Flip This Wholesaler

Hola Blogosphere!

How’s Everyone’s week going so far?

Things are off to a great start here (minus the weather).  Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

It  looks like I may be putting another deal together with one of my wholesaling compadres.  This particular property hit the market at the end of last week at a ridiculously low price.  I thought about making an offer on it, since one of my new buyers is looking for deals in this neighborhood.  I sold her a similar property towards the end of last year, and she just called me a few days ago asking if I had anything else.

So, anyway, I thought about making an offer on the property until I saw who the listing agent was. I’m sure I’ve probably mentioned this before, but a good majority of the REO agents around these parts are in bed with some of the wholesalers (not literally, that I know of), and this particular agent is in bed with one of my wholesaler buddies, so I didn’t even bother to make an offer on it, because I don’t like wasting my time.

Anywho, my buddy who is in bed with the listing agent knows that I have buyers in the neighborhood where this particular house is located, so he called me yesterday to tell me he’s getting the deal and to ask if I have someone for it. The contract price with the bank is 22k, and I think I can get 30k-ish from my buyer, so we’ll see.  I’ll call her first thing in the morning and have her check it out.

I’ve also got one other buyer who is always looking for properties in this neighborhood, but I hate dealing with him because he is a cheap bastard.  I seriously could call him up tomorrow and tell him I am selling a 4/2 2000 sf home that was built in 2009, needs no work, and is worth 200k, and offer it to him for five dollars, and he would try to get it for $3 with me paying all closing costs. He drives me up the freaking wall.  I have learned to jack my prices up between 8-10k when I bring him a deal because he LOVES to beat me up on price.

So anyway, I’m pretty sure I can get one of those two to take it, even though it is a piece of crap property in the hood.

It’s all good in the hood, ya know?

Ima sell me a house in the hood.  Teehee.

In other, non-real estate related-news…… check out what my Mom got for me:

PINK POTS AND PANS!!!!

Aren’t they the cutest things you’ve ever seen in your entire life?  This is actually the very first set of pots and pans I’ve ever owned in my 30 some years of life on this planet.  I feel all grown up now. (THANKS MOM! XOXO)

I’d like to say that my first attempt at cooking in them was a great success, but then I would be lying.  This is the recipe I tried, which, thankfully didn’t turn out as bad as the Great Scallop Disaster of 2010, but was nothing to write home about either.  I’d give it 3.5 stars out of 10.  It photographed well, though, which is almost as important….

Looks just like the picture in the recipe, doesn’t it?  Too bad it tasted like spicy cardboard (I went a little overboard with the crushed red pepper again).

Alrighty then folks, that’s about all I’ve got for now.  Hope you all have a great week!

10-4, Over and out.

P.S.
I had no reason for naming my post what I did, other than the fact that I have had that song stuck in my head ALL DAY, and I was hoping you all would join me in my misery. You’re welcome.

P.P.S.
“We don’t need no water let the mo*#er fu$#*r burn…..”

Hola Blogosphere!

Sorry for being a terrible, lazy, pathetic excuse for a  blogger lately.

After getting the following messages from my buds Dorn and Justin on Facebook yesterday:

I decided I’d better get my ass in gear and write a blog post already.  (Speaking of Justin, I have a guest blog post from him coming up this week, so keep your eyes peeled).

So, anywho, I don’t have a whole lot of exciting news to report on the real estate front.  I’ve cut way back on my MLS offers as of late.  Partly because dealing with the banks kinda makes me want to tear all of my hair out of my head and then stab both of my eyes out with a sharp object, but mostly because I have easy access to my wholesaler buddies’ deals, and I don’t really have to do any work to get them, and I kind of like it that way.  Kind of a lot.

Less money, yes, but zero risk, zero hassles, and zero dealing with the stupid banks and their stupid, incompetent title companies.  It’s a fair trade-off in my eyes.

I’m still making 1 offer every day just so I don’t feel like I’m being lazy, but my days of making 10+ offers every day have come to a screeching halt.  And also, if I can’t make 10k or more on a deal, I’m not putting anything under contract with the banks.  That’s my new rule.  If I’m going to do small deals, they will be JV deals with my wholesaler friends.

So, that’s the plan for the time being anyway…

I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished this weekend, as I was being held hostage in my condo while the craziness of Gasparilla took over downtown Tampa.  In case you aren’t familiar with Gasparilla- it’s Tampa’s version of Mardi Gras- complete with pirates, beads, booze, boobs, and drunken mayhem.

This year the parade ended at the brand new park that is right across the street from the building I live in, so it was a nightmare down here.  Great for people-watching, though.  I have a telescope and a pair of binoculars, so I sat on my balcony with a few of my neighbors all day, drank Zing Zang bloody marys (thanks Craig!), and made fun of the crazies on the streets.  Good times.

After the parade ended, there was a Collective Soul concert in the new park, so I got to watch that from my balcony which was pretty cool:

I really love the building I live in, btw, and plan on staying here for quite some time.  Except now I’ve got my sights set on one of the penthouses on the 32nd floor.  How cool will that be?  I’m shooting for summer of 2011.  Mark your calendars.

Let’s see, what else?

Oh, one of my goals for 2010 is to learn how to cook.  My idea was to learn one new recipe each week, so at the end of the year I’ll have 52 recipes under my belt.  It’s been interesting thus far, and I’ve documented all of my creations with my trusty camera.  Since this post is already 12 miles long, I’ll share some of my cooking adventures with you in another post. Including the 4 minute spicy garlic shrimp that I’m attempting to make for dinner tonight. Wish me luck..

And that’s all I’ve got for now, folks.

10-4 over and out!

P.S.

Don’t forget- The Flip This Book Club will be meeting here on Monday, Feb 8th to discuss January’s book: The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle, by Jim Rohn.  The book is awesome, btw, and a quick read too.

Hi Guys and Gals- hope you all had a great week!

I had a blast on the bus tour last weekend- got to meet some really cool people, and came back to Tampa Monday night with a crazy little idea about returning to St. Louis in a few months and attempting to take down a wholesale deal or two while I’m there.

That wasn’t really the purpose of the trip, but after checking out the market for 2 days (we looked at over 40 houses, mostly REOs), I thought it would be a great experiment- like a 30 day challenge type of thing.  I’m fairly confident I can pull it off.  Didn’t Robert Allen or one of those guys do something similar back in the day?  I think so.

How cool would that be to go into another market and test my skills to see if I could knock a deal out in 30 days or less?  And how not cool would it be if I went there, failed miserably, and ended up making a total jackass of myself ?

It will make for some great blog fodder either way, methinks.

So anywho, I’m kind of excited about that idea (minus the jackass part), and I’m also working on some stuff with Charrissa that I’m super duper excited about as well.  Not sure if you guys are familiar with her at all, but let me tell you- she kicks butt. Just trust me on that one.

I snapped some photos while I was there for your viewing enjoyment….

We were out looking at properties all day Saturday and Sunday, and then stayed up talking both nights until close to 2am, so by the time I got home Monday eve, I was Whipped. With a capital W.

I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished on the real estate front this week, but plan on getting myself another deal before the month is over. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it…

And that’s all I’ve got for now folks- buenas noches!

Hey Guys!

How’s your 2010 going so far?

I’ve been busy as heck since the New Year started- finishing up some odds and ends that were supposed to get taken care of in 20009 but I ended up running out of year.  I’m all caught up now (for the most part, anyway) so I can give 2010 my undivided attention…

Speaking of undivided attention, my friend and fellow Flip Vip member, Craig Fuhr wrote a post on his blog the other day about the importance of focus in his investing business.  I liked it so much I asked him if he would be kind enough to whip up a video for me to share with you guys.

Towards the end of 2009 I found myself running in a million different directions, so this video was a timely reminder that I need to pick just one of those directions and focus in on it like a laser!

Please give a warm welcome to the one and only, Mr. Craig Fuhr………

Good stuff huh?

I hope you guys enjoyed it!  If you want to follow Craig as he continues to crush it in 2010, you can do so over at his blog- CraigFuhr.com….

And that’s all she wrote for now.  Later Alligators!

P.S.
If anyone has sent me an email from this blog within the last 3 months and I haven’t responded, it’s not because I’m ignoring you. I just discovered that all of those emails which were supposed to be forwarded to my Gmail account were NOT being forwarded. There are 189 of them, which I will be trying to answer over the next few days. I heart technology!

P.P.S.
We’ll be discussing Million Dollar Habits this Thursday night at 9pm. You’ve still got 2 days to finish up!

Hi Guys!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I had a great time in St. Louis hanging out with my family. I ended up staying one extra night because my flight got cancelled due to a snow storm in Chicago.  (Note to self: Non-stop flights are the way to go.  Especially in the winter).

So, anyway, I ended up getting home on Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday, and I brought a horrible cold/flu with me.

I had a humongous list of things I wanted to get done this last week of the year, but I ended up so sick I couldn’t get out of bed (well except to take Jim out and to get more OJ), until yesterday.  I still feel kinda feel like I’m walking around with my head in the clouds, but it’s definitely an improvement from the last few days.

Although my plans to put another deal together before the year is out obviously did not materialize, I was able to get that other JV deal closed today.  It was actually supposed to close yesterday but we ran into some last minute problems with my buyer not having enough money for the closing costs (yay!).  We ended up getting everything straightened out today and it closed just in the nick of time.  It wasn’t a big payday, but it’s still nice to end the year with a closing.

I plan to spend the remaining hour and 15 minutes of 2009 watching the fireworks from my balcony, and then it’s off to bed! (I guess that means I’m getting old, eh?).  I’ll be up bright and early tomorrow morning, and ready to give 2010 a big fat karate chop in the face!

Hiiiiiiiiiyah!

Have a safe and Happy New Year’s Eve Everybody- See ya in 2010!!!

P.S.
The Flip This Wholesaler Book of the Month Club will be meeting on January 7th.  There were a few latecomers who wanted to participate, so I thought I would give them an extra week to catch up.