Good morning folks,

I’ve been listening to The Secret for the past 2 months.  Now, I’ve always tried to practice the principles but, sometimes you get caught up in life and everything around you and you stray away from mindset exercises that you may do.  One of the parts of The Secret talks about focusing on getting checks in the mail.  If you’ve got bills, pretend they are checks and get yourself into the mindset that you are receiving checks.  Now, I’ve done this exercise before and know that it works.  But, because of personal happenings and most of my focus being on those happenings, over the past 2 years, that wasn’t my focus.  Well, it’s been proven that it works over and over again.  So, beginning in September, I start visualizing checks coming in the mail.  I wasn’t specific about where the checks were coming from, just that I would be receiving them.  I got myself psyched up every day before I checked the mail and if there were bills I pretended that they were checks.  The Secret tells you to write down the totals and then be grateful that you are receiving.  Sounds a little mumbo jumbo, I know, but, I knew that it worked before, so I did it again.  Well, after about 30 days of focusing, guess what?  The checks are coming in the mail.  The first one was for a real estate investment deal that I was working on since June.  Well, it finally closed and out of nowhere I got a check…a nice one by the way that added up to all of those bills.  The next week, out of the blue, I got another check for a referral I had made months back.  Honestly, I had forgotten about it, so was totally surprised when the check came in.  The following week, I got another check for another referral that I had forgotten about and the last week in October, I received 2 checks, one I was expecting, the other I wasn’t for referrals on real estate investment deals that I had helped put together.  Yesterday, I went through my routine of getting excited before going to grab the mail.  I wasn’t really expecting anything, not even bills because they are all paid, but, low and behold, I opened my mailbox and guess what?  There was another substantial check in the mail for referral commissions for deals that were funded that I didn’t even know had gone through.  How cool is THAT?!!!  So, even if it sounds silly to you, if you are wanting checks in the mail, set your intention that you WILL be receiving them.  I’m thinking about doing a coaching session just on this subject because it works for everthing and can work for everyone! 

Now,  I am super excited when my real estate investment coaching students actually listen to me.  Often times, folks feel they have a better way, so when they listen and do what I asked, I get super excited.  I’m so excited that Terri and Zyon have been listening to me and blogging regularly.  Zyon’s latest blog entitled Wash, Rinse, Repeat is below.  I did tell Zyon that one of my pet peeves is Wash, Rinse, Repeat because that’s not what we do, we Rinse, Lather and Repeat.  Read any shampoo bottle, it will say rinse or wet your hair, apply shampoo and lather then repeat.  But, that’s ok…everyone else knows the addage Wash, Rinse, Repeat and the fact that a 14 year old has picked up on this is awesome!  By the way, they’ve visited several properties over the past week and have been submitting them to me for review and to see what they can offer on the properties so they are definitely following through and I can’t wait to see them do their first deal!

 

  Hi there folks!  I’m so excited about Zyon’s new post!  He is a very action oriented young man working diligently with his mother in pursuit of their real estate goals.  We had a terrific coaching session yesterday and today they were off looking at properties in Merrimac, Amesbury and Groveland.  I can’t wait to see their blog post about that!  And, a note to Zyon…if a picture of your laptop doesn’t motivate you to take action…ask yourself what will?  If taking action is your motivation….than keep going the way you have been!  You guys are doing awesome and I’m proud of you!  Bernadette 

BUILDING MOMENTUM

Over the past few days I have been pretty excited about the business. Our second round of driving for dollars letters were received, and we got a call back! We looked at the numbers and really liked them, but there was a twist. There was a mortgage on the house, but we researched a little more and had a bit of help figuring out how much we could offer. Even if the offer isn’t accepted, we are still happy our work is at least starting to pay off.

Also over the course of the past week, we got in touch with Peg Graveline from JEM Property Group. She was very helpful and we were grateful to get the opportunity to speak with her. As a matter of fact we are very grateful for all of the help we have gotten since we started this journey. Hopefully everyone else that decides to start something new, gets as much support as we have.

When we had a meeting with Bernadette, from Boston AREIA, she suggested that we start “vision boards”.  We could use them to remind us of the reward we would get after our first deal. Lately it had seemed like those were the only things driving us, but it has been extremely reassuring talking to Peg and getting a call back on our mailings.  Those seem to be better motivation than a picture of a top-of-the-line laptop on my wall, or in my mom’s case a picture of boots.

Whether it’s a pair of boots, a gaming laptop or callbacks from our mailings, as long as we stay motivated, we are building momentum in the right direction.  Our first deal may just be right around the corner.  
         -Wish Me Luck
             Zyon – http://besetresolutions.weebly.com/adventures-of-a-14-yr-old-real-estate-investor/building-momentum

 

  So, lots of things are going on where newbie real estate investors are concerned.  There are some new real estate coaching students that have started with Boston AREIA!  I’m looking forward to let you know about some deals that are in the works at our Networking Extravaganza on Thursday night! 

I’m really excited about some things that Mike and Jacqui with Fitz Property are working on!  They are on the hunt for more deals!!!  Make sure you read the whole article because Mike and Jacqui are doing the REVEAL of their first rehab project – the final rehab tour on Thursday, October 9th!

On the Hunt Again – Short Sales and Off Market Deals

So last weekend Peg of JEM Property Group and I met with a seller that is considering a short sale. This lead has been in the works for over a year. I actually lived in this house with a group of friends and started thinking about strategies to buy the house when would receive postcards and flyers sent to the homeowner to get in touch about helping stopping foreclosures. And when the town Sherriff showed up to serve the homeowner we knew something was not right. Despite the strange activities, the house has avoided foreclosure and is still in the owner’s possession.

Recently the homeowner responded to one of my messages expressing interest in buying the property. Peg and I went and checked out the property and met with the owner. Peg explained her experience working with short sales and helped explain the process to the homeowner. We were aiming to find out from the homeowner how much is owed on the mortgage, details on any federal, state, and town liens, any cross collateralization, and/or other liens. The homeowner was open with us and explained that there is a lot of “baggage” associated with the property. Due to time constraints we were unable to get all the details during our meeting, however Peg provided me a list of questions that I have provided to the homeowner to better understand exactly what is going on with the property so that we can be comfortable making an offer.

Currently we are waiting for the homeowner to respond!

If we are able to move forward with this project it will be my first short sale, however it would also be a great opportunity to partner with Peg and learn all about how these deals work. This house needs a significant amount of work, but is in one of the premier zip codes of the Greater Boston Area and has a potential ARV of over $1M.

Hopefully we hear back soon, we are anxious for our next rehab project as the Framingham rehab project is wrapping up. We are also looking at some off market some multi-family properties in the Worcester area in the next few weeks. We hope to re-invest in a multi-family as soon as the Framingham rehab sells. If you are a wholesaler or have knowledge of any off-market leads please get in touch with us we would love to work with you!

Also, we are going to do our final reveal and rehab tour on Thursday, October 9th at 6:30pm at 26 McAdams, Framingham, MA and to get all the ins and outs, we will be doing a Rehab overview – House of the month at the October 16th Boston AREIA meeting!

Mike & Jacqui

Fitzproperty.com

Hi folks, I feel like we might need to change the title of this blog post!  Mike and Jacqui are quickly moving past the newbie real estate investor stage to the “Got a Rehab Under our Belts” stage.  I love seeing people become successful in real estate investing!  Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing folks rewarded for their effort.  I know the hours have been long and hard between work and the rehab…but, I just got this latest post from them for their 26 McAdams, Framingham rehab project:

2 weeks to go!

Hi Boston AREIA,

Thanks to everyone who made it out to our rehab tour a few weeks ago. We had a great discussion about how to find deals, working with hard money lenders, creating a scope of work, and managing contractors.

The work at 26 McAdams Rd, is “knock on wood”, moving along right on schedule. As we are rounding out week 7 of the 9 week renovation timeline we have passed all required inspections and are moving forward with the remaining work items. To give you an extent of what we have completed and what is still to be done see the list below:

Completed Work Items

Pending Work Items

Demo/remove sellers belongings Clear landscaping Update plumbing for first floor full bath and half bath Add basement bathroom Update plumbing from water main Install replacement windows Build deck Install vinyl siding, soffits, fascia, and gutters Increase opening, install steel beam Create vaulted ceiling in living area Frame out basement living area, bathroom, bonus room, and storage area Blueboard all walls first floor and basement Plaster all walls first floor and basement Update insulation Install tile in first floor bathrooms Install hardwood floors in kitchen Install cabinets Template kitchen countertops Install first floor vanity Pass all inspections except final

Install countertops Install vanities and Finish recess lighting Finish electrical Finish plumbing bathroom fixtures Install tile and carpet in basement Install new interior doors Trim out all interior doors/windows/floor Paint interior and foundation Refinish and stain hardwood floors Finish exterior lights Install exterior doors Finish landscaping Pass final inspection Other punch list items

Some Lessons Learned So Far:

• Make sure you have money available to pay contractors as banks and hard money loans typically only pay when the work is completed, not started.
• Know the difference between replacement windows and new construction windows. Don’t buy replacement windows if you are going to be replacing the siding on the house.
• Network with other investors for recommendations on vendors and contractors. Peg from JEM Property Group shared some great contacts for us when it came to finding a contractor for the windows and cabinets. We also got our Granite reference from another flipper working on a house down the street from ours. These references have no doubt saved us time and money!

We are targeting the week of 22 Sep to have the rehab work completed, stay tuned for an invite from Bernadette for an upcoming rehab tour where we will provide more details about the McAdams Rd project.  To check out some of the pics of the project and the last rehab tour visit – http://fitzproperty.com/2-weeks-to-go/

Hope to hear from you soon,

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

   I’ve been having a blast these past 2 weeks!

A group of folks signed up for the membership and are getting 2 free coaching sessions to get them started in their business.  The sessions have been great and I’m hearing some great stories.  The first person I met with was Joseph.  We went over his goals, the importance of working with an investor SAVVY Realtor vs an investor FRIENDLY Realor.  All Realtors are investor friendly, not all know how to run the numbers and look at properties the way investors do.  It’s not their fault.  They’ve never been taught or never really learned.  So, when you find one that is savvy, hold on to them and work with them.  I made some connections for Jospeh and we had another meeting where he brought me listing and comps for properties.  What he presented wasn’t really comps, they were area trends and where the market is going.  There were no real listings, so we talked about how to look at comps, what you need to compare, etc.  He told me that they were looking at properties where they could do a condo conversion.  We talked about how it worked in some areas and not in others.  I followed up with some instructions and then I got a call from Joseph telling me about what he called, “I got a story for your Diary of a Newbie Real Estate Investor thing.”  And, he proceeded to tell me, “So, we set up a time to go look at what could possible be a condo conversion in Haverhill.”  I said, “Oh…it would depend on what part of Haverhill, there are parts along the river going towards Merrimac that are nice, but, as you get closer to downtown the worst it seems to get.”  He continued, “Yeah, well, we go over and this more the downtown area and I realize that maybe this isn’t the right side of town for this, but, we went in and we thought we heard some noises.  We saw a computer sitting on the table.  So, I’m thinking there were squatters there…so, I got a little nervous not knowing what to expect.  So, then we go upstairs to look at the other unit and there was stuff sitting out and it was obvious someone was there.  We couldn’t see anyone, but, you could just tell.  So, I said…look this isn’t a good area for this, lets just get out of here.  So, we left because I didn’t know if there was someone hanging out in the closets.”  Just goes to show you, be prepared for any possibility when you are going to look at a vacant (or supposed to be vacant) property.  If there were squatters, I bet he scared the heck out of them!  🙂

Then, I was talking to Dianne.  I had some technical difficulties with Google Hangouts.  She couldn’t hear me and was very patient which I was thankful for!  Google Hangouts sounds like a great idea, but, I can’t seem to get the mic to work right.  If anyone has any tips let me know.  Finally we decided on a call.  We had a great call talking about how you find properties, as a Realtor she needs to disclose that she is when putting in offers.  She was prepared for the call and had a ton of questions.  We talked about how people do business with people they know like and trust.  So, you have remember that when talking to people.  Through our conversation, she had some aha moments about a property she is working on that’s not on the market yet.  It might just turn out to be a deal.  If it turns out that way….we will celebrate!

I’m personally working on a deal in Groveland.  It’s a nice house with good bones.  It needs some work.  There are some interesting things with the property, like a reverse mortgage and an estate that we have to navigate through.  I am working on getting it under contract, so keep your fingers crossed for me. 

Then I met with Vito, who is super motivated to get his business going.  Vito, like the others has aggressive, yet doable goals.  He is also a Broker, so he has a working knowledge of how real estate works, how to put in offers and put together contracts.  

I met via Skype with Kern and we talked about FEAR.  There are a few ways to look at the word fear.  .  The first is where you are confused, nervous about losing your deposit money, nervous about how to write an offer or really don’t understand a contract and because of that you are paralyzed, don’t take action and then you Forget Everything And Run.  The second is where you are confused, nervous about losing your deposit money, nervous about how to write an offer or really don’t understand a contract and you get on the internet research, you pick up the phone and call a seasoned investor and instead of being paralyzed you Face Everything And Rise.  It’s simply a decision.  You just have to make the decision to chose one over the other.  Inaction do to the first fear is what causes most folks to be unsuccessful in real estate.  We then talked about the areas he wants to work with, set some goals and we discussed how to get his marketing set up and more. 

Mike and Jacqui are moving forward on their first rehab.  I believe it will be done soon and I hope we have enough time to do a reveal tour of the property in Framingham.  They have been hyper focused on getting the rehab completed.  Stay tuned!

I am getting deals coming across from many investors and it’s getting super exciting!  They are putting up badit signs, driving for dollars, getting their website producing leads and more.  Marketing is where it all begins...if you can’t find deal to put under contract, the rest of it doesn’t matter.  See you at the upcoming meeting on September 18th!

Yours in success!  DESIRE!  COMMIT!  SUCCEED!

Bernadette Trafton, Boston AREIA Chief Connector!