Real Deal REInvestor Network

Of course it’s difficult. That’s what makes it so valuable. The time, effort and commitment you put into reaching the goal have their own rewards, over and above the achievement itself. They make you stronger, more disciplined, and more effective. When great effort is called for, great opportunities abound. When challenges and difficulties surround you, there is much value to be created. Instead of cursing the need for sustained and focused effort, be genuinely thankful for the chance. For you are designed and equipped to get things done, and life is superbly rewarding when you do. When difficult work is called for, step quickly forward with enthusiasm. It is truly your moment to shine, to grow, and to create according to your best expectations. Run toward the challenges. It is in those challenges that you will fulfill your greatest dreams. — Ralph Marston - Great work from him. Thanks Ralph. Best, Andy Rodie

Property Management Most of us have set our sights on earning money through real estate investing. Including me. But what will you do when you actually own a property, or multiple properties? Whether residential or commercial, ultimately someone, or some business, will occupy that space. Speaking from a residential point of view, occupied is preferred over vacant, in most cases. Oh, come on, Mark, isn't that obvious? Perhaps. Let's think it through. What if you have a rental property, no matter how large or small, no matter the location or anything else? If there is a tenant who is not paying rent on time, or at all, you are losing money you are owed. However, you also will find it difficult, if not impossible, to show the property to prospective tenants until the problem tenant is removed. And once the problem tenant has left, do you believe they are likely to leave the dwelling in "broom clean" condition as (hopefully) specified in the lease agreement? Chances are good that if the payment agreement has not been honored, other clauses will be ignored as well. So now you are facing additional costs for cleaning and refurbishing the property, perhaps including damages inflicted intentionally. Depending on your state, it may also cost additional fees to file court orders, such as unlawful detainers or intent to evict notices. The eviction process can take weeks to months, depending on your state's laws. How much rent will be collected (rather, how much rent will you lose) if and while eviction is being pursued? If an attorney needs to become involved, ...I think you get the point. There's often much more at stake than simply lost rental revenue. The most valuable lesson I can share with you is to conduct your due diligence with background checks to obtain sufficient information about your potential tenants as you can, BEFORE anyone moves in or takes up residence. The old adage relating to prevention and cure, most definitely applies to checking tenants before they are in. In my experience, you do not always need every possible investigation for every tenant. If you collect sufficient references, including all family, whether local or not, employment history, as well as friends and associates, and actually speak to all of them, you should have a good platform to begin. While credit history is not the highest on my list of qualifications, if I have an accurate financial picture of debt-to-income, I will always look for criminal records. While it seems reasonable, even obligatory, to speak to previous landlords, you may find cases where the former property owner negotiated a favorable recommendation with the tenant, in exchange for the tenant leaving the premises. I do not intend to paint a grimey, Dickensian portrait of property management. At the same time, you must be aware of some of the pitfalls that await the uninformed or uneducated property manager, just as you must be aware in any other aspect of investing. Managing your own properties, at least while building sufficient revenues to hire an agency, if you desire, provides several benefits to the beginning investor. You do not have the expense of an outside agency, and you gain valuable experience so you can better interview property management agencies when you do hire them. You also have more control over policy if you manage the property yourself. In the end, if you are a property owner, you will be managing your property, whether yourself or through a professional agency. It's just a matter of the degree of direct or indirect contact you have with your tenants.

  What we all need right now is
Support, Encouragement, Faith & Focus.
  What we all hope and expect is that those things
will come from those who are closest to us.
  When that did NOT happen for me today,
what I discovered was truly more profound.
I discovered a Network of kind-hearted souls who
genuinely cared enough to give me those very things:
Support, Encouragement, Faith & Focus.

- and THAT's  the Real Deal.

For those of you who need to catch up,
in order to grasp the full context of this blog,
I'll re-post.
( at 9 am EST Dana gave us the good news....)

THANK YOU Dana, Alex, Jo & Sam!
A big shout out to Rick & Danny for
making this all possible.
Before I move on to the "Congratulations"
on a more personal level,
 I gotta tell ya what happened when
I tried to share my  Exhilaration .....

I told my brother I made the Final 70, and in a
barely audible voice, he said, "good".
No Congratulations.

Then I sent an email to a friend here in Atlanta
that I've known for 18 yrs.
The following is an EXACT copy of the email he
sent back:

Denise,

Wake the Hell up. This has SCAM written all over it.
Let me know when you are ready to hear
"I told you so."
DEFINITELY No Congratulations.

Another person close to me who knows what this
means to me, didn't bother to respond AT ALL.
SERIOUSLY No Congratulations.

Now my first reaction I cannot and should not
print here on this website......
     ..... but that really got my goose!
( I don't actually own any Farm animals )
Sooooo ..... I do believe this is only going to make
me try even HARDER.

Aim REALLY High!  ~  Denise

I received an amazing amount of response from this,
so I grabbed my book,
"Don't Let Others Rent Space In Your Head"
by  Gary Coxe.
I started reading when things went from
bad to worse..... I received several phone messages
( tirades ) from the one who had previously not
responded at all:

      " I just called to tell you how GD much I
f*&^%ng  HATE you!  I don't give a GD whether you drop dead or not! 
I needed this, and I needed that ......
you  fu%^ng  bi*%ch!    Fyou! 
Never fu%^ng   darken my doorstep again!!"

He was IRATE because I made the choice to
stay home and fight my way through this Challenge
over playing nurse for him.
Mr. Drama Queen hurt his back.

( I'm not cruel - he had prescription pain killers,
 marijuana, and vodka - trust me, he was fine.
He's just a big, beligerant baby )

 Those who do not RESPECT your Assignment
    Disqualify themselves for a Relationship 

                                                   ~  Mike Murdock

This inspired me to share WHY you
"Don't Let Others Rent Space In Your Head".

My other long-time friend told me to
" Wake the Hell up".

POWER TIP ( from the book ):
     Dreamers never sleep with their eyes closed.

I went into this Challenge with my eyes WIDE OPEN.

People can accomplish more when they don't let
other people - or other things influence them in
NEGATIVE ways.
This problem is known as
"renting space in your head."

If you want to accomplish more and
move to the next level in your life,
your goal should be to be careful not only to avoid letting other people rent space in your head,
but to also avoid letting other things and
even your own NEGATIVE thoughts take up
valuable space.
Our own Negative thoughts are often our
own worst enemy.

The more risk you take in life and business,
the greater tendency you have to let others
rent space in your head.
If you are trying something extraordinarily new
or unique and you're stretching well
outside your comfort zone,
you'll look for reinforcement about your behavior.
People who are incredibly successful have
mastered the ability not to let others
rent space in their heads.

Maybe you've already started to limit the space you
ALLOW for Negative thoughts, but if you
truly master this concept yourself,
you won't just be able to think outside the box.
You'll be able to consistently think
way beyond it.

Keeping things from renting rent space in your head
is a marathon that never ends.

When you refuse to let other things and
other people rent space in your head
you think on a totally different level.

POWER TIP:  Having a reason WHY you want
                             to change isn't enough.
It's the amount of value you have on the WHY
that creates the determination to never give up.

Rent Space In Your Head, But Only To Good Tenants!

	A kingdom of rich young Rulers decided to "pay it back" and have a party for the citizens of a certain country. But to make sure that the hoodlums, scoffers, ragamuffins and the otherwise undesirable, will not come in to crash the party, the rulers decided to make a request of everyone attending. The request they came up with was at once both simple and brilliant - "Cash not needed but bring your best gift."
	First to the door was a Very Smart Guy who said, "I am VSG and I am brilliant. I can write code. I can make a web page jump up and slap you. However, I have a problem writing checks. My account is overdrawn and I have not seen my checkbook since the civil war. Can you help me?" The Rulers being amazed that Very Smart Guy was equipped with his laptop and HTML/CSS/Java notebooks, quickly let him in.
	Next to the door was a beautiful, well dressed woman. She walked confidently. Her strong legs just briefly pausing as she looked the Rulers in the face, eyeball to eyeball. "I am Diva Network" she said. "I am the life of the party. Nothing happens around here without me. I know people, who know people, who know people.. Catch my drift? If you plan on running for office, Darling, I can help you. If you plan on getting rich, I can help you. If you plan on any indiscretions, I will find out. Naughty, naughty, naughty!" It is not known whether by the weight of her presence or the subtleties of her innuendoes, but she was quickly whisked to her seat at the table.
	Up next was a man with a briefcase, wearing a very shiny suit; the glow of which was only second to his broad smile and perfect teeth. Taking a quick look around at the unimpressive decor and the lackluster dress of the Rulers, this man introduced himself with a hand shake that could have broken bones. "My name is Slick Sales but my friends call me Slick for short. And you gentle Sirs deserve the best that life has to offer. It is your good fortune that I just happen to have these catalogs with me. The timing could not be more perfect for today and today only, we are offering 25% off on all purchases. Oh, we can turn this plain hall into a Grand Hall. And here is something exquisite for the Ladies. The Rulers fearing that this guy would sell them the clothes they were wearing, quickly escorted him to a seat.
	Next to the door was a very large man with an entourage befitting of a king. The Rulers being a little puzzled by this asked the very large man, "Sir, what is your name and why are you here?" The very large man said, "My name is Joint Venture, but you can call me JV. I was driving by in my limo when I noticed the commotion and the crowds gathering by this door. Being an inquisitive bloke I said, "I must find out what this is about. I too, have lots of money but I don't have interesting places to go or deeply satisfying things to do." The Rulers sensing that this guy would make a very good business partner, quickly gave him a seat.
	Up next was a slim man with a voice twice as big as his frame. Out of his mouth came sounds, like water pouring over the rocks of a Colorado brook. His words were crisp as crackers and sweet as maple syrup. He made the ordinary thing sound extraordinary. The familiar became distinguished. His wisdom was as deep as his knowledge was broad. With eloquence and clarity, he spoke as wine aged a thousand years. Lacking speech or words of comparable value, the Rulers pointed him to a seat. He never said his name yet we all knew him to be Inspired Word.
	Up next was a young woman. She seemed at once eager but yet subdued; midway between confidence and humility. The Rulers looked upon this soul and asked, "What is your name lassie and what do you bring?" "My name is Time," she said. "I do not have anything to bring to the table at this moment," she said somewhat reluctantly. "Well, we cannot let you in," said the Rulers, not wanting to set the bar so low that the hoodlums, scoffers, ragamuffins and the otherwise undesirable, might think that they too should get in. Then said Time, "I can wait on tables and serve these guests, if you will allow me to observe and learn from them.” Flabbergasted by the humility, persistence and drive to succeed that was just displayed by this young woman, the Rulers with tear filled eyes, led Time into the party.
	We have all been invited to the opportunity of a lifetime. Free is not without cost. We must all look inside and bring our best gift to the table. The gift must be tangible, tradable and marketable. This is the price of entry. This is the currency of the marketplace. There is room for everyone - just ask Time.

We are moving into a time for renewal as nature around us again teaches its lessons of rebirth.  The long winter season gives way to renewed energies working to bring the sleeping earth out from its death like slumber and vitalize everything again.  Seasons and cycles.  It has been a very long period of the decline of the world markets and economies and this has found its way to each person on the planet.

This spring things are different, the universe is aligned so that we,
everyone on this email has a new and unique opportunity to carve different grooves in the clay disk of our psyche with new information leading to a path way to success.  With all our education provided by the parents, and educators placing emphasis on Individual Excellence we have a program inside our minds telling us that we don't need others and it is all about ourselves and that if we win it doesn't matter who it is taken from as long as we win! WRONG!

This ego driven thought processing has been the leading cause of the fall of the global economy.  Sure, we can't fix it but I think that if we consider
how important each of us here are to each other in realizing the formula for collective success that within this is the KEY to our individual successes.

Today most of our concern is on money.  Each of us in our intentional labors have been struggling and our leaders have compromised our inheritance that was designed by the Founding Fathers of America as testified in the Declaration Of Independence, Constitution and the Bill Of Rights and now we must rebuild from scratch.  We have OPPORTUNITY!, WE HAVE Enthusiasm, We have strength, we have a sincere desire to help ourselves, each other and others.

Each person who has touched my life has a KEY ingredient that is important to me, this item is HEART.  I have had the pleasure of working with people who this quality is apparently absent and in its place is book knowledge, and education and have found that without heart the necessary ability to see another's point of view is also absent.  You are the SALT of the Earth!

Remember without a heart pumping we are nothing.

From one of my previous blog site:

What Is a Motivated Seller?

I am sure we all heard the phrase motivated seller one time or another.  He/She  is the real estate owner who is so anxious to sell that he/she’ll be very flexible with his/her price or terms–or both.  Success in real estate investment depends on finding motivated sellers and helping them
with their problems. The person who buys from motivated  sellers ends up paying too much for properties and at too high an interest rate, that’s certainly no way to make money in real estate investing business.  Motivated  sellers come in two varieties:  wholesale and retail.

A wholesale motivated seller is willing to discount his price substantially in order to sell his property quickly.  A retail motivated seller may not discount his price, but he is very flexible in the terms he will accept.  Both varieties of motivated sellers are good for the investor.  But it’s important to know which variety you’ve got on your hands because each requires different techniques and strategies.  To complicate things further, some motivated sellers are a combination of the two, being a little flexible on price and a little flexible on terms, but not too extreme in  either direction.

Real Estate investing is relationship business after all.  Too many people are focusing on techniques,  looking for certain type of properties, but I believe it is rather looking into the SITUATION to solve applying right method, rather than finding property itself, then ask yourself.  “What effect will this have on me, as a new buyer?”

You can see why it is vital to know what the seller’s motivation is and if it will have any effect on you as a new owner.  If it is a problem you will inherit, it is important to know, in advance, whether you can correct it, how to correct it, and how much it will cost.

From Entrepreneur online

Consider these six tips from small-business owners and experts before deciding on a website name.
By Jane Porter | March 31, 2011

Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you're not up to speed on how to get one. With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it's easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business. Consider these do's and don'ts from small-business owners and experts to help secure your company's domain name.

Do: Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can. If your business focuses on a geographic region, try to put the location into the name of your domain, says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I've Got a Domain Name--Now What??? When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J., in 2009, his son Yuriy, a Jersey City, N.J.-based search-optimization specialist, suggested he put "Hoboken" in the name. For $11, Krivenko bought hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include "Hoboken" and "painter."

Whether it's location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: "Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name."

 Do: Register yourself as the owner of the domain name. Some business owners make the mistake of not checking to ensure whoever registers their domain name does so under the business owner's name. It's very important to be sure you are the domain owner and administrative contact, says Bedord. "It's just like a piece of property. If you don't own the property, you can't sell an existing business," she says. It's an obvious, yet common, mistake made by business owners.

Three years after Graham Hunt, 44, started his real estate firm Valencia Property in Spain in 2000, the two-person web design team he hired to build his site split and he had to choose between them. Hunt soon discovered the partner he didn't choose had registered himself as the owner and administrative contact for the domain name, so Hunt didn't own his own website. It took three years and he ended up paying the disgruntled partner nearly $6,000 in sales commission fees to get back ownership of the domain, which originally cost just $15.

Do: Remember to renew your domain name registration. When Nick Hoffmann, 32, missed the renewal of his networking company's domain name inetguru.com in 2000, it was a crippling business blow. The name got bought by someone else and without email access through the site, Hoffmann lost contact with clients. Eventually, he folded the company. Now working as chief operating officer for an aftermarket marketplace for domains, Hoffmann suggests buying a registration for five or 10 years upfront, or setting up an annual auto-renew payment. Just make sure the credit card on file doesn't expire, another common mistake that might lead to losing a domain name. "The whole aftermarket industry is based on names that drop off," he says. "It happens every day."

Don't: Use dashes, abbreviations or numbers in your domain name. Instead, come up with a catchy name that's easy to remember and captures your business. Fan Bi, co-founder of Blank Label, a Boston-based online custom dress shirt company learned that lesson when settling on a domain in 2008. At the time, blanklabel.com was out of his price range at $15,000. Bi chose blank-label.com for a much cheaper $250. But as the business grew, he realized the hyphenated name was far from the best choice. "You get much more word-of-mouth if it's a name you can easily say without having to spell out," Bi says. Last year, after months of negotiation with the domain owner, he was able to purchase blanklabel.com for $6,000. Just three months after the change, website traffic shot up 25%. Don't: Waste money on extensions other than .com. When you register your domain name, you'll be bombarded with offers to purchase other versions like .net and .co. For most small businesses, that's not needed. Investing in other extensions becomes important when patenting something or protecting a trademark, says Bedord. If you think a competitor might want the .net version of your domain name, for example, consider taking it first. "The reality is you have to pay for every one of those," Bedord says. "The value is really in the .com."

Don't: Buy a domain without checking into its past. Even available domains can be exposed to legal trouble if the name is too similar to another company's trademark. Nearly a year after launching New York-based LEEDTeacher in 2009, Zachary Rose learned the domain LEEDTeacher.com infringed on the registered trademark of a massive nonprofit. Rose, now 29, received a cease-and-desist letter demanding he change the name of his green jobs training firm, and shut down the website. He ultimately paid $2,000 in lawyer fees, renamed the company Green Education Services and switched the domain to GreenEDU.com. * Related: Protecting Your Business with a Trademark Aside from consulting a lawyer, check www.whois.net, which lists registered domain names, for other possible legal landmines, suggests Rose. The site also includes expired domains up for grabs, and you can learn what problems a name comes with. For example, if a previous domain owner violated a Google term and was banned from Google searches, you'll want to know before investing in the name, Rose says.