here with a home studio and multiple house cats while random non-profit volunteers try to address the old house issues, so it's time!
Would really like to be able to get into RE starting with a roof over my own head, since I'm always too stretched thin and living on the edge without a solid home base to do much else.
Used to live off-grid in NM, prefer well water and a place to organic garden, and more interested in location and good neighbors than the starter building, although it would have to be livable as is to qualify for mortgage with SECU.
Have lived in an old chicken hatchery in NOLA area, converted garage, barn, etc. in the past.
A large part of my reason to push forward with this now is that I know I won't have the Mom-duties much longer and would like to trade out much of the job/commute time for things that feel more creative/regenerative involving RE, fix & flip, home staging, Habitat for Humanity type projects, and our area Hospice Home Store.
How does one go about finding a forever home as a first base when they're 60ish and starting over with basically nothing?