The Journal of Todd DP - "Closing Time"

Welcome to the DG website family and congratulations on getting started into real estate investing. Sometimes things happen at the right time and it sounds like yo uwere ready when Dean's book presented itself. It looks like you have hit the ground rnning and have a good start on your plan of action. Keep working and updating your plan and good things will happen. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I really appreciate your help, and all the help from the other members. As I have said before, I can't believe the support system here!

Thanks again!

Onward and Upward.

C'mon Mass, and Southern New Hampshire Investors! Join us on September 10th at Panera in Burlington from 7pm to 9pm. Steve Kesh is gonna be there. Why not you!

Good Morning,
Well my son, who is going off to UMass tomorrow (yikes) needed my help last night so I had to shift my meeting to Tonight instead. I am really looking forward to getting the ball rolling. I have actually seen a couple of good deals but I want my system in place before I do anything. I am planning to officially be "open for business" the Tuesday after Labor day.

I heard a good saying today and I wanted to share it with you. Instead of comparing money to a birthday cake, think of it as the candles. What does this mean? Well, many people think of money with a birthday cake mentality. The bigger the slice for me, the less their is for you. Instead imagine using the one burning candle (that killer deal) to light the candle of the RE Agent, then the candle of the investor, which in turn lights your candle. Imagine the light that will be generated with more killer deals, and more flames from that RE Agent and so on, and so on.

Also, I'm a little dissapointed by the lack of interest from my local DG team in the meetings I am trying to organize. Info may be found on my post in Member Group "Massachusetts".

Onward and Upward!

Loved your post. You definitely seem like you're ready to move forward full speed ahead. I spoke more with my husband about this whole REI thing last night, but he's concerned about the legality of "assigning" and what he feels to be a glorified version of "kicking people who are already down." I tried to convey to him that Dean (and people working with Dean) are anything but driven by that mentality. My goal is to get my husband to read Dean's book and jump into this with me. I'll report back after the weekend to let you know my level of success with that.

I don't know about you but I routinely get kicked when I'm down. The simple truth as it seems to me, is that these people have NO WAY OUT and I at least am offering them that. The first two sellers I contacted own the property, live in another state and were delighted I called. They have no mortgage and have been trying to sell the property for months! So, its not always pre-foreclosures! I bought an audio cd on ebay which makes it easy to listen to. I suppose I could make you a copy. I even loaded it into my phone to listen to on the go. I am at Starbucks right now waiting for my agent to arrive. As for hubby. I give him all the credit in the world. Let me do my first deal or two and I can even talk to him on the phone. Tough times call for tough measures!

Don't lose your dream!

Todd

OK, So last night I met with my new partner. He borrowed the book. I went on Ebay and bought Dean's book on audio. I love it. I even loaded it on my phone. Now its all Dean, all the time. Good Stuff.

I set up my voice mail. David (partner and RE Agent) set our tasks for next Thursday's meeting. He has to finish the book and review the foreclosure alert software. He joined DG (Buddy6060), please offer him a big hello by PM if you think of it. I will be updating my journal with EVERY STEP! Newbies are welcome to view it and post. My task is to find a seasoned REI for our meeting on the 10th of September in Burlington MA. Steve Kesh already said he'll be there. (Spoke to him on phone.) If anyone knows someone with a few deals under their belt and in my area, please ask them to join us at the Panera in Burlington on 9/10 at 7pm.

I can do this!

Also, I just noticed that applepieandicecream.com is available if someone is looking for a dot com domain thats easy to remember for $10.00 on GoDaddy. I registered fastsell123.com and smoothbuy123.com for my bandit signs and I figure I can just redirect them to lucernemanagemnet.com

Hi DG,
Yesterday we finished moving my oldest son into college. After that, I finished setting up my voice mail. I am a little concerned because I just realized that while I am not paying ANYTHING per month (only 4 cents per minute IF USED) Its not a dedicated number and I really dont want people to have to dial a 5 digit extension. I am meeting with David Thursday night to discuss the state of the state and we are planning on launching the following week.

Todd DP

Well last night I visited Realtor.com
It is basically an MLS search that is pretty accurate and contains great filters. There are many distressed properties out there. I liked the fact that a few stated clearly "selling price cannot be below $80,000.00 by court order". It lets you know thats it. I dont know why thats the case but at least it prevents us from wasting time.

I also called another realtor to see what she could find for "distressed" properties. She says that many investors talk to her about this but they usually have financing all sewn up or have cash in hand at that point. Since I intend to use OPM (other peoples money) I need to look into this a bit more.

Onward and upward!

Well David decided the DG method was unconventional. Well, yeah, I agree. I am trying to make thousands with other people's money. That is definately thinking outside the box. I have been talking to Steve Kesh and he is looking forward to the meeting on the 10th of September. I got a great response from Craigslist for Bird dogs! My goodness. I will be calling them back tonight!

All my best!

well, I found an investor on CL that wants to work with me. We are most likely meeting tonight. I responded to a question about the DG free website tool and it is pretty involved so I will copy it here. Have a great day!!!

Good Morning. In Deans book he discusses the free website. (The book is Profit with Real Estate Now- his latest). Near the end, or at the very end of that chapter he states that he is having "his people" create an easy to use FREE web site for you. When you go to www.deangraziosi.com/freewebsite you will find all the info you need. It is free, and easy.

One other thing. I noticed many people ask questions here at the forum without first searching the forum using the search window in the upper left.

I would STRONGLY suggest that you search first and ask only after thoroughly reviewing the results. This is not a chastise (sp?) by any means. It is just SO much easier to get answers because most if not all questions you have are probably already in a forum somewhere with a great answer. A nother HUGE reason I am suggesting this is that if you do your research you will not only get the answer you need, but you'll learn SO MUCH MORE along the way.

As for the free site, it is functional but probably not a great finished product. I may suggest the following. Just this morning I contacted GoDaddy about site creation (Yes I use GoDaddy for all my sites because they are less expensive and their Cust Serv is Awesome)and it appears you get the FREE site creation tool called WebSite tonight with every domain purchase. I am on it now and I must say it is pretty easy. Check it out (give me an hour to finish it) at www.lucernemanagement.com

Yes it has banners but with a 60.00per year upgrade the banners go away. A PDF on how to use "Website Tonight" can be found here... http://help.godaddy.com/article/2643?

I hope you found this useful. If so please check back daily at my journal below and we can grow in the business together!

Hi All.
I had someone ask about the success academy. Alas, I did not join. While the support structure is great, I decided to take a more subtle and calculated approach. Those of you who have followed my journal and who have been communicating with me know that I am 100% committed to following the system exactly as it is presented. Since the academy was framed as optional from the beginning, I decided to line up my own ducks and it seems to be going very well. It is MUCH more important that you stay accountable and do something EVERY day for your business.

People talk about money. Yes, it takes it to make it, BUT, you can set up everything for what it would cost for dinner and a movie!

My business cards $60 for 1000 (and they are double sided heavyweight glossy)
My site $11.00/year at GoDaddy (will upgrade for $60.00/year in the next 30 days once I like how it looks. It took me 2 hours to make it…www.lucernemanagement.com)
By the way, as stated in my post above, the site content software is free at GoDaddy.com
My Voice mail is all set up and is free unless people use it and then its only around 6 cents per message!
Foreclosure alert is around $29.00/mo but I may or may not be keeping it. There are LOADS of free searches online and Bird Dogs Abound!!! Let them bring homes to you!

The important thing is to be like Nike and JUST DO IT!!! Please keep asking questions and create a link to my journal if you would. I'd love to be a part of your team, and don't forget, If you or anyone you know is anywhere near Mass, you are invited to our live meeting in Burlington, MA on 9/10/2009 at 7pm. Let me know if you're interested.

Onward and Upward!

I had a DG member consider it a bad day when he realized a property he was interested in was a complete dump.

Here's my advice...

I see a dump and I hear KaChing!
I bought my second property for $89,000. It was a foreclosure. The people gutted it before they left. I'm talking jacuzzi, gone. Doors, gone. Even the toilets and Carpet!!

It was like the scene from Grinch. Purchased it and got to work. I loved when family and friends came over. The look on their faces was priceless. My wife's best friend said "and it's going to be ready when??". Haha. I eat that stuff up. I had the nerve to buy some of the items back from the previous owner at .25 cents on the dollar!

In 2 months it was appraised at $240,000. Today, its over $360,000.

Dirt can be cleaned. Walls can be replaced. The first thing I want to do when buying a property is call for a 30yd dumpster and Fillerup!

Onward and Upward. Stay accountable, please bookmark my journal or create a link on your desktop to http://tinyurl.com/todddp

Stay in touch and check in with me often! You can do this!!!

OK, I have a mtg with an investor tomorrow but will need to slide it a bit since my son's football game is at 5pm. I called back 3 of the 7 bird dogs (I call them my street team) and have 2 that will be scouting their respective areas. I have my Voice mail pretty much done (Buyer line needs fixin) and you can check it out for your ref at 1-800-871-9002 ext 14748#.

Don't have biz cards back yet (Grrr) but I do have site up and running. www.fastsell123.com and www.smoothbuy123.com link directly to www.lucernemanagement.com.

I really want others to stay involved. I wish everyone all the best!

Todd DP

Todd - Found your journal...yeah! Did you use any of your own money to purchase the "diamond in the rough"? Is yes, then how did you get the loan, since lenders are so tight with approvals right now? If no then how did you purchase the property, using hwat DG technique? By the way, I agree, dump=$$$.

Hey Charl, thanks for the post, please keep em coming and I'll do everything I can to help you. The diamond was purchased the conventional way (bank loan), and don't be too impressed, I sank most of my equity into another venture that tanked. As I say, Onward and Upward.

Today's update,

Well I got 4 calls from potential Bird Dogs, which is great but only 2 stayed in the ring with me which is actually quite good.

Oh, by the way, DG Members beware. first of all I read a post here somewhere that says you can actually Google (and Find)forum content here. So use at least a bit of discretion. Also, I got a call from a young lady that did her best to earn my trust by spouting off about DG. She DID NOT WORK for the DG group. I thanked her and said no thanks. Basically she was offering another type of membership similar to the DG academy. Thanks but no thanks!

I am meeting an investor at Starbucks in an hour. He is eager to work with me and will let me do as much of the rehabs as I want. I hope it works out. My street team has a few properties already and the investor says he has 3 or 4 going at all times, so my first deal could happen in as soon as 2-3 weeks!!!!!

I'll keep you all posted! Please feel free to post with us here.

You CAN DO THIS!!!!

An active member on DG was asking about losing focus. I posted there but liked what I came up with and actually motivated myself!!!
lol. so here it is,

If this was that easy, everyone would do it. I gave myself 1 year. No Matter what, I will stay focused and keep going, win or lose for 1 year. If I can get 1 deal done why not 5, or 20?

I'm just aiming on one deal. Then... the next one!

You know, I was watching a recording of So you think you can Dance last night. I started to think of how many HUNDREDS of hours these young people put in on tired aching feet before they can even see one dime!!!

So, after you put that much time in and you still haven't done a deal, and you are fairly sure you are doing EVERYTHING right with NO shortcuts.... Only then can you put this in the drawer and say, its not for me. Period.

Onward and Upward!

Todd ~
I had the chance to view your web site and two sided card. They turned out very nice and professional! Great job!!! You are building your DREAM!!!!!!!

I'm very excited and trying to put things together to make the trip down to the meeting on Thursday. My friend Tammy is so excited to come with me. She has been my support since getting Dean's new book. My plan is once the LLC is up and running full time with RE and Property management is to pull her in with me.

Thank you for sharing your information like so many others on the site. You have been a big encouragement to me like others on the site! Thanks Again, God willing We'll see you on Thursday. I'll be calling you soon when I know for sure that we will becoming. I'll need to get the address to enter into my Tom Tom.

Amy in VT

Hey Todd...

Just wanted to welcome you to the DG website and compliment you on your drive. It's awesome to see what you have accomplished since becoming a member on this board on what, 8/22/09? That is some awesome stuff...

It is quite obvious you will be successful and I wish you all the best!!

I too try to stay pretty involved with the DG website as well so make sure to check out my journal as well! I know I'll be watching yours my man!

Take care, God Bless, and I thank you already for some of the great post you have already put out there! The website is looking good too!!

"Work it Out!!"

Just jumped onto your journal to see if you had posted an update about how the mtg with your investor went... Can't wait to hear about it...

Suzi : )

Well, I'm gonna tell ya, first of all its been too long since I updated. Sorry. I had a busy weekend. I am a DJ and I had a big event on Sunday night.

Here goes...

I showed up at Starbucks and this guy was the absolute real deal. He owns 30-40 apartments and has had the good fortune to the point where he is interested in putting up the cash (yes, cash) for any decent deals I find, and then splitting the profit with me 50/50. One thing I really like is that he's also going to give me the chance to do any of the clean out and or rehabs and that will even give me some extra working capital.

Yes, I am very pumped about it.

There is a home that is maybe 2 years old right near mine. Its really quite nice. There has been a for sale sign in front for a while and it turns out it is a FSBO. The owner moved away and has been trying to sell it for 4 months. List is $470,000.00

I stopped by the owner who was here for the weekend trying to sell it and asked what he would accept. He said "Make me an offer." I thought about it for quite a while. If you are thinking I lowballed him and he accepted.... you're wrong. Sorry. Actually you're half right. I lowballed him at $225,000.00 and he said no. Guess what, it didn't hurt a bit. What if he said Yes? I didn't know his situation at all and he very well might have. I am working on another property on the next street and though it is listed at $349,000.00 it needs much clean up and work. It has been empty for a year and the agent told me there is distress here and I should just "make an offer". I am thinking there is no money owed at all. The best part is that I may be able to subdivide and put another house there. Bring it on!!!

So, hows everything with you, and you, and you?!?

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Dont forget the meeting at Panera in Burlington Mass this week (Thursday 9/10/09 at 7pm. All are welcome!)

Hi Amy, will you be joining us???

Well The meeting at Panera is happening tonight. Is everyone sick of hearing about it?

I have been in close contact with a new RE agent and I will be meeting with her to discuss some other properties. I am really excited about finding the investor. That makes me breathe much easier. He is a great guy and I feel good about working with him. The agent (Pat) is trying to get in touch with the seller of the dump near me. My goal is to submit an offer of $180,000 cash with a closing in 3 weeks. I heard from an inside source that the seller is motivated but you wouldn't know it by how hard it is to make contact.

Lets do the math. Assuming the property CAN be subdivided (I won't do the deal for more than 140,000 if not). We have a sale price of say, $190,000. I am thinking it will take $45,000 to rehab. The existing structure should sell quickly at $275,000 and a new house (despite a small lot) would cost $160,000 and would move at $295,000 I am sure.

190+45=235+160+20misc=415
275+295=570
-----------
570-415= $155,000.00

Even if Murphy's law steps in at 10% we are looking at $139,500.00

Hmmmm. Just how easy should this business be with that earning potential?

C'mon, dont get derailed! Check you email every day, plug in to the experience on DG and dare to dream!

Good luck with your meeting tonight : ) And definitely keep us posted about this property you're looking into...sounds potentially very lucrative!!

Suzi : )

Hey Todd,

It was great meeting you, Steve and Derrick - and Amy remotely! - last night. I think we can be great motivators for each other as we move along here. Along those lines, there's an article in the Boston Business Journal today that's a great motivator!

"Boom to bust: Anatomy of a loan gone bad

There’s nothing exceptional about the boxy-looking two-family at 13 Essex St. in Revere.

What is remarkable is the story behind a subprime mortgage deal that allowed a lab assistant making about $36,000 a year to buy the property with $670,000 in loans (in March 2006)."

The article goes on to detail how one lender after another got stuck with this loan, or forced the prior lender to take it back, and not one loan payment was ever made. Still with me? Good, because here's the motivator at the end of the article:

"Meanwhile, the two-family at 13 Essex Street in Revere also changed hands a couple of times.

A North Andover man bought the property out of foreclosure in April 2007 for $306,000, according to Suffolk County real estate records. That’s $364,000 less than First Franklin’s original mortgage on the property. And several months later, the North Andover man then sold the two-family to a couple for $470,000, records show."

HOW'S THAT for finding bargains? A $164,000 flip over the course of several months? I'll take it, that's for sure!

Good hunting everyone,

Tom

Hi all! I totally agree the meeting was great, Tom! It was nice to be able to talk with all of you knowing that we all have the same kind of goals and aspirations for business. I was telling my husband last night about how well the meeting went and how we all have a different strength or area of expertise that we bring to the team. I feel we will all do Great with helping to keep each other on task and accountable!

Amy's Goals for completion for next meeting:
Business Cards Completed
Web site set up
Phone system set up

My husband Bob was very glad that you had me just remote in last night. He said to say "Thank You". Needless to say he worries, but knows when I have my mind made up to do something it's just best to leave me alone!

Good Luck Todd,Tom,Steve & Derrick on your progress for the next meeting!

Just popped onto your journal and was wondering how you were going to "change something" this week : )

Can't wait to hear : )

Your friend in the south, Suzi : )

Suzi,
How can I say this....

THANKS FOR KEEPING ME ACCOUNTABLE!!!

1) Cards will be here this week.
2) Voice mail- Changed to a better company (phone.com) and need to clean it up.
3) Registering as an LLC so I need a dedicated EIN.
4) Found a great agent who knows what I'm up to so I am meeting with her to discuss two properties. I will then bring them to my investor.
(Truthfully, I would strongly advise that you find someone with lots of cash who's sick of .2-.9 % return. They are out there.

Keep it up down south and I'll work it on my end!

Any interest in Joining the next meeting on Oct 8th? We will be doing it in a nice conference room with an awesome dial in video option. We'd love to have you!

Todd DP

It's Monday the 21st...what are your REI goals for the week? Did you accomplish what you wanted to last week? As for joining in the 10/8 call, well heck yeah, I just might : )

I'll be waiting for you latest post...

Suzi