Investing in More Than Real Estate

I’ve been away for awhile. I currently work full time, have a wife and two small kids at home, and I have a fledgling marketing/design business that I work on in my “spare time”. I don’t have a lot of extra time to do what I want, like sit and watch TV, which I do sometimes even when I shouldn’t. I’ve come to realize that time management is an extremely important skill. icon smile Investing in More Than Real Estate

Due to all of these other activities I have going on, my real estate investing and education has been put on hold until things start to even out again. I haven’t been on BiggerPockets in several months, and it’s about the same for my local REIA meeting.

I have come to realize, however, that I am still investing while my real estate projects are on hold. By working on this new business, I am investing in my future and in the ability to rely on myself and be free from the fear of losing my job. Assuming this business does as well as it’s been doing thus far, it could become my only “job” and afford me the opportunity to focus more on real estate. Doing just about anything outside of the normal 9-5 job and working toward something for your future is a form of investing, and one that I firmly believe in.

About 10 years ago, my dad was laid off from a company he had worked for since before I was born. He was the manager for the western half of the country for the company, and had spent his last year or so there having to lay off the people under him, because the company said so. He was friends with a lot of them. More recently, my mom was laid off after working for a company for over 10 years. She started with the company when it will still a start up. Then, after the company was acquired two different times, the company “restructured” and that was that.

This is exactly the kind of thing I would like to avoid. So, I am working on a few different websites, logos, and social media design for a few different clients. Working toward something greater. Investing in my life and the lives of the ones I am working with. Investing for a specific purpose, Real Purpose Investing.

California Real Estate Investing - Tiring

Cash Flow, Here I Come

Hello, is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me… icon biggrin Cash Flow, Here I Come

Hey, everyone. It has been awhile since I’ve posted. There’s been a lot going on outside of my real estate adventures keeping me away from here for awhile. Other projects I’ve been working on are SEO and Social Media management, my normal 9-5 job and the new blog I just launched for them, and the wife and kids. Suffice it to say, I’ve been a little busy. icon smile Cash Flow, Here I Come But, that’s ok, because I’m going to be getting back out there soon.

Marketing Plans

I’ve got more signs to put up, in a few different areas, and I’m going to be trying a new marketing strategy starting soon- searching Craig’s List for For Rent properties and landlords, and calling them to talk about possibly getting out of their problem properties. I’ll, of course, let you know how that goes and what methods I use to talk to them.

For now, I hope everyone’s doing alright and we’ll talk soon.

cc Cash Flow, Here I Come photo credit: YTruly

chargerfeatured

Bandit Signs, Sign Stapler, Cops… Oh, My!

Alright now… wait- cops? What? Where? Ok, I am kidding about the cops. There were no cops involved. Sorry. icon biggrin Bandit Signs, Sign Stapler, Cops... Oh, My!

Ok, so I know it’s been about a month since my last post. Sorry about that, it’s been pretty busy. And everyone was sick, too. The good news is that I did get some things done and have a little bit to report back to you.

As I mentioned in my last post, How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps, I had ordered my bandit signs and was planning on going out and using the new stapler to put them up. I ordered the signs from Super Cheap Signs and got them just over a day sooner than the delivery date (sweet!).

The Signs

I did a decent amount of research as to what to order. What I ended up with was a 12″x18″ yellow, corrugated plastic sign with black lettering. The sign itself says, “WE BUY HOUSES FOR CA$H” and has my phone number below that. For the phone number, I used a Google Voice number; which, if you haven’t looked into it, you really should. It allows you to pick a number by defining the area code you want and, optionally, some word or phrase. In my case, I used the word “Buy”, so my phone number on sign looks like this (numbers excluded, of course): XXX-XXX-XBUY, with (289) underneath BUY just in case somebody isn’t sure where to find the letters. icon wink Bandit Signs, Sign Stapler, Cops... Oh, My!

The Marketing Process

To make sure I wasn’t running around aimlessly, I made sure I was logged into my Gmail account and went to Google Maps. From there, there is a link to My Maps, where you can create your own public or private map with markers and lines. Using this, I created a map of my target area with markers at the telephone poles I would like to use. I then sent that to my Android phone, which brought it up in the Maps app. This made my trip incredibly easy, as I was wasting no time.

Another thing that made my trip a little easier was that one of my friends, who might be doing this himself for me in the future, went out with me. He also invited another friend of ours, who graciously agreed to come hang out. With my first friend driving, our other friend, along with myself, put up the signs. I had originally planned for 19 and we ended up with 14. Two were worthless spots and three were too much of a pain to get to. But other than those five, everything went smoothly.

The Stapler

I do have to say that the stapler did AMAZINGLY! It was awesome. I didn’t expect it to be quite that good. It got jammed a couple of times, but nothing too bad. It made it so easy that hopping out of the car and putting it up was a snap. I can’t even imagine going out with a step ladder, hammer, nails, and the sign.

Results So Far

It has been a week now and so far, no calls. That’s ok, because it can take time. The next round of signs will be going up in an area that I know for sure has cash buyers buying. I will continue to keep updating you on how it goes.

What was your first step in advertising? How did it make you feel?

Final

How to Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

Ok, so as I promised you, here is my How To guide on building your own sign stapling device… in just five easy steps! For five easy payments of $19.95!! Ok, the last part isn’t true. I will actually give you a list of what I bought and a breakdown of the price.

The Backstory…

Before I get into that, I wanted to give you a brief back story on this. I promise not to monologue too much. icon biggrin How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps About a month ago, I decided that one of the ways I was going to market for motivated sellers was to use bandit signs. I also read about a sign stapling device, used primarily for easily putting up bandit signs. I thought it was a great idea, but then I saw the price. At over $100, I thought I could build one myself and apply the savings toward the actual signs. Of course, there were no walkthroughs on how to do this, hence this How To.

Without Further Ado…

Alright, here we go. Below is the list of items I bought, along with the individual prices and the tools needed to complete the job:

Supplies Needed

1.       1 1 ½” x 5’ ABS Pipe – $4.26

ABSPipeDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

2.       1 Arrow HT50P HammerTacker stapler – $29.97

HT50PDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

3.       1 1 ½” – 1 ¼” Rubber DRN Connector – $4.24

DRNConnectorDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

4.       1 Alum-Flat  ⅛” x 1 ¼” x 3’ – $8.56

Alum FlatDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

5.       2 #28 Clamps – $2.17

28ClampsDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

6.       1 box of Arrow #508 T50 ½” staples, 1250 count – $2.97

T50StaplesDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

Tools Needed

1.       Medium-Sized Flat Head Screwdriver

2.       That’s it… no, really. icon wink How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

The 5-step Process

1.       Set oven to 350˚… oops, no that’s dinner. The first step is to…. Load the staples in the stapler! Sounds simple, I know, but that’s a good way to start off. Plus, once you have the handle of the stapler in the pipe, it’s much harder to load the staples.

2.       Attach the 1 ½” side of the DRN connector to the top of the ABS pipe, verifying that the rubber stop inside in the middle is flush with end of the pipe; tighten the bottom of the DRN.

Steps1 2DONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

3.        Insert the HT50P stapler handle into the 1 ¼” end of the DRN, making yellow grip on the handle disappear into the pipe; tighten the top of DRN connector.

Step2CloseUpDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

4.       Put both #28 clamps over the outside of the pipe from the bottom and slide them toward the top.

Step5DONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

5.       Insert the Alum-Flat into the two #28 clamps, lined up with the face of the HT50P and about 1” under where the staples come out; tighten one clamp at the bottom and one about 8” down from the top of the aluminum piece.

Step5CloseUpDONE 150x150 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

And that’s it! You’re done. How easy was that? And all that for $52.17 plus tax. That’s about $75 that was saved that goes to pay for the actual signs. Not too bad a DIY project for somebody who isn’t really a DIY kind of person. If you have any questions about the process, leave them in the comments section.

Congratulations! Here’s the finished sign stapling device:

FinalDONE How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

And here’s a test “sign” put up…

EndResultDONE 300x168 How To Build a Sign Stapler in 5 Steps

P.S. I am getting my signs delivered soon and I will be sharing my marketing plans, as well as the first official use of the stapler and a video of this 5-step How To process.

Real Purpose Investing - A Real Estate Investing Journey

The New Real Estate Investor: Thoughts

As a new investor, I have seen a number of webinars, including one earlier this week. What never ceases to amaze me is how many of these people are just there to sell you something. The “content” is nothing but fluff and just gets you through about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the “awesome deal”. And, if they need to buy some extra time, they can talk about themselves and why their qualified to tell you what to do. That usually takes up about 20 minutes or so. icon smile The New Real Estate Investor: Thoughts

After about an hour and you’ve (maybe) gleaned a few new insights you hadn’t gotten yet from hours of research, it’s time for the sales pitch. And, boy, you have no idea how amazing and unique this system is. And it’ll put your whole business on autopilot- you don’t have to do anything… :-/ By the way (as something of a side note), have you noticed that the price is almost always $1,997? But it’s WORTH over $12,478.

I just got done watching one of these and was worthless (to me, anyway). Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure some of these systems work, I just don’t think it’s worth the money, especially if you have a low budget to start with. My opinion (so far, at least) is that the money is better spent on marketing, a website, and a local REIA.

It’s all about NETWORKING. Which I totally suck at, by the way. Definitely something I will have to get over.

Oh, and by the way, if you want great real estate investing content and the occasional webinar/live video that is actual CONTENT, head on over to the Diva Money Club. These ladies are living the lifestyle,following what they preach, if you will. And I love that they’re big proponents of multiple streams of income.

My next post will be about my next step: Marketing! Including the signs I will be using, the content for the signs, and a HOW TO on building your own sign stapler, since that is what I will be using. Stay tuned!

What things did you like or not like when you first started out in Real Estate?

Real Purpose Investing - A Real Estate Investing Journey

Marketing for Motivated Sellers: My First Step

Ok, so I’ve decided that my first step from where I am currently, with a cash buyers list already started, is to start marketing for motivated sellers.

There are a number of different ways to do this; but after doing a lot of research, I have decided to try out some bandit signs. Just about everyone says that this gets the best results, especially those with a limited marketing budget (me!! icon biggrin Marketing for Motivated Sellers: My First Step ).

So, I’m not sure where I’m going to get these signs yet, but as I continue to plan this out, I will let you all know.

Real Purpose Investing - A Real Estate Investing Journey

The Beginning of the Journey

Hey, everyone!

Welcome to my blog. My name is Derek. I am relatively new to real estate investing, though I certainly have done enough reading for a few people. I have finally decided to make the move into real estate investing and actually do something. icon smile The Beginning of the Journey

I’m starting out with wholesaling and I’ve already started building up my cash buyer’s list and I’ve been attending one of my local REIAs for the last few months.

This blog will chronicle my journey as I enter the world of real estate investing. There will be the good and the bad, the mistakes and the successes, and my occasional off-the-wall and random thoughts.

I am open to suggestions and thoughts about what you would like to see here.

See ya soon!

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Best CD Rates | Thanks to dcreators, Las Vegas Condo High Rises and FBF System