Kelly Flippin Cali

not in a good place

2011-09-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, almost a year since I posted.

Quite a lot has been happening in the personal life. Coupled with some deals that have either not gone through or not picked up by my partner. (Gets expensive after you hire the inspector dude and the appraiser dude.) For me anyway, I don't have a lot of capital. (yet) AND, I haven't been in a good place mentally (emotionally). Facebook just seemed like the place to connect instantly to my peeps and the Blog has been ignored.

I can't even go into it...it's embarrassing. I'm finding that i am making excuses for things i wasn't successful at. And after it was typed, and re-typed, I deleted it all cause it looked like a freakin' pity party. Screw that!!

I would rather people respect me than feel sorry for me. I try to live by the golden rule.

I think everyone would like to be aknowledged when they post a comment or take the time to read, understand, relate to and reach out to someone. I have found that some are not so genuine and are more interested in telling stories than engaging in conversation or entertaining different views. Those people might just be trying to keep score on how many comments they can gather on their story. They may have wanted to be a reporter or a writer and facebook or a blog is how they have satisfied that. I can only guess. Shame on me for expecting more.

I'm going through some big stuff. I am committed to getting my lifeonaire mindset in order. Making a new vision board (almost everything on my old one has come to be) I think I'm just pissed, frustrated and disappointed because I want to be and should be, excited, happy, and hopeful. I just have to be patient, work it out, work it through, and move forward.

......it still looks like a dang pity party. HA! I promise to be better :)

quick check in

2010-10-21T01:03:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my "roots". Re evaluating goals, feelings and relationships. Studying my mls systems and trying to shine a little brighter.

Headed to my REIA meeting tomorrow to make connections and start to wholesale for some cashflow to pay for coaching and bootcampin'.

New Market/ New MLS

2010-08-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've been poking around my local market with limited MLS access. I actually have found some stuff! I didn't think there was an opportunity here, Who knew? It would be a dream to be able to work locally.

I needed local MLS access, and to make a long story short, I 'walked my talk' and gots me some! It took about 5 agents or 5 tries, but I don't give up. I used the exact strategy that I have talked about before, even down to the starbucks gift card and the sharpie! My agent is very nice and she "gets" what I am trying to do. I now have 2 new areas MLS. This makes a total of 4!

I will still use my other agent in other areas and for other things. She is super fantastic and works WAY to hard for her money! But she loves what she does.

So, I have my MLS and my keys. I want 3 by bootcamp! That's like one per week.

Gotta get to it!

Yep, it closed.

2010-08-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

So, it closed.
It took forevvvveeerr!
I plan on disecting it to post the problems here so that we all may learn.

I'm looking at a couple of others that are being reviewed by my partner. They are marginal. If I had my buyers list I could wholesale the big one....They want their gigantic deposit today so, I will have to hustle.

The smaller one is a couple miles from me and would be ideal! I'm thinkin' a week maybe two, then back on the market. I really, really, really want this one.

Gotta run, trying to obtain new mls access. This week will be very productive!

Happy Monday!

this close [ ]

2010-08-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

We are almost closed. The appraisal fight was WON!!! I have some badass peoples watchin my back! No one gave up. I am so proud. And lucky. Get yourselves an appraiser friend!! So they can help you fight the B/S appraisals that come up - and they will come up! Unless you are lucky enough to deal with only cash. or conventional buyers that can come in with more cash.

I have learned a lot. I have been researching past deals that got away, I probably always will follow them just to see how far out of line I was. I just found out that I missed a (LOCAL) deal by $250 !!!!! I was told that I was close, but I wouldn't budge.

I always thought that I would look more serious if I gave my highest and best up front, no screwin' around, I already researched it and THIS is my offer..........WELL, that isn't working out so great for me . Now, I'm going to leave a little wiggle room. So, when the listing agent says "you are close", I will be bumpin' it up at least $250 smackers ;)

updates to follow.......Hot lead, I'm out the door!

No close-ay.....yet

2010-08-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, So yeah. No close - ay! No extension addendum. Buyers are unavailable on Honeymoon. I'm running out of nice. I really don't want to be the story they always tell about the witch that contacted them on their honeymoon. I'm trying to find the positive in all this.......I can't see it yet.

I had the yard done over again and I have the stagers on standby to re-stage in case I have to put it back on the market. Folks have been calling about it. I think I will have the agent contact them and place it in "pending bring backup" status. So, I'm ready with contingency plan A.

Meanwhile, I've been shopping for biguns and I think I have found a couple. Pretty exciting stuff! Offers ready to go......put me in coach!

The gray house in the previous post, didn't make sense. On to the next.

I'm thinking about what I want to comit to for Steph's challenge. I'll have it by the end of the day.

My Grama is 90 this week.....big big party......busy week.

Have a killer week!!.

Community Service

2010-07-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, the ugly is - my house hasn't closed yet. Underwriting decided to do a review and call for second appraisal. Seems to be the norm throughout the nation but hasn't been in California 'till now. I had 4 solid comps when i bought, since then in my hood there has been nothing but crap shorts and reo's with low numbers. There was one sale from an investor/appraisor/rehabber guy I know, but by the time I sold my house, that would only be one comp........kinda nervous. So we decide to sell fha to seemingly strong buyers who would have gone conventional but wanted to use the cash for their wedding. Their Mom is the buyer Agent so we feel pretty good. The first appraisal comes in superb.....exactly my sales price, BUT it's a 45 day close and my investor/appraisor/rehabber friend and I have not been doing any other projects to keep the market prices up in the hood, meaning if they did a second appraisal, it wouldn't look good. The second appraisal is desktop and comes in at 155k or something, our sale is 169k. Meanwhile we are out of contract so we ask the buyer for an addendum extension and the buyer agrees to order another appraisal to challenge the desktop. The desktop by the way used comps that were funky like over a mile away and one was a deed transfer.....frustrating. Meanwhile, the buyer's agent has power of attny so we are dealing with her. So, we wait......I want my price dang it, they verbally agreed to come in with cash to give me my price in the beginning. I can't hold them to it i know.

Over the weekend I went to take pictures of one I have under contract with a super speedy close, quick homework on this one like i like, more on that one later.

And, I learned something very valuable!! Have you ever followed houses you have made offers on? The ones that got away so to speak? BEFOREAFTER

Well, I had this one under contract and after inspecting the interior of one of the walls found moldy issues and decided to ask for a price reduction......didn't happen and I let it go. So, I followed it and drove by watching the construction for MONTHS! I drove by yesterday and they were having an open house. WOW what a beauty! A contractor picked it up and did it up right. It's WAY too pretty for the hood. The inside is all brand new, he moved walls added a bathroom, new pool equipment. It is fantastic - but - (BIG but)- I don't think he is making a dime. I know what he bought it for, I know what he put into it and I know how long it took, really sad. I feel for him. I'm calling this syndrome = "community service" fixing up the hood for free. I'm hoping to avoid this syndrome in the future.

Have a fantastic Monday!

CLOSING, I think.

2010-07-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Signed paperwork at title, watered the lawn for the last time, put the keys in the lock box and backed away slowly with fingers crossed, holding breath. Details to follow. AND I had sushi which I was not a big fan of before, but this was great!....I guess you have to have the RIGHT kind of sushi ??? ....here's also a tip.....don't try to eat sushi while operating machinery....like your CAR. I survived. (ate the leftovers on the drive home) Still crunching numbers for my Biggie offers.
Son's getting married day after tomorrow. Things are a little busy round here. Enjoy this killer weather!

Those are my thoughts for the day in pictures! :)

and.......I wish I was in Florida with Steph and Craig and Mike and Jerry and Eileen and Bob and everybody else that is at the killer event. :)

Gotta Bea Betta Blogga :)

2010-06-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while and since I'm waitin' for my partner to call me, I will blog.

Lots and lots has happened. Izzy is almost all grown up. I haven't worked with her as much as I would have liked but I take she and the Duff dog when I can, when it's not too hot.

One Son is getting married in less than a month to a great girl. One Son is moving to San Luis Obispo (I think it is his equivalent to backpacking across Europe) I have passed my finals and am waiting to sit for my State exam.

My deal fell through, My magical buyer couldn't transfer from San Francisco. BUT>>>

I had a few fha offers but no other conv or cash offers.....well i had one annoying agent kept offering 100,00 cash. oooo yeah we will take a 70k hit for cash all day......not!

I don't get my market here, it was smokin' then a big drop off, no inventory and no buyers. One buyer was really strong with lots of cash but they wanted fha because they needed to pay for a wedding. His mom is the buyer agent. We accepted their offer. I found out that if you put any addendum's on the fha offer, like "must come in with cash if appraisal doesn't support selling price", fha doesn't like that. The fha contract must be as clean as you can make it! AND, if you can keep the inspections between you and the seller , it will help your deal go through.

Our bug inspection came back crappy, they want to tent the house and fumigate for termites. They wanted to take apart the back porch, that would have been a potential hornets nest$$$. I am giving them a credit at closing for half of the estimated repairs. They like it.

What I was most excited about is the appraisal came back at my asking price WOOHOO! Then I was reminded there might be a second appraisal, now I'm freaked out again. My comps are over 6 months old now and everything in the hood has been crappy shortsales and low low prices. ...must....think....positive!! or positively!! It's a 45 day close. We are using my lender dude so we can keep a little more control. All the money stuff is in, we are waiting for underwriting and that's it. Everyone wants a quicker close, we will see.

I went to the Millionaire Mind Intensive.....OMG! Had a blast, met all kinds of cool people, we laughed , we cried, we broke stuff. I'm different! Now I want to go to enlightened warrior camp, it's one of my goals. If you have a chance to go to the MMI GO! I have free passes for vip seating so if you plan to go, I can save you 1200 smackers!

I am researching a new market of $1.5m homes, very excited about that!!

Today, I will be working from the lake with my Mom.....life is great!

I gotta be a better blogger.

Have a Wonderful Monday!

Offer Accepted! NEXT...................

2010-05-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Offer accepted! Full price, big ol deposit, no financing contingencies, conventional, I put an addendum in the contract that buyer must come in with cash if the appraisal comes in at a lesser value, no matter what, I want my price. NO PROBLEM.

The buyer is a professional person from San Francisco who's Mom lives right behind the house. Magical, I must be dreaming. I'm still on guard though.....It might appear that I am calm on the outside but inside I'm saying, "Holy Crap! Hoooollllly Crap!"

I'll post my numbers when it closes. And, I will share all of the mistakes.

My partner wants more just like this so.....I'm off shopping, with my contractor this time.

OFFER WOO HOO!!

2010-05-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Quick offer eh? Just got an offer......waiting to speak with my partner. It's FHA though so I'm kind of freaked out. At least now I have a little bit of validation. I really feel like I over prettied this one.

Happy Margarita Day! I like mine with salt on the rocks, but just one or two :) I'll be ready for one or two after this deal!

Oh, and I am now famous (chuckle) I'm listed in the top 50 right between Mike and Matt, how does this happen???? I'm honored :) I better shape up and get serious!
http://constructionmanagementdegree.org/blog/2010/50-best-real-estate-blogs/

Going to look at 3 houses today and formulate some offers......gotta keep the pipeline full.

I'll update with the news as I get it.

PS Hi Ginny!

quick before and afters

2010-05-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, she's done. We held an open house Saturday and Sunday. Lots and lots of positive feedback. I'm not ready to give too many details yet. Here are the pretty pictures :). They are way tiny for some reason. Here's a link to my flickr if these give you a headache. http://www.flickr.com/photos/41762487@N06/ these are from the before and after set.

pics

2010-03-22T13:01:00.001-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41762487@N06/4391775786/

I hope this link works. No time for bloggin' gotta list this b&%#* ASAP! ;)

I'm muddin' drywall and painting tomorrow. Headed to Detroit with paint in my hair - nice.

It's still a blast though!

During photos

2010-02-22T08:22:00.001-08:00

Here are some before and during photos. I don't have much time to blog. I've been there since I closed on it and have been working on it every day, except today. I will make this quick with lots of photos.
On the left of this picture is a laundry area, very hokey, it's gotta go.The floor is a bit strange in the kitchen. it is at least an inch higher than the hardwood floor in the living room.and there is layer upon layer of vinyl.
I decided to keep the front door and strip it rather than replace it. This is the type of hardware on most of the doors.

I'm going to change the patina to all bronze to renew them.This bathroom stays. Too bad it's chrome - chrome is for cars.
This bathroom will be changed around to become the master bath, the shower is toast and where the picture is taken from will become the laundry room.
another view of future laundry room and doorway to the master bedroom. The glass door will be replaced with a pocket door.This is the built in closet with drawers and cabinets above in master bedroom. The bathroom is behind that wall.Kitchen gutted (except the 20 layers of flooring)Dining room starting to remove the flooring.and after all of those layers with a zillion nails I found hardwood :) Woo hoo!
this is mid demo of laundry area, you can see shower to the left. The shower had 3 layers (why not?) one was pink tin squares made to look like ceramic or porcelain tile ??? strange and not water proof -bad design
.More Laundry hall and shower.This is the scarry rotten under the shower mid demo shot. I knew the bathroom was getting complete new sub floor so this was not a suprise - ugly

ick.And we have filled up one and a half of these so far. I'm planting little shrubs down the walkway.

Great tip for you rehabbers out there - check out your habitat re-store. I donated the double ovens and a few doors to them. I was able to pick up my chandelier, ceiling fan, pendant lights, windows and a few other things. Super savings!! And I got my faucets and cabinet hardware online for 1/3 of what home depot charges. Pays to shop around.

Gotta go. Busy day.

PS. Jodi, you can soooooo do this ;)

Here we go

2010-02-04T23:27:00.000-08:00

And Exhale!

It records at 10am and I will be waiting with my hammer and my prybar at the front door for the keys! Then I will call the locksmith.

I really can't believe it..... (yes I can) I'm so ready!

Now the fun begins! I don't think I will be posting much, unless there is a hotspot nearby. I'll try to post before and after pics - that's why we do it, right? :)

I like this quote of the day;
Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan. -Paul Meyer

I'll be listening to the Superbowl, won't get to watch it this year....... Go Saints!! I think it will be 24-21 Saints. Maybe some overtime ??

Oh and I'm holding a paint party in 3 weeks, we will be grillin' and y'all can bring a salad or a side dish and a lawn chair, casual dress :) See you then!

I'm tearing it up

2010-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've been busy since the Vegas trip. Had a blast with the Hubby, we got kicked out of Margaritaville! We didn't work as much as we thought we would but we lived large and vowed to do that again at least once a year.

On the way to the airport to catch the plane to Vegas right after Thanksgiving, we went to look at 5 houses in a lightning round of speed shopping. Two of the houses looked great , one might have been too pricey so I made an offer on one. On the ride back from Vegas, the bank asked for highest and best, I bumped it up just a tad, and BAM, fish on! Woo Hoo! I found out later, I was 1k less than the other cash offers????

I went to my bank to get a cashier's check for 2500. I ordered the appraisal and an inspection. $375 each, The inspection found some issues with the gas meter and the wiring and structure stuff. My numbers didn't make sense at this point but I didn't want to lose my $800.00 in inspection fees, so I asked for a 10k price reduction. The bank (US Bank) said ok, so we are a go.......supposed to close anytime from now 'till the end of the month. The bank is ready.....I am hoping it all jels together. It will be a true test of my patience. I'm trying to just let it all calmly happen. Meanwhile, the listing agent's hair is on fire, "close now, close now!" My agent is freakin', "we are out of contract, someone else is gonna get it!!" OHHHH NOOOO :o I so badly want to join in the panic. ....must remain calm. Meanwhile, I can't sleep, I'm feeling sick, It's all I think about, but I look and sound really calm. Someday this will be funny, maybe. Stress wise, it MUST get easier. If not, I don't think I could handle more than 3 of these a month. I could, but my family couldn't.

I'm just going to keep busy and stay in control of it without babysitting the deal, does that make sense? Anyway, I'm putting an offer in on a mold house and a short sale. I want 3 a month for now. Hopefully, that is in allignment with what my money partner wants....I'm about to find out :)

The particulars on the house are: 1940's house in another county 1 1/2 hours from my home. At one time this area was number one in the nation for foreclosures. It's a rehab. I will be camping out there regularly 'till it's done. I will be taking lots of pretty pictures too.

More later.....there just hasn't been time!

{{{exhale}}}

Fish On! and snow

2009-12-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

I have a house under contract here in California. If it passes the appraisal and my rehab numbers are correct, we are a go. More about that later.

I also have updates on the houses a couple of posts ago. Look for a post later in the week.

Yesterday, we had a freeze storm after it snowed all day, then we had 19 degree temps that froze it all solid. It was fun drivin' in it. I was all squirly and sideways in the empty rite aid parking lot. On purpose of course. :) It felt like the olden days (minus the 67 camaro) Ah, mayhem at midnight.

The power was out all day 'till about 10pm so no heat. This coming year I will be working on solar and wind power AND I'm getting a wood stove installed fer shur.

Here are some photos of early yesterday for your viewing enjoyment :)
Duffy and My Son.

Izzy

Izzy

Doot Doot Do, lookin' out my back door.

It was about noon, looking at the neighbor's across the pasture.

Snow made the old farm stuff look artsy.

Tim had to leave at about 4am to allow for the slow drive. He said there were spots where the carmometer read 16 degrees. He drove commando (no chains) I think this is the time of year where we could be in Vegas, then come back to the Mountains in the Summer....yeah, I'm looking into it!

Kelly out........actually Izzy has to go out......more later!

Happy Thanksgiving !! I'm off to Vegas!!

2009-11-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

If you're serious about success, you'll make GOAL SETTING your first love and SELF MASTERY your second <----That's my quote of the day that is usually over ----> but I don't want to lose it. I think they repeat because I've seen a few over and over.

So, I just figured out that I have no driver license. Beautiful... I gotta go to Dmv today or I don't get to rent my bitchen GMC acadia in Vegas.

I'm so excited!! Timmy will be going with me and he'll get to see what I do. We are on a mission. I'm surprised I could pull him away from Cabinets! He is lucky, he loves what he does! He never takes vacation time unless it involves fishing :)

I got these cd's from T Harv Eker's intensive weekend seminar WOW. I have to attend a few of these things I'm sure now. Some of the lessons or excersizes are omitted from the recording because they don't make sense unless you are there live. You start with the first intensive, then you live out those habits for a few months, then go to a choice of more advanced training. I like the way he thinks.

I've figured out that I have to get my 'mind right'. I've been losing momentum and getting discouraged, thinking I should have bagged a deal by now and I feel I'm just spinning my wheels, lots of noise and smoke but going nowhere. I know that kind of thinking is jacked up.....I have been trying to replace that with positive thoughts and affirmations.....Then I get pissed that I let doubt in.....pitiful. So, my immediate remedy is to set smaller goals, accomplish them, get psyched (literally) and build on that. I just need to kick more ass!! :)

Really this post is about how Thankful I am for the wonderful life that I have and the brain that I have, and the love that I have and the health that I have. And all of the fantastic people that I know and know me. I am truly blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Watchin' and learnin'

2009-11-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

I made 5 virtual offers yesterday here in California and there is one that I want to look at while I'm in Las Vegas.

When Scot and I were looking at places a few weeks ago, we cruised a burn out. All of the demo was done. It was in a gated community of million plus dollar homes that are currently going for about 375000 to 435000 latest comp is Jan 09. It was listed at 99000 we estimated about 75000 to finish it. It sold for 159000. probably would have taken 4 months maybe 5 to finish. I'm thinkin' that's right around 100k profit if we could sell it for the lower $375000. Oh, and it had a really nice pool and spa and a triple Grecian fountain thing in the middle of the lawn in back, nice private courtyard in the front, and only one neighbor. I think it would have fetched a premium. I will be watching to see. I think I will cruise by there to speak with the contractor to see what the repair estimates are. It might be owner occ ??? So we will see if I can spot deals!

I've been doubting myself lately.

Another one I am waiting for is wichita falls, comps at 227000, listed for 127900, missing cabinets, holes in the walls, somebody kept stealing the lockbox itself. The beauty of this we found later is that the bank had bought all new cabinets in boxes in the garage. So, carpet, paint, drywall repair, cabinet install and snazzy fixtures maybe 15k add 7k for tops so 22k and a week to finish. About 55k profit. It might have sold for more, I think it closes on the 20th.

There's a few I am watching in Las Vegas to see if my numbers are good.

I'm kinda pissed about the deal I had hijacked. I had it under contract for 147,000. I saw 3 homes that were going to close that would have bumped the price up. In other words 3 stupid comps to prove my numbers. It needed ZERO, nothin', nada, zip, zilch! If I had done an appraisal at acquisition the value would have been 190000. but since these other homes were pending, by the time I sold mine the comps would have shown the value at 213000 easily! Hindsight eh? And the REO agent that I had built rapport with won't speak to me....beautiful! I think if my money guy would have actually seen it, it would have been a slam dunk. Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda, that's piss poor thinkin' eh? What would Harv say??? Sometimes it's difficult not to be sore about something that would have changed the game for ya.

I'm trying to do more visualization so that all these trips to Vegas will be fruitful.

And a special Thank you to JP over at REItips for reprinting this ----> http://reitips.com/mls-access-without-license/

And a reminder for everyone to say "Thank you" when needed, where needed. It goes a long way.

Distractions

2009-11-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

Distractions are going to get worse as the holidays approach, I can feel it already. My Birthday is Tuesday so my Mom took me to get a golden retriever puppy. Her name is Izzy. She's 7 weeks old and knows her name, knows sit and is working on paw (or shake), and is crate trained. I'm training her for hunting. She's still freaked out by the cows and cars that go by so I won't be taking her shooting yet. My cow dog Duffy loves her!

We spent the day looking at houses and talking to neighbors. This one house was in pretty good shape, ok price, been on the market for a long time. The neighbor meets us with his 3 dogs and starts telling us about the sewer issues and other problems with the house that the bank isn't going to tell you. The previous owners put a tangle of romex wire in the sewer line which has no clean out. Could have been true or could have been the neighbor wanted the house.

I bought Steph's replay of the Flip this REO or Flip or Treat call with JP.......Wow! Steph is amazingly generous with the info. We all are very lucky to know her. And JP is a great moderator/ interviewer ! Another fine event!!

We are going to Vegas at the end of the month. I will be bringin' home the deals. :) Tim gets to go this time so it will be even more fun!

I started my training for my license, first I'll be a California agent, then it's Nevada.

I'll be trying to keep the blog up.....been busy with too much nonREI stuff. Very frustrating to be taken away from what I was so focussed on.

That's all I got for now.

Keep kickin' butt!!

California pool deal unraveled

2009-10-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well the California deal unraveled. My backend number was a solid $150k in a great neighborhood a small 3/1 with garage conversion, pool and spa. Stucco exterior with brick half way up (I don't know what that's called) The house was built in the early 60's. Hardwood floors, but funky carpet in the bathroom and kitchen. New roof. Under contract for 90K. about 9 to 11k repairs. (because of the pool). It wouldn't wholetail because after replacing the windows and patching the stucco and painting just the front of the house, it would be retail. Retail is selling for 160K+ so I figured a quick sale I would go 150K.

The homeowner had started replacing windows and left about 4 inches of bare exterior all the way around and then they placed goo on the exposed edges of the stucco to waterproof it (Didn't work) They used the same goo on a vertical seam on the roof (should have been flashing).

My original walk thru with my Contractor Brother in Law noted this stuff and we had conservative numbers. Except for the pool... It had like a tilt up framed wall laying over the pool , 2x6 frame with black plastic and 3 inch square welded livestock wire panels over it. And, they made it right, I was impressed. We couldn't lift it, it would have to be cut apart, with wire and staples falling in the pool, yay. So we estimated 5k for the pool.

On my way home from the airport (from Vegas) Tim and I stopped by the house to give him a look at the pool which was bugging me. We walked in the house and all we smelled was mold. It had rained a couple days before. So, the roof goo and the wall goo wasn't working to keep the water out. I called the agent to kill the deal. She suggested a price reduction so we did that.....it didn't fly and the deal is no longer. I still plan on following it to see what they do with the pool.

I have Videos of all of this but no stills. My next one, I will take some stills.

I'm looking at a new target area, not much inventory. Been busy with those KEYS :)

Vegas is gettin' weird....my agent turned into an investor......I submitted several offers, I thought she submitted them, two days later she said we would discuss them and figure out how I came up with my numbers. WHAT??!! No, no, no, no. sigh. ...so now I have a new agent.

I'm trying to close one and sell it by the end of the year. 5 would be good, but I'm focusing on just one right now. :)

Keep listening to T.Harv Eker!

Vegas update for October

2009-10-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

KISS flipping bootcamp was in Vegas! How did I get so lucky?? I am truly blessed to have met all of the folks I now call my friends. It was great to see Alex again! My life is much better now that I know them. I will update soon because I am still in Vegas working.

I'm formulating my strategy for Vegas....I'm hittin' the streets tomorrow, learning an area completely, now that I have a set of bank master keys (I'm so giddy about that!!). I'm going to be looking at pendings and actives and hope to have at least 50 to 60 offers by the time I leave town. (at least!!) It will happen!!

I was hoping to have a coach/mentor by the end of this month. Even though "they" said it would, It doesn't look like that will happen. I think I have been working towards it. (obviously not enough) I have struggled with this tremendously.... So, I buck up, appear to not let it bug me and position myself to be worthy of coaching. I have to trust that everything happens for a reason and it will happen when it is supposed to. I am doing the best that I can. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen. I won't stop. I will be achieving my goals either with a mentor or alone. I am on a roll ~ rolling forward.

Tim's words ring in my head every day, "make it happen, number one" He calls me number one....not all the time....most of the time it's honey, or Kel :)

Back from Vegas

2009-09-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, long time no blog! I'm back from Vegas. It was tough. I took massive action and what I thought was extreme focus. I'm psyching myself out trying to stay positive. I can consistently find deals that are about 10k less profit than my money partner requires. VERY frustrating at times. No word yet today on my offers. I have heard on a couple over the weekend that were a no go, they are keeping my offer as back up...that's ok. Vegas is friggin' huge!! I only focused on a couple parts of it.

I met Scot while I was there and we checked out a burn out that his crew had responded to when it was a fire. (Scot is a firefighter in Vegas) We checked out his deal he just got accepted. Nice corner house, great area.

In Vegas they have a 2 stage pending, so the listing is c for contingent first, then when everything is in line and they are just waiting for closing the listing is marked pending. So, I go after the c status listings when the estimated close date has passed and see if I can close the deal with cash. On some, the agent has wanted the offer to be more in line with the 'current value' (like the prices have gone up! pffft!!) silly agents! On some, the agent was asking if I would like to take care of some other stalled deals they had. Some the value wasn't right and it wasn't a deal. This strategy is called 'pending hijacking ala Craig Fuhr style'. :) I have met a few listing agents this way.

I met a buyer agent who wanted $1000 a month to submit offers, BWaahh ha ha ha, belly laugh. you go sister love, if you can get that! I waited till I was outside to start laughing.

Most of my time there was spent checking out pendings , getting a feel for values and looking at available shortsales and reos. I missed out on 3 KISS flip deals because I wasn't quick enough. My hotel room was full of organized piles of mls research all over the floor. It was overwhelming at times but I did it!! I had a cool GMC Acadia rental car, it was a step up from the minivan :) I felt really safe driving around.

The first Friday was fight night in Vegas! I was offered tickets to the Mayweather fight at the MGM but declined (I had work to do) I kept clicking over and hitting refresh to see the results. AND the ufc bouts were televised on a huge screen at all of the Station Casinos for $20 which included hot dogs and brewski's. Yet, I worked. (such resolve)

I also was offered tickets for Flogging Molly on Thursday, no rest for the wicked eh? Speaking of "eh", A realtor told me that Canadian investors are coming to town in groups! interesting trend we are seeing in way North Las Vegas.

Nothing much to offer this blog time, just wanted to check in and keep accountable. I'm headed over to get Steph's ebook now. Funny, I only got one email blast about it. :) I think she should make it mp3 and sell the audio book too!

Fin!

Deal or No Deal?

2009-08-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

NO DEAL! Kind of a bummer, but so much a saving grace. A couple of properties came on the market for less than my offer in the same gated neighborhood. Everything happens for a reason eh? I'll sit this one out and watch it to see what someone else does with it. I'm disappointed mainly because I have been looking forward to using that "Holy Crap" line. :) It will be used again......and again! right?! Yeah, I'm sure of it. I am still very excited about my future!

Today, I went to my local market and looked at and filmed a total junker house. It is a total rehab and too much for me to take on because it would take like 2 or 3 months.....I plan to be in Vegas by then. Maybe I could wholesale it. I just got home and haven't thought enough about it. Tim wanted to tear it down. I think the cat pee smell clouded his vision. :) Nothin' like peed carpet in 100 degree weather! My agent said there are 6 cash offers near asking price. I think that is ridiculous! Are these people working just for fun?? Maybe they have access to free sheetrock or have pallets of subfloor laying around. It needs everything except foundation.

Tomorrow I am going to try to snag a pending that has been sitting way too long. I have to figure a way to get into it to check it out.

All for now, no snakes or skunks or mahem, except for the 16,000 more pot plants they took out of my favorite berry picking site. That is quite a crop! And it is very smoky here, Yosemite is on fire.

Oh, and I always thought Tony Robbins was too canned, or over the top. Think 'van down by the river'. I never listened, never gave him a chance. That Hyped up stuff doesn't do it for me. Well after watching a video clip sent to me today....I think I need to visit his site a bit and re-think things.

Fin

HOLY CRAP STEPH!

2009-08-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Vegas Turquoise house!! The bank approved my counter to their counter (my original offer). My money partner is checking it out and it is kind of thin. Why would my agent call me on the weekend to give me news from the bank? Do the banks work on the weekends? If it all goes through I have to do some scramblin' to cover the deposit. Positive thoughts, good energy, keep calm. I should wait and go WOOHOO after It is done and sells right? I have to keep saying; Eggs are not chickens, Eggs are not chickens......... :)

Vegas notes

2009-08-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Vegas details a bit late...part bullet points part paragraphs and run-on sentences
*I drove around Vegas, checked out the schools. All the same school district for the whole area.
*Found a contractor.
*Tried to find investor meetings....they are all gone.
*Ran searches for all the mls areas, way too big. Broke it up into zipcodes. From that information I found an active area and dove in. My realtor advised against my choice area saying no locals want to live there and I would be wasting my time. OH Contrair Monfrair! I showed her my stats and she raised an eyebrow. Investors that buy and hold SHOULDN"T be able to use FHA financing. We had fun driving around together and she now knows another area of Vegas that she hadn't considered before. AND it WAS safe.
*Called the MLS help desk several times. There is no DOM search criteria available to non BROKERS. Also no listing agent search. And it is a pain in the neck to run comps. Calif. is so simple compared to NV! (I still love the MLS though!)
*Researched local banks.
*Researched Title companies.
*Found a couple of REO Realtors that are full of themselves. (comical) The Reo realtors set the list price way low to create a bid war and won't write offers. You go into the office and they have an assistant help you or refer you to an agent to write your offer. I didn't have time to try different approaches. I'll find a way around that.
*Friday was my last night there. After meeting with my Agent and submitting offers!!!!!, I drove out to Mountains Edge. It's a nice community with a lot of gated communities inside. Almost all of the neighborhoods are surrounded by basalite block walls instead of fences. Inside out from what I am used to. Kind of cold but probably safer. I tried to follow someone in the gate to check out a job my contractor is on.....they wouldn't let me in :(
It was Friday, so I headed to the Orleans casino for Friday night fights WOOHOO! but, no fights that night...KC & his sunshine band were there. Uh, not this trip. They have a cool Irish pub and a band was setting up, but, I decided to go back to the room and get some shut eye for the 4am trip across the desert.
*On the way home I stopped in Selma at the home depot and got prices and sku, model and color numbers for white, black and stainless appliances. Picked out my carpet color, tile color, wood color, granite color, and fake granite (quartz) color. I'm set.

The homes I found have about 5 to 10 thousand dollars less profit than I need, so I have to keep shopping.

Update on the California Chef hat house......the LA told my agent that it was sold and the roofing contractor has been paid and has begun tear off. Yet it shows still active AND they raised the price today by $5K! I'm watchin' this one. Something is screwy!

MLS Immersion therapy for the next couple of days, the phone is off.

All for now. I gotta call Ginny!

MLS Access Success by others

2009-08-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just had to publicly congratulate a reader on his MLS access success! I gave him a 2 week challenge to obtain it. He found an agent that is hungry and will work with him AND through that will have his own MLS access. He achieved this in 2 WEEKS exactly! I'm excited for him. I think his ad was better than mine so I will post it here for others to use.

**********

I'm a Cash investor working in with single-family homes; I'm seeking an investor friendly agent to work with. Please call me now if the following adjectives apply to you:

- Assertive
- Punctual
- Creative
- Unpretentious
- Ambitious
- Altruistic

*****************************

He got a call from a Realtor that was trying exceptionally hard to sell himself, in a good way. He told the Realtor that he was tired of lame Realtors and was ready to build a business relationship with someone who is worth his time. They met later that day and viola, MLS access and an overall great meeting. The Agent is giving him MLS access in exchange for realtor-type leads that result from any of his marketing.

Isn't that fantastic??!! Even though I am normally sarcastic and smartassy, this is genuine excitement! I'm so glad that I could help someone else a little bit!

Vegas update...Counter!

2009-08-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

I got a counter on turquoise! The counter is $95,000. I'm hanging tough with my $90,000. Seems like tiny details to me ( I said $90,000, thank you). I'm excited to see what I learn on this one! Most of you veterans are probably yelling at me....."TAKE IT!!" Nope.

Productive week in Vegas!

2009-08-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Las Vegas. I had a very productive week. I have identified 3 distinct opportunity markets. Checked out a ton of homes. I met a couple of other investors while I was viewing homes, one couple is from Hawaii. They told me some horror stories of a property management company. We will be keeping in touch and sharing information. They might be in the market for more homes if they find the right property manager. I had mapped out 3 different REIA meetings to go to while I was there. All of the Las Vegas REIA contact phone numbers that I called from every investor website were disconnected. WTH? So, I went to Karaoke....I don't think that counts as RE networking. :)

The MLS doesn't have DOM so I had to devise a work around, they also don't have listing agent search, there are other restrictions on mls functions that only a broker can use. AND you have to go into every stinkin' listing ticket and scroll to find the info. It isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped, but that is ok. I am beginning to become an expert.

I had an interruption to my blog...............

We have these birds that scream whenever there is a snake or an alligator lizard. We have seen the birds attack the lizards but not the snakes. We live near a creek and get water snakes and red garter snakes a lot. Last year we had 2 rattlers, they were small. Well the birds started going off, I looked out front to see why and there was this mean looking rattlesnake headed for the porch. The old timers say not to bury them because yellow jacket bees will find it, then when they sting you, they might have venom. I don't know if it is true, and don't have time to find out. We put the business end in a soup can, folded over the top and threw it away. We kept the rattles (Tim has them in the shop for conversation items :) we tossed the middle part in the field for the coyotes. (probably pretty gross to some folks....sorry)

BTW: I made offers. One of the properties I'm calling 'turquoise' (bright spa turquoise color living room) I was told by my agent that if I came in $9000 more on my offer of $90000, that I would have the deal . The listing agent said the bank wouldn't even consider my $90,000 offer. Well, I don't know about that. ( I thought they HAD to submit it ????) The list is 99,000, it's been on the market since the end of June, fell out of escrow so back on the market. My numbers barely come out at $90,000. I'm hanging tough. I have to let her know in the morning.

I have to finish the Vegas story later. Right now I am running comps.

I'm in Vegas Baby

2009-08-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I pulled into town yesterday after dinner.

I've been doing my homework. I haven't gambled a bit! I walked right past the roulette wheel when it hit 17 too. A Good Sign. Gotta get back to it.

I'm learnin' lots.....I'll blog when I get back to California.

slingin' mud chef hat house

2009-08-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

Follow up on the expired listing house with the chef hat roof.

I posted my question to a couple of different boards. Flipping homes is always my best bet. I asked how to move forward on an expired listing? I wasn't sure if I should go through my agent or the listing agent.

Stephani answered me and advised that I call the listing agent, so I did. He said that Wells Fargo placed property in expired status when they have an offer, until it is ratified. (hmmm that sounds funny) I asked him if he would mind telling me what the offer came in at? He said full price and WF was replacing the roof. He didn't want to tell me anything, I was persuasive, (but nice) and he finally told me. That was at 11:45am.

I responded to Steph on FH. Called a couple of other agents just for practice, (because that's what Steph does :) ), ran my actives search again and HEY, there was the expried listing all freshened up and showing zero days on market!! WTH?

I called my agent who has all my stuff in her office and her home to make offers for me since she is over an hour away. She was at home. She wrote up the offer and emailed it over right away.

This is my little experiment, DOM 424 days. So we will see how they play. It just sits there, one of the highest priced crappy houses out there.

Oh, and my dog was sprayed by a skunk, YAY!

Next!

expired reo, breaking and entering

2009-08-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

I took the car in to have it serviced for my big trip. I was close to my hood so I decided to scope out comps. I plugged the addresses into the tomtom and away I went. I found 2 for rent signs and left messages with both of them. Hopefully I have found a couple more buyers. I had to break into an REO. Someone had busted the door jam, I always check to see if the place is unlocked. I'd say about 1/3 are unlocked, back door. Nice because my agent isn't always available when I am. I think my market is changing, it feels like the prices are raising and as a result, things have slowed down just a bit.

I don't know how to go forward on a place that is an expired reo listing? It was listed for 400 + days. I should probably ask flippinghomes. This place is not that bad, paint, roof, kitchen, baths, landscape. Just too scarry to the homeowner. It has these weird things on the roof, they look like chef hats and they spin around to vent the roof, which is cedar shake and in fair condition. I just can't figure out why so many chef hats, like 6 for a 1200 sq ft home? Maybe someone's green idea of a whole house fan??

I ran into a dear old friend at my old grocery store. We lost touch about 25 years ago. I had been listening to Wayne Dyer Power of Intention all the way down the mountain. Then I drove by her old house where she hadn't been in 25 years. Her old house is on the way to my hood. I thought how cool it would be if I ran into her somewhere. I went in to my old grocery store on my way home to get a couple of things you can't get in my little town and BAM, I almost ran into her with my cart. Totally freaked me out! Why was she there??? We caught up a bit, I told her I had to get home for my webinar. I'm thrown, I still don't know how I feel about it.

I missed my webinar....couldn't be avoided. There is no recording yet. I'm bummed, but that won't make it better. Positive thinking is haaarrdd. (said in a very whiney voice) :)

I'm going to ignore my messy house and study the new MLS today. Yay!

I think I will go fishing after dinner too. Maybe just pack sandwiches, yeah, that sounds good.

How to obtain unlicensed access

2009-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

I had a few emails asking me to explain how I did it. *****results may vary*****

So, excuse the non-perfect punctuation. Sometimes I just get typing and forget things like punctuation and capitalization. Just don't red pen me :) I am not like JP, I don't write perfect copy. :)

I think first off, you have to have confidence, assertiveness and sincerity at the same time because confidence and assertiveness can sometimes look a lot like arrogance. Without the confidence you look wishy washy and needy. You have to know up front what you are offering the Agent in return for this precious MLS access. I like having my own unlimited access and paying for it, than using someone elses with limited access.

It is so simple! I had 2 different approaches. It takes some work, but you can do it! If I can do it, you can do it!

The Craigslist ad was really Craig Fuhr's idea that I gleaned off of the last call with JP from REItips dot com. He was targeting Indiana fresh.

My ads, 2 of them , placed in Real Estate and Real Estate services

***************************

$1 RE Agent Wanted

California Cash investor working in 'insert city here' with single family homes seeks investor friendly agent to work with. Please call me now.

Call XXX XXX XXXX

*****************************

My other approach:

First, you call realtors from Keller Williams (because they are the most investor friendly.) Explain your strategy and tell them you value their time and would like to do your own homework upfront which takes about 40 to 80 hours. (The majority of my responses were something like, "I don't have a problem doing the homework and sending it to you.") So then ask them for a list of all of the 'solds' in the last 60 days for the county, or the biggest area of the town or city of research. From there identify the hotbeds or areas of the most activity.

Meanwhile, on your own, without telling the Agent, contact the Association of Realtors or whoever controls the MLS. Ask to speak to the commercial department or the administrator for the MLS. Tell them that you have been working with "insert agent's name here' and you both talked about obtaining MLS access as an unlicensed assistant. Ask for an email of the form for him to sign to begin or if it is located online. Ask what the log on requirements are. Is it just username and password or little key fob deal that changes numbers every 60 seconds like California? Ask what the fees are and how they are billed, ie, quarterly, yearly, through the broker or can they be made online through the mls website via your credit card. Ask them to email you the rules as well. If you have the keyfob thing, you need to go into the MLS office and show your id and they hand you and only you the keyfob. Ask who to contact when returning the information, if it is email then ask them to include phone and fax. Now you have the MLS contact person information.

After you do your homework using the list of solds, speak to the agent about your findings. (I have identified _____ zipcode as an area I would like to pursue, about what price are your clean REOs in that area?) Then state that there is another at least 60 hours of similar research but you need to use the map function and other things that would just kill trees if they printed it out for you and YOU would rather spend the time on the research and have them spend the time on submitting offers and listing your properties. Then explain that you have spoken to "insert MLS administrator here" and you have the form for your own unlicensed assistant access and it would save you both so much time once you get that started. BE ASSERTIVE, don't say, "if I had my own access" say, "once I get this access.". Tell them, "I need your signature and I am good to go. It can be revoked at any time, so if for any reason you are not comfortable with this in the future, you can cancel it." There will be no charge to the Agent or Broker. The Broker might have to sign on the form also.

Once you have your access, go buy either a $20.00 Jamba Juice gift card or a Starbucks gift card and a Silver sharpie pen. Write on the gift card with the silver sharpie pen, Thanks SO much 'agent's name' !! then your name, so the 3 or 4 times they use it, they see your name and smile. Go to their office and have receptionist place in their in box or mail it to the agent.

I think for me, before I had a solid strategy, it was very difficult to build rapport. Now after KISS Flipping and speaking with Bob Norton face to face, I totally know my strategies inside and out and have total confidence!! Without a doubt!! In the course are the steps to take to find private money AND instantly find buyers. I'm not an affiliate, I should be, but if you could swing it, you should, it's the best money I have ever spent! GO GET 'EM!!

Let me know how it turns out!

I'm on my way to get an alignment before my trip next week and to sling mud on 4 more old listings.

Chyzle! (translation= see ya)

New Market MLS Access!!

2009-08-03T12:40:00.001-07:00

So, I put out the craigslist ad and low and behold, the phone was a ringin'!! I found a couple of agents to work with and submitted my unlicensed assistant application with payment today!! WOO HOO! I can't give too many details yet. Boy oh boy, I want to !!! It's a surprise.

If you want MLS access then go ASK for it! Be sincere, know your talk and state what you need to be successful. A couple of agents wanted to meet me first, I thanked them for their time and told them I didn't have time to wait. I found a couple of agents that were willing to let me have their user name and password, which is very nice, but I am spoiled now and want my own! hee hee AND I got it....well am getting it...it isn't in my hands yet. I have a flaw of counting those eggs as chickens you know? I'm just being positive! The agent I chose has many connections, contractors, stagers, appliance guys, flooring guys, photographer, appraiser, landscaper, painter, what am I missing? I will find the title company, local bank and re attny. Maybe I will just use Mr Hyre if I need to. I've identified one of the bigger REO realtors in my market and have been talking on the phone and emailing back and forth with them. I guess networking.

Craigslist is kinda cool! :)

Gotta go. Massive action here I come!

PS>KISS Flipping has reopened.....did I already say that?

KISS Flipping is open again!!

2009-08-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today after my searches on the MLS and after checking how the KISS Flipping enrollment is doing, I will spend my time calling agents in my new market to get MLS access. I will be putting out a craigslist ad too.

I went to Lake Tahoe with 'my girls', it was totally killer! We were going to go up on the gondolas to the top of heavenly to get a spectacular view and ride the ziplines, but there was a thunderstorm so maybe next time. A band was playing the first night in Cabo Wabo and only two people were there dancing. The next morning we asked the hostess who was going to be playing that night. She said she was pissed because she was called in on her day off, all available employees were to work that night because (hush, hush) Sammy Hagar and Kenny Chesney were going to Jam with Left of Centre who is Toby Keith's house band in Las Vegas. (oooo I am so name dropping eh?) anyway, I am a HUGE Sammy Hagar fan from before you were born and would love to see him again. My Brother and my Husband came up and all of us went to dinner at sunset at the top of Harrah's, the best Filet Mignon I have ever had (besides at home). We watched a spectacular lightning show over the lake then we went downstairs to Cabo Wabo. What a super fun time! Sammy never showed up, Kenny Chesney was in concert the next day up there. We danced and sang and had a great time! The guys had to leave at 3 in the morning down the mountain to work. I think I will buy my tickets to chickenfoot concert in September, if they aren't already sold out.

KISS Flipping is open.........run out and grab ya some! http://kissflipping.com I don't know how to make that a link, so feel free to cut and paste.

*I don't have time to update on the properties that I am looking at......that will be next post.

All this smoke is stingin' my eyes.

becoming the market expert

2009-07-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

After much studying, I have nailed down my numbers and know what I need to be shopping for. It is such a relief! You should see my notepads! The more I crunched numbers and checked comps, the more clear it became. I have identified 7 properties. I'm working on a small part of one zipcode all the same school district.

1 is super cheap in a real bad location, real busy street on an alley with no driveway. The only way to park at this place is drive the alley and into the back yard. After driving to it, I say, "NO WAY."

2 is missing a kitchen but otherwise ok, right next to the school and across from the park, I know this great cabinet maker who works for practically nothing :) I can't do a rehab right out of the chute though....bummer.

3 is ok in a court next to a well kept house, it had parked cars all over like a party was goin' on. We couldn't park to take a walk around. it's ok though, roof's ok and photos look ok. overpriced, on the market for only 48 days. I will watch this one and make a lowball in 2 weeks if it's still around.

4 is the one I really, really want. It is kind of a big rehab, needs new roof, windows, siding, kitchen, baths, possibly sewer issues, possibly rot under roof issues, but it is in a super neighborhood. I think the guy next door vaccuums his driveway! It is way overpriced and on the market for 15 months or so. I'll have to wholesale this one.

5 is right next door to a tweeker, electronics, boats and engines all over the front yard into the street, lovely. The house is tiny for a 3 bd, but clean and fresh paint, has some roof issues. I am watching it to see if it sells.

6 has only been on the market 30 days so I am just watching it to see where it sells at to see if I should adjust my numbers.

7 back on the market I'm slingin mud on this one. It has a shake roof with moss on each shingle edge which looks cottagy and cute but it's gotta go.

I have identified 3 cash buyers that fix 'em. I looked at a home in January but was afraid to buy it. The investor fixed up the property with the exact changes I wanted and sold it for about what I would have. Kind of neat to see it in action. Now I need to talk to him and see if his costs were in line with what I thought.

I still feel like I have the training wheels on. ...It's all coming together. (is it illegal to break into an reo if you lock it back up?) Steph once climbed through a window, but she hurt herself, so I always think of that and try to be careful.

My agent will be sending offers in the morning on #2, #4, & #7. I will be in Lake Tahoe for a few days, she will call me with the good news and I will celebrate ~or~ she will call me with the 'not so good' news and I will still celebrate :) 'cuz it's Tahoe! It's going to happen.......not if........but when!

I will still run my searches every day at 8am, 9am, 4pm and 5pm.

I hope this all makes sense. Tim and I went back to the secret berry site (we didn't see any pot farms) we picked for about 2 1/2 hours. It was about 101 degrees according to the carmometer. I was way too hot and the brain feels cooked. We will have blackberries for quite a while now, so it was worth it.

Gotta go, the watermelon is calling my name!

oh magoo

2009-07-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

I feel like Magoo where he just drives along minding his merry way when chaos is all around him, some of it caused by him but he is oblivious. Last week we missed accidents on the freeway, a fire, and two pot farm busts. Seems like our secret berry spot was pretty attractive to the Mexican Pot farmers. I could have been killed picking berries! I stood there for a long time just listening to the birds, taking it all in, looking at the freak rain clouds. I did think to myself how remote the little valley was and what a nice place for a home right there on the creek. Nothing was suspicious, I didn't smell weed, didn't see weed. I think they pulled 5000+ plants out the day after we went berry picking and pulled out several thousand just last Monday. All within a mile radius. This time of year you take your life in your own hands hiking around.

The town celebrated the opening of the new highway bypass yesterday. Who does this? It's a ROAD! Actually, the tourism feeds the town, the road bypasses the town so visitors can go straight up to the cabins and not stop for antiques. And they all celebrated..... We are so hokey! LOL, They celebrate everything here, it really is a fun place to live.

I will be one with the MLS today, My goal is to make offers on Friday. Then..... I can start blogging about my deals!

I am missing Steph's blog. I know you are too :)

Hey, that call last night about flash funding with JP and Bob was a treat! Nope, that wasn't my question at the end of the call.

Y'all be cool. ...and busy.

The hood's not so bad

2009-07-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is hot today. I think it is close to 105. Monday we went to the hood to drive comps and try to find 'for rent' signs or contractors at the cash solds sites. We saw one 'for rent' sign by owner and a couple of rental management companies. It was sad, almost as sad as Vegas. Nice homes, nice neighborhoods, super new nice high school, big open parkways and the river right there. The area has been hit hard.
I can't get a definite split on my three market prices though. (Bob Norton students know what I'm talking about.) I'm still a little confused but, I won't say anything yet. Like the kid in class that is the only one that doesn't get it. I thought I got it....but when I had to apply it, I am missing something. I went back to the videos, watched them over again. Had one screen open in the mls and one playing the video. I don't see any wholesale market. Crap! My steps are correct but my numbers are not what they should be. I can't think when I am pissed, which is negative.

I'm going to change areas, maybe try a different town and county to find a clear split there.

Deep breath/////

I finished my vision board but it's missing one thing, I can't think of the picture to represent helping some of my family members. I kept waiting for just the right photo in a magazine or brochure for all the other stuff. Finally I googled the rest of the images and printed them out. Voila... I might take a picture of it and use it as a wallpaper for the computer. Yay, it's done!

My predictions for UFC 100 in Las Vegas last weekend were pretty accurate. I don't feel like I jinxed it this time. Had to throw that in.

We went blackberry picking Saturday. We have a secret place where the wild grape vines take over the swamp oak trees to look like 30 foot tall grape vines. The grapes are no good. It is on a creek so the berries get lots of water. We lay a sheet of plywood on top of the vines so you can walk (bounce) in to where the good ones are. The rattlesnakes like to hang out in the vines so you have to wear boots and be careful. Maybe this weekend there will be sweeter berries, they weren't quite ready. I enjoy these little vacations. Ah, summer in the mountains.

Now I'm getting my ass kicked

2009-07-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am trying to secure a home health care professional 4 hours a day for my 92 year old Grandmother who lives at her home. To free me up for investing. One prospect wanted to bring her 12 year old daughter and argued with me on the phone when I told her no children for liability issues. It is a long story how this person argued, I had to tell her finally that we would call her when school started again. In the mean time, I hear from a mutual aquaintance she obtained day care for her daughter and was expecting to report to work ??? I never offered her the job. I called her to tell her she didn't have the job and got not only a hostile earful of where I could stick the job but she went on and on with 'you said this and you said that". WHOA! I told her that I wanted to be blunt and upfront with her and said, "you are abrasive and you might want to look at other career paths." Oh My, that was a mistake! Now she's gonna kick my ass when she sees me at the grocery store, or the post office! (she better pack her lunch) translation= bring it. Very professional eh? So, the moral of this story is, only be 'blunt and upfront' with someone when they ask you to be or they may not be so receptive to it. LOL Another lesson in people magnetism...I'm batting 1000.

Happy safe and non-violent 4th to all!

Learnin my hood

2009-07-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Yawn....boring post alert!

I don't have much to post about. I've been reading all of the blogs that I follow but haven't had the time to comment on them. I really should. I'm glad Tim is posting more. I would like to read more about Jerry and what he's putting together. Flipping homes forum website used to inspire me, it seems the quantity has reduced some, but the quality is still there. Reading the blogs helps me see what others are doing, I have learned so much from them.

Half of the year is left. Even though I have no deals, I think I am making great strides in my family life and my attitude. I have been studying my market but a lot of life stuff needs to be taken care of.

I am going to my hood today to drive comps. I am totally unfamiliar with this area. After today, I will have a better idea of what is going on. I think I have to wear red in this section of town. I'll be wearing denim, white and shades and wear my real tough face. ppffftt! (rolling my eyes) I should keep a variety of bandanas in the car to switch out as I change neighborhoods. California is not all orange groves and walnut trees and peaches. It is quite a shock driving from my sleepy little foothill town to the Valley.

I'm looking forward to going out this weekend! I don't think we will catch fireworks, there is a great band playing that I want to see. We haven't been able to go out for New Years or the 4th for years. My neighbor has a huge riding arena and barn, they set off professional fireworks topped with TNT (he is a construction pyro) so we usually just watched from the porch. My doggy that just passed away used to flip inside out when she heard fireworks so we would always stay home. NOW, we get to go out :) Yay!

Jodi, I think your doggy is very content on that lounge chair. :) Flip is cute.

I think that is all I have for now.

Have a great 4th!!

Looky what I got! Looky what I got!

2009-06-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Woo HOO!! I spoke to my agent on the phone, had the MLS paperwork emailed to me, I filled it out, forwarded back to the agent and her broker for signatures and Voila! In 2 days! I drove 2 hours to go get it. Just like that! Access!! 24/7 all access, all the time! I'm afraid now that I will become an MLS junkie :)
This is what the key fob thingy looks like, it changes numbers every 60 seconds!

Oh, and, I'm working on Vegas. I called a couple of agents who said they would discuss things with the broker....I'm not holding my breath. I'll follow up next week. I have a list and free long distance so, I'll just keep talking to agents 'till I find a keeper. :) I have a feeling I will be going back there soon!

Here I go! I'm off and researching, probably 'till the wee hours.

Random:
This is my Nephew at his 1 year Birthday BBQ Bash. He was too busy to be held! He and his brother hung out with us last weekend. Today is a great day!

Realtor NOT ignoring me

2009-06-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

IIIII (pronounced like Ricky Ricardo, "eye yai yai yai yai") Did you see that hockey game?! Ok, so, in the future, whoever I am rooting for - bet against! I'm kidding. That's pretty negative eh?

Here is something positive; my Realtor was in Hawaii!!! She wasn't ignoring me!! She messaged me from her iphone to call her today and we will work on getting my own 24 hour a day access......No sleep for Kelly!!! She still loves me!!! :) She is my agent 1 1/2 hours away from me, in the valley.

I went to the farmer's market in the park yesterday evening, had a blast! They had live music and it was blues with horns, oh so cool! We brought the chairs, spoke with the locals. I didn't realize I knew so many people :) I must do this every friday! I spoke to the coordinator of the event, who happens to be a local realtor. I will be meeting with her this week. We are going to talk about MLS access!!! How cool is that?? I'm going to give her a windchime. Our town here is very small and I doubt there are a lot of investors. It is a resort community with cabins, second homes and ranches. I will find out though!!

I am curious to see if there was any action yet in the Ledges, so, any Vegas campers out there....You know who you are.....((((waving to Alex)))) if you have any news, shoot me an email.

Gotta go baby-proof the house, the nephews are hangin out here this weekend, ages 2 1/2 and 1.

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Realtor ignoring me

2009-06-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have been working with an agent for about 6 months now. I really like her as a person and I want to bring her lots and lots of business. She hasn't returned my emails or my phone calls. I was using her access which was not 24 hour and was only when she wasn't using it, which I would think could get kinda bothersome for her. I have been giving her little gifts along the way. I suggested a way we could both benefit and she would not be troubled by my requests in an email. Then a day later forwarded that to another email address just in case she missed it. I'm hoping that she is so busy with work that she doesn't have time to answer. Today I called her office number and left a voicemail asking her to talk to me, that I hoped we could still be friends ;) I think we have a good enough raport. Nothing... so, I am making plans to speak to a couple of other agents. I might have to have one in the back pocket just in case, 'till I get my license. People magnetism at work folks!! (Bob Norton, JP Moses KISS Flipping training)
I'll let you know how it goes.

OOO Red Wings game 6, my prediction Red Wings 3, Penguins 1. I don't know who it is but the Penguins #71 is a dirty fighter, maybe that is all good in Hockey, but smackin a guys shins with your stick while he is just standing there beside you is not good sportsmanship. Also I caught the stick handle to the neck that he tried to pass off like no one was lookin'! I think I'd be waitin in the parking lot --- to talk it out, you know?

I'm secretly still working on my vision board. I will post a picture of it when I am done. The weather is just ultra fantastico! I am so lucky!!

Gotta go find a realtor. Chaio (chow) I'm Irish, I can't spell italian words ;)

Happy Friday

2009-06-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

I researched more of the POWER OF LESS, and the Tim Ferriss blog page and I know now that I eliminate the weekly goals and Focus on one habit for the month.

I think I will just put the goals on a 'to do' list. I keep a binder in the kitchen with phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, heater filter sizes, stuff like that. In the back is my to do list and behind that is the Master to do list with things like paint the deck, replace latice, repair downspout, trench for automatic sprinklers, paint the bathroom, etc. It gets overwhelming, but if I write it down, then it is out of my head. I check the binder in the morning and carry on.

I went fishing last night after dinner. I listened to Tim Ferriss 4 Hour work week and watched the water. Heavenly.

The Red Wings are just playin around......so, they won't take it in 5. I didn't catch game 4, went fishing so, I had to read about it. Not the same.

If there is anyone who hasn't read the four hour workweek, I have the audio that I will send. Just shoot me an email with your address and I will send it right out.

Tonite we are BBQing venison and asparagus, yummy!

Till Monday, enjoy your weekend.

Accountability Thursday hahaha

2009-06-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan. -Paul Meyer

Ok, so we are changing to monthly habit replacement. Sounds good. I think I still need the weekly accountability too though.

I had a crappy week last week and this week is almost over. Lots of activities which is good cause I have been busy and not able to really deal with the loss of my dog. It sucks. Gotta move on. Hope is expensive that is all I have to say.

New goals:
Drink more water
Bean workout once a day
Research the new market
clear out files
contact Vegas homies and check in
figure out what habit to replace, and do that.

I need to go fishing, clear out the head and get back on track.

I only have 2 days left of this week!

Gotta go.

Oh yeah, Go Red Wings!! I say Wings in 5.

Accountability Mond...wait...Wednesday.

2009-05-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

So, Machida won. I was secretly rooting for both of them :) It was a tough call for me.

LAST week's goals:
1) Explore a new market and try to obtain my own 'anytime' access from my realtor. WIP
2) Work on my roads. Develop a plan with specific check points. Check and WIP
3) AM Meditation. Check and WIP
4) read the wallstreet journal online. 3 days, could do better
5) sling mud. Failed
6) excersize ..yep, I snuck it in there! Check YAY! and it feels great.
7) send stuff to Ahmed. Check
8) send stuff to Alex. Check
9) connect with bootcampers. Check....still haven't heard back from Jim and Tabitha though.
10) because 9 is not enough...drink more water. Check

This week goals are:
1) Explore the new market. Get ready to sling mud.
2) Study license stuff.
3) Put "roads" plan on paper.
4) MLS Access.
5) Drink more water.
6) excersize 5 days

I just wanted to get this on here quick like. My dog is in the hospital, she's a 9 year old red Australian shepherd with one brown and one blue eye. Trying to stay positive. Because of that, I just want to keep this brief. I have to go pick her up.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

Happy Weekend

2009-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Rashad Evans is my pick. After much debate. I'm stickin to it. And...I turned my cable off, only for them to tell me there is no way to stop it from coming through the wires, so I still have cable but now I don't pay for it. No, I want it off. pffftt.

zip realty dot com

2009-05-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

2 posts / one day I am on a roll! News flash!! Ziprealty took my advice (nagging) and posted the solds. So, if you don't have mls access and want to learn your market without driving it. You can use zip realty predict it game and get feedback on the sold amount and look at the street view to virtually drive the hood and map comps, kinda close. You can also use birds eye view to get 4 angles from the sky to look at the back yard....and the neighborhood. Nothing beats live. But if you are a total noob and have nothing else, it is helpfull. I used trulia to map the current listings. I'm excited to know they finally updated the solds!! It's the little things.

Just keepin the quote

2009-05-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

I don't want to lose this quote of the day, so:

To speed your success, twice a day form a clear mental picture for two minutes of the one thing you want; and tell yourself it's already yours. Imagine it is.

Bob Norton/ AMAZING

2009-05-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Last week's goals:
1) follow up with Kevin X
2) try to get mls access while I am in Vegas To be revisited in a couple of weeks
3)vision board Not finished
4) locate someone with realcomp No need
5) review kiss flipping stuff X listened all the way to Vegas
6) van serviced X
7) pack before end of Tuesday. X
8) finish listening to T. Harv Ecker Millionaire Mind. X listened a few times

I talked to Kevin and he did not place a craigslist ad to attract private money, he responded to an ad. More details later. I mostly finished the goals and plan to be more precise on the future goals.

This week's goals:
1) Explore a new market and try to obtain my own 'anytime' access from my realtor.
2) Work on my roads. Develop a plan with specific check points.
3) AM Meditation
4) read the wallstreet journal online
5) sling mud
6) excersize ..yep, I snuck it in there!
7) send stuff to Ahmed
8) send stuff to Alex
9) connect with bootcampers
10) because 9 is not enough...drink more water.
These might not make sense to anyone right now but will be explained later.

O.M.G.I had the most amazing time!! I can't begin to describe how my life and outlook have changed! I won't ever be the same. Being in Las Vegas was secondary. This event could have been anywhere!! I am more emotional about it than I ever thought I would be, so, it is very difficult to talk about. I just hope that Bob took away value from this trip, because I know I and everyone else did!! I beleive there will be a 100% success rate as a result of this bootcamp. I am committed to being successful and it will happen for me, or I will die trying! Yep, you heard it. Game face is on, I'm gonna kick tail!! --deep breath--

Vegas was hot. We didn't gamble, but we watched the roulette wheel and made guesses and I walked away with my money still in my pocket and felt smart. We went to the top of the Stratosphere at night , the lights were amazing, Vegas is a very big place!! Tim was on his own Friday, he didn't cause too much trouble, at least he didn't tell me about it ;) . We all went to the Rio Buffet, the largest amount of food I have ever seen!! We all had fun. We lost Kevin though.

We were able to see a couple of actual deals that Bob is working on and got to ask questions.

On our way home we took a pit stop at Buffalo bills, Tim put a dollar in the machine waiting for me to return and won $40.00. I put 10.00 on a side bet on roulette and won $20.00 so, we came home $49.00 winners, woo!!

I have so much to do this week that it is difficult to take the time to post this blog. Too much swimming around in my head. I'm thinking of building a casita and moving my office into it :) That was random.

Gotta go, gotta goal!!

OH YEAH... I am looking for some private money. I would like a money partner to split profits with on my deals.

Have a killer week!!

Ah, Monday

2009-05-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad Stephani started this accountability Monday!! Either I have accomplished more or just been aware that I have accomplished more. I haven't written about all the mundane stuff I have achieved, It's a lot! All good.

Drove all over tar-nation delivering Mother's day wishes to Gramas and Moms. Next year, BBQ, my house, I'm not goin' anywhere! I am celebrating MY mother's day today. Dinner with the Son's and their honeys.

I finished the details of the spare room just in time to have my Son move back home for a couple of months. Oh well, now I don't have to move the stuff in the den. Woo Hoo two goals done!!

ok, last weeks goals:

1) finish painting the spare room. Check
2) finish moving stuff to the spare room. Check
3) meet with Dee Dee. Check
4) start presentation outline with timeline for completion. Check
5) obtain remote mls access to Vegas ~harder than I thought
6) follow up with zip realty. ~they probably blocked my email and think I am a loonie. So Check ~screw them
7) familiarize myself with postlets ~Check ~made an account
8) get Kevin's craigslist copy for private money. ~emailed Kevin...no response
9) work on vision board. ~gathering clippings and photos....half Check
10) get someone's login to realcomp. failed, didn't even try
11) review Saturday workshop and submit questions. ~ Check~but, Missed the Wednesday call because of prior engagement....I don't think it was recorded..bummer

So, carry over goals would be:
1) follow up with Kevin
2) try to get mls access while I am in Vegas IN 3 FREAKIN DAYS YEAHYA, oh, I'm so excited!!
3) put together vision board
4) locate someone with realcomp
5) NEW GOAL review kiss flipping stuff
6) get the van serviced
7) pack before end of Tuesday, I don't know why but I am always last minute on the packing thing.
8) finish listening to T. Harv Ecker Millionaire Mind....SO much easier to listen to than read. Only 3 hours long. I might have to listen twice to some stuff because I am doin other stuff while listening. THE Best stuff I have listened to in a long time. I say stuff a lot.

I downloaded Eddie Izzard voice for the tomtom navi, that should be fun. I would insert a link on Eddies name so you could see who he is, but, I don't know how to do all of that fancy stuff. :) ...yet

So, If anyone has some "don't miss it" ideas for Vegas, I'd love to hear them. We have one night free. We're goin' on the cheap so, no 'cirq de so much money' shows. We might just drive for dollars 'till it gets too dark to see, then head back to the strip.

Gotta go, many chores, few moons!

Monday, Monday

2009-05-04T06:28:00.000-07:00

My goals for LAST week:

1) Finish painting spare room. PARTIALLY DONE

2) Move stuff from den into spare room PARTIALLY DONE

3) Clean the outside furniture on the deck and the front yards CHECK

4) Work towards RE training, meeting out of town Wednesday. CHECK

5) go get burn permit for bonfire at forestry station CHECK

6) plan bonfire party / everybody brings their stuff they would normally shred & burn it instead CHECK

7) Be Positive, be good energy for those around me. (I added that one after reading over this post/ Debbie Downer! Gotta change that!) ONGOING CHECK

This weeks goals are:

1) finish painting the spare room.
2) finish moving stuff to the spare room.
3) meet with Dee Dee.
4) start presentation outline with timeline for completion.
5) obtain remote mls access to Vegas
6) follow up with zip realty.
7) familiarize myself with postlets
8) get Kevin's craigslist copy for private money.
9) work on vision board.
10) get someone's login to realcomp.
11) review Saturday workshop and submit questions.

Woo, lofty goals. I think I can get lots done today.

Hummingbirds

2009-04-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

I drove my target 'hood' yesterday and took 2 for rent sign phone numbers, no answer, no machine on either...strange. I saw one rehab, maybe. I didn't research to see if it was an owner occ so I didn't stop to speak at them. I'm thinking about talking to my credit union as the "local bank" I'm pretty friendly with all the folks at the branch and it is a pretty small but strong credit union. Couldn't hurt. I just need to rehearse my schpeel.

I emailed zip realty again regarding the solds not showing up in their predict it game. I've been messing around playing since mid December and no sold information yet? What is the point of trying to predict if there is no feedback? So, I'm pretty sure the market has changed since mid December. Frustrating. I have emailed them 4 times now, no response. I would let it go but I use this as a cool tool when I don't have mls access. I don't have 24/7 mls access like I'd like. I've been looking at Tampa, Las Vegas and Sacramento. We had a lul in foreclosure listings since January, but now I'm noticing Las Vegas is letting them out pretty regular now. I plan to check it out when (if) I go in a couple of weeks. I'm even tossing around the thoughts of moving there for a couple of years. Tim hates the heat. We will see.

I'm right on track with my accountability Monday tasks. Thank you Steph!

One of the brokers that I was thinking of hanging my license with passed away last weekend, she was 53. Life is short and precious eh? Her services are Monday, My Mom and I will go.

I checked out the positive affirmations from one of Jerry's past blog posts. On the same link was vision board stuff. I was kickin around the idea of creating one and almost bought a book. Now I don't have to because it is all right there, funny how answers are there sometimes. I've been using the Bob Norton affirmation every time I see money, "I am a money magnet. Money is easy and flows freely into my life." Then I add, "As it is." Then I can't help but saying, "Same as it ever was" from Talking Heads cause I'm goofy like that. I should probably take it more serious.

On an unrelated note, I can't keep the hummingbird feeders full. It is a good thing they are small. They are fierce little creatures. I think I've said that before. Then this bird crashed the party, only when I had the camera out.

Have a great Thursday!

Livin on the edge or the verge

2009-04-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

Ok,
Been a long time..... Stuff has happened. I've been studying the Kiss flipping ,JP ,Bob Norton stuff. Friggin Brilliant is my opinion!

My soon to be 92 year old Grandmother has taken to her power chair and her house has broken stuff all over it now. I'm constantly going over there. She lives 15 minutes away and insists on living alone. She called me to say she thought her phone was broken....uh, Hello? I'm in the process of finding day help for her. She doesn't play well with others, so I know I will always have to have a back up. It is draining. She won't go to an assisted living because she see's that as the beginning of the end. I totally understand that. It is difficult sometimes.

I am going to be starting my RE License course, online. I have my 4 Brokers lined up to hang the license. Once I get closer to finished I will meet with them one by one. I have to be an agent for 2 years before I can sit for the Broker exam. I want to be a Broker like Jodi and call my own shots :) I just want it for unlimited MLS access and to have access to view listed properties. Also, it is easier to explain what I do for a living. You know how supportive family can be......"oh, she wants to do that flipping house thing, in this market??? poor girl. She should keep her REAL job." Whatever... They'll see.

I joined the go be productive stuff at the advice of JP. I'm having a difficult time with all of that. I think it might be more helpful if I had an actual business and producing. I thought it would magically solve my constant daily distractions issues. I can't see how it's gonna help yet. I wrote out my to do list, I stopped at 3 pages. I'm not going to think about any more than that because it gets overwhelming and really discouraging so then I find something fun to do instead! One of the excersizes is to let go of the "stuff from yesterday" in the morning. So if you are bugged by something unfinished the day before.....Let it go.....just don't think about it. My first thoughts are what a load of crap that is! How am I supposed to do that? So, I tried anyway because what I have been doing isn't working very well for me. I might have to review that chapter! Oh, and the 'delegate stuff' part. I don't know if it is a gender thing or not but, keepin the place clean, planning the meals, payin the bills, pullin the weeds, runnin the errands is a big chunk of time out of my week, I can't afford to delegate it yet. I guess that will work itself out.

I'm trying to scrape together money to go to Las Vegas to the Kiss Flipping event. I wanted to take Ginny from Sacramento, known as gsom on fh. She hasn't gone through the Kiss training yet so she will probably go next time. She is days away from closing on her first flip!! Yay! ...So Tim and I hopefully will be driving out to Las Vegas. If the pass is open, still might be a lot of snow. Driving down the center of California is pretty blah, lots of ag, corn, walnuts, almonds, cotton, cattle. but, up over the pass is breathtakingly beautiful, pines and wildlife. Maybe we will take tioga which is through Yosemite which is where the word 'Awesome' comes from I think. Tim is taking a couple of vacation days to go, he doesn't take days off. The last vacation he went on was Baltimore in 2007 to Steve's bootcamp . I'm going to take him to the top of the stratasphere at sunset, go to the Fremont Street light show, go see all of the free stuff on the strip like the water shows and da vite liowns ot de murrraaj (white lions at the mirage) , the Harley Davidson Cafe, shoot some craps, the first day, then it's all business. I'm going to take lots of pics for posting.

Oh, and Trout stream openers was last Saturday, Tim caught 2, I sat it out and listened to Money magnetism on the ipod. It was a great opp for me to listen without any distractions! Perfect!

So, this accountability Monday stuff. I'm late for that. after a pause ....ok, I'll do it. :)

My goals for this week:

1) Finish painting spare room.

2) Move stuff from den into spare room

3) Clean the outside furniture on the deck and the front yards

4) Work towards RE training, meeting out of town Wednesday.

5) go get burn permit for bonfire at forestry station

6) plan bonfire party / everybody brings their stuff they would normally shred & burn it instead

7) Be Positive, be good energy for those around me. (I added that one after reading over this post/ Debbie Downer! Gotta change that!)

As these mundane things get done....the more I can focus on REI tasks.

Later Gators!

A Day Off

2009-03-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

I have spent the last week being a good student, scanning the mls and listening to the kiss flipping audios. I tried the audio 'go faster free trial thing' (enounce Myspeed) for the videos. Wow it is great! I sometimes have to rewind because I missed a point, but all in all it is a great tool.

Tim has been working 10 hour days for 13 days straight so on the 14th day, I took him fishing. He even smoked a stogie. It was too windy for the boat so we braved the shore. It was such crappy weather, rainy, windy, cold. The best thing about the day was watching the huge Osprey dive for dinner. They are amazing! They dove right in front of us! Normally the spot we were at is WAY under water, but the lake is half full because of drought. It is supposed to rain all week so that will help a little.

I found this cool thing on zip realty (not in all areas) , I love the site. Before I had MLS access I would use zip. I could comp using the map function and search sold homes, use the birds eye to see actuall photos of the house from the air (and everyone's backyard) and you can get street view which allows you to drive up and down the street and turn around to see the hood from the computer! It also shows history of the price reductions of that property. Lots of neat stuff for free. They started a section called predict it. You type in your sold price prediction and it keeps a log on a seperate page for you. It was helpful because I was able to see when the home went pending. When the house sells, it is placed on your sold page and you are scored on how close your prediction was. So far they have not updated the solds. I have been playing since the last week in December. I am curious how well I did ??? Zip doesn't show the listed homes for sale, which you can get from other sites like trulia.

I have decided to unsubscribe to quite a few email lists. It is too distracting to hear about everyone's latest thing. I think JP will keep me informed of the Latest and seek out more information if I want it. He is like an information Broker. And, no more mini seminars from the REIAs. Although, the one with Paul Esajian was fun (he is so cute!) and the one this month with Bruce Norris (I think he is Chuck's brother?) Bruce is the market expert for California....so we listen to him. But after that, no more REIA group meetings! Unless John Hyre comes back, I'd see him again, What a brain that man has!! -and he has a great wit!

I need to focus and become the expert. I WILL focus and become the expert.

Well, I did it!

2009-02-20T06:46:00.000-08:00

I ordered the Bob Norton, JP KISS flipping thing. I met Bob at the famous 2007 bootcamp of Steve Cook's in Baltimore. How he explained things was perfect and I thought at that time that he needed to give more details. I like listening to him. I don't know when his live bootcamp will be but, I think it will be a lot of fun. I think I was one of the first to order so tickets were part of the bonus. I don't really care, I'll go anyway. I wanted to go to Steve's event this year, couldn't swing it.

Yesterday I was scrambling around here trying to get everything done before heading out to the big metro of Sacramento (2hours away) for my REIA with Jay the fixer as the speaker. I wanted to go to see my peeps and make some more connections. I could go to lunch with my hubby and do some big city shopping. That didn't happen. I instead went to my 91 year old Grandmother's house to make sure she could maneuver her new power chair. This took WAY longer than I thought. If you can visualize the Austin Powers scene where he is trying to turn the people mover around in the hallway (back and forth, back and forth) THAT was her!! It was hilarious! She was laughing like a little kid! I'm going to have to rehab her house, those poor walls are in for it. So, it was too late to go to Sac. I will catch it next month when Bruce Norris will be there. It would be totally awesome if I had a property to peddle at the meeting next month!

I made a call to my Realtor, I will be researching the MLS Today. YAY! I don't really know how to navigate it all the way yet. More learnin'! I might be an information junkie.

It is a beautiful day! Crispy cold sunny. Makes me want to start a garden! The cows are not laying down so it is a GOOD fishing day. Am I the only one who has ever heard that ol' boy's tale? Yeah, cows laying down = bad fishing day. Now you know... My cover photo up there is a super fishing spot, it actually is a lake but we are in a drought, I used to tie off my boat to the underside of that bridge. Can't get the boat near there now.

Enjoy your day!!

Ramble

2009-02-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be a FH post but I rambled and didn't want to hijack the post so I stuck it in here. ^^^^^^^^^^^^
The only REIA groups near me are 2 hours away. I like the people and like the content so even though they are not in my market area, I will continue to go. There are folks that travel farther than I do for this certain group. We have had some fantastic speakers. (Most recently Ron Starr, Thanks Ron!!) The group that was in my target market area is no longer meeting. They were more of a group that wanted to pool money and form joint ventures in the go zone, nothing local. I couldn't find any connections for my team. I want to start my own club, but haven't done a deal and I think I wouldn't be taken seriously.

I have a super agent who has fallen on some hard times due to investments gone south. I like working with her. Other than having her on my team, I am having to search out the other players by myself. So far the local banks are a no go. Maybe I am talking residential when I should be talking commercial ??? I am not going to talk to title companies 'till I have something to bring them. I am thinking I will be using the bank's title company (focusing on REOs).

I haven't been able to scour the mls for cash buyers yet. I only have access IN the office 2 hours away. So, I've called the craigslist rental ads, the bandit signs and the newspaper ads looking for buyers. I found 2 that seemed good, one won't call me back and one said he has all the leads he needs and doesn't want mine. I think I will call him back when I have something, let him know I am serious. I drove by a rental open house and spoke with the owners who were not interested in more property. I then asked them if they were tired of landlording yet. The attitude said yes but, they said no.

I have offers calculated and ready to submit but I am afraid to pul the trigger without buyers. My friend Ginny found a deal, couldn't assign, had to buy her property and is doing the rehab herself (GO GINNY!!) I can't afford to do that.

My plan is to make 2 offers on REO's using coastal letter and my $2,000 emd's. Once I have a deal under my belt so to speak, then I will try to get private money lenders.

That's where I am at right now.

Catch up

2009-02-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Well, to follow up, I went to the Jack Shea weekender. WOW!! I'm glad I went. My head was spinning. Great stuff. I have to study the books though, Jack has an interesting teaching style that my ADD self couldn't follow too well. (I might not be ADD) His lease option ideas TOTALLY make sense. And now the land trust mystery has been solved for me!

Since then, I went to see some houses with my realtor. One had the ducting ripped out of the attic and all over the house. There were two wood stoves sitting in the backyard ??? A mess of a house. It is still just sitting there. If I could find a buyer......

On the 4th I went to the CCWB meeting featuring our own Ronald Starr. He is taller than I thought. Very cool information about tax lien sales. I learned a ton, he had even more to teach on Saturday but I couldn't make it. I was able to talk to Ginny and hear progress on her rehab, good stuff!

Thursday is the next meeting with NorCal. I plan on going, the weather has been rainy and snowwy, but I don't want to wait another month.

2009-02-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

^^Copy of Jan. 16, 2009^^

I went to my REIA group meeting last night and listened to Jack Shea. Wonderfully creative ideas! He has a 2 day workshop this weekend on options and land trusts. Part of me wants to just "run what I brung" which means put into action what I have already learned. Part of me thinks that I need these strategies, they are the missing key for obtaining deals. I'm getting to know my market, I have my Realtor, have my MLS access, have my proof of funds letter.......needed: end buyer, end buyer funding, my own title company, viable exit strategy. I want to save my money for my emd. I'm on the fence.

I met a Money couple last night who have access to self directed IRA cash buyers! I asked them if they were interested in my market......They said YES! WOW!! That was too easy. I will be contacting them to see what they are looking for exactly. It was such a good meeting for me. Usually I wait in the back and watch everyone talk, they all seem to know each other. This time, I boldly walked in and introduced myself to everyone I met eye contact with and shook hands. There wasn't enough time to say all that I wanted to say. And It seemed to pay off....we will see.

I also met a guy who does loan mods for a fee....don't know how I feel about that. \

I had planned on researching the market to maybe nail down the value of a clean REO today, going to Jack's seminar this weekend, then Monday, start submitting offers. I have 86 properties that I am targeting. There were 97 but 11 have gone pending. I will be trying to find out if there's a way to see what was offered or what info is on the contract.....maybe I just have to wait 'till it closes....don't know....more learnin'!

oh yeah, the property in my backyard was listed for 2 days then pending. I spoke to the listing agent who told me the offer was over the listing price. good to know.
LATER!

Bank contact

2009-02-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I went Friday to my friendly new realtor office and worked on studying the MLS for cash buyers and solds in my target zip. So much information, I can't wait till I can study this stuff on my own. I have full access but only in my realtor's office.

On my way home, I stopped at a local bank, who had been bought out by a bigger bank and we spoke for a couple of minutes.....I wasn't nervous!!! Maybe because he was younger than me. After the rejection, I asked if he could steer me in the right direction. He gave me the names of two banks that I might try. Great! I went to the other two banks, one farms out all of the residential loans and one has a rep that only meets by appointment in another town. So far, so fair. I will be going tomorrow for more research and will map out banks to talk to. I will be searching the archives of the flipping homes site for what to ask of the banks.

January 12, 2009
^^Copy from old blog^^
Over the weekend I found an reo in my own backyard, owned by Chase but the info in the county records is incorrect according to OC title. I was trying to get the parcel map info because of a vacant lot beside and behind that could be a possible garage site. I couldn't get any info. I want to get it, fix it and rent it out, but I don't have the reserves for that. The property is great!!

This week is a REIA meeting, can't wait.

ttfn

Big Baby Steps

2009-02-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to import and export blog stuff. Since this is kinda new, I will copy and paste. This is now my new current blog. from January 12, 2009
This is a copy of what I posted on the Flippinghomes website***
Hi All!
I went to my target zipcode today to research the county records. I don't really know what I am doing so it takes a bit of time. The clerks are probably burned out from so many questions and are not that helpful. Once I figure it all out, I am going to type up a tutorial as a public service! I'm trying to learn my market. I am not sure how to search for and find cash buyers that have closed in the last month, please help. Where do I look? I thought only the MLS had the info I was looking for so off I went to find an agent. I have been rejected access so many times by Realtors in the past, that I had stopped trying.

I decided to push through (be brave), took a deep breath and spoke to the "agent on the floor". I explained that I was trying to follow a certain model and asked if she would be interested in submitting offers, letting me write my own offers, occasionally showing me properties but mostly text messaging me the lock box codes and allowing me to work as her assistant for access to the MLS. She said, "YES!!" I had my best poker face on, I remained calm, inside I was jumping up and down! Major victory today!!

Tomorrow morning we meet at her office, she will log me in and I can share her office for the day and research all I want...WOW! Once we establish a relationship, she will allow remote access. Our MLS has a key fob top secret krypto digital code that changes every few minutes like a password. She thinks the only way to obtain a magical key fob is to be licensed. Why would you want to be a licensed assistant??? We are looking into it, do any of you Californians know MLS access requirements?

I drove all day and found one bandit sign with a local number. I will call it tomorrow. I always thought you needed the buyer before the property. (?) My big fear is to find the deals having only the Coastal letter and not be able to find the end buyer and not be able to close it myself. I just know there are a lot of folks in my same situation. I don't want to be labeled as flaky before I get to prove myself. I am not successful in finding a money partner yet.

I'm wanting to make offers off of the MLS on REO's , then "full service" wholesale to investor landlords ~ we have a ton of local banks. I have to know exactly what to ask of them so I don't mess that up.