Steve's Blog

Patience + Determination = SUCCESS!

Monday, December 07, 2009

Good morning!  It is my pleasure to share the following success story from Jerome Richardson, a member of our Flipping Homes community.  Enjoy!

My name is Jerome Richardson, and I recently netted $13,000 on my first deal!  And in the process I learned that persistence and determination are often the keys to success in real estate!

I found my first deal through a lead I was given.  After a visit to the property, it was obvious the seller was not motivated but I didn’t let that deter me.  I persisted, staying in regular contact with the seller until he WAS ready to sell. 

When the seller called to say he was ready to go, his asking price was $60K.  I knew that was considerably above market value and also knew the house was an inheritance that the seller owned free and clear.  So the negotiations began!  I immediately asked for a better price, and the seller responded with a price of $40K!  I had saved $20K just by doing my homework and asking!  I then offered to pay 35K for the home and the seller accepted!  With a purchase and sales agreement and an earnest money deposit of $1 in hand, I bought the house and began to market it immediately!

Because I had no advertising budget, I used craigslist to its full potential, and the phone didn’t stop ringing!  However, I was hoping for fast cash when I listed the house at 85K.  While I had a lot of initial response, it was mostly from people who needed to secure financing.  Since waiting for paperwork and red tape didn’t exactly fit in with my “fast cash” strategy, I dropped the price dramatically to $55K, hoping for a quick sale.

A whirlwind 2.5 weeks later, the house sold!  I had invested ten hours and $5100 for back taxes/bills and closing costs, and, in the end, I walked away with a check for more than 13K!!!

My most valuable lesson learned:  persistence and determination!  When my purchase agreement was about to expire and I was hesitant to ask for an extension, a good friend offered wise advice and direction and I was able to secure the extension I needed.  I was willing to navigate some uncharted waters and it paid off!  Now I know about the process of getting an extension.

What I will do differently next time:  put the house under purchase for at least 30 days!  Even though a few more weeks would have reduced the stress of having to sell, I am grateful for the experience and knowledge I gained in doing this deal. It provided much-needed experience that I need to grow.  No pain, no gain!

Congratulations Jerome!  We hope to hear many more success stories from you very soon!

If you have a success story that we can feature on www.flippinghomes.com, please contact Jen at jen@flippinghomes.com.  Your successes encourage and energize others.  Help us spread the word!

 

Blessed Investing, Steve Cook www.flippinghomes.com How beautiful would this world be if we all lived and loved like Jesus?

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Time is Almost Up!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Wow... I have to say I'm blown away!
Jack has sold over $687,000 worth of his
Land Profit Generator since he opened it

up for sale...

Now they are almost Sold Out!

-----------------------------------------
WARNING WARNING WARNING
-----------------------------------------
Land Profit Generator comes off the market at
Midnight PST on Friday, 11/20!

Why?

Jack is flooded with so many new customers,
he needs to take care of the new buyers, get
their courses all shipped out...

...and prepare for the free live seminar he is
putting on for them.
I hope you don't miss out on this!
-----------------------------------------
LET JACK SHIP YOU THE COURSE FOR $197
-----------------------------------------
In one last gesture, Jack wants to make sure anyone
who wants this course can get it.

Even if you can't "afford" the full price right now.

He'll ship you the entire course for just $197.

http://www.landprofitgenerator.com/aff/?p=scook&w=lpg-plp

And he'll put the rest on payments for you.
But this ONLY lasts until midnight Friday, 11/20!
(or until he runs out of course, whichever comes first).

So if you want to get the course shipped to you today
for only $197...do it now:

http://www.landprofitgenerator.com/aff/?p=scook&w=lpg-plp

I know you'll make the decision that is in your best interest!

Blessed Investing, Steve Cook www.flippinghomes.com How beautiful would this world be if we all lived and loved like Jesus?

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Special you MUST see.........

Thursday, November 19, 2009

YOU MUST CHECK OUT our special on
Pete Youngs' new course and see how to receive several
BONUSES offered ONLY to
Steve Cook's customers!!

Click here for details!

This special will expire on Friday, November 27 
so don't wait!  Take advantage of this AMAZING deal NOW!!

Valuable Rehabbing Tips to Save you BIG bucks!
By Pete Youngs

In my latest deal that closed recently, there were many things that happened from the inspection that most of the people doing rehabs might have overlooked. Part of my teaching style in my systems and live events is to teach you things that you would not have realized on your own.Sometimes you must look very hard at a property to find the little things that will add up and may cost you thousands of dollars  you had not intended to spend. I teach how to do property inspections…one of the most important tasks that will save you big bucks if you know what to look for. See, the buyer will hire a property inspector to list the defects of your property as a tool for getting a discount on the deal or will attempt to get you, the seller, to pay for these repairs. Here’s what we had to recognize on my last deal.

First, the gutters did not have a nice line to them. They had sagging areas that made the property look as if it would be best to replace the gutters,which would have cost around $800. But for under $20.00, I got some gutter brackets that attached with a screw gun and had a helper use a 2 x 4 stud to push up on the gutters to get them back in line as I screwed the brackets tightly into the fascia board. This made the appearance 100% better and saved about $780.00.

Next problem was something that most would have missed seeing, unless you have a trained eye.  Some siding had been replaced due to moisture rot on the bottom of the house around the entire exterior. (Probably from the gutter situation). An inspector would have picked up on this and made a big deal out of it. You see, siding must not touch the ground around the house. This makes for easy insect infestation, such as termites, and also stops some loan institutions from financing a deal with this situation.  Commonly, siding must be about 6 inches from the ground to be considered correct. To save money, we did not tear out the siding and start over. We got on both ends of the side portions of the house and measured up six inches from the ground, and then snapped a chalk line that marked the siding all the way across each side of the house. Then we adjusted the blade on our skill saw to __ inch and used it to trim the bottom six inches off the house. This now was acceptable for the inspection.

The toilets in the house seemed as if they could be kept if they were given new working parts on the inside. I put newspaper around the bottoms and flushed a few times, then left the newspaper overnight. When we returned the next day, we found that the paper
had absorbed some water. This indicated that the wax ring in both toilets had been seeping a little. So by the time we added up the moving parts or guts to be replaced, then the wax rings and then the plumbers labor cost per hour, it was actually cheaper to just buy new toilets. The new ones came complete with all new parts, most installed already. Therefore, it takes the plumber less time at his hourly rate to install new toilets rather than rebuild the old ones. It also looks good to the buyer to see brand new fixtures.

The cabinets were stained dark brown and had a thin layer of poly on them. They really needed a fresh look to avoid replacing them. I have written previously on how to prep and paint stained cabinets for a nice white look but this is a also a great way to give a brand new look for under $5.00. In most any store that sells cleaning supplies you can find a product called “Old English Scratch Remover”. Pour this dark oil onto a white terry cloth rag and rub it over the entire cabinet area. This will not only blend in any light and dark areas but will also give the appearance of freshly stained and varnished cabinets. This one tip will save you easily about $1000.00 and is one that you will use over and over in your investing career.

Last was the big killer.  If overlooked, this could easily cost you several thousand dollars and, in many cases, it's a deal breaker if you do not replace it. It is also something you should use as a discount when buying the house as an investor.  Either way, somebody is likely to have to pay for this replacement. I am talking about polybutelyne water piping. Usually identified by its blue coloring, this piping has a reputation of breaking and leaking, causing thousands in water damage. Though many houses may have it, nobody wants it. Not only is it unpopular, it’s expensive to replace.

But using the techniques I teach in Rehab 101 we got our estimate to replace the entire pipe in the house and the underground service from the street down from $7995.00 to about half the cost at $4200.00. That’s a great savings on just that item alone. So be careful not to overlook a house's “fine print” when you do your initial walk around. Look beyond just what you think you see and learn to look for the less obvious repairs that could make or break a good deal.

 

Blessed Investing, Steve Cook www.flippinghomes.com How beautiful would this world be if we all lived and loved like Jesus?

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Shaun's Tip for the Day

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Hi!
Shaun McCloskey (www.propertymatchllc.com) here, posting a tip on Steve's blog.  I just got involved in a conversation between two of my students regarding door knocking.  One of my students, David Martin, had a VERY good response, and I thought I would share it with each of you.  My little free tip for the day.  Enjoy.
QUESTION:I am searching for some input. I know some of you do door knocking to generate leads and since leads seem to be scarce from my marketing efforts, I want to approach this option. So any input would be appreciated.
Questions:
What do you look for?
How do you approach the homeowner?
What do you bring with you (paperwork) and what do you leave if no one is home?
Do you follow up with phone call if no one is home?
If others are doing this, do you concentrate on areas or deals? I know it’s about leads & competition, but I am not sure if I want to compete with others in the group for specific areas.
Kevin
RESPONSE:
I've got my website and my Voice Connect phone system but my postcards weren't as affective as I would have liked in driving prospects to either one, so I decided to start door knocking to bring in some more leads for pre-foreclosure properties here in Jefferson County, MO.  The good news is that my leads tripled.  The bad news is that this marketing approach now takes 5x more time!  Now, unlike Dave (another one of our coaching students) who is very direct in his "buying houses" approach, I'm offering options to people facing foreclosure and I'm building a follow-up list for when my people finally snap out of their FC denial mode, if they ever do.  
Since driving is so time-costly I look up all missing phone numbers and cold phone call all of my EZ Data (foreclosure list) entries FIRST.  I find maybe 3/4ths of the phone numbers.  Then, after all the phoning, I can eliminate 10 - 20% of my list from the "No's" I get and I feel this is worth the time I will save driving.  By the way, over half of my calls are disconnects so going through 20 - 30 phone calls per week goes pretty fast. I still door-knock on the disconnects because they will almost always keep their cell phones if they're still living at their house.   
When I drive to an pre-FC house, I find fully half the houses are already vacant.  But even there I leave my flyer proclaiming "WARNING" and "You have options!"  The flyer lists the most common ways we can help and includes info about my 24-hr message and my website.  Then I visit any neighbor I can find.  If the neighbor is standoff-ish, I'll tell them I've got some money to give to this missing person and then sit back and just listen to that neighbor as he or she spills the beans and tells me everything that I’ve ever wanted to know about the house, neighborhood, etc…!  I mean, this is Jefferson County after all!  If it's obvious that they are still living there and I happened to miss them, I'll go back a second time.  I really doubt if my competition will be as aggressive. 
I approach the homeowner by asking if they are Mr. or Mrs. (whatever name on half-sheet printout), and, with a visible sigh of relief, "I'm glad I'm finally talking to you," and this gets their interest up, if nothing else.  Then, "I'm Dave with JINO Home Solutions and we help people who are having trouble with their mortgage.  Our services are always FREE to you, so if you need to sell your house or just look over any options you may have missed, we can help... but we can talk about that later.  So, (looking VERY concerned for them) what's your situation?"  Over half the time they're ready to dump on any listening ear.  About 1/4 of the time I get ATCO-ed (Already Taken Care Of).  I listen and mirror, then gently dismantle their denial, just like Shaun teaches, if I can.  Then I ask for their phone number.  (And sometimes I DON'T ask for it if I'M not interested in their situation.)  If I get it, now I've got a lead; and I'll give them my number. 
I don't bring any other paperwork except the $20,000 document which Shaun gave us in his course and a generic Authorization to Release form, which I do NOT plan to use, except if they know someone I've already helped, or if they're somebody from church, or something really flukey like that.  Otherwise I may mess with 'em a little that "This IS a busy time. Now if we get just three or four MORE other people started before the weekend we MAY NOT be able to help you.  You need to know that, too."
I hope this helps.
Dave

 

Blessed Investing, Steve Cook www.flippinghomes.com How beautiful would this world be if we all lived and loved like Jesus?

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Plan to Attend: REI 2009: What's Working Now?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

We are pleased to announce that, next month, Shaun McCloskey and I will be hosting an exclusive, live-training event TWICE in TWO cities with BOTH experts!

This is an event you don't want to miss!  For all the details, click here!  These events normally sell out quickly, so don't waste any time.  Reserve your seat NOW and be sure to check out all the bonuses too!!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Blessed Investing, Steve Cook www.flippinghomes.com How beautiful would this world be if we all lived and loved like Jesus?

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