Rick's Journal

Yesterday I got my loan commitment from my hard money lender on my 3rd property. Woo Hoo!!! I have contacted my agent to see about getting the closing date moved up. Once we get that done, I can get with my contractor, finalize the scope of work & contract and be ready to go. I'm really looking forward to getting this project underway.

Rick Brockmeier

Keep up with my progress at http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/35914/...

Well I got a contract on my 1st deal!!!! WooHoo!!!! Had this property since 1st part of August and have now sold it. It took some seller financing to get it done, but this is good. Will close before the end of the month.

My second deal is a rehab that I am financing out of my IRA. The contractor will finish up by the end of this week. I will get my house cleaner in there after that and then get it on the market. Moving along good.

My third deal is a rehab that I got hard money for the purchase and rehab from my HELOC. Contractor has been working on it a little over a week now and moving along well. I learned one thing with this deal. The hard way since my realtor didn't tell me. This was a Fannie Mae house. Fannie Mae requires that you not sell the property for 90 days for more than a small amount above your purchase price. I will certainly begin marketing the house after the rehab is done, but will not be able to close until 90 days after my purchase date. Had I known this, I might not have purchased the house. At any rate I should make a decent profit on this one.

I'm also working on finding deals to wholesale. Have posted some ads on Craigslist and gotten some hits. Also need to put out some bandit signs.

Hope everybody is doing great.

Rick

Well, the contract I had on my first deal died. The guy has not come up with any money for earnest money or anything and he has dropped off the earth. Can't get him to answer his phone. I even went by his house and left a business card asking him to call me but nothing. So we are back marketing the property. We've changed our strategy somewhat. We raised the price a few thousand dollars and advertised it with seller financing. Have been getting lots of calls!!!! I've shown the property 3 times and have 2 more today. Probably have 10 other people on the list who have said they would drive by and then call me. I am following up with them to stay in touch. Surely I can get a buyer out of this crop of inquiries.

My other 2 deals are moving along good. Both are nearly complete and should go on the market right after Thanksgiving. I have 2 people already interested in my 2nd deal and 3 people interested in the 3rd deal. Got my agent primed for the listing and he has already sent me comps on both properties.

So, still working at it and moving towards lining up a private investor or 2 to be able to get more deals in the works at the same time for added income.

Charging ahead.

Rick

Praise God! Yesterday we got a contract on my 1st deal. This is a 2 family flat that needs a complete rehab. Got the contract signed and the earnest money along with it. Title company is already moving ahead with the title search. Planning on closing on the 3rd. Did this deal with seller financing. The buyer is bringing cash to the table as a down payment and we are financing the balance for 24 months. After I split the profits with my partner I will make about 60% on my money in about 4 months. Not a bad payday.

My other 2 deals are all but complete with the rehabs. I'm meeting with my agent tomorrow to go through the houses, set the listing price and get them on the market. I have had people express interest in both properties already so hopefully they will go quickly.

WooHoo!!!!

Rick Brockmeier

Man I just read your journal trying to get some new ideas and to see someone elses journal (I just started mine 3 days ago). Great job one continuing to move forward and sticking with it.
I will be using your idea to call the "we buy houses" sign #'s. I will aslo check www.myhousedeals.com and www.evoice.com (info., replies from other site users).

Thank you for sharing and Best Wishes.

Please post your closing results and if you have a minute sometime plaese read my joural "Starting with zer0 $ to invest" I would appreciate any thoughts / comments /replies.

Keep up the good work,
dhilsman

Well, closed on the sale of my first deal last Friday. Brought home a check for over $2100 plus we will be getting payments of $250 for 24 months unless the buyer decides to pay us off early. It feels great to get this deal done and move on to other possibilities.

Deals 2 and 3 will go on the market on Wed., 12/8. Met with my realtor today and got all the paper work in place. I have 3 interested on parties on each property already. Hopefully I can get them sold soon.

I would really like to get deal # 2 sold quickly because I used my IRA money and I can move ahead with a new property quickly without having to worry about financing or otherwise finding the money.

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas season.

If you want to experience what Christmas is all about go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OExXItDyWEY

Dan,

Thanks for reading my journal. In recent months, God has enabled me to move forward with my investing career. I'm looking forward to getting deals 2 & 3 sold quickly.

I did take a look at your journal. You are really going after it aren't you? Keep studying and taking the actions you are doing and you will be successful. Establishing a good buyers list is key to being able to invest with none of your own money.

I look forward to keeping up with your progress.

Rick

Well, both of my properties are on the market. Difficult time to sell properties in December.

If there is anybody out there that knows of someone that would be interested in either of these to properties, let me know. They are both in the St. Louis, MO North County area.

Deal 2 is a 3 BR/1 1/2 BA split foyer in Spanish Lake. Priced below market for quick sale. Is move in ready for a retail buyer or would be a great rental.

Deal 3 is a 3 BR/1 1/2 brick 2 story in Ferguson. Fully rehabbed on the inside with a completely remodeled main bath, fresh paint everywhere and gorgeous refinished quarter sawn oak floors. Brand new central air and replacement windows.

Thanks for your help.

Merry Christmas

Rick

i hope your properties sell quickly, but if they don't, you could probably do well with a L/O. best wishes!

I put out 10 signs yesterday and have already been getting calls on them. Put out another one today. I will print up some more for distribution tomorrow.

I also have started re-reading 'Profit from Real Estate Right Now'. Need some inspiration and re-focusing to kick off 2011. Gotta take it to the next level.

One thing I know I need to do is line up a couple of private investors. I have some people in mind. I just need to sit down and develop a plan for approaching them.

Rick

Keep working, marketing, advertising and moving forward and your deals will close. While catching up on your journal I happened to recall that you have The Edge 2010 and you have 2 properties to sell. If you have not already perhaps consider marketing the neighbors (like what Nathan Street talked about)? Just a thought, to try to spark or get you that thought or idea that will get your homes sold.

Best Wishes!

Keep TAKING ACTION!

- Dan

Dan,

Thanks for your comments and encouragement. Actually, I have the Edge 2009 set of DVD's, not the 2010. So I don't have access the method you are speaking about.

Best Regards,

Rick

Rick good job I see you sre still moving forward,that's the best thing just keep taking action.

Thanks for the comments Jim.

Last week I put out a bunch of bandit signs. I have gotten several calls. Wrote up a contract today for a short sale & met with another homeowner who is facing foreclosure. Meeting tomorrow with another homeowner who wants to sell her mother's house. So things are moving ahead. Plan on putting out more signs this week or early next.

Rick

I just wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!!

You've got lots of good things going on these days. Good work on getting the short sale contract. Hope the other meetings went well. Keep moving ahead

Lea

Hey Rick hope your great,

Just read your post on my thoughts about the neighbor techniques. From what I got out of watching the DVD on The Edge 2010, Nathan was discussing a technique were you send a letter to to neighbors of the home you are trying to sell. He uses the return address of that home so when they get the letter it is from the house (the house you own or are marketing) a few doors down. The thinking is they are more likly to open a letter address from someone in their neighborhood. Inside the letter he has a mint and a picture of a $1000 dollar bill. He tells them that if they know a family member, friend etc. that is interested in the home to contact you. Then offers them $1000 if they send you someone that buys the home.

That was what I heard/learned in a nutshell. hope I did not miss or mess up his technique. Just trying to help or give you helpful thought.

Best Wishes!

- Dan

I just came across your journal this morning and read through the whole thing.

What a great job you are doing! You have fueled my excitement even more! We are going to have a wonderful 2011!

Stop by my journal and say hello!

Karen

Thanks to Lea, Dan & Karen for your recent posts. It's encouraging to hear from people & know that you are reading my forum. Best wishes for a great 2011 to you all!!

So, now some good news. Just this morning I completed negotiations for another bird dog deal. Seller had a property that they had under contract & their funding fell through. They needed to get rid of the property quick. I contacted one of my investor buyers and was able to put the deal together. Since both parties are investors I am getting a finders fee on both ends of the deal. Looks like I'll make a total of $3000. Not bad for a few hours work. Not to mention the good will that I have nurtured with both buyer and seller. This seller has another similar property that they need to get rid of quick, so I am working on this as well. And they have questioned me about my network of buyers with the intention of funneling more deals to me.

What a great way to start off the new year.

God Bless to all.

Rick

Sounds like things are definitely "coming up roses" for you right now! You are on a roll! Keep it going and keep us informed!

Karen

Hey Dan,

I'm getting ready to send out some letters to neighbors around the houses that I have for sale. Thanks for your idea to do this. I was wondering; in the material that you watched, does Nathan say anything about addressing the letter directly to the owner of the surrounding houses, or just addressing them to 'Neighbor'? I can get the owner's names from our county tax records without any difficulty. Was just wondering what was recommended in this regard.

Thanks,

Rick

Well bummer. The last bird dog deal I lined up fell thru. Evidently there were lien holders on the house that would not agree to the assignment deal so the deal fell apart. Ouch, I really needed that income. Oh well, God will provide, I am confident of that.

Been working this week on learning all I can about private lenders. I really need to line up a few of these in order to make my business work on an ongoing basis. I'm about ready to start approaching some people that I know that I feel would have the money to work with me. Hopefully I will be successful. I would be pleased with 1 right away and then add others as time moves on.

If anybody has any pointers on securing private lenders, I would appreciate the help.

Your getting the job done. Keep going. Put a nice classified ad here in your ad section and you might find your lender.
Good going.