Posted by Philip on February 28, 2004 at 09:40:36:
I can not understand why latinos with the old latino culuture do some of the things they do.
I do believe you hit part of it right and that is the “closeness to family” thing.
Someone else mentioned that they may not want to rent the dirt. I have found that the latino folks in my area find very creative and money saving ways to house themselves. They usually don’t want to deal with interest and payments…they want to pay cash…and then improve something they bought.
Many spanish speaking latinos in my area do not trust or use the banks or any finance very often. At least first generation Gutatemalan immigrants. The Mexican immigrants usually are a little more immersed in the north american way of things.
When they give you that inscrutable smile, and a non-commitall answer, they many times are politely saying “No thanks”…or maybe even “I don’t understand and don’t really want to right now”.
Many would walk up and start pulling cash out of their pockets and buy your home cash. They understand the cost of financing, and are willing to live within their cash means.
Many of their ancestors felt burned when the anglos showed up in their area and financed things and expected strict (to the latino) repayment terms. They still are leary of that until they understand where borrowing, within reason, can leverage a person’s own money and actually HELP them.
That is my experience in my area with recent immigrant latinos.
Yet, we also have bank officers, plant managers, etc…that came from somewhere else in the US and they have many of the habits of north americanos…but they still usually won’t borrow much.
Posted by John (in IA) on February 26, 2004 at 10:00:58:
Who wants to compete? We’re all from different areas, ages, background, financial situations, etc., but we all have the same goal: succeed in this business and reach our financial goals.
Let’s do it together. Let’s post our goals and hold ourselves accountable. Let’s motivate each other and pick each other up when we’re down. Let’s stop making excuses and start making deals! Let’s learn from each others mistakes.
Who’s gonna be the next Greg Meade? Who’s gonna be the next Doc? I say it’s me. The question is who’s gonna beat me there? HT? Howard? Bern? Gary? I’m sure there’s 20 more lurkers out there.
Here’s where I’m at. DOW came in the mail Saturday. We drove all the area parks on Sunday. Met with a PM yesterday
and I WILL CLOSE MY FIRST DEAL BY MARCH 10. I’m placing ads in the paper today to get a buyers list started.
Who wants to be a part of the newbie challenge? Post your goals here and hold yourself accountable. NO EXCUSES. JUST DO IT.
Short term: First deal by March 10
Year 2004: 10 deals
Long term: Financially secure, NO JOB, in 5 years.
Re: Challenging All Newbies - Posted by Aelis in PA
Posted by Aelis in PA on March 01, 2004 at 05:59:32:
I’ve been looking at REI since last fall. Joined REI club. Went to a “subject to” and bought the package. Have my LLC set up. Husband is leary of subject to. Found all the county RE record sites (had to pay $$ for my own county). Have gone to a few Sheriff’s sales. Generally spend time bemoaning lack of funds or some other excuse … research and more research. No quantifiable action. Found you folk … 2? 3 weeks ago? DOW came last week. Now husband is interested! Cash is there for this. Drove through one park on … gee … it was back on Thursday already. Couldn’t figure out which/where the office was. I am really good at making plans … it’s that follow through and accountability part that needs work.
Goals? 50 seems to be the magic number. 10-12 this year seems feasible but short term … ? ONE before the end of April. I’ll get a seperate cell this week (going to FL to visit family/vacation next week), get ads ready to post when I return (or post this week and let them all collect on the voicemail??), follow up on the tax sale properties I found listed and (ugh!) TALK TO THE PM at the park with all the tax sales.
Twist my arm. Scary that I need to be dragged in and have my butt kicked to become independent. Like I want to have a JOB forever??? I’m in!
Heres my story…
I Got DOW in November after hearing lonnie on local real estate talk radio. Spent December driving the bumps, talking to PM’s, and convincing myself that I could buy low and sell high. Got business cards, flyers, separate cell phone, etc.
I closed the first 2 deals I had been scouting on Jan 1. Next bought repo for $2200, put $1100 in repairs and lot rent, sold for $10,900 at 12% w/$1000 down, $301/month in 4 days (actually under contract the Sunday after I bought it for $9000, she backed out on monday, then re-sold for $10,900 on Wednesday!).
Am in very good with local PM (#1 advice - GET IN GOOD WITH THE PM). She set me up with my next 5 MH’s in about 2 weeks. 1 for free (actaully $1300 back taxes for 1987 which is under contract for $6000), one for $500, one for $1000, 1986 3Br/2ba from motivated seller for $1200, and peach 1968 2br for $1500 from motivated seller. Can’t say this enough - get in good with PM. For every deal she brings me, she get’s $100 (buyer or seller). It was tough handing her that bill the first time, but after I saw how many deals she could bring me, I don’t think twice about it. She is currently working on getting title to 3 more abandoned homes in the park for me - whoo hooo!
Summary - 8 MH’s bought since Jan 1. 3 sold, 1 under contract. $1000/month passive income now, hopefully up to $2k/month by end of March!!! Total investment to date = $12,000. By end of month with reasonable downpayments on the remaining 4, this will be down to $8000 (4 month after that all the money I make is at an infinite rate of return i.e no money invested)!
Year end goal is to have $10000/month passive income. I know it’s a stretch, but hopefully by end of summer will be in a position to do a few l/h deals to get bigger payments and cash up front.
Looking back, the 3 biggest things I’ve learned #1 - get in good with the PM (sound familiar?) #2 - Don’t pay more than $3000 for your first deal. Unless you’re in california or some other insane real estate market, the lonnie deals are there. You just have to look for them. The deal of a lifetime seems to come around about once a week here! #3 - ask for help. Everyone on this board will be more than happy to give you input. I know it’s helped me.
Thanks
Ron
Re: Challenging All Newbies - Posted by Gregory V.
Posted by Gregory V. on February 27, 2004 at 09:09:34:
I like your challenge, and I accept.
I bought DOW in July 2003. Read it and re-read it. I had zero dollars in the bank and was not to careful with my money (I have a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage, so as you can imagine a lot of bills). I tried to get a loan from my parents to start in this business but they decided they did not feel comfortable about me buying “used” mobile homes, so I realized I was on my own.
My goal last summer was to have $4k saved up by summer '04 to start my deals. I am well over three-quarters the way there.
I also made a contact last year with the manager of a large MH park in my area that had plenty of park owned homes that they took title to through court (back rent owed, etc).
Re: Challenging All Newbies - Posted by ScottM (NC)
Posted by ScottM (NC) on February 26, 2004 at 21:43:05:
I accept your challenge!!
I’m a long time lurker on CRE with a focus on SF rehab. I’ve just moved to NC from MA and run a handyman service here. I’ve always loved the idea of the MH business but not much of a market for it where I was.
On Jan 30th DOW arrived in my mailbox…
Since then I have read everything I could find on MH’s including most of the archives. I’ve been through at least 30 parks, looked at repos., talked with investors, researched all the DMV and state regulations, printed cards, researched pricing in my market, learned about a great need for land home rentals(sect 8), placed test ads, have my legal documents in hand I am so ready to go I can barely sit still !!
Not bad for 26 days into this business.
My goal is 20 deals before Christmas with 100% of the proceeds reinvested back into more deals.
My secondary goal depends on how quickly I can do the first 20 and thats a move into land/home rentals.
Thank you to everyone here to numerous to mention for all the time you spend answering questions and helping others. Without this generosity of time and knowledge none of us would be here. And above all thank you to Lonnie for showing the way!
Posted by Howard (NE) on February 26, 2004 at 13:08:36:
Hey John,
I guess there’s another Howard on this forum as well, so I’ll distinguish myself as Howard (Omaha, NE) or (NE). I’ll take you up on that challenge! I got the books a couple months ago and have read them both more than twice. I’m already talking to PM’s and have one that is working with me quite a bit. I may get one from her for free. I’ve already have business cards made, and I have some money put away for now. It’s not $3500 as Lonnie suggests to start out with, but it’s almost there. I’m working OT currently and on increasing my sales goals so I’ll have the money, that’s not going to be a problem. Mainly I’m out there looking for opportunities. I would also suggest that if you don’t have the money, don’t let that stop you. Yes, you will eventually need it but don’t let it stop you from getting out there and looking for the opportunities. Work OT or get a 2nd job, increase your sales at work, borrow the money from family, close friend, another investor, Church Pastor or congregation, credit card cash advances, TAX RETURNS, etc. the money is out there, don’t worry.
There are a few things I still need to do (like purchasing a financial calculator, and placing ads in the thrifty nickel) but I’ll get around to doing those things soon. My plan is to have my first deal complete by March 31. I plan to have 15 deals complete by the end of the year, averaging $200/month per deal, and averaging $1000 down payment money. I plan to retire from my job of 9 years by the end of 2005, and go back to school. I’m 26 years old, married and have twins. Providing for my family, paying off (bad)debt/having more assets, and being a faithful stewart to God are my motivations. By age 30, I want to be worth $100,000 (minimum) and I also want to start investing in self mini storages. So…not that I want to compete to try to be better than anyone, but to compete to keep motivated and to be a motivation. So newbies, let’s be like Nike…lets “JUST DO IT.”
Re: Challenging All Newbies - Posted by Shannon (CO)
Posted by Shannon (CO) on February 26, 2004 at 11:00:20:
John,
I’m a newbie starting out in Colorado, with high hopes. I got both of Lonnie’s books a few weeks ago, and have read through them a couple times each, and now I’m in the process of getting myself set up to deal, as far as setting up an LLC, tapping some equity in my home on a LOC, and getting all my paperwork reviewed.
I seriously doubt I’ll be able to do a deal before April, because of the time it takes to get the LLC paperwork pushed through the mill.
I’ve been out driving the parks, just looking, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from stopping at every ‘For Sale’ sign and chatting up the owner, or barging into every PM’s office to talk, but I want to have all my financing and legal ducks in a row before I pull the trigger on the first deal, and I will not put my family’s financial future in jeopardy by making mistakes of eagerness that result in me being sued for everything I own; I’d rather make the mistake of being overprepared.
As for goals, I don’t have any concrete quotas or money goals; my ‘goal’ is to simply find the next motivated seller, as quickly as possible. That might end up being one deal a quarter, one deal a month, one deal a week, or whatever. I see a lot of ads in the paper around here that indicate to me I’ve probably got a handful of competitors, but there’s an awful lot of parks around, so I’m fairly confident I’ll find enough deals to keep me busy.
Good luck to you, and once I’m rolling, I’ll keep you and the rest of the board posted with my (mis)adventures!
Re: Challenging All Newbies - Posted by John (in IA)
Posted by John (in IA) on March 01, 2004 at 15:30:09:
Hello Aelis,
Hopefully we can all help each other and reach our goals together. Sounds like you’re ready to get started. If it helps I posted below what worked for me in my first PM meeting (Shannon’s response). Now JUST DO IT!!
Thanks for the inspiration - Posted by ScottM (NC)
Posted by ScottM (NC) on February 28, 2004 at 08:23:29:
and all the good advice. Now this is what I call moving along quickly. How big is the park you are working? and what part of the country are you in?
Is the PM giving you free lot rent on the MH’s your’re holding?
Thanks again for the inspiration.
Posted by John (in IA) on February 27, 2004 at 10:03:15:
Howdy Gregory,
That’s an awesome set of goals! Promise me you’ll put a poker room in your casino when you buy it! May sound crazy, but alot of my capital for this venture is and will come from poker winnings.
How 'bout some really short-term goals to keep u busy 'till July 1st?
Posted by John (in IA) on February 27, 2004 at 08:22:31:
Hey Scott,
Looks like you’re way ahead of me! All you got left is to jump in and make a deal!
20 is an excellent goal, and double what I posted. How about a shorter term goal to help you get there?
I posted my goal of ten for the year because I thought that I could beg or borrow enough $$ for that many when I ran out. You mentioned talking to investors and I was wondering if you could elaborate on your approach?
Originally my wife and I planned to do 2 deals with our own $$, to show investors how it works, that we’ve done it already, and put OUR money where our mouth is. We’ve compiled a list of 50 people we could present this to.
However, the more I think about it the more I’d like to do it without investors. I listened to the radio interview w/ Ken Semler in West Virginia yesterday and he started up with $40000 in credit cards and got the rest financed by banks. He only carries the notes on 30% of his deals and gets all cash on the rest. Ken was also a banker w/ a 6 figure income.
Howard’s in, who’s next?? - Posted by John (in IA)
Posted by John (in IA) on February 26, 2004 at 16:05:31:
Sounds like you got a head start on me, but I’ll catch up! I was going to wait to see how much I owed in taxes, before making a move. My tax appt. is a month away and theres no way I’m waiting that long. I’m jumping in face first and let the chips fall where they may!! Hopefully I’ll get some help from the board along the way so I don’t mess up too bad.
As far a competing, I figure if someone started at the same time, and is doing better than me, they’re either working harder or working smarter. That motivates ME to work harder and smarter. I’ve always run harder when there was someone right in front of me to catch!
Posted by Steve-WA on February 26, 2004 at 11:35:02:
Shannon, what if you get all licensed up, lawyer-reviewed, corporatized, folded, spindled, and mutilated, and then after you’re hundreds of dollars into “getting myself set up to deal”, you find that this isn’t for you?
Dude, do a deal or two first. All that can come later, when you have some battle scars.
Posted by John (in IA) on February 26, 2004 at 11:25:49:
Sounds like you’ve got a good plan of attack. How about posting some goals to keep you busy while you’re waiting for the paperwork, etc. Maybe how many PM’s you’ll visit, visiting with sellers to get a good feel for the market, place an ad to test the buyers market, etc.
Let’s get a game plan, post some goals, and hold ourselves accountable.
P.S. I had a great conversation with my first PM yesterday. It was so easy. I just said I’m thinking of buying an old mobile, fixing it up, and selling it. Is that a good idea? She said “Ya, we got a couple you could probably get real cheap.” She was sitting in the offince by herself reading a book, and was more than anxious to talk. I picked her brain for at least an hour. By the end of the conversation she was advising me how I could actually write a loan for the buyer and make some money in interest. Really? No kidding? Thats a good idea!
Scott,
I’m in the cincinnati, OH area. Park I’m working with is about 300 lots, with about 30% vacant so the owner is anxious to start getting rent on those again. Depending on the deal and situation, sometimes I get free lot rent for a month, other times I pay right away. As lonnie says, buy right and you don’t have to worry about it.
Thanks
Ron
Here’s a suggestion . . . - Posted by Michael (KCMO)
Posted by Michael (KCMO) on February 27, 2004 at 22:02:07:
. . . for your “really short-term” goal, as John (in IA) put it. Get familiar w/ the market. Get out there and look at homes. Run some test ads and find out what people are looking for (bed/bath, size, etc). Find out what part of town people are most interested in buying in. Build up a list of potential buyers. Take notes not only on what their looking for, but how much they say they can pay each month, how much they have to put down and what part of town they want to live in. Go look at homes for sale and keep notes on what they look like, condition, bed/bath, etc, etc… Practice negotiating. Call them back 2 months later and find out if they’ve sold it yet. If so, how much did they get for it and what were the terms of the sale? If not, what would they take for it now? Talk to park managers. And on and on and on. . . .
These are just a few of my thoughts. Can’t say I’ve done it all exactly like that, but I can say I wish I would’ve. Not knowing my market as intimately as I’d like hasn’t killed me, but neither has not knowing led to complete confidence in my numbers when I’m analyzing a deal, either.
Re: Scott’s in! Who else?? - Posted by ScottM (NC)
Posted by ScottM (NC) on February 27, 2004 at 09:20:07:
John,
Yeah that important first step of taking action. I’ll let that be my short term goal and than I’ll just keep on adding to it until I get to 20.
The investors I mention are others in my area in the MH business. I am fortunate enough to be well capitalized so I am not looking for any money from investors.
Actually one investor offered me my first deal already. The part the of park the home was in was bad, the home needed work. In the end I would have been into a 91 14x70 for 5k. Had a buyer lined up but she could only do $500 down a month AFTER she moved in. I felt like to much of a motivated buyer so I passed on this one. Others will come my way very soon.
One thing I have learned from reading the other posts is that people seem to run out of money just as they get going. Its my belief that is very important to reinvest all profits back into your business to allow it to grow. The reason 20 is my goal is because I forecasted out using the same hypothetical deal for all 20. This is how it went…
With 5k invested in each deal and a payment of $265 a month and all monthly payments reinvested into buying the next 5k deal… At deal 19 the monthly income is $5035 enough to fund the next deal in its entirety. The business begins to feed itself and I will get all my money back out very quickly. Its at this point I plan to move into land/home deals for rental or owner (me)finance.
My goals have always been lofty and I’ve met them all so far. Its always been important to me to set goals and work towards them so thats what I will continue to do. The MH busisness appears to be unparalled in how quickly financial independence can be achieved.
Good luck to all!
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Scott
