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Dear Family and Friends, (by Kevin)
This month started off with a bang. We had the best 4th of July I can remember having here. The weather was absolutely wonderful, a cooling breeze and not too hot at all. I even had to grab a blanket to put around my shoulders to enjoy the fireworks because I was too macho to bring a jacket or sweater. Fortunately, Mary Jane, rarely says "I told you so", she had her sweater. I think I even teased her about bringing it, after all its summer in Virginia.
Don, Jen and their three children, Kevin, Claudia, and their 4 children, Justina and Mike, and Mary Jane, myself, Kristina, David and Amy all had a wonderful night of it. We go to a place called Great Meadows which is a large open field where they hold polo matches. It opens at 4 and there is a petting zoo, climbing wall, and all kinds of activities and vendors for the family to enjoy. We rent a place along the fence, make grinders, (a special kind of sandwich that I grew up with in New England) and have a front row seat for the fireworks. It has become a real family tradition.
Mary Jane and I are house sitting for a friend who has the perfect house on one of the local lakes with a wonderful pool in the back-yard. Guess what we get to do every day?
Kristina has herself a job helping with one of the severely physically handicapped boys in our Church. He has such a great sprit about him, his mind is strong and he just makes people happy when they are around him. David is still working as an electrician's helper and he is also helping with Cub Scouts. Amy has now had several interviews and is hoping she will get her big break soon.
We are getting pretty excited about our upcoming vacation to Maine. Life on the pond for two weeks will be wonderful!
Quote of the Month: I've been reading a book called "Deals On Wheels" by Lonnie Scruggs. Lonnie is from Virginia and is a very accomplished investor who made a lot of money creating notes by buying and selling used mobile homes.
Lonnie points out that, "There's always plenty of free advice, but most of it comes from the very people that are the least qualified to give advice." Isn't that the truth?
Enjoy Your Journey,
Kevin and Mary Jane
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(By Kevin)
Must Have Residential Real Estate Investing Skills
I'm doing something a little different this month because I am going to ask you to go to my blog to read several short articles. I send links to these posts to my marketing list but not to my newsletter list and since the blogs are really meant to be a series and the newsletter only comes out once a month I thought it best to reference them all here. I hope you enjoy the posts.
All residential real estate investors need to develop the following skills:
What is the Real Spread?
On the surface you may think you have a great deal but you need to understand all the costs associated with deal to really determine if it is truly worth pursuing. Go here to read more http://reinvestingassociation.com/real-estate-investing-101-spread
Determining the After Repair Value:
We've written about determining the real spread on a residential property. One of the key components to do this is determining the After Repair Value (ARV). This is what the property should sell for after it is all fixed up. Determining the correct ARV is one of the most important skills to understand [...] Read more here http://reinvestingassociation.com/determining-repair-value
Estimating Rehab Costs:
Estimating rehab costs is an important skill for any wholesaler and rehabber (flipper) to have. Remember the offer price is the After Repair Value (ARV) minus repairs and other holding costs minus your desired profit.
Most experienced investors can do this as they walk through a house, this speeds up their ability to arrive at an offer price and secure the contract. The experienced investor has done it often enough to know what a new kitchen, painting, carpeting, widows, new bathrooms, etc. will cost.
A lot of new investors are really confused about how to estimate repairs and rightfully so. It can be intimidating but you need to be able to do it with some degree of accuracy unless you are buying the house so cheap it doesn't matter. Read more here http://reinvestingassociation.com/estimating-rehab-costs
What is Your Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO)?
I often get asked from my coaching students what they should offer for a property. The answer is, "it depends": sounds like an attorney doesn't it?
Well the truth is, what you offer for a property can vary depending on your exit strategy. Exit strategy is what you plan to do with the property. For example, suppose a property has an After Repair Value (ARV) of $100,000 and needs $15,000 in repairs. What is the Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO) for the following exit strategies: Wholesaling, Rehab and Flip, Buy and Hold. Read more here http://reinvestingassociation.com/maximum-allowable-offer-mao
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Industry News
(by Kevin)
Another Housing Bubble? (Trulia)
Trulia's Bubble Watch reveals whether home prices are overvalued or undervalued relative to their fundamental value by comparing prices today with historical prices, incomes, and rents. Trulia looks at the price-to-income ratio, the price-to-rent ratio, and prices relative to their long-term trends using multiple data sources, including the Trulia Price Monitor as a leading indicator of where home prices are heading.
This report reveals that home prices nationally are 3% undervalued however there are some overvalued housing markets. Read more here......
Institutional Investors Become Landlords? (NREI Newsline)
Until recently the home rental business was largely a mom and pop type business. The housing bubble was the perfect storm to bring institutional investors with deep pockets into the market. Read the rest of the article here...
Is Your Environment Holding you Back? (John C. Maxwell)
When I was much younger, I found myself in a job situation where the environment wasn't conducive to growth. This frustrated and discouraged me. I found myself in a place where growth was not just ignored; the environment discouraged it.
Maybe you've found yourself in a similar situation. Back then, I could see clearly all around me what a growth environment didn't look like. But one day, I realized that I had never really thought about what a growth environment did look like. What were the characteristics of that environment? I was eager to figure it out, so I could search for one. So I created a list of characteristics to look for in any environment, so that I could be sure it was a place where I could grow. This is what I wrote: .... CLICK HERE to read more!
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Projects and Opportunities
- 8% - 20%+ ROI: We are continuing to locate used mobile homes, set them up in one of our Manufacture Housing Communities, and sell/rent them. If you have between $15,000 and $20,000 you want working harder for you then this could be the right opportunity for you.
We will do all the work and can manage the home for you totally turn key or you can place one of your homes in our community and manage it yourself. We are very flexible with these opportunities.
We only do 3 of these per month so let us know your interest as soon as possible so we can more fully explain the process and get your name on the list.
Did you know that you can invest in real estate from your IRA or other retirement account? You can also use your stock portfolio to invest without ever selling your stock? (Think leverage, leverage, leverage!). These investment secrets aren't well known but they are perfectly legal. Contact us and/or click on this Investment Secret link to learn more.
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Laughs and Interesting Stuff
(Kevin and Mary Jane)
A good friend of the family sent us this one.
The Nagging Wife
An old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully. From morning 'til night she was always complaining about something. The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He plowed a lot.
One day, when he was out plowing, his wife brought him lunch in the field.
He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch.
Immediately, his wife began nagging him again. Complain, nag, complain, nag - it just went on and on.
All of a sudden, the old mule lashed out with both hind feet, caught her smack in the back of the head. Killed her graveyard dead on the spot.
At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd.
When a woman mourner would approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement.
This was so consistent, the minister decided to ask the old farmer about it.
So after the funeral, the minister spoke to the old farmer, and asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.
The old farmer said, "Well, the women would come up and say something about how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I'd nod my head in agreement."
"And what about the men?" the minister asked.
"They wanted to know if the mule was for sale."
Laugh Out LOUD!
I am not often a laugh out loud person but this just cracked me up. Don't worry it is appropriate for all age groups. Make sure your speakers are on. click here and watch this, or copy and paste this URL into your browser http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/dog-chat/#GwgOHTl3MvY5JyR3.01
Tips for Handling Telemarketers
Three Little Words That Work!!
(1)The three little words are: 'Hold On, Please...'
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
Then when you eventually hear the phone company's 'beep-beep-beep' tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting..
(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a 'real' sales person to call back and get someone at home.
What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times as quickly as possible. I hear this confuses the machine that dialed the call, and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer!
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Keep On Smiling!
(so people will wonder what your up to AND its contagious)
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We are always willing to share information with you so please feel free to contact us
Driscoll Enterprises Inc. 332 West Lee Hwy., Suite 200, Warrenton, VA 20186
703-398-1188 or 800-887-0001 info@DriscollEnterprisesInc.com |
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