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I want to shift gears here for a minute and talk about the personal side of this business. The tactics and strategies can only take you so far.

I remember back when I got into real estate with no money and very little confidence. I was afraid of rejection! I was afraid of what could go wrong. I had amassed a great deal of knowledge from the books I’d read, but no practical application to fall back on.

I started on a dream and a hope that this would work. When I began, I was ending a relationship and basically without a place to live or money to move. I dove head first and hoped for the best! I had no idea what was going to happen. Read the full story

I remember a conversation I had a student and very dear friend of mine. He was someone that I met as a result of real estate and is a constant reminder as to why I continue to build my businesses. (To this day, 99% of my closest friends are people that I’ve met at seminars and events).

But before I take a moment to tell you what the title of this audio newsletter means, I want to take a minute and reflect on some of the people that have been important people in my life as I got up and running and while I continue to run the course with frequent dips and turns!

In a special report I wrote several years ago entitled “7 Critical Success Tips Read the full story

This may sound like a funny title for an article, but think about it for a moment! How many people have you met that are just as broke at $90,000 as they were at $20,000?

You see, we tend to always try to “keep up with the Jones’” and buy the latest and greatest gadget or trinket. So, even though we live in a nicer home and drive a nicer car, at the end of the month, we’re left with little more than a few dollars at the end of the month – if we’re lucky! So what does all this mean?

It simply means that in order for you to achieve true financial freedom Read the full story

No matter how long you are in real estate, you will continue to learn – ALWAYS!

This week, I had two such learning experiences that have changed our in house procedures. I want to share these with you because I do believe that they will help you in your business – and keep you from running into the same challenges!

Always include a clause in your contracts (when you’re selling) that holds the buyer accountable

Whenever you are selling a piece of property, include in the “Additional Terms” the following:

• “Should the buyer not close on or before the closing date – and the seller agrees to extend the closing – buyer agrees to pay $_____ day until closing occurs”

It seems that the media has given the buyers the impression they hold all the cards, and somewhere along the way – with lenders changing requirements – contract dates are “written in sand”. Truth is, in many markets, buyers ARE farther and fewer between, but that doesn’t mean when we sell a property, that we have no recourse. Know what your daily holding costs are charge the buyer if his/her lender takes too long! But, add it to you contract because if you don’t, you’ll lose the money!

A few hundred dollars is still a few hundred dollars, right? (Yes, this did just happen to us! AND the buyer had the nerve call our broker and complain that we were trying to get her to pay for the additional days! – even though the deal didn’t even go through our real estate sales team!)

2nd Lesson Learned This Week…

Even if you have a property manager, you have to lay down the law! My previous property manager transferred 4 of our single family rentals to a new property manager all of a sudden! I knew about one tenant that we had to evict and was on my way to working on that one… But what I didn’t know was that the another didn’t pay for April (just found out today ~ 45 days later). I also found out that when a tenant moved out from a 3rd unit, that they had turned the water on and it ran constantly for 2 months ($1100 in water bills!) So, after a heart to heart with the NEW property manager, we’re laying out specific terms and my contract… with very clear policies and proecedures for screening, evicting, maintenance, etc. They have been put on notice that there is a zero tolerance for late pays and that we will go after them to the fullest extent that the law permits, and will keep the judgment on their credit report until it’s paid off! INCLUDING all late fees, attorneys fees, back rent, etc.! Needless to say, it’s been a hectic week on the real estate front.

I wanted to share these stories with you to let you know that I’m still in the field with you, going through the same old stuff you are and two, to give you a few nuggets of wisdom I picked up along the way.

This is a little more of a personal post than a real estate lesson… but hopefully, it will remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing and to put things into perspective from time to time. I woke up today and was just hit with one annoyance after another… Nothing major, just one of those days where every little thing adds up and by the end of the day, you’re just plain annoyed. Nothing you do can shake you out of the mood. Have you ever had one of those days? Well, after attending our HOA meeting for one of our townhomes, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat a local restaurant. We just had a couple of quick appetizers and a beer and then decided to stop by the ice cream shop on the way out.

The ice cream store was just across the street, so we headed on over. As we walked out the door and crossed the street, we noticed this little girl walking on the sidewalk, kind of wandering up and down the street as if her parents were sitting outside at one of the little cafes maybe having a drink or some dinner. But, the little girl didn’t have a shirt on and her shoes were on the wrong feet, so it caused us to pay a little extra attention.

We smiled at the little girl thinking that someone from the first table we walked by would claim her. Then, a small group of people at another table further down – maybe 20 steps – asked if she was ours. Nobody was claiming this little girl, who couldn’t have been more than 2 1/2 years old.
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