From the monthly archives:

November 2009

Why I Don’t Go to Closing and Neither Should You

by Alex on November 28, 2009

1) I really think I can find a better use of my time than driving to the closing

I  believe in the value of my time. That is one of the reasons I am so big on having a virtual assistant in my real estate investing business. I understand that doing mundane things that can be outsourced definitely should be so that I can focus on the money making activities. I would definitely classify going to closing as a mundane activity. Wholeheartedly I would say that getting in the car and driving to closing is definitely VERY mundane. I really hate driving because it is so counterproductive. I know now why Trump has a driver that takes him where he needs to go. You really can’t do much money making activity while behind the wheel. Maybe you can make a few phone calls but that is IT.

The only reason you might go is because you have never seen one before. Let me tell you, you really aint missin that much if you decide to skip out.  Closing is really just a bunch of people sitting around a table signing documents while overpaid attorneys are shoving papers in front of you while you stare at each other kinda funny because you don’t know what else to say.

2) I like the fact that I can make money at closing without ever owning the property

One of the awesome things about wholesaling real estate is that you can make money on properties without ever owning them. It is such a great system the way it is set up. You see what we ARE making our money on is the fact that we have a legal and binding interest in a real piece of property. The power and the money is in the contract.

I can illustrate to you the power of the contract by a bankruptcy deal that I did a while back. I put the property under contract subject to the approval of the bankruptcy trustee (whole other story). The trustee being the awesome guy that he was turned the deal down. However, it has been like a year later and I STILL get letters from the bankruptcy court regarding this property because of my contract which gives me a legal interest in the property. It is the the CONTRACT that we are selling and NOT the property.

Because I do not own the property there is nothing for me to sign. I get paid an assignment fee that is recorded on the HUD-1 because I am assigning my legal interest in the property to another party.

3) A deal can fall apart at the closing table from stupid questions

Remember I said that at closing you end up sitting around a table looking at each other kinda funny? Well, when you get in an uncomfortable situation you might end up saying something stupid. The seller might have a chance to really “examine” the HUD-1 and wonder what this little “fee” is for over here. If you are not trained in handling this type of things you can really blow the deal by stammering and stuttering and some well…I….uh….um….err…

In reality what you need to understand and YOUR attorney needs to understand that the only fees that the seller needs to worry about is the fees on the SELLER side of the HUD. To give you a quick primer there are two sides to a HUD. You have the sellers side and the buyers side. Your assignment fee goes on the buyer’s side since that is whom it is being charged to. I am going to be talking about this a lot more in detail when I release my “17 Sneaky Little Wholesale Tricks” I am working on it as we speak and it should be ready to go by the beginning of  the year.  That trick is what I call “Prepping the HUD” Keep your peepers out for that one

4) I like the fact of the money coming to me without me having to “chase” it

Should I really have to explain this one? The most awesome thing about being financially free or independent or whatever you want to call it is freedom. I would not have been able to spend the last  10 days in Florida if I had to worship a boss. Well I guess I may have been able to if I graveled enough than would have been made to work like 100X harder when I got back to show my gratitude. Eck! It makes me sick just to remember those days.

It gives a nice feeling to know that my money is coming to me on my terms without me having to go out there and chase it down. That is the position that you want to be in my friend. You want to get to the position to where you don’t have to worry about where that next mortgage or rent payment is coming from. You want to KNOW that the money is coming to you and you have nothing to worry about. In fact what would be really cool is if you had a Lamborghini payment coming up and all you had to worry about was which closing you where going to take it from :)  Alright, I am a little kidding about that one. If you know me at all you know I am NOT about living way over the edge but living  a little bit below your means. That may be contrary to what some of the other Guru’s portray but I like to live in a little place called reality.

Well I hope you picked up a nugget or two from this blog post and things are looking up for you. If you want to be on the look out for “17 Sneaky Little Wholesale Tricks” and be notified of when it will become available you can sign up to my email list below. Also as a side bonus if you decide to do that you will get:

-My Probate Negotiation Trick Video ( 1 of the Sneaky Wholesale Tricks)-I show you how to take a 18K discount and turn into a 3 discount to the seller and make them feel good about it. Real case study of a deal I am closing this month!

-2 Live Motivated Seller Calls- Two calls in which I negotiate over the phone with motivated sellers. One of the calls gets a little crazy and one of them is a deal.

-My Mini Wholesaling Audio Workshop- An interview call where I spill the beans on what I am currently doing in my business

chat atcha latah

Joungblood

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Wholesaling Houses and Keeping the Right Mindset

by Alex on November 2, 2009

Your positive attitude towards real estate investing and wholesaling houses will totally control how you do in life and in the wholesaling business

Wholesaling Houses Tip: The benefits of positive thinking

Is your glass half empty or half full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude towards yourself, and whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. Positive thinking plays a key part in effective stress management. Thinking optimistic thoughts doesn’t mean that you bury your head in the sand; it just means that you approach the unpleasant in a more positive and productive way.

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice, after all you’re creating a new habit. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive way:

Check yourself

From time to time during the day, stop and evaluate what you’re thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them. For example, you can be thinking to yourself ” All of these sellers just keep telling me ‘No!’  so this business doesn’t work! I am going to go back to my 9 to 5 forever and sit at my boss’s feet” Please don’t do that! Don’t sit at your boss’s feet. It is a very stinky position to be in. What you really need to be thinking is ” I am one more ‘no’ closer to a yes!” If I keep making offers than I will be closer to kissing my boss and his smelly feet good-bye!

Be open to humor

Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Find the humor in everyday situations. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed. Some people are so dry and really just need to lighten up. Seriously, I think some people are just looking to be offended by something so that they cross it off their list for the day. Don’t be like this…I can’t STAND people like this!

Follow a healthy lifestyle

Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect your mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body.
Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback.

Honestly, if you are going to do well in the wholesaling business it takes discipline. You have to have the motivation and initiative to put out your marketing to get people to call you so you can ACTUALLY make some offers! Working out and eating right takes a tremendous amount of discipline. Your body will thank you for it now and later on in your life you will be a lot better off for it to. But let me tell ya, it takes discipline to role out of bed and the crack of dawn and head down to the gym. Every morning you just want to stay in bed BUT you know you will be better off for it. Just like real estate…It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to do what you need to do to make the money in this business but you know you will be better off for it if you JUST DO IT!

Practice positive self-talk

Start by following one simple rule: Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else.
Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you’re able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking. Basically, if you feel like you have a major headache after you finish talking to somebody because the market sucks, the government is out to get us, and the world is coming to an end, you need to start hanging out with better people. If you want to start making more money you need to hanging out with people who make more money than you and think differently than you do. It is very true that the size of your net worth is the size and quality of your network!

“You become what you think about” — Earl Nightingale

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