Nouveau Riche University

So I saw a sign the other day with the following text;

"Looking for Real Estate Apprentice! - Call ###-###-####"

With my curiosity peaked, I gave them a call and left my number. The guy called me back yesterday, told me how wonderful the program had been for he and his wife, threw out some big numbers relating to the cash flow they had going and the multi-million dollar projects they were working on.

"Wow", I thought. Seems like this was a decent opportunity. So I asked him to get straight to the point and tell me what it cost. He said he would rather setup a time to meet with me in person and go over the details (salesmen know they have a better chance to sell you if they have you in person). I told him I was not going to even think about meeting in person until I knew what it was going to cost me.

He then proceeded to tell me; the cheapest course they had was $6,000 for 5 'full' days of trying. He could tell I was taken back by the large number, and insisted these were 5 FULL days of classes, not just a couple hours a day.

So, wondering what a person with such a large positive cash flow and multi-million dollar projects in the works was doing trying to get people to part with $6,000 for 40 hours worth of training, I asked him why he was doing it.

He said because they earn a percentage of what I spend, "like a second stream of positive cash flow, like rental properties, you know?".

Whatever. I have done two small single family home retail projects. It takes quite a bit of time to make sure things are running smoothly and staying on track. If I had a multi-million dollar project in progress (or several, according to this guy), I WOULD NOT be wasting my time (nor do I think I would have the time) trying to sell people 5 days of training for $6,000 (that was the cheapest option BTW).

I don't have a problem with Nouveau Riche University. I DO have a problem with somebody making false claims about their income level to try and get me to part with my cash.

Also, isn't an Apprentice supposed to get paid? At the very least, an apprentice is supposed to work for his master for free so he can learn the trade. I just spent a few minutes browsing the web in search for a description of a person that had to pay big money to become an apprentice. Nada.

False advertising is sleazy, and I believe it is illegal too.

Option Update

I followed up with the lady who had the possible option deal in Oklahoma. Apparently overnight she decided to try and get more out of her home than she wanted yesterday.

She had a problem, I offered to help, even agreeing to pay more for the house than she was asking. Now she said they are probably going to list it with a Realtor so they can get more out of the house.

It's their house and their equity, so they are entitled to as much of it as they want. The thing that upsets me a bit is the wasted time on the phone with her, over an hour on two calls.

I want to make sure I am providing a service to these people that they need, but at the same time I have to be able to make some money at it to keep doing it. I can't waste my time talking to people who are 'wanting' to sell. I need to focus my efforts on those who 'need' to sell. There are plenty of people who really are in a bind and need some help to get out of it. I have the expertise to help them out. So it's better for all of is if I make sure the time wasters are wasting my time.

On a side note, the lady mentioned above was very nice to talk to, I really did enjoy our time on the phone together.

Act. Review. Refine. Repeat.

Option Deal in Chocataw, Oklahoma

I made one call last night and got a possible option deal in the Oklahoma City area. Probably a lucky hit, but I'll take it :).

The software is still a week or two out, we have been real busy at work and work takes precedence over investing, so the software has been put on the back burner for a bit.

I need to remember to follow up. Getting prospects is the first step, but without prescreening and follow up of potential deals, no money will be made.

I found an interesting website last night with a list of 'gurus' and a rating for each one. All of the guys I have paid thousands to for information were on the 'Not recommended" list. I already had figured that out, but it cost me big time. I'll post the link in my links section when I get a chance.

Act. Review. Refine. Repeat.

Lease Option in Tulsa

From the calls to FSBO's I made last week (around 30 calls between Tacoma and Tulsa), I have three possible lease option deals. One from Tulsa called me back today and they are ready to get going. There is zero spread from monthly rent, and very little equity to work with on the back-end, so I am not too sure if it's a deal I want to spend time and money on.

However, the fact that I have a motivated seller willing to do a lease option in response to the limited marketing campaign from last week makes me excited. I believe my ability to get the seller to understand what I do and how I can help them is getting better!

Act, review, refine, repeat.

Action, Action, Action

I had to work a little late last night so I was not able to make any calls. I got paid today, so tonight I am going to sit down and look at our budget. I am trying to decide if I should put an ad in the newspaper or do some other forms of marketing.

I keep telling myself "you cant fail until you quit". Obviously I have to make sure the actions I am taking are moving me towards my goal and not away from it, but I need to keep taking consistent action.

Act. Review results. Refine Approach. Act Again. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Marketing Software

Our marketing software is coming along, it should be completed and ready to use in the next week or so. I am really excited about this, in the past it has been a real task to keep track of all my marketing efforts, and I just know that I have lost deals because they slipped through the cracks of my paper based follow up system...

Action Steps for Today

Today I got more information on the two possible lease option deals and talked to a few others I had called yesterday. I did not call any new leads today, instead I focused on following through with the ones I have.

The land development deals are no go. I have no idea how to bring a land development project to completion, and I don't need to get involved in something that is going to take me off my goal; replacing my income with real estate investments. Sure, there is money to be made with the land development deals, but I don't have the time right now to learn how, or to manage the projects.

I have two possible lease option deals from the calls yesterday. One in Tulsa looks so-so, the one in Tacoma looks pretty good. Both have said they will call me back. I am going to follow up with them on Friday.

Tomorrow I am going to call 20 more leads; 10 from Tulsa and 10 from Tacoma. When I get paid again I am going to place an ad in the paper and start sending out 33 letters per week to preforeclosures in each city.

Remember To Follow Through!

Here I am today, with four potential deals sitting in my lap. I need to follow through, but I am feeling a bit unmotivated. The development deals I have no idea what to do with, and the other two I know exactly what I need to do.

I need to follow through, if I don't I'll be in the same spot 1 year from now as I was 1 year ago...

Good Progress Tonight

Tonight after work, I came home and made some calls on some properties for sale. I called on 10 properties in and around the Tulsa, OK area and 10 properties in and around the Tacoma, WA area. Out of 20 calls, 8 were no deals (not for sale or unmotivated sellers), 4 were possibilities, and 8 were not answered.

I have two lease option possibilities and two development possibilities, 1 of each in OK and WA.

My plan is to make 20 phone calls everyday until my lead list runs out. When it does, I will go ahead and place my ad in the paper and start sending out marketing materials to some of my other lead lists.

"Success can be measured first by comparing action amounts from one week to the next"

Accelerated Activity

Without going into details, I am not feeling too secure in my full time job right now. I have been blindsided twice now by layoffs, and let me tell you that is a feeling I do not want to go through again.

The proverbial fire has been lit, time to get my butt into gear...

Getting Your House in Order

Listening to a real estate investing podcast on Friday, the guy was talking about novice investors trying to get a real estate investing business off the ground, but they don't know a thing about their own mortgage.

That one was directed right at myself. I have made a few dollars off of my real estate investing, but not nearly enough for me to be able to replace my income. I have seven rentals, and I have no idea how much I owe on each one, what my interest rate are, what my mortgage payments are, or what me rental rates are. I have a property manager that takes care of the rent collection and mortgage payments, which I thought was nice, but I think it is more of a crutch than a help.

I need to get my own 'house' in order before I can expect to make the kind of money I want to make investing in real estate.

Interesting Phone Call

I just got off the phone with a guy in TN, I found a podcast about real estate investment(don't remember how I found it), listened to a few of the show, was intrigued, so I signed up for more info on their website.

They called me back in two hours. Talked to me for over 30 minutes about ways to solve some REI problems, techniques to generate leads, etc.

Never once did they ask for money. I have talked to several real estate investors over the years, in person and on the phone. Most let you know up front they are selling information that is going to cost thousands of dollars. They feed you just enough information to get you to buy their boot camp. Or buy a year of 'mentor ship'.

These guys I just talked to are offering something totally different. Help, direction, guidance on issues related to real estate investment. For free. In the hopes that they can generate some business in the future (meaning actually business related to the purchase and sale of real estate, not to the sale of training materials).

These guys could be a very good resource for new real estate investors out there. I'll keep you updated.

Northwest, Here I Come

Been awhile since I posted, but I am now living in the Northwest. I am starting up my REI activities here and plan to be going full force within the next month.

I have teamed up with a software developer who is going to revamp my existing software(which I wrote and modified over the last year). Without giving details, it is going to give us a pretty big advantage over the other local investors here.

Exciting things are brewing, I'll try to keep the blog updated more frequently.