With this move, we will kick off our new beginning investing mentoring program before the meetings.  This 11 month workshop is free to all members and $149.00 for non-members.  The mentoring program starts at 5:45PM.

A Quiet Place

When is the last time that you took an hour off from the world? 

No cell phone, no book to read, no person to talk to. 

Just you by yourself!

I challenge you to stop the holiday rush for a moment, grab a cup of tea or your favorite drink, and find a quiet spot.

Sit and reflect on 2009 and past years -

what are you thankful for?

What things would you do different and why?

What regrets do you have?

What has held you back from reaching your goals and dreams (ouch-this might hurt!)

Now move to 2010…

What are your dreams for this year – DREAM BIG!

What are your goals for the future?

Who would you like to spend more time with?  Why?

What are you going to do to overcome your obstacles?

Who do you need to eliminate from your life?

Who do you need to add into your life?

What new habits do you need to add into your life?

Make a plan to have regular dates with yourself in 2010 - ALONE with yourself!

You might be amazed at what you learn…..

Happy holiday season – enjoy the time with family and friends!

When a client enters a home for the first time, that hand on the door handle is a handshake – it conveys a lot about the house. Does the door feel solid and secure or cheap and flimsy or hard to impossible to open? Does it swing open quietly or squeak and moan loudly as it is pushed open? Is the surface clean and pleasing to touch or covered in spider webs and dust? Is the handle solid or about to fall off? Remember this is your client’s first impression – their first handshake.

I have been on the hunt for a door for my rehab that says welcome to a peaceful haven. My door had to be solid wood – heavy enough to say safety and beautiful to enhance the home. I finally decided on a magnificent craftsman style door with windows at the top. I priced the door at a number of places and had prices of $3200 to over $4000 PLUS I would have to wait 21 days or more for it to come in. Patience is not one of my virtues.

THEN I went over to see Mike at Surplus Warehouse. I walked in the front door and THERE WAS MY DOOR!! The exact door I had been pricing – a beautiful solid mahogany door! I was shocked when I looked at the price – just under $1000! Incredible! Needless to say, that door is in my possession!

Be smart – pull permits – whether it is you or your contractor – pull the permits. If you get caught doing work without permits, they WILL shut your job down and fine you. Be extremely wary of contractors who want you to pull your own permits! I am pulling my own BECAUSE I am acting as my own contractor.

Here are the things you will need to pull your own permit:
1. Itemized list of repairs to be done along with the cost.
2. Letter from insurance company – since it was a fire damaged house.
3. Proof of ownership – he asked for it and I said you can get it online and that seemed to satisfy him.
4. A Check – they do not accept cash.
5. Floor plan/blueprints – if you are building new or doing major renovation

Your permit is null and void if work or construction authorized is not commenced within 6 months or if construction or work is suspended or abandoned for a period of 6 months at any time after the work is started.

On my list of repairs, I had to include everything – paint, flooring, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, lighting, kitchen cabinets, appliances, etc. Even the 3 things I was not pulling permits for – HVAC, electrical, and plumbing- were added into the cost. The total cost of my permit was 1% of the valuation of repairs – OUCH!

On my particular project, I have 3 required inspections:
First rough-in inspection – conducted once rough framing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and gas are complete prior to any insulation or drywall.
Second rough-in inspection – conducted after corrections have been made from previous inspections and prior to installation of drywall (after my insulation is installed).
Final Inspection – structure and landscaping completed. This gives me my coveted CO (certificate of occupancy) which allows full power to be turned on!

Pulling permits is an extremely important item. You do not want to be on the bad side of the inspection department.

1. Treat them like a person. Remember their names and ask them about themselves. Once when I was young, I moved to a new town and was unemployed. I enrolled with temporary agency until I could find a full time job. The experience was horrible at most jobs – I was an invisible nobody! Nobody bothered talking to me – I was given a job to do and ignored. I had some excellent skills and was eventually hired by one of the companies BUT the other companies never bothered to find out anything about me therefore they never capitalized on my skills. I constantly find workers who can do a multitude of skilled labor at an unskilled laborer price – sheetrocking, painting, brick work, carpentry – all because I asked.

2. Buy them lunch and snacks. You would be surprised how much goodwill snacks and a lunch will get you. A lot of these guys are trying to get back on their feet and not having to spend an hour’s pay on lunch is really appreciated.

3. Role Model. I actually will work side by side with my laborers. Yes, I know you should delegate but I can get so much more work from them when they see how hard I am willing to work AND that I am not too good to work along side of them. Even if you don’t have the time to work constantly with them – make an effort to carry out something to the dumpster or some other task.

4. Outline what you expect to accomplish that day. First thing in the morning, I go over what I want to happen then I give them choices about which job they would like to perform first. I ask them how long they think it will take them to do the job then I ask them if they think we could do it in a shorter amount of time.

5. Bonuses. If I really have a job that I want to accomplish that day – I am not above offering them an extra $25 or so if we
complete the job that day. $25.00 can be a lot of extra money when you only make $7.00 or $8.00 an hour.

6. Have all the need tools and supplies. There is nothing more frustrating that not having the needed tools. I mark my tools and do a tool count at the end of the day. But you are wasting your time if you have to go get tools or supplies or a dumpster and they are just standing around with nothing to do.

In summary, I accomplish a lot in my rehab jobs by hiring temporary laborers. By utilizing the temporary services, I do not have to worry about workman’s comp or payroll taxes – a big headache. Nor do I have to constantly scout for workers, if they do not work out, I don’t have to use them.

It is not often that someone of Robyn Thompson’s caliber comes to Huntsville to talk to local real estate investors.  Robyn has a number of students in the Huntsville area and is very familiar with our local market.   Over the past 11 years Robyn has bought, fixed and sold 260 homes with price ranges as low as $8,000 to as high as $4,000,000.  She has spent as much as $2,100,000 in labor and materials in one year to renovate properties with more than 22 contractors working full time to take the ugly homes she bought and turn them into little castles at lightening speed.

If you have ever daydreamed about rehabbing real estate, you must attend this event!  Learn how to buy the correct house, determine the amount of your rehabbing project, control your contractors and your money, and sell it for a nice profit.

Robyn Thompson will be our guest speaker at the regular November Madison County Real Estate Investors Association meeting on November 12th.  The meeting starts at 6pm.  Stan McDonald of McDonald and Associates, PC (88-Close) will provide food for the meeting so no need to rush to get dinner before attending the meeting.  The meeting is held at the Huntsville Board of Realtors at 535 Monroe Street, Huntsville, AL 35801.  Be sure to come to the doors on the side. 

On November 14th, Robyn Thompson will present an all day workshop.  At this workshop, Robyn will be sharing her strategies on: 1) How to find the profitable homes that need renovated, 2) How to find and control the contractors to get the job done and 3) Selling houses quickly for huge chunks of cash.

So rush to sign up now !