Saturday, April 30, 2005

1st Assignment Flip in Philadelphia! Yahoo! :)

My team purchased a property at 38th and Cambridge in Philadelphia close the Girard and Parkside as it is receiving heavy inflow of investors with the future Microsoft High School is being built around there area.

We made a bid for a 4br / 1ba after speaking with a neighbor about 2 door steps away who is a contractor. He told us it would take 25K to 35K to rehab and we took it face value when bidding at the Sheriff Tax Lien Sale.

We got the property for $11,2000 from the initial open bid of $5,000. We put our 10% down to secure our option on the property.

After opening up the property, we found that it requires exactly what the contractor said - 25K to 35K of work. During this time we were going to go ahead with it but we found a better deal in South Philly which we have built in equity in less than 3 months. We decided to let this go as there were better deals elswhere. Comparable houses were selling for 45K on average. After repair would would have broken even or have a little equity.

I started marketing the property on craigslist with the following ad:

$15000 - Handyman Special - Fairmount Park / Parkside Area
Date: 2005-04-02, 4:58AM EST


Semi attached 4 bd / 1 ba shell needs alot of TLC. It is about 1100 sq ft and great for a handyman wanting to own and live close to Fairmount park and Parkside.
Needs new plumbing, electrical, heat, back roof has burnt joists.
Cross section is 38th and Cambridge.

If you are seriously interested email the following:
Name, Telephone #, Proof of Funds

EMAIL ONLY IF YOU ARE SERIOUS


I received many bogus calls and usually the Philadelphia natives low ball as much as possible as there are usually other deals in the hopper. My strategy involved creating a buyer's list for future inventory and also getting a feel for what people may pay for properties out there. Most of the time any type of marketing is better than no marketing.

After 3 weeks of going back and forth I found 2 good buyers who was able to comply with the conditions set forth in the ad. They bidded the same bid and to end the stalemate I asked for a silent bid - "put your best offer in". One came up with $13,000 and we sold with an assignment of contract.

So for those who are into #s

Purchase Price: $11,2000
Sell Price: $13,000
Actual Cash Outlay: $1,120

Cash on cash Return (Purchase price - Sell Price / Cash Outlay): 160%

ROI (CCR for the year: in this case it took less than 2 months to close): 960%

For the most part if wanted to have long term wealth I would have definitely kept that house as I know the area is booming as we speak. I would say it will shoot up easily 25% appreciation in one year if not more. This is a definite buy and hold deal and we felt it the person receiving it would be well pleased.

LESSONS LEARNED:
* Create win win situations for myself - I could have won by holding or fliping. The more options I have the better.

* Create win win situations for others - it creates branding or reputation; the investor we sold it told me that they were cheated on another deal and were apprehensive about getting this done but I walked them through it

* Marketing is powerful - this deal was going to be a dead deal until some intiative is taken; my ad was not powerful but the exposure made it unique as it is rare to have a 5 digit property on it right now.

* Silent bids - I don't like going into bidding wars. No investor really likes it and in this case it was the same. I just ask for the "best bid" close to asking price of $15000. All good investors will ask for less than asking and it is expected. Price the property at near where you want it and ask for a silent bid if you don't want to go back and forth to push the price.

* Do not give a discount in high demand areas - we didn't give a discount and people STILL lowballed us. It is the nature of the game. Play it like that. First person that usually puts a # out there loses so unless warranted don't do it.

* Creating a buyer's list - now I have a list of buyers to pass on properties to. I created the list so it is more easier than blasting out on the Internet and getting bogus calls.

Friday, April 22, 2005

First Cashflow NY Round Table of 2005 - Playing Cashflow in REAL LIFE !

The Cashflow NY that I am an organizer with had its first annual ROUNDTABLE. I got the idea from Locutus9 from the RichDad forums. It came down to the wire as we found a place to rent a room and filled it with 18 members who were all interested in playing the cashflow game in real life.

We brought together various speakers including:

* African REI investor sharing his current investments in the Philadelphia market and sharing his #s on the current deal and deals in NJ - he just completed his 1st rehab in South Philly.

* Single afro american mon raising her child and working full time as a REI investor and sharing her wealth mindset about manifesting wealth through her biggest assest -> HERSELF! Her team is working on preconstructions in Georgia

* Chinese enterpreneur sharing about his manufacturing business in China and work in website designs and his partnership with another 20+ Israeli enterpreneur

* Late 20's Israeli enterpreneur and his startup company tripe-e-soft (www.triple-e-soft.com) and collaborating with multi million dollar clients like Guess and New Balance while recently coming to USA!

* College student building a better web portal than CRAIGSLIST for classifieds!

These were some of the sharings that made the whole event GREAT! I felt real blessed to know so many people who are building abundant succes in their lives!

Thank you Locutus9 if you get to read this! :)

2nd Month at the Kings County Recorder's Office

It is the beginning of the 2nd month of learning the County Recorders office. Right now it is a matter of getting the information and connecting with the home owners.

The following are methods that I gather from reading and speaking to some real dealmakers in real life like SuccessEnterprisesLLC. Some of which are:

1. Direct Mail.
2. Referral Networking.
3. Cold calling.
4. Door knocking or direct sales.

All are good. I am considering which system to use for the best use of time and money at this point.

On a side note many of the people that have gone through the cashflow group are starting to bud as they are becoming active (one of which is Dumbo and Reverendro's wife). Someone called me on some deals in Queens that they are short selling. It is an ok deal but the risk is high with low reward.

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Being an ANGEL for Tai03 in The Great Life Foundation

Today is the 2nd day for my buddy Tai03 attending the Awakenings for the Great Life Foundation. It has been awhile since my graduation from Lift Off and things seem to have been up and down which I create. When Tai03 approached me and said that he and his family are going to Utah to attend the training I was amazed and inspired that they trust in me that much to go look for themselves. The funny thing is that the when we declare that we are going for a vision that is when things come up to hinder us from achieving it. His wife had issues going, finding a babysitter, dealing with past limitations on what is right and wrong, etc... It is easier just to say yes and keep that commitment. For me I don't know what an Angel does but I was very happy that he choose to believe in himself and make it happen.

In the past 3 other people have said they are going to this training and then dropped out. It has hurt in my heart and I see that loving and caring does hurt. It doesn't mean I choose to stop loving which is my normal mode of things but it does feel like someone sidekicked me!

Right now he is into his 2 day of training. He is awesome and my buddies from The Great Life are there with him supporting him. What an awesome family I have!

SOLD ON EBAY!!! NOT!

I finally got rid of most of my ebay inventory. I posted an ad on craigslist.org (a relatively free classified online system) and a coin crane machine business guy came over and bought the rest of my inventory. He bought it for $.35 per doll which was a fireside sale. I feel like someone who went through a large burden for awhile. The plush was selling but not at the rate I hoped. It was a good learning experience and I believe that if I learn from it I am so mucht the better. You can see my ebay account at id d-lifeenterprises.

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Song Lyrics for Reach for the Light - Steve Winwood 1995

This is on my mp3 playback repeat today:

________________________________________


REACH FOR THE LIGHT - Steve Winwood 1995

Deep in the night
the winds blow cold
and in a heartbeat
the fear takes hold

Deep in the storm
there's a place that's soft and still
where the road waits to be taken
if you only will

The voices inside you
can lead your soul astray
Believe in what you dream
Don't turn away
don't you turn away


*chorus*
Reach for the light!
You might touch the sky!
Stand on the mountaintop
and see yourself flying
Reach for the light!
to capture a star
Come out of the darkness
and find out who you are


Somewhere in time
the truth shines through
and the spirit knows
what it has to do

Somewhere in you
there's a power with no name
It can rise to meet the moment
and burn like a flame

And you can be stronger
than anything you know
Hold on to what you see
Don't let it go
don't you let it go

*chorus*

Now, there's no turning back
when your destiny is calling
Listen to the thunder roll
and let your heart break free

*chorus*