My Personal Goals
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I have different goals of what I want to leave behind that I'll write another blog about. These are my goals for while I'm alive...
#1...Financial security. I would like to be able to retire from working a job for someone else by the end of next year and be able to focus strictly on real estate investing. I don’t need a million dollars a year coming in to do it, just enough to cover my cost of living and $15k-20k more to re-invest.
#2...Starting a family. I wanted to wait to have kids until we're financially secure enough to, but we’ve... continue reading >>
My Path...
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Alright, everyone on here who is successful to some extent has a "how to" of what they do. Here's mine...
For starters; I'm lazy. I don't deal in a niche market like pre-foreclosures or flipping rehabs. I don't post "I buy houses" signs. I even use a real estate agent. If I have to make more than 2 counter-offers, I get tired of signing paperwork and walk away. Ok, not literally...I'd probably just take a nap and let the paperwork sit on my desk for a month until I noticed it while looking for a Kiyosaki book....and throw it away... continue reading >>
"How To" of Credit Repair!!!
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1) Request a free copy of your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. Don’t go to freecreditreport.com, they charge for it.
2) Anything negative on your report that you feel shouldn’t be on it; dispute it!
3) When disputing something on your report: Always contact the credit agencies by Certified Mail with Return Receipt!
4) Letter must include the following:
I) Complete Name(s)
II) All addresses for past 5 years
III) Date of birth
IV) Social Security Number
V) Account names and account numbers for all items being disputed
VI) A brief description of why you’re disputing the item
VII)... continue reading >>
Investor or Salesperson; which are you?
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There are many people in this business who call themselves "Investors" and "Experts" when in actuality all they are is a salesperson. Most new investors will fall for a salesperson's pitch the first time because they don't know a good deal from a good sales pitch. Before I even seriously consider buying something someone tells me is a good deal, I do my due diligence and check out the numbers(or at least as much info as I can find in public databases, or can get from other investor friends).
If I'm going to offer a deal to someone else,... continue reading >>
Housing: It'll Get Worse
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I read the following article on Yahoo(courtesy of CNNMoney.com), and wanted to share it with the REI community. I'm not sharing it because I like spreading "doom and gloom", but because with any type of market there is opportunity. This is the time Buy and Hold investors have been waiting for and are now poised to make large acquisitions(and articles like this make me salivate ). This is the time when many speculators get burned because they can't keep feeding their alligator properties. This is the time when more people are able to afford a piece of 'The American... continue reading >>We have a new points leader!
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First of all, Congratulations are in order for Mr. Jeff Tumbarello! Taking over from Crystal as points leader is quite an accomplishment given how much she has contributed to the community for so long. Kudos to Crystal too for having held the top spot for so long after taking it from our Hawaiian friend Donovan.In the bigger picture, anyone who is even close to the top of the REI Leaderboard deserves a pat on the back for helping make the community what it is today. Without all of your great stories, pictures, and words of wisdom, this site would... continue reading >>
Building Business Credit
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Since my blog about Credit Repair was so popular, I thought it was time I posted a blog about what to do once you have good personal credit.
Aside from typically paying less in taxes, the greatest benefit of starting a business is establishing a seperate business credit profile. Having an established seperate business credit profile means not having to sign for loan in your own name, thus having even lower personal risk involved. This also means that even if you have poor personal credit, you can structure your new business in a manner that allows you to build a... continue reading >>
REI Connect 2008
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For those of you who were lucky enough to get to go to REI Connect 2008 in Columbus, I just wanted to say a heartfelt "Thanks!" for helping make it the most amazing real estate event in Ohio in all of 2008!!! The environment was 100% positive, the investing knowledge was in abundance, and everyone had a great time...including yours truly!!!
If you missed it, we also had a couple of awesome mixers in the evenings that included our very own Josh McCann - Director of Media breathing fire!
But, most importantly, there were a dozen of the... continue reading >>
A crack in the pipeline
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For those of you who own real estate and have been dubbed Landlord, I share with you the absolute worst case scenario of Buy & Hold real estate investing if you've bought properties with good margins.
A few months ago I changed property managers because the previous manager just wasn't cutting it. The new manager came in, collected some late rents, and kicked out a couple of tenants that needed to go. Out of my 18 investment properties, 11 of them are currently occupied, and 2 of those have slow paying tenants. This month and last month I have $1,000... continue reading >>
Satisfaction from making a difference?
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So, it's either really late at night or really early in the morning depending on how you look at it. I'm having one of those sleepless nights...the one where you've lost your drive/motivation/passion and you don't remember where you left it. The "Is this all there is?" question has ran across my mind about a dozen times in the last hour, and each time the answer is different. I don't know if this has anything to do with me getting another year older as of last week, or if it is just my lack of satisfaction for not accomplishing more... continue reading >>
