Live & Flip

Phew what a ride

I gotta say its been a very crazy few months.  Between the little guy, rehabbing a new rental, and having 18 family members over for Christmas, its been a bit chaotic.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  So here is the long awaited (far to long) update to what is happening in this end of the real estate world. We got a rental property under contract just prior to my son's birth.  During the following weeks the selling agent was slow at getting us all the paperwork and did not even get the pro...

It’s a Boy

I'm proud to announce the birth of our son Tavin Richard Miller. He weighed 6lbs 13oz. 19 inches long. Jen labored for 8 hours and gave birth naturally at 10:22 am.    In extremely minor news in comparison, we got our 4th rental property under contract last week as well. The plan is to close by the 28th. I'll detail all that in another post.

Why I passed on two good properties

After a long dry spell, I had a couple wholesalers call me. Both properties would cash flow, both were near my target market, yet I passed on both. They would hurt me more than help me. Its tough to be floating on the ocean surrounded by water. Wait long enough and that salty water starts looking mighty tasty. Take a drink and your demise is only a short time away. Houses are everywhere, just gotta find the ones that help you, not hurt you. These houses simply did not fit into my over...

Good Friends

  The blogging world of real estate is sometimes very small. My wife and I had the pleasure of having dinner with Shae of www.goodfaithinvesting.com. She happened to be in town for a seminar given by Susan Lyons. Its amazing how many ideas can be shared and discussed in two hours. There is nothing more motivating then spending time with people that are making it happen. Shae and her husband certainly fit that category. Oh and by her account the seminar was great and I am kicking m...

Scary Close Call

  I got a scary phone call from one of my property managers yesterday.  A soon as I picked up, I knew this was going to be one of those calls.  I could tell from the tone of his voice. The water heater went out on one of my rentals.  Same water heater I repaired 2 years ago.  It didn't just go out, it sprung a nice big leak.  Total replacement.  Thankfully this tenant called right away to let us know of the issue.  No water drying service this time.  The water heater was not the s...

Direct Marketing Efforts

I'm hardly the first to do this, but I have been inspired by Danny Johnson at www.flippingjunkie.com.  Btw, if you haven't checked out his blog, I highly recommend you do so.  Danny and his wife are making things happen in his area.  Want to see how marketing works 9 different ways.  His blog is the place to go, plus several other useful posts.  He already got quite the following and has only been blogging for a bit over 2 months. My marketing efforts have been limited to the MLS and abse...

How’s that New Year’s resolution holding up?

How many folks out there are still working on their goals they set for the year? In our field I'd venture to say better than average, but still not 100%. With 1/3 of the year complete, its a good time to dust off those New Year's goals and see how far you strayed from the path you have set for yourself. My goal this year was to create positive habits. So far I have created 2 habits. Paying down debt like a hawk each paycheck and making my daily to do list. The debt part was easy, but...

Post Slacker

I have been concentrating and finding deals in the last 4 weeks and simply forgot to post on the blog. I was concentrating on the MLS. I have made 20+ bid/calls. I call them bid/calls because my Realtor will call all the prospective listing agents to see if its even worth a bid. For instance, last week I looked in a nice 3/2.5 in a decent owner occupied area. He made the call. 67 walkthrus and 28 bids in 2 days. No point even wasting my time with a property like that. I have noticed th...

Sec 8 rentals

I have had a rather frustrating experience with sec 8 so far. For the most part, the tenants have been good. The entire struggle has been with the Denver Sec 8 office. Rather than focus on that, I will be focusing my energy to avoid the need for sec 8 in the future. That means once again, my properties need to shine. Also, If I have to lower rent to attract non sec 8 renters. It will save me money. Sad, but true. It is a powerful lesson though. Never ever ever allow your business...

Regaining Momentum

Never ever lose momentum.  My wife and I worked day and night on our new home.  We worked till 3am on several occasions.  Getting up at 5am for work was not fun or smart.  But, it was a fantastic learning experience.  I am very glad we went through it.  The problem with doing work on our own house and working full time is time itself.  We used every waking hour.  I dropped everything else in real estate.  I lost all my momentum.  I have been fighting like hell to gain it back.  Never lose mo...