Hi Everybody!
Sorry I’ve been MIA this week- I went a little overboard with the BDay celebrations on Monday, and ended up spending all day Tuesday sick in bed cursing myself and the 278 bloody marys I drank. And then I got way behind on everything else, and have been playing catch up yesterday and today, yadda, yadda, yadda….
But ANYWAY, I’m back in the saddle again, and super duper excited to share my very first “Flip This Success Story” interview with you guys!
I know there are quite a few people who read this blog who have doubts as to whether this stuff really works, or maybe you think it works in some cities or towns, but not yours. Or maybe you think you’re too young or too old, or live in too small of a town, or too big of a town with too much competition. I know how it is, because I used to think the exact same way.
Now that I’ve proven to myself that this stuff really does work, and now that I know a whole bunch of other people who are out there in various markets kicking butt, I thought it would be an awesome idea to start interviewing some of these people so you guys can listen to their success stories, and hopefully get some inspiration and motivation from them…
For my very first call, I was lucky enough to get Eileen Meyer (pronounced like the hot dog) to take some time out of her Saturday to chat with me about her business, and talk about the HUD property that she just flipped for a cool $18,000! For those who haven’t been following Eileen’s blog- she is a mother of 3, working a full time job, and still manages to find the time to kick some serious butt flipping REOs up there in Wisconsin!!
Please give a warm welcome to Eileen, Everybody……..(*****Applause and Cheers!****)
The interview is about an hour long, and you can click here to listen in.
Enjoy!
P.S.
Try not to pay attention to the the minor technical difficulties we had in the beginning of the interview. I don’t know how to edit audio recordings yet (shocking!), so I had to leave it in there. Also, I have never interviewed anyone before, so if I sound like an idiot, have mercy. I will get better. 
P.P.S.
If anyone else would like to share one of their recent wholesale deals with the community, I’d love to get you on the phone for an interview. Shoot me an email to reosteph @ gmail. com or send me a msg on Facebook so we can set something up!
P.P.P.S.
Thanks for sharing with us, Eileen, and KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!
P.P.P.P.S.
I just spent 2 hours and 40 minutes (no joke) trying to figure out how to upload the call to this blog post. Good times. Thankfully, Shae was able to help me out before I hit the self-destruct button. Thanks, Shae!
On February 25, 2010 at 11:32pm, Chris said...
Yeeeeeeeah! Congrats Eileen…that’s freaking awesome, recession who??
On February 26, 2010 at 6:30am, Jimmy said...
Congrats on the deal, Eileen! 18k is a slam dunk!
Steph, expect a success story from me in the very near future.
On February 26, 2010 at 6:37pm, Stephani said...
I will hold you to that, Jimmy!
On February 26, 2010 at 6:31am, Eileen-WI said...
Hey Steph… Thanks again! I was thrilled to be your first interview and hope I can inspire someone in one way or another to get going. The deals are there you just need to take action! If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them. You can post here or at my blog through Steph’s link or http://www.flippingwisconsin.blogspot.com
Chris… THANKS! I like Shae’s quote of “Recession? Sorry, but we’re simply NOT participating!”. LOVE it!
On February 26, 2010 at 8:47am, Shae said...
This is a great series, Steph!
Eileen, you rock!
It’s great to put a voice to your name!
Shae´s last blog ..Tire kicker Tuesday
On February 26, 2010 at 11:43am, Scott Costello said...
always inspiring to hear about someones first deal and feel their excitement. I want to be the next success story!
Scott Costello´s last blog ..Creating a Schedule is Not Easy
On February 26, 2010 at 6:38pm, Stephani said...
Scott,
I would love to have you as a success story- keep chipping away at it and it will be here before you know it!
On February 26, 2010 at 12:33pm, Christy in TX said...
Thanks Steph and Eileen for the call! It really does help get me motivated to hear these stories.
Eileen can I ask you if there is a minimum earnest deposit required with HUD houses?
Thanks again, and keep the stories coming!
On February 26, 2010 at 12:56pm, Eileen-WI said...
Thanks everyone! VERY exciting!!
Christy… Thanks for the kind words! I believe if a HUD property’s purchase price is below $50k the EMD is $500. Anything over $50k is $1k. It’s not really negotiable with HUD (at least not that I know of). They are sticklers in every aspect of closing. BUT again, we get the best deals with them so we kind of just roll with it! Good luck to you and if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate in asking!
On February 26, 2010 at 3:31pm, Alentrepreneur said...
Hi Steph and Eileen,
Great interview!!! I’m in MA and we have a few HUD properties on the market at any given time. I tend to stay away from HUD homes due to the “MAGIC” key, lol. I am an agent, but my brokerage isn’t registered with HUD as of yet.
I was wondering, what type of entity do you flip your properties in and/or hold. I’m looking to restructure my asset protection approach and my attorney has given me a few ideas., but I always look to see what other successful investors suggest.
Alentrepreneur´s last blog ..Everyone has a “WHY”. The reason they do things,…
On February 26, 2010 at 5:46pm, Eileen-WI said...
Yep, that elusive HUD key! It messes with everyone!
Actually creating an entity is something I need to work on. Currently I do everything in my name. I know, not the best idea tax wise but it works for now. I have to talk to me accountant this year!
Thanks for listening! I had fun doing it!
Thanks for listening!
On February 26, 2010 at 7:34pm, Koby said...
Whitewater??? That’s my old college!
GO WARHAWKS!!!
Congrats on you success, Eileen & great interview, Steph.
It’s super awesome to hear that you’re able to bring things together in such a tiny town. Keep up the great work. Bet you’ll be thru with that day job in no time.
On February 26, 2010 at 7:42pm, Stephani said...
Hey Koby- thanks for stopping by!
Nice to see you making the rounds in the Blogosphere.
On February 28, 2010 at 2:30pm, Spencer said...
Steph,
I love hearing the success stories just like you said when you were getting started :you read all the success stories on flippinghomes.com.Eileen’s success is phenomenal considering she works full time and is a full time Mum.
After listening to the call with pen and paper in hand I ended up with no real nuggets to write down.I was dissappointed because there really is nothing outside the box about going to a bank getting a mortgage,getting a line of credit and using cash down payments to buy properties.As someone with bad credit and no money this call was purely motivational to me.
When I get my credit and money issues sorted out am pretty sure I can find a realtor to bid on HUD properties for me.Sorry Steph I know you worked hard to get this call done but I wanted to tell you my honest opinion.I love your blog and all the great info you deliver this just wasn’t one of them.
On February 28, 2010 at 3:59pm, Stephani said...
Hi Spencer,
I appreciate the feedback.
Actually, the purpose of the call was to be motivational, so I’m glad we accomplished that.
Sorry you weren’t able to get any useful info out of it.
Steph
On February 28, 2010 at 7:31pm, Neil Uttamsingh said...
Steph,
Solid audio interview. You did a great job, given that it was your first time doing this type of recording. I am going to start doing some audio podcasts on my blog, and know that I will have some serious technical mishaps, as I am not the most technical peep myself. Can’t wait!
To Eileen, great job getting things done! Good for you for prioritizing things, and creating enough time in your days, in order to focus on your real estate endeavours!
Regards,
Neil.
Neil Uttamsingh´s last blog ..4 Lessons from a real estate investor Superstar
On March 01, 2010 at 8:25am, Eileen-WI said...
Koby… I responded to your post last week but for some reason it didn’t complete? At any rate, small world!! Are you still in the area?
Spencer… I’m glad you got something out of the interview. I don’t think Steph’s intentions were to “teach” ways of doing things but rather inspire (but I’m speaking for her). Of course we hope you get something out of it! With that said when I first got started I had good credit (not great), NO money (negative income some would say), no realtor, etc., etc. Persistence pays off BIG time.
Neil… Thanks for your comments, much appreciated! Focus, persistence, focus, persistence, focus, focus, focus. My mantra – “Failure is not an option”, it’s just not! Thanks again!
On March 01, 2010 at 9:39pm, Koby said...
Hi Eileen,
I live on the east side of Milwaukee so I guess I’m kinda still in the area.
Keep up the excellent work & stay in touch!
See ya,
Koby
Koby´s last blog ..Be a CRIME FREE Bandit HUSTLER
On March 01, 2010 at 10:24am, Cisco said...
Hello Steph !! You did it again Lady !! I can never guess how you will come at your students with yet another innovative idea to motivate and inspire your followers. Thanks for the success interview with Eileen it gave me a few more ideas and perspectives to reach my first deal. Thanks Steph !!
On March 01, 2010 at 7:11pm, Stephani said...
Hi Cisco,
Glad you liked the interview- I have some more on the way, so stay tuned.
Steph
On March 01, 2010 at 7:20pm, tony zamberlin said...
Great Stuff! way to go…
On March 01, 2010 at 11:22pm, Gordon said...
Are you flipping short sales? There are now more short sales here in CA so now I have to go and flip short sales. The only problem is that I havnt found a short sale negotiator yet.
On March 02, 2010 at 7:08am, Stephani said...
Hi Gordon,
No I am not doing short sales (and I don’t think Eileen is either), but know of many people who are doing well with them.
Nick Johnson over at subject2.com is an expert in that arena- you might want to check out his site.
Take care,
Steph
On March 09, 2010 at 12:59pm, Karen said...
Hello,
This question is actually for Eileen. Regarding the HUD homes that you have been having such great success with, is it like in FL where you, as an investor, aren’t allowed to bid for a certain time period? Here, owner occupants get the first crack, then if no one makes an offer, they are opened up to investors.
Thanks!
Karen
On March 09, 2010 at 2:58pm, Eileen-WI said...
Hi Karen! Thanks for listening and hope you enjoyed!
Yes, HUD properties are offered to owner occupants first. I think the time frame is about 7 or 10 days or something. The brokerage that handles all the HUD properties here does nothing to advertise them – no pictures, no description, no sign in the yard, nothing. I think owner occupants generally shy away from them unless it is a smokin’ deal or someone brings it to their attention.
Have you had any luck with HUD?
Eileen-WI
On March 11, 2010 at 11:23am, Karen said...
No, I haven’t but the couple of properties I was ready to put offers on were taken up by owner occupants. My agent says that most HUD homes are taken by owner occupants because HUD gives them such great incentives. I think what you are saying is true that there’s no advertising, etc, so I think HUD homes could be a good possibility for me but I would need to get my agent on board. I’m wondering if he is trying to steer me against them because there is more work involved in putting in an offer? I’m currently studying to take my real estate exam, so maybe I just need to wait until I can do my own offers to find out…
On March 12, 2010 at 7:59am, Eileen-WI said...
You know, it varies by area. I have been told by my agent here that o/o’s stay away from HUD because they can be a pain to work with. Around here submitting offers is VERY easy, it is all online. After you get your offer accepted is when you sign contracts. Everything with HUD is time sensitive so you do need to get things submitted within 24 hours or something like that but it’s no biggie. Just tell your agent what price you want to submit on a property (but take into account his commission/closing costs) and be done with it. If he thinks it’s too much work, move on to another agent until you get your license. Do not let him hold you back!
Good Luck with your exam. It wasn’t too bad.
Eileen