This post has absolutely nothing to do with Real Estate…it just made me laugh. So I thought I’d share. To give you the premise of this email…I was selling my iPod on CraigsList. My CraigsList posting was complete with all specs and included pics. This lil girl….wanted to ask a bunch of redundant bullshit that her lazy-ass could’ve read about. Funniest part about this is her employer and her job title.
I guess I should be worried about what she’s going to post about me on CraigsList….um….yeah…real worried about that.
I swear all I do is look at houses all day and night. Real Estate is soooo wack…but it’s the vehicle to get this dough. I always have a ton of work to do, but I day dream mostly. Sometimes I day dream songs…wanna hear it…here it go…
Me: I think that property would probably rent for 750 per month and appraise for about 60 thousand. Cash Buyer: What street is it on again? Me: West Beardsley. Cash Buyer: It’s all black over there right…so I should be able to get Section-8 over there right?
Last week I had to pull out of 3 properties that I had under contract. I knew going into these that they were marginal in nature, I was expecting to make a 2K spread on each one. The reason that they were so marginal was that the owners owed too much to the bank on each house. All three properties had the same owner and were in Foreclosure, however the lender wouldn’t consider a short-sale. The properties were owned by a husband and wife…soon to be ex-husband and ex-wife and the bank felt that the husband’s income at his 9-5 was too high to qualify them for a short-sale. This divorce/foreclosure situation is A LOT more messy than I’m explaining, so I’m just giving the core details.
So I felt like I’d take a stab and them and see if I could move them. I had some interest from the cash-buyer roster that I have in Champaign. But not quite the same response that I had with earlier properties. In the end, after about 6 weeks I pulled the plug, with no contracts assigned. This cancellation was after one contract extension already. I felt it was best to cut my losses (marketing dollars, effort, time, etc.) and focus on other deals. Sadly, they’ll probably get foreclosed on, the bank will buy the property back at auction, list it high with an REO agent and eventually accept a very low offer (perhaps it will be mine). I guess that’s how it goes sometimes….
The moral of this story for me was to never take on marginal deals when your gut is telling you you’re buying too high and so they’re priced too high wholesale. This would’ve been a different story had I had a buyer lined-up that was willing to pay the price I was asking. In that case, 6K for just a few hours of work isn’t bad. But in my case, even if these deals did go through, it would’ve been a total of 6K for hours and hours and hours spent….too much like a job.
So I decided to start a new series called “WTF! Wednesdays”. This series is going to be based on some of the senseless occurrences that I face in my day-to-day dealings as an investor. No eBook, DVD, or seminar can really prepare you for this. If you’ve got years of experience, then you know what I’m talking about and most likely have a ton more stories than I do. If you’re brand-new or still on the fence, allow me to open your eyes.
So, to kick things off real proper like. I have a voicemail I’d like to share which was received from a lady who received a Yellow Letter from me recently. If this wasn’t 2010 and more like 1990, it would be an answering machine tape that would be worn-out by now. I have played this thing SOOO MANY times….just cuz. So, click the ‘fitting’ image below to listen in.
I doubt this lady thought I’d find her message entertaining and put her on blast. She doesn’t know who she’s messing with. I refuse to take life so seriously. But anyway, I’m interested to know what other investors run across. Perhaps, if you have a blog you can participate in this “WTF! Wednesdays” series. C’mon…it’ll be fun.
Man…my accounts are so close to being in the minus it’s not even funny. But I’ll tell you one thing…there is no way I’m ever going back to that 9-5 world. This freedom thing is too good, even though I’m just a month and half in. Just having a bit of a cash-flow problem that’s all.
Also, on another front. I’m only half way through “The 4 hour work week” book and I’m already taking more control of my time. I’m more quick to cut people short and get out. For instance, a huge time leech that I’ve recognized thus far is that of property showings. Typically, when I meet with potential sellers they want to go on and on about their life story and why they’re selling and then transition to prod about how long I’ve been doing this and how many houses I have and etcetera (some convo is relevant while the rest is just a useless pry on their behalf). The trick I’ve learned from the 4-hour work week, is to say that you’re pressed for time, even if you’re really not (this isn’t a lie either way you look at it, who’s to say that you don’t have things to do, you may want to stare at the sun for the rest of your day, they don’t know that). So today, I was able to look at a duplex in record time. It only took about 10 minutes. I could tell the owner wanted to hang around and chit-chat, but I told him that I had to skidaddle. And I actually did have another appointment soon thereafter. But it actually felt fantastic to cut out all of the bullshit conversation. Seriously, why do people feel the need for this? I’m actually going to do this more often. No longer will anyone murder me by the minute. I just got back from eating Sushi with my friend and the waiter was very long-winded. If I wasn’t with company, I would’ve told him to beat-it. I felt like he was practicing the rehearsal of his “specials” spiel.
Anywho. I’m really digging Drake right now. This video is so abnormal and really encapsulates the way I feel these days.
This week I did something that I really felt needed to be done. I went against the grain (as I often do) and went with my gut. Literally, as I pulled into the parking lot at work this past Monday, I decided that that day I was going to give my notice of resignation. During a normal bi-weekly meeting with my boss, I told her that I was giving 4 weeks notice of my resignation.
This is going against the grain because I don’t have much money saved-up and I don’t have much of a safety net at all. But, more importantly, I felt like this was the right decision because I feel like my job has been holding me back as much as it has supported me. In the REI world, I believe he/she that hustle’s most wins. So, I have been hustling for months and months, but I just haven’t been able to come up with anything. For instance, just when I’m getting somewhere and making progress at 3am, I would have to get some sleep because I would have to make work the next day. Or just when I may have a lead to check out, I would have to usually defer my meetings to weekends because of work. I still plan on reaching a 7-figure net-worth before the age of 30. And I know that I can’t do it while sacrificing 45 hours of my life every week to “the man”.
I should also mention, that the stress of that place is just unhealthy. I don’t have any kind of power/authority complex, so I have no problems taking orders. But it’s extremely hard to do, when the orders just make absolutely no sense at all. Stuff like, “Justin, I need for you to tell our customers that 1+1 = 11″. When your job depends on it, you just have to go with it. And when customer’s try and reason with you that the correct answer is “2″, you deep-down want to agree, but you can’t. But anyway, enough of that mess. Knowing that I won’t be employed there after March, feels like I’m getting a tumor removed or something (I hope to never experience what that feels like, by the way. I mean if I develop one, I do hope it is found, well…you know what I’m saying).
So, I’m going all-out. I’m ready for the adventure and the beginning of this new chapter of life. I’m about to hustle like you wouldn’t believe. I mean, if you thought I was a hustler before…you ain’t seen nothing yet. Steph Davis gave me the name “Mr. Hustle”, I like that. And I’m going to more than live-up to it. Since I’ll have more time I’m going to give you more of the ups and the downs, it’s either sink or swim at this point. So, just stay tuned and enjoy the ride.
P.S.
I’ve had a few people now ask me, “Do you make your videos primarily for theatrics?”
Seriously….seriously? “Funny?” Am I here to amuse you? Am I here to make you laugh? HUH!!? Funny…funny how? What do you mean I’m FUNNY?!?! What the %&@# is so FUNNY about me! (bonus points to who knows the movie reference).
Truth is. I just do all of this stuff because I like to act. I play the role of a struggling real estate investor on-screen…it really allows me to show my range. I was all-in after I read the script in one-sitting. Here’s a clip of my latest work….pretty “theatric” stuff.
I’ve been working soooooooooo hard. My goodness. I know I said that I wasn’t going to blog about specific deals until after they close. So I’ll just say that I have two deals in the wings. So hopefully I’ll post with more detail about those soon and very soon.
After they close, I’m getting the ***** up out Champaign. I’ve got connects in Miami. I think I’ll post-up there for a few weeks. This has been the snowiest winter of my life and it’s downright depressing. Literally, it has snowed every 9 days (on average) since the 1st of January. This isn’t really normal for the midwest. I mean, if I lived in Green Bay or somewhere I guess I couldn’t complain. But dammit!
On top of that, I’m becoming more unemployable by the day. I mean seriously, I’ve been bamboozled, run a muck, led a stray….go to college, get a degree….for what? For this!? Excuse me Missouri State, I want a refund! Yes, I kept my receipts. But seriously, the computing knowledge that I have is invaluable. But, I need to be doing my own thing 24-7-365.
I have started receiving responses from my MLS Expired offer campaign. So far, I’ve done nothing but piss people off. Some people are weirdos and have an emotional investment in their house. Who’d have thunk it? I’ve got some red hot emails as proof. I swear people wouldn’t take the time if they really knew how much of a shit I don’t give. But, I digress.
I need a sabbatical like yesterday. Maybe become a nomad…cosmopolitan…and all the good stuff in between.
And I’m feeling Kid Cudi right now. One of the few artists that isn’t afraid to do his own thing. And why isn’t this stuff legal? I guess that’s a whole ‘nother story.
The week’s almost over and I need to get this accountability post in. It’ll be a quick one.
Let’s see.
I was supposed to get 12 MLS offers out, distribute 50 brochures, and post 5 flyers. Well, I got 29 MLS (expired) offers out, I only got about 30 brochures out and I was able to post 2 flyers. So does that balance out to meeting my goals? Nah…it doesn’t. I think the trick is to not try and do all of this in one mission. I think that’s where I’m getting caught-up. From now on, I’ll just do what I can each day and pace myself, instead of deferring these tasks for completion all in one day. Again, I’ll keep these goals constant for next week. I need to add to this list…so I’ll think about what else I should be doing weekly.
There’s a helluvalot more that I could post about right now, but I’m going to save some of it for later. Besides it may take 3 hours (that I can’t spare now) to write. I mean I got some real entertaining shit. The type of stuff that newbie’s quit real estate after going through. But worry not. I’ve never quit anything in life because of difficulty…sure ain’t about to start now (I mean who does that by the way? Quitters suck at life and always will because they habitually quit…but I digress).
But enough about that nonsense. I’ve got big things on tap. Let’s just say that March 12th should be a great day.
- I’m Out
P.S.
Champaign is just not ready for what I’m about to do! The “Takeover” is near! To clarify my point, check out this clip from the prestigious, illustrious, and all-time classic film “The Mack“. Let me break it down for you. Here is the analogy. I’m “Goldie” (the pimp in the red with the shades on), the competition is “Pretty Tony”(the pimp in all black), and the motivated sellers is the uhm…”employee” (only girl in the scene). And…….ACTION
