Starting Point REI Journal

you've got the REI bug, just like the rest of us. it won't let you go. i have been messing around with this for 10 years and i have yet to do my first deal. i considered giving it up a few years ago and did nothing with it, but it didn't work for very long. it's inside me and i might as well do something with it. working with the Success Academy has helped me tremendously. i am farther along than i've ever been and i get out of my comfort zone more now than ever. posting and reading these journals and keeping one of my own also help me alot. it helps me get stuff done so i can post it. i feel encouraged by this website and i don't really have that from anyone else right now. if i can do this, so can you. we all support each other. every day i get closer to a deal and the same for you. i can tell you are a go-getter, so go get you a deal! i'm right there with you.

Yes I have it bad but, somedays I feel like I don't have it bad enough, well in the past I felt that way...now I know I got it and I'm moving forward with it at all cost. My family has nothing to lose....I'm putting myself in position to join the Success Aca like alot of you have b/c I know I need that coaching and the kick in the but all the time.

I love your journal and read it often. Keep up the good work and thanks for checking out my journal.

Well today I made a move, I found a list of some numbers I had wrote down a long time ago from the "We buy House" signs.....We only got response at 1 # and had to leave messages at the others but we did it, we got a yes...the guy said he had never worked with a bird-dogger before but he was interested, he was in the middle of business and ask we call him back tomorrow to get the particulars of what exactly he is looking for.

Another investor has a property on my street and we not only got his # but also his email, so we left a message and I'm also going to send him an email to see if I can get some information with him....now the funny thing about this guy is about 2 yrs ago I went to his house to play Cash Flow 101 (the Robert Kiyosaki's game that teaches you had to get out the rat race) I felt so out of place, I sat there with men and women that were doing the deals and making the money and here I sat with no money and bad credit....well I'm still here but, I am not scared anymore and if I am; I'm going to FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY....I will let you guys know what I come up with.

Also got some #'s off of a FSBO and a Owner Finance sign gonna call both of them on tomorrow and try the other #'s back too.

that is so awesome! you go, girl! i see that you are stepping out of your comfort zone. i'm so glad you have your husband with you; i'm sure that is a big help. i'm beginning to believe that as we "work" our investing, people come to us to help us, work with us, whatever. i like to play Cash Flow, although it's been a long time for me. i have always lost because i try to pay everything off. Shame!! i got an email that says we can play it online for free; we may have to do that sometime. i think we can play across the country and that might be fun. maybe get a couple other people to play with us from this website...if any of us can find the time.

I would love to play Cashflow across the country with you. Thank you so much for your encouragment. How is things going with you. I need to read your post tonight to catch up .

things are moving right along. lots happening and i have a little trouble keeping up. i tend to get overwhelmed. according to my doctor my brain is not working right (thyroid stuff). i must be a super genius and don't know it. can't wait until it starts working right! when i get back we should set up some "play time" for Cash Flow.

Sounds good to me, let's do that soon.

I will be starting Success Acadamy next week, I'm really excited but, I need to get something cleared up first so that I will be able to focus. I have been reading and and working on building my buyer's list. A little harder then I thought just getting ppl to pick up the phone or returning your call is hard enough. Not going to let that slow me down though.....going to keep moving.

I thought about some goals today for the next 60days....wrote them in my book and plan on looking at them daily to get in my system.

that is wonderful. i can't wait for you to be in the Academy. i think you will really enjoy it.

a friend of mine is president of a real estate club in Tulsa. they are having a rehab/private lending bus tour this weekend. if you are interested, PM me and i'll send you the link with the information. it's through facebook. hope all is going well for you.

Oh boy that sounds great but, has much as I would like to attend I am already over booked for the weekend. Thanks for thinking about me I am very interested in doing some biz in Tulsa and several surrounding areas.

How are things going with you?

i'm moving along, slowly sometimes, but at least i'm moving. i am meeting with a mortgage broker today and we'll see how that goes. the club in Tulsa is Tulsa REIA and the website is the same name. you might want to check it out when you have time. the President is Jason Windholz and he is a great guy. he does a great job with the club. you can tell him i sent you, but he knows me as Linda Bowlin. i went back to my maiden name after my divorce. i liked it much better!

Thank you for keeping me in the loop. I am running in circles right now trying to learn all I can and get moving. I am so confused I don't know if I should do anything before I start the Success Academy or should I just wait and move at the pace of my learning.

Give me some feedback please.

So for the last few days I have been focused on Building my buyers list - not a long list but I do have about 3 so far. I don't care how long the list is, I really just want some that want to get in and make some deals.

I have also been working on adjusting my team....I have my contractor (husband and another friend), I am talking to a few agents right now, I have the name of a attorney and I also I'm currently with pre-paid legal - need to call them and see what they have to offer since we are members. WHATELSE DO I NEED (ADVICE PLEASE)

I have beend doing a lot of reading on the forum and reading the "Profit From Real Estate Right Now" So much information. I also ordered Dean's latest book I will read it next.

Still planning on joining the Success Academy before the end of this month. I am so hunger for REI success.

Found 2 REI clubs and I will be attending both of there monthly meeting.I'm low on funds but I think that is going to be a great investment.

I am no sure if I need to start another LLC, I have one that we care currently using for our home repair and renovation company we have had it for about 1 yr, I'm not sure if I should keep everything separate.....I'm sure I should though.......just makes since.

you're welcome. i think you might be trying to do too much. i am just like that and so it's easy to recognize it in others. i think the Academy might help you focus more and your coach will give you assignments that will help you with what to focus on. i still have some of that problem because of also being a realtor and working on that and spending even more money. you don't want to jump from one style of RE to another either. i've cut down alot of my emails from other "gurus", but i still get way too many. then you have all of them sending you emails about the same thing. i think that should be outlawed!! i am focusing on assignments/referrals and lease/options. find one or two at the most and go with those. the Academy will help you with that. the commercial stuff is great too, but if you haven't studied it, then you have one more thing to study. see what your coach says when you join the Academy and go from there. i just think that is the place you need to be (of course it's always easier to "spend" someone else's money). i know i'm alot farther along thanks to my coach. and i love the student calls during the week. i have talked personally to Greg Murphy, Laura Johnson just last night and the Jureks. they are so helpful. i can't always be on the calls, but i try to make it a time or two each week. hang in there; you're just all excited and being drawn in many directions. not unusual.

i used to be a member of 2 clubs in Tulsa. we only have the one here. love it! be sure to get involved and volunteer. that's when you really get to know everyone and network even more. i am on the board here, as i was in Tulsa, so you also get a say in what goes on with the clubs. is Scott Evans the president of one of the clubs you're attending? the president of my clubs in Tulsa helped him get one started in OKC years ago. have fun with it.

Hey Lori, you were asking about other ct investors, im from ct., send me a PM.. Hope to hear from you soon, mike

Linda you always say what I need to hear. I also responded to your PM.....I am so excited about starting with Dean's Success Academy I feel like it will move me right into my dreams. My family is currently living on faith and we know that God is going to see us through to the very end....We also know He is waiting on us to move towards the things we are praying about.

So today my action step was reading....that is a ongoing project for me, I get up and read - return home after working my day job and read some more.

I also worked on my office space today getting my home life, home repair/renovation company all organized so that once I start in the Success Acadamy I will be in a flow. I don't mind chaos but I like mine organized.

Alot going on right now but, I don't mind I prayed for this life and love it.

i'm glad that i can help. i know about living on faith. i do have a nice little testimony; i hope it will encourage you. one of my daughters lost her job in March. she knew the branch (she is a bank branch manager) was closing and most everyone would lose their job unless placed somewhere else at less money. they let her go early for telling her employees the TRUTH. it's a long story. anyway, she has been out of a job, sending resumes, going on interviews, etc. she was getting pretty down because of their money situation and not hearing from anyone. she had prayed that whatever job she shouldn't take would somehow just be out of the picture. anyway, she got a job offer today with a nice little bank not too far from home. she lives in Owasso and the job is in Claremore. (her in-laws live next door to Garth Brooks in that area.) anyway, she won't have to drive as far as she was before; they gave her the salary she asked for, which was higher than what she had been making, and they want her to help grow the bank. i think her possibilities are limitless. God kind of answered at about the last minute, but He did answer. i told Him: "if you can do that for my kid, you can do that for me with my deals, etc." just in case He needed to be reminded. sorry to be so long-winded.

So I have not gotten the opportunity to enroll in the Academy yet but, it remains on my to do list this month. I have really had a great time building my buyer's list and I have yet to post an ad but I will.

I have been contact investors/landlords via "For Rent" signs in yards and ads in the paper....it has been great I have been able to add my buyer's list and also we have been able to service some of them with our home repair and renovation company (Yeah for me and then) It is so amazing how some of the smaller investors are trying to find the deals and do all the work theirselves. It has been great speaking to them and offering them our services on both sides of the coin. I love it and I truly love REI.

You guys keep me inspired to push harder and do more. I forget sometimes to post the small things but, once I get on here I just want to tell it all and I get so caught up in everyone elses progress.

Much success to us all.

thank you for reminding me to work with the For Rent ads. they could be buyers or sellers. duh! thanks again. glad you are moving forward.

Ok so I have relocated the REI club in OKC area and I have made contact and place them on my calendar.

Also I have decided to add 1 things to my marketing plan - 1)my husband and I will start attended open houses on Sunday - are plan is not only to market the Agent for the investor side but also for our Home Repair & Renovation biz. Are plan is to get the Paper and locate a neighborhood or a few close to each other that have multi open housed Goal is up to 10 a weekend.

Still working on my buyers list - Goal is 15 to 20. I have not placed an ad on CL or anyother site - I wanted to wait until I had enrolled in Success Academy. Hopefully this month if not first of next month.

Never Give Up

What to do, what is the next step. I'm so overwhelmed I'm working very hard to get all the books read prior to joining the Academy.......with all of that my head is just spinning and I want to taste the success of REI......

What to do? Do I stay with my plan and wait or do I try to work a deal prior to my enrolling. If I do a deal prior to, can I call and well they help me without being in the academy?

just my opinion, but i would enroll. i had an issue with one of my ads and called the academy helpline and got help right then and there. i talked to my coach real quick today because she was fixing something for me online. if you do the deal before you enroll, you won't have their help. for me, it's really good to know i can call them and get help, not have to figure it all out on my own. plus, remember, you get your money back after 5 deals in a year. it's not that you can't do it on your own, but i always want someone holding my hand and kicking me in the rear the whole time. no matter what, it all boils down to what is best for you. by the way, i hope you and Amy Bravo are able to get together. i think that would be so neat!

Okay so the home situation has taken over and we are having to put a plan in place.....so here it is bankruptcy, they way I look at it: it is only by the grace of God that we are not dealing with garnishments and some one attempting to file a lawsuit against us.......I have to do something to get the pressure off of me...I can not move forward to even think of my dreams d/t the pressure of debt and the possiblity of losing our house. I don't know if this well affect the process of trying to get a loan modification...I think I'm gonna have to get an attorney for that to. This all really sucks. But I know I have to get it together so I can move forward with my dreams.

I feel really stupid I know that my current situation should not hold me back but, it really prevents me from taking some of the steps I want and need to take. I am under so much pressure that I can not even pull the money together to enroll in the Success Academy and I know taking that step will change ever thing. I just want to scream fall out in the floor and kick and scream. I have always let money and fear stand in the way of what I really want but, I can no longer do it no matter what. I am going to get free of this mess and move forward to live out my dream.

you WILL do it. i heard a story once about always saying "this is good", no matter what happens. things will work out and better than you think. i am here to support you in any way i can. never give up your dreams! this situation might just be the real "kick in the rear" you need to do what you have to do to make your dreams come true. have you ever heard Tony Robbins tell Sylvestor Stallone's story on www.youtube.com? i was thinking about it in the shower this morning because i needed that reminder myself. i hope you will do a search for it and listen. it's worth it. hang in there!!! YOU ARE A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE INVESTOR!

Okay so today I had to take off work to get focused and deal with the real life situation.

So I started my day off fighting with the Dish Network Staff b/c they lost my payment that I made on last friday. I tell you I don't like Dish's customer service at all.

Next I had to deal with the school loan, that was a successful conversation.

Well after that I got a call from the Modification Law Firm I've decided to deal with when it comes to my home situation. OMG he sound like he knew what he was talking about.....but, who knows. I think I am going to give it a try b/c when I tried to do it myself it flat out didn't work....my amount keep going up instead of down. So I'm going to go this route I don't have much to lose at this point except $$$$$$.

So my next situation today was gathering papers to talk to the bankruptcy atty, now I'm not sure if I need to wait on this until I'm done with my modification or what...I will have to ask this question to one of the atty and see what the response is.

And then today while I was riding around running errands I found 2 "We Buy Houses" signs and got those numbers I am going to call and see if I can add them to my buyers list.

I had to move my enrollment date back but it is still on my "to do list" once I get these other things out of the way I will be able to move forward with a clear mind.

Thanks Linda for your words of encouragement.

despite all your circumstances and challenges, it sounds like you are still "doing" real estate!!!!

Linda I have to just keep moving....I believe that slow and steady wins the race. Rushing never got me anywhere. So everyday I made myself a promise that I will do something and that is what I do.....One day my somethings will be bigger and better but I will continue with something.

Thanks

Okay so I realized I have fallen back into my old pattern of only posting when something was happening so today I will do better and make a change heading in another direction...I will post daily no matter what.

So hear is an update...So alot has happend I recently had to make a decision to make a job change..I was working in marketing at a home health company and she had problems making payroll amongst other things...that was not working for her or for me so we parted ways...so now I am technically unemployed..although I got a job offer but it does not start til 9/1/10 and I want this job if I have to work outside the house....So my husband and I talked about it and I am going to work staffing/temp nursing...I am testing for one company now and I am wanting to work for at least 2.(fingercrossed) Well the crazy thing is today was SUPPOSE to be pay day and she called this morning and said she could not make payroll. I am going to be speaking to the labor board (tomorrow) so this has caused me some set back...I was suppose to start working w/ law firm today on my modification....No go today. But I also found another one that does credit repair along with that...If it works I would prefer that then filing bankruptcy (I really would rather pay my bills)

Outside of that I am still reading Profit from RE...and working on my buyers list...I have decided that is going to be my focus until I can join the Success Aca which will be in July(No Lie)...I think that is called playing it safe...I have to work on the lies that are in my head before I can move forward.

I am also going to start watching the DVD on "The Secret" this week to assit me with focus...I will also be purchasing a dry erase board for my office and start working on my Vision Board this week also/ I read a great article in "O" this month that got me motivated

I will also be bookmarketing a few journals to read daily...like a daily vitamin.

I know what I want just gotta stop standing in my own way.

Enough for now....thanks Linda you are awesome.