The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Rock Bottom. My Life Story + How To Make Your First Real Estate Ice Cream! $$$

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Hey everyone. I always love the progress threads on here and thought I could provide some value by creating my own.

If you want to read my life story continue reading post #1. If you just want the real estate stuff/progress, scroll down to post #2.

Feel free to share life experience, advice, wisdom, questions, or comments. I'll check this thread often.

Intro/early childhood/teen years:
My name is Jack. I'm 26 years old. Spent most of my life in a small town in the armpit of Oklahoma. Population around 20,000. Parents divorced when I was like 11, Dad left. Mom was always at work. I spent most of my waking hours playing Diablo II for a good 7-8 years, and World of Warcraft for another 3 years. Distracted me from reality. My mom made about $7-$8 per hour through her various jobs. We were very poor all through my teen years. Like.. count pennies poor. I had been to restaurants less than 20 times through my childhood because they were too expensive. We ate mostly ramen noodles, eggs with rice, hot dogs with rice, and spaghetti with the $1 rolls of mechanically separated turkey. One time.. I remember pushing pennies together to get me and my Mom an ice cream cone.. it was like HEAVEN.. this was more than 10 years ago.. and I still remember how happy I was to get that ice cream cone that was such a rare occurrence..

The point of the above story.. was to explain why I have such a SCARCITY mindset ingrained in me.

Late Highschool/Early 20's/Girlfriend:
My Mom joined the Army and in 2008 was sent to Iraq for 7-8 months. I needed a parent or guardian to finish high school, so I was sent to Alaska to live with my Grandparents and graduate high school.

I met a beautiful girl who was crazy about me.. which I wasn't used to.. she was second girl I ever even kissed and I was 18! Fell in love.. wanted to marry her.. we gave our virginity to each other because we were sure we'd get married. Her mom didn't approve and never let us see each other. She rebelled. A year later I was working at Mcdonalds. Her mom called me while I was at work told me that my girlfriend had went out with a guy the night before and still hasn't come home.. all night.. and morning. Can only assume what they did all night.. I was so hurt.. that I LEFT Alaska.. and moved back to my home town to live with my Mom when she got back from Iraq.. I worked at Walmart, hated my life.. was so broken from losing the girl I thought I'd marry.. I went back to World of Warcraft and.. every weekend I would get with all my high school buddies and get wasted.. every Friday night and Saturday night I would be drunk.. for the next year.. I remember being at a party on my 21st birthday.. so freaking mad at my ex-girlfriend for cheating on me.. I brought a girl home too drunk to remember her hair color or name.. that was second girl I ever slept with.. Third went the same way..

One day I was complaining about my $8 per hour Walmart Truck Unloader job and a high school buddy told me I should come work with him. Said I'd have benefits and insurance and make good money. So I applied.. and became the youngest Correctional Officer at the local minimum security state prison. Making a whopping $13+ per hour.. and getting paid once per month, still living with my Mom I thought I was on top of the world and I had made it!! Wowww, so much money!! I went from Great Value bread & Diet Dr Thunder to having THOUSANDS of dollars in my bank account. For the first time.. I had savings! And I could buy name brand stuff! I even paid cash for a car! $1300 cash! It crapped out, and I got a car loan for $5500!
Man.. I had made it.. my Lieutenant told me I'd made it too. That I could retire at age 42 and get a monthly retirement check for the rest of my life! And this scared the crap out of me.. I haven't even lived yet!!!

Leaving my state job/discovering real estate:
My ex-girlfriends Mom passed away.. and she became broken.. and at this point I was becoming confident, I had money saved, I was starting to work out.. I was still mad at her.. but I felt so bad for her.. we started talking more and more daily.. she told me how much her life sucks without me and that she wanted a life with me.. she sold EVERYTHING.. I was still mad at her.. she bought her own plane ticket to come from Alaska to live in a small town in Oklahoma with me and start over. Yay, got my high school sweetheart back.

One day at work I met an inmate who was reading a book about selling on eBay, which interested me because I had started selling on eBay. I had sold Pokemon cards, silver dollars, and even bought android tablets from China and resold them on eBay back when the first iPad came out. Was buying like 5 at a time, making $30-40 profit each. Not bad!
This inmate told me that I HAD to read this book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad.. I told him I hadn't read a book in at least a few years since high school. And he kept insisting and even made me borrow his copy. So I read it.. and learned about Real Estate, and omg I hadn't been that excited about anything in my life. I didn't go to college, so I was always looking for that "how to get rich" and this was the answer! Next I read Armondo Montelongo's book.. "Flip & Grow Rich." This guy was making $20k-$30k on one house flip!! that was like my yearly salary at the prison!! I had to do this!!

Chasing dreams/adulting:
So a couple months after I had devoured Rich Dad and a few other real estate books, I made a plan to move to "The city" to go to college for real estate. Cuz college is how you learn things, right? That's what I thought. But me and my girlfriend got our first apartment away from parents.. found out that deposits suck and life is more expensive than it looks! lol we both got whatever jobs we could.. I was a car salesman, jimmy johns driver, wire delivery guy for Locke, 7-eleven clerk.. for the next 8-9 months shuffling between jobs. Then I got fired from 7-eleven for not ID-ing someone for a cigar..
And instead of looking for another job, I stopped and thought to myself.. I came here to do real estate, and I'm not doing it.. What the heck!

Next.. I messaged every single "We Buy Houses" ad I could find on Craigslist and nobody wanted to teach me or train me.. they said they either didn't need help, or they didn't want to train their competition.. then finally one asked me to come in and interview..
He realized how "green" I was.. and told me before he hired me, I would have to read 2 books on negotiation and go to real estate school to become a Realtor. I didn't have to get my license, but he just wanted me to learn the terms and basics of legal descriptions and how contracts work and all that good stuff. He paid for it. Then put me on a 90 day training program that paid me $1600 per month. I shadowed his acquisition manager for the first 30 days. Going on appointments, learning the different parts of the city, where the nicer homes were, where different demographics lived, etc.. I did random office work for them and sold stuff on ebay for them, then started to list properties for them on VFlyer and Craigslist every day. And after my 3 months was up, I became a full time commission only "Selling Solutions Specialist" and sold their properties. For every sale I made, I was given $1000. Usually 2-3 per month. Not that great.

Me and my girlfriend hated our apartment.. it was $419 per month and super ghetto.. we had a meth head downstairs who liked to blare his stereo to show his friends how loud it would go and not "blow out"
we called the cops on him, then he became even more of an a**hole.. and would call the cops on us for making the floor squeak. One day we found a new looking Klick-Klack couch and brought it in the apartment.. we enjoyed it for one night, then woke up itchy, scratchy, bumpy... OH GREAT BED BUGS!! Added to our hatred of apartments..

My first flip:
I started looking for a house for us to live in.. found a trailer house.. spent all my savings on it.. paid $3200 for this 2 bedroom trailer.. but it needed windows replaced and needed a 220 put in for the stove, and some flooring replaced.. I didn't know how to do any of that and I was out of money!! so I quickly resold the trailer for $4200, and after taxes I made $940 or so!! my first "flip!" it felt sooooo good!!

A couple months later.. I was feeling unfulfilled with my "job" in real estate making about $2k per month..
So I continued my reading about real estate and discovered "wholesaling".. and I bought my first batch of bandit signs.. 100 signs cost me about $255? me and my girlfriend put them out one night.. and got like 8 calls! What a great response! and one of the calls was a Realtor who told me one of her clients was a kid who had just lost his mother in October, and the house had caught fire in November. He needed $20,000.
I tried to negotiate and she said nope. Take it or leave it. I went to the local real estate investor association and asked around to find someone who could handle a fix and flip property that had a fire.. found the guy and he asked me how much I wanted for it. I told him I could make $1000 by bringing it to my job, but hopefully he's more generous. I crossed my fingers and asked for $2000. And he said, I can do that!
Woohoo!!!! most money I've ever made in my LIFE!!! I stared at that check sooooo long!!
At this time me and my girlfriend were closing on a HUD home for us to live in personally. Woohoo, got out of that crappy apartment! Got ourselves a nice 1560 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage brick house for $50k! Worth about $95k. Great deal! Took 4 months of looking. Needed paint/carpet/cosmetics.

I started looking into other types of marketing, and of course I bought more bandit signs. And then me and a roommate sent 660 hand written yellow letters, made another $1800 each, then I found another fire damaged property.. listed on Craigslist for $27,000. I called the guy and told him nobody in their right mind is gonna pay that much for a house that has 3 standing walls. How much do you really need? He told me $5k to move and start his life over. So I gave him the $5k, plus paid his $3800 in back taxes.. I sold that house to the same guy that bought my last burnout property.. and I "double closed" it and made $6,800!!!!! OMG!!
I quit my job and the rest is history.. lol

Went stupid, got in debt:
I went kind of crazy and stupid.. spent 2 weeks vacationing lavishly with beach side hotels in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, and paid for me and my girlfriend to go on a week long cruise.. three times.. and a few weeks in Alaska, went on a halibut charter for like $500, went on several other mini vacations, just enjoying life and money. Never had it before! Well.. instead of sticking to wholesaling, I tried to flip a house.. with a partner.. ended up losing $14,000 on credit cards the deal was.. partner pays labor, i buy materials on my credit cards.... dropped my credit score 140 points.. and I went into kind of a depression like a loser.. quit working.. put everything on credit cards.. racked up $20k in credit card debt through all this.

October 2016, Girlfriend left me:
Went to a party.. got super drunk.. ended up in bed with my girlfriend and another one of our girl friends.. tiny little twin bed.. I ended up cuddling with that girl and touched her butt and tits.. felt TERRIBLE the next day... to be transparent, i told my girlfriend.. there were no feelings behind it.. but it still messed her up.. she played it off like it didn't bother her.. but over the next few months, i felt her drifting away from me. She felt ugly, unloved, betrayed, etc.. we drifted apart.. and I felt it.. but she denied it and wouldn't talk to me about it.. I had been with her 5 years at this point.. and she eventually told me I had commitment issues cuz i didn't marry her or have kids with her after 5 years.. and she left me. She went back to Alaska to be with her family, she had nothing here but me. She left her car, her pets, me, the house, EVERYTHING. I just donated her clothes yesterday.. trying to sell her van.. told her I'd send her the money.. she sent me a picture of her new boyfriend and her then blocked me on Facebook.. she's already moved in with a new guy and it's been less than 35 days since she left..

October 12, 2016 - Motorcycle wreck:
After she moved.. I went kind of crazy.. I told myself, I'm going to be successful in spite of this BS!! I was angry.. and I felt this ridiculous energy.. I woke up like a drone every morning, before my alarm, with anger.. I worked out hard, with clarity, and anger.. I went to work, with angry energy, I bought a house and sold it, in the same day.. angry energy kept me clear.. I kept saying in my head "F**K EVERYTHING"
I was in make money mode and I bought a 170cc Scooter for $500, was worth like $1500. So I traded that, plus $2000 for a 2008 Yamaha fz6 600cc sport bike.. I was gonna flip it for $3500 and make $1k profit.
But I was angry all the time.. and I drove that thing home while pissed off.. coming on the interstate like a dumb*** at 100mph.. front tire about to come off the ground.. pushing it too far.. but made it..

The next morning I was on my way to pick up a paycheck.. and then head to the gym.. I had owned the bike less than 15 hours.. didn't have insurance on it yet.. I was wearing wind pants, a hoodie, and nikes.. going to the gym afterwards... It was 9:05am.. on October 12th.. I was coming onto the interstate.. just shifted to second gear.. I looked down and the speedo said 96mph.. a car pulled in front of me going like 50mph and there was a car to the left of him going about 60.. I couldn't get between them fast enough.. and I tried to brake but it was too late.. the bike laid over to the right and I rolled to the left.. I closed my eyes as I hit the ground.. and when I opened my eyes I remember I couldn't stop rolling.. I had hit my head on the pavement, and i kept rolling so I covered my face with my arms.. and I rolled across 3 lanes of interstate.. SOMEHOW.. through luck and grace.. neither I.. or the bike hit anyone or anything.. I had so much freaking adrenaline that I stood right up and looked for my glasses, wallet, phone... couldn't find my glasses, but I found my wallet and phone.. phone was shattered... my wind pants were shredded.. my legs were bleeding, my shoe got ripped off my right foot.. blood was dripping down my face where my head had hit.. the sleeves of my hoodie was shredded where I had covered my face to protect it from scraping on the concrete.. scraped up my elbows, hands, and knuckles instead.. my ankle and toes had scraped along the highway, I lost about 5% of the epidermis around my ankle.. it's been 19 days and my ankle is still raw and draining.. and my right knee is 90% healed but still open.. and both elbows..

20161012_124227.jpg

No%20butt.jpg

20161012_153216.jpg


Traffic stopped.. 5 different people came around me and got on their cell phones calling 911.. ambulance came, 2 fire trucks, and 2 police officers.. I didn't have health insurance.. or insurance on the motorcycle... police officer gave me a ticket for no motorcycle endorsement and no insurance.. ugh.. I was so pissed at myself on the ambulance.. I kept telling them I couldn't afford it.. and that i didn't have insurance.. and they told me I was too messed up to let me go.. they took me to a Baptist hospital that had a well known burn center.. because road rash is treated the same as burns. They got me all wrapped up.. so without insurance, the bill came to $24,500.. plus the tickets from the police officer.. but luckily the hospital adjusted the bill for "self-pay cash discount" and brought it down to $9,000. Still sucks though.
I couldn't lay down/sit/exist without hurting for 5 days, I couldn't shower for 8 days.. I couldn't drive for 17 days.. and probably won't go back to the gym until day 30.. but the doctor and the nurses all said I'm recovering super fast.. they thought it would be months. But... I'm determined to get my life back..
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Lets start with goals:

I have two goals I want to accomplish. One is an income goal, and the other a weight loss goal.
I believe if I can lay these foundations, I will have the resources, confidence, freedom, time, and ability to travel, explore, experiment, and adjust/grow into other ventures. I will feel accomplished, excited, significant.. all that good stuff.

Starting Numbers:
$20k in credit card debt, $9k in medical bills.
Weighed in at 293.4 this morning.

Goal Numbers:
Revenue Goal: $50k gross by April 1st, 2017.
Profit Goal: $30k net by April 1st, 2017.
Weight Loss: 50 pounds by April 1st, 2017.

Broken down:

Revenue: $10k per month, $2500 per week.
Profit: $6k per month, $1500 per week.
Marketing: $4k per month, $1k per week.
Weight Loss: 10 pounds per month, 2.5 pounds per week.

Right now I want to focus on creating the habits, and the identity for myself that this is now WHO I AM. I will raise my standards and achieve these goals by becoming a person who deserves to meet these goals and taking focused daily action in the direction of these goals.

I will be utilizing real estate wholesaling to generate this revenue. If you are interested in following my journey and creating your own real estate ice cream $$$ I'd recommend Than Merrill's wholesaling bible.. closest thing to an easy to follow college text book on the subject.

There are people out there who would pay thousands of dollars to be taught what I'm about to show you all.. so stay tuned...
 
Last edited:

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
First step... Get the phone to ring!!!

I created a Google voice phone number at google.com/voice
I set the number to "do not disturb" so that it goes directly to voicemail when someone calls.
I put the app on my phone so I can see when someone leaves a message, I'll get a push notification.

My voicemail message says, "Sorry I missed your call, I'm either on the other line or away from the phone right now. If you would, please leave your name, and the address of the property you would like to sell, and I'll get back with you as soon as possible! Thank you."

Next.. I went to DirtCheapSigns.com and ordered 500 of these bad boys.

bandit.jpg


The goal is to put out 100 per week.. but I hate doing it.. so I'm going to outsource it.
Created an ad on craigslist gigs, looking for someone with this ad. I get about 4-5 applicants per day.. and only 2-3 per week make a video like requested. Lets the cream rise to the top.

Craigslist%20Sign%20App.jpg



Here's one of the video responses to the ad...

Then once they submit a video that I like.... I will send them this email..

Sign%20Placement%20Email.jpg


As you can see... I use the Simplecrew app to keep track of sign placement campaigns..
And here's the power of simple crew... it pin-points on google maps... where every single sign is. And the picture confirms that every one was put out...

Simple.jpg


Alright.. so the little yellow signs are half size of the big blue and white ones...
half size is like $0.95 each, full size is about $1.55 each... and $0.55 each metal stake.

So I'm spending $150-$210 per week on signs, and another $100 per week on labor to put them out. So $250-$310.. comes out to $1000-$1240 per month on signs... which leaves me another $2760-$3000 for direct mail/commissions monthly.

Going to try and find someone to put signs out tomorrow... will let you all know what happens!!
 

fhs8

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
114%
Jan 22, 2016
271
308
Wow what a story. I laughed when I saw the pics of half your body covered in bandages. It doesn't get more rock bottom than that. You're pretty lucky to be alive and even more lucky to at least not have broken a few bones. One time I actually witnessed a motorcyclist die from the other side of the freeway. His body was 20 feet in the air.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

lifese

Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
188%
Oct 28, 2016
34
64
29
Nice post. Disclaimer: haven't flipped a house, but here is the method that I would do to see fast income:
  • Build a buyers list first. Find out who the people are with the cash and see what houses they want. Sq footage, location, if they want to fix it up or sale as is, etc. Google search and craigslist adds should do the trick. Just call them up.
  • Work with motivated sellers, so you can purchase their home at below market price and flip it to your buyers. People on pre-foreclosures, have to move now, inherited the property,etc. You don't even have to use your own cash if you use an "and/or assigns" clause in your contracts. Your end buyer fills the shoes in your first contract and you pocket the difference. You need contracts to do this if you do not have any.
  • Generate leads. Your signs are a great way. Also consider just driving around yourself and looking at some of the vacant houses or ones with for sale signs by owner; the deeper you go in a neighborhood/backroads, the less eyes know about that house. Possibly call up other wholesalers (easy to find through craigslist) and agents who work with real estate investors. Tell these wholesalers and agents you have buyers and if they need to sale a house or have a lead, then come to you. You split the profits of course.
  • With this method you should have deals coming your way from home owners, agents, and other wholesalers. You just need the buyers in order to close the deals quickly!
This is just they way I (a person with no experience flipping houses) would do it because I like automation and hate driving around. The more people are bringing leads to you, the better. Learn how to spot a deal when it comes, so you don't waste time on non-deals.
 

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Wow what a story. I laughed when I saw the pics of half your body covered in bandages. It doesn't get more rock bottom than that. You're pretty lucky to be alive and even more lucky to at least not have broken a few bones. One time I actually witnessed a motorcyclist die from the other side of the freeway. His body was 20 feet in the air.

Haha yea.. pretty bad. That's what everyone keeps telling me. So lucky. I was sitting in the ambulance, and an old man peeks his head in and says.. "Boy, I'm glad to see that you're alright.. I saw you rolling and thought there was no way you would have survived that. Someone is watching over you boy!"
My shoulder kind of hurts and pops now.. but everyone's got somethin!

Nice post. Disclaimer: haven't flipped a house, but here is the method that I would do to see fast income:
  • Build a buyers list first. Find out who the people are with the cash and see what houses they want. Sq footage, location, if they want to fix it up or sale as is, etc. Google search and craigslist adds should do the trick. Just call them up.
  • Work with motivated sellers, so you can purchase their home at below market price and flip it to your buyers. People on pre-foreclosures, have to move now, inherited the property,etc. You don't even have to use your own cash if you use an "and/or assigns" clause in your contracts. Your end buyer fills the shoes in your first contract and you pocket the difference. You need contracts to do this if you do not have any.
  • Generate leads. Your signs are a great way. Also consider just driving around yourself and looking at some of the vacant houses or ones with for sale signs by owner; the deeper you go in a neighborhood/backroads, the less eyes know about that house. Possibly call up other wholesalers (easy to find through craigslist) and agents who work with real estate investors. Tell these wholesalers and agents you have buyers and if they need to sale a house or have a lead, then come to you. You split the profits of course.
  • With this method you should have deals coming your way from home owners, agents, and other wholesalers. You just need the buyers in order to close the deals quickly!
This is just they way I (a person with no experience flipping houses) would do it because I like automation and hate driving around. The more people are bringing leads to you, the better. Learn how to spot a deal when it comes, so you don't waste time on non-deals.

Yes building a buyers list is necessary for long term success. I've already built one over the past few years. But if someone is starting over, they should definitely network their faces off and shake hands and get known and pass out business cards. But I think it's more important to have a deal to show, because when you have the deal, you can post it on Craigslist, Zillow, ETC and buyers will come to you! Ask them if it's okay to send them an email when you come across another discounted property.. and I now direct them to a webform where they can fill in their own info.
Yep, you've got all the right ideas. I used to drive around and write down vacant houses and for sale by owner signs, but way too slow. I'm looking to create something massively scalable and duplicable in other markets.

Having a hard time getting someone to follow instructions and install the app take a picture with it and being prompt about it.. so I sent out an email to a few applicants that did not submit a video.

Sign2.jpg


Weight down a couple pounds, felt self conscious yesterday for eating tons of KFC the day before.. so today breakfast was 4oz spinach with 3 eggs, lunch was 4oz spinach with 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese and 1 tuna pouch.

291.jpg
 

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Good morning. Last night I went out and had dinner with a multi-millionaire.. who's currently working on 17 rehab projects including 10 fix and flips, a couple new builds and other misc houses.. I've sold him a few houses in the past, he bought me dinner and gave me some great advice. He told me I need to buy rentals to build wealth.. that I can't keep selling them all. And he also told me that my business and my future rely completely on marketing and will reflect in direct proportion to how well I can market and make that phone ring.. it's like something I knew.. but was never said to me like that.

So.. back to it!

Yesterday I ate well, ate 4 meals consisting of.. breakfast: 4oz spinach with 3 eggs, lunch: 4oz spinach with 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese and 1 tuna pouch, protein shake, and went out for dinner to Mexican restaurant and had chicken breast with cheese, half avocado, rice and refried beans with a little bit of chips and some tortillas.

Yesterday weighed 291, here is todays.. this is what I want in my life, slight edge, move the scale, move the pieces, every day.

20161102_075118.jpg


I finally got someone to come put out signs.. it was late and he only put out 36... should put out another 24 tonight, and 100 on Saturday.

November%20simplecrew.jpg


Today I'm about to talk to a Tony Robbins coach about my plan and my life and try and get some clarity and direction.. never talked to one before, but the first 30 minute session is free.. I signed up here: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/coaching/results-coaching/

Hopefully I'll get some seller calls today.. and I'll call some for sale by owners also and try to schedule some appointments!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

fhs8

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
114%
Jan 22, 2016
271
308
One thing not mentioned is that what happens if you get in trouble for putting out signs in public? It's only a matter of time until someone complains or some city enforcer finds and removes the signs. I don't think what you're doing is viable for the long term especially when you can go to jail for it.

https://www.municode.com/library/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2010_CH3ADSI

§ 3-9. - Penalty.
(a)Any person or entity, including the owner of the sign and/or the owner or occupant of the premises on which the sign is located, who shall violate or permit the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a Class "a" offense.

(b)Each act in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense and each day's continued violation thereof shall be punishable as such.



http://okcfox.com/news/local/oklahoma-city-to-begin-sweep-to-remove-illegal-signs

Oklahoma City has four employees who track illegal signs all year long. Dozens will participate in this special sweep.

Funny thing in that news article I see a sign on the left that says,"we buy houses".
 
Last edited:

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
One thing not mentioned is that what happens if you get in trouble for putting out signs in public? It's only a matter of time until someone complains or some city enforcer finds and removes the signs. I don't think what you're doing is viable for the long term especially when you can go to jail for it.

https://www.municode.com/library/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2010_CH3ADSI


http://okcfox.com/news/local/oklahoma-city-to-begin-sweep-to-remove-illegal-signs



Funny thing in that news article I see a sign on the left that says,"we buy houses".

Can't be scared of the "what ifs" like.. what if i get fined.. what if i get caught.. etc.
It's slightly frowned upon, but I've been stopped by police officers and asked if I have a permit, and they always let me go and tell me to be safe and not park in the street.
I've been putting these signs out off and on for like 3 years, and so have several of my friends/associates.. probably 800-1000 per week for the past 8 years or longer.. and I know the guy that puts out signs for uncontested divorce.. he puts out nearly 1000 per week by himself! it's his main source of leads.

They do sweeps from time to time.. the nicer suburbs WILL call you.. and find you.. and FINE you. $200 per sign or $500 total. But I've answered their calls, and apologized and quit putting them in those cities. I only hit Oklahoma City nowadays. And provide job security for code enforcement. lol

I don't expect the signs to last more than 2 days each time I put them out. Because not only are code enforcement pulling them.. so are mowing guys, and my competition, and other real estate investors.. and "good citizens" and there are even investors paying people $0.50 each to pull them and bring them the stakes.. which cost me $0.55 each by themselves.. let-alone the sign...

I've had only one friend get fined the $500... one time. And he made $5,000+off that big campaign and counted the $500 fine off as marketing expense and kept on truckin. No excuses.
 

CycleGuy

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
254%
Jan 16, 2015
123
313
Midwest
Sorry to hear about the bike wreck.
Glad to see it's not keeping you down and keeping you from hustling.

For weightloss tracking I hope you are using MyFitnessPal with Flexible dieting.
Flexible dieting is a must for any busy individual.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Marquin Brewer

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
105%
Oct 18, 2016
41
43
54
Hey everyone. I always love the progress threads on here and thought I could provide some value by creating my own.

If you want to read my life story continue reading post #1. If you just want the real estate stuff/progress, scroll down to post #2.

Feel free to share life experience, advice, wisdom, questions, or comments. I'll check this thread often.

Intro/early childhood/teen years:
My name is Jack. I'm 26 years old. Spent most of my life in a small town in the armpit of Oklahoma. Population around 20,000. Parents divorced when I was like 11, Dad left. Mom was always at work. I spent most of my waking hours playing Diablo II for a good 7-8 years, and World of Warcraft for another 3 years. Distracted me from reality. My mom made about $7-$8 per hour through her various jobs. We were very poor all through my teen years. Like.. count pennies poor. I had been to restaurants less than 20 times through my childhood because they were too expensive. We ate mostly ramen noodles, eggs with rice, hot dogs with rice, and spaghetti with the $1 rolls of mechanically separated turkey. One time.. I remember pushing pennies together to get me and my Mom an ice cream cone.. it was like HEAVEN.. this was more than 10 years ago.. and I still remember how happy I was to get that ice cream cone that was such a rare occurrence..

The point of the above story.. was to explain why I have such a SCARCITY mindset ingrained in me.

Late Highschool/Early 20's/Girlfriend:
My Mom joined the Army and in 2008 was sent to Iraq for 7-8 months. I needed a parent or guardian to finish high school, so I was sent to Alaska to live with my Grandparents and graduate high school.

I met a beautiful girl who was crazy about me.. which I wasn't used to.. she was second girl I ever even kissed and I was 18! Fell in love.. wanted to marry her.. we gave our virginity to each other because we were sure we'd get married. Her mom didn't approve and never let us see each other. She rebelled. A year later I was working at Mcdonalds. Her mom called me while I was at work told me that my girlfriend had went out with a guy the night before and still hasn't come home.. all night.. and morning. Can only assume what they did all night.. I was so hurt.. that I LEFT Alaska.. and moved back to my home town to live with my Mom when she got back from Iraq.. I worked at Walmart, hated my life.. was so broken from losing the girl I thought I'd marry.. I went back to World of Warcraft and.. every weekend I would get with all my high school buddies and get wasted.. every Friday night and Saturday night I would be drunk.. for the next year.. I remember being at a party on my 21st birthday.. so freaking mad at my ex-girlfriend for cheating on me.. I brought a girl home too drunk to remember her hair color or name.. that was second girl I ever slept with.. Third went the same way..

One day I was complaining about my $8 per hour Walmart Truck Unloader job and a high school buddy told me I should come work with him. Said I'd have benefits and insurance and make good money. So I applied.. and became the youngest Correctional Officer at the local minimum security state prison. Making a whopping $13+ per hour.. and getting paid once per month, still living with my Mom I thought I was on top of the world and I had made it!! Wowww, so much money!! I went from Great Value bread & Diet Dr Thunder to having THOUSANDS of dollars in my bank account. For the first time.. I had savings! And I could buy name brand stuff! I even paid cash for a car! $1300 cash! It crapped out, and I got a car loan for $5500!
Man.. I had made it.. my Lieutenant told me I'd made it too. That I could retire at age 42 and get a monthly retirement check for the rest of my life! And this scared the crap out of me.. I haven't even lived yet!!!

Leaving my state job/discovering real estate:
My ex-girlfriends Mom passed away.. and she became broken.. and at this point I was becoming confident, I had money saved, I was starting to work out.. I was still mad at her.. but I felt so bad for her.. we started talking more and more daily.. she told me how much her life sucks without me and that she wanted a life with me.. she sold EVERYTHING.. I was still mad at her.. she bought her own plane ticket to come from Alaska to live in a small town in Oklahoma with me and start over. Yay, got my high school sweetheart back.

One day at work I met an inmate who was reading a book about selling on eBay, which interested me because I had started selling on eBay. I had sold Pokemon cards, silver dollars, and even bought android tablets from China and resold them on eBay back when the first iPad came out. Was buying like 5 at a time, making $30-40 profit each. Not bad!
This inmate told me that I HAD to read this book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad.. I told him I hadn't read a book in at least a few years since high school. And he kept insisting and even made me borrow his copy. So I read it.. and learned about Real Estate, and omg I hadn't been that excited about anything in my life. I didn't go to college, so I was always looking for that "how to get rich" and this was the answer! Next I read Armondo Montelongo's book.. "Flip & Grow Rich." This guy was making $20k-$30k on one house flip!! that was like my yearly salary at the prison!! I had to do this!!

Chasing dreams/adulting:
So a couple months after I had devoured Rich Dad and a few other real estate books, I made a plan to move to "The city" to go to college for real estate. Cuz college is how you learn things, right? That's what I thought. But me and my girlfriend got our first apartment away from parents.. found out that deposits suck and life is more expensive than it looks! lol we both got whatever jobs we could.. I was a car salesman, jimmy johns driver, wire delivery guy for Locke, 7-eleven clerk.. for the next 8-9 months shuffling between jobs. Then I got fired from 7-eleven for not ID-ing someone for a cigar..
And instead of looking for another job, I stopped and thought to myself.. I came here to do real estate, and I'm not doing it.. What the heck!

Next.. I messaged every single "We Buy Houses" ad I could find on Craigslist and nobody wanted to teach me or train me.. they said they either didn't need help, or they didn't want to train their competition.. then finally one asked me to come in and interview..
He realized how "green" I was.. and told me before he hired me, I would have to read 2 books on negotiation and go to real estate school to become a Realtor. I didn't have to get my license, but he just wanted me to learn the terms and basics of legal descriptions and how contracts work and all that good stuff. He paid for it. Then put me on a 90 day training program that paid me $1600 per month. I shadowed his acquisition manager for the first 30 days. Going on appointments, learning the different parts of the city, where the nicer homes were, where different demographics lived, etc.. I did random office work for them and sold stuff on ebay for them, then started to list properties for them on VFlyer and Craigslist every day. And after my 3 months was up, I became a full time commission only "Selling Solutions Specialist" and sold their properties. For every sale I made, I was given $1000. Usually 2-3 per month. Not that great.

Me and my girlfriend hated our apartment.. it was $419 per month and super ghetto.. we had a meth head downstairs who liked to blare his stereo to show his friends how loud it would go and not "blow out"
we called the cops on him, then he became even more of an a**hole.. and would call the cops on us for making the floor squeak. One day we found a new looking Klick-Klack couch and brought it in the apartment.. we enjoyed it for one night, then woke up itchy, scratchy, bumpy... OH GREAT BED BUGS!! Added to our hatred of apartments..

My first flip:
I started looking for a house for us to live in.. found a trailer house.. spent all my savings on it.. paid $3200 for this 2 bedroom trailer.. but it needed windows replaced and needed a 220 put in for the stove, and some flooring replaced.. I didn't know how to do any of that and I was out of money!! so I quickly resold the trailer for $4200, and after taxes I made $940 or so!! my first "flip!" it felt sooooo good!!

A couple months later.. I was feeling unfulfilled with my "job" in real estate making about $2k per month..
So I continued my reading about real estate and discovered "wholesaling".. and I bought my first batch of bandit signs.. 100 signs cost me about $255? me and my girlfriend put them out one night.. and got like 8 calls! What a great response! and one of the calls was a Realtor who told me one of her clients was a kid who had just lost his mother in October, and the house had caught fire in November. He needed $20,000.
I tried to negotiate and she said nope. Take it or leave it. I went to the local real estate investor association and asked around to find someone who could handle a fix and flip property that had a fire.. found the guy and he asked me how much I wanted for it. I told him I could make $1000 by bringing it to my job, but hopefully he's more generous. I crossed my fingers and asked for $2000. And he said, I can do that!
Woohoo!!!! most money I've ever made in my LIFE!!! I stared at that check sooooo long!!
At this time me and my girlfriend were closing on a HUD home for us to live in personally. Woohoo, got out of that crappy apartment! Got ourselves a nice 1560 sq ft 3 bed 2 bath 2 car garage brick house for $50k! Worth about $95k. Great deal! Took 4 months of looking. Needed paint/carpet/cosmetics.

I started looking into other types of marketing, and of course I bought more bandit signs. And then me and a roommate sent 660 hand written yellow letters, made another $1800 each, then I found another fire damaged property.. listed on Craigslist for $27,000. I called the guy and told him nobody in their right mind is gonna pay that much for a house that has 3 standing walls. How much do you really need? He told me $5k to move and start his life over. So I gave him the $5k, plus paid his $3800 in back taxes.. I sold that house to the same guy that bought my last burnout property.. and I "double closed" it and made $6,800!!!!! OMG!!
I quit my job and the rest is history.. lol

Went stupid, got in debt:
I went kind of crazy and stupid.. spent 2 weeks vacationing lavishly with beach side hotels in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, and paid for me and my girlfriend to go on a week long cruise.. three times.. and a few weeks in Alaska, went on a halibut charter for like $500, went on several other mini vacations, just enjoying life and money. Never had it before! Well.. instead of sticking to wholesaling, I tried to flip a house.. with a partner.. ended up losing $14,000 on credit cards the deal was.. partner pays labor, i buy materials on my credit cards.... dropped my credit score 140 points.. and I went into kind of a depression like a loser.. quit working.. put everything on credit cards.. racked up $20k in credit card debt through all this.

October 2016, Girlfriend left me:
Went to a party.. got super drunk.. ended up in bed with my girlfriend and another one of our girl friends.. tiny little twin bed.. I ended up cuddling with that girl and touched her butt and tits.. felt TERRIBLE the next day... to be transparent, i told my girlfriend.. there were no feelings behind it.. but it still messed her up.. she played it off like it didn't bother her.. but over the next few months, i felt her drifting away from me. She felt ugly, unloved, betrayed, etc.. we drifted apart.. and I felt it.. but she denied it and wouldn't talk to me about it.. I had been with her 5 years at this point.. and she eventually told me I had commitment issues cuz i didn't marry her or have kids with her after 5 years.. and she left me. She went back to Alaska to be with her family, she had nothing here but me. She left her car, her pets, me, the house, EVERYTHING. I just donated her clothes yesterday.. trying to sell her van.. told her I'd send her the money.. she sent me a picture of her new boyfriend and her then blocked me on Facebook.. she's already moved in with a new guy and it's been less than 35 days since she left..

October 12, 2016 - Motorcycle wreck:
After she moved.. I went kind of crazy.. I told myself, I'm going to be successful in spite of this BS!! I was angry.. and I felt this ridiculous energy.. I woke up like a drone every morning, before my alarm, with anger.. I worked out hard, with clarity, and anger.. I went to work, with angry energy, I bought a house and sold it, in the same day.. angry energy kept me clear.. I kept saying in my head "F**K EVERYTHING"
I was in make money mode and I bought a 170cc Scooter for $500, was worth like $1500. So I traded that, plus $2000 for a 2008 Yamaha fz6 600cc sport bike.. I was gonna flip it for $3500 and make $1k profit.
But I was angry all the time.. and I drove that thing home while pissed off.. coming on the interstate like a dumb*** at 100mph.. front tire about to come off the ground.. pushing it too far.. but made it..

The next morning I was on my way to pick up a paycheck.. and then head to the gym.. I had owned the bike less than 15 hours.. didn't have insurance on it yet.. I was wearing wind pants, a hoodie, and nikes.. going to the gym afterwards... It was 9:05am.. on October 12th.. I was coming onto the interstate.. just shifted to second gear.. I looked down and the speedo said 96mph.. a car pulled in front of me going like 50mph and there was a car to the left of him going about 60.. I couldn't get between them fast enough.. and I tried to brake but it was too late.. the bike laid over to the right and I rolled to the left.. I closed my eyes as I hit the ground.. and when I opened my eyes I remember I couldn't stop rolling.. I had hit my head on the pavement, and i kept rolling so I covered my face with my arms.. and I rolled across 3 lanes of interstate.. SOMEHOW.. through luck and grace.. neither I.. or the bike hit anyone or anything.. I had so much freaking adrenaline that I stood right up and looked for my glasses, wallet, phone... couldn't find my glasses, but I found my wallet and phone.. phone was shattered... my wind pants were shredded.. my legs were bleeding, my shoe got ripped off my right foot.. blood was dripping down my face where my head had hit.. the sleeves of my hoodie was shredded where I had covered my face to protect it from scraping on the concrete.. scraped up my elbows, hands, and knuckles instead.. my ankle and toes had scraped along the highway, I lost about 5% of the epidermis around my ankle.. it's been 19 days and my ankle is still raw and draining.. and my right knee is 90% healed but still open.. and both elbows..

20161012_124227.jpg

No%20butt.jpg

20161012_153216.jpg


Traffic stopped.. 5 different people came around me and got on their cell phones calling 911.. ambulance came, 2 fire trucks, and 2 police officers.. I didn't have health insurance.. or insurance on the motorcycle... police officer gave me a ticket for no motorcycle endorsement and no insurance.. ugh.. I was so pissed at myself on the ambulance.. I kept telling them I couldn't afford it.. and that i didn't have insurance.. and they told me I was too messed up to let me go.. they took me to a Baptist hospital that had a well known burn center.. because road rash is treated the same as burns. They got me all wrapped up.. so without insurance, the bill came to $24,500.. plus the tickets from the police officer.. but luckily the hospital adjusted the bill for "self-pay cash discount" and brought it down to $9,000. Still sucks though.
I couldn't lay down/sit/exist without hurting for 5 days, I couldn't shower for 8 days.. I couldn't drive for 17 days.. and probably won't go back to the gym until day 30.. but the doctor and the nurses all said I'm recovering super fast.. they thought it would be months. But... I'm determined to get my life back..

Wow what an amazing story! I'm glad to see you still kicking thank God..You definitely have some real estate skills and know shakers and movers in your game. Never get so wrapped up into a person that you lose yourself breakups hurt but at the end of the day you have to love yourself. Waiting to hear more of your comeback.
 

Gray Blimp

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
127%
Jun 21, 2016
26
33
"she sent me a picture of her new boyfriend and her then blocked me on Facebook"

What a doll. Guess she really cared about you. But to be fair, you shouldn't have taken her back after she left you the first time. Finding your success in Real Estate will be much easier without her or any girlfriend.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Sorry to hear about the bike wreck.
Glad to see it's not keeping you down and keeping you from hustling.

For weightloss tracking I hope you are using MyFitnessPal with Flexible dieting.
Flexible dieting is a must for any busy individual.

Thanks man. I used to use MyFitnessPal for a couple months, it was great to kind of learn portion sizes and get used to weighing your food and measuring portions. I feel I've kinda learned portions and I still weigh stuff, I just don't take the time to keep track of evvvvverry little macro anymore.
But the Flexible dieting thing I've never heard it called that, but it definitely works and is probably the best way! thanks for sharing.


Wow what an amazing story! I'm glad to see you still kicking thank God..You definitely have some real estate skills and know shakers and movers in your game. Never get so wrapped up into a person that you lose yourself breakups hurt but at the end of the day you have to love yourself. Waiting to hear more of your comeback.

Thank you! I'm glad I'm still kicking too. Getting better quickly. Shoulder and elbow still hurt a bit.. but oh well. I have a little bit of real estate skills, not much. I definitely know some people though. That's the only way I have any success at all. Yea, I feel I kinda lost myself there for a minute.. I was in a rage state of mind when I wrecked.. I was angry.. wreckless.. but.. this is what it led to.. lol learned my lesson.

Good shit man. I want to gain the motivation you have... You're killin it.

Subbed and liked!

Thanks man, not killing it yet.. too easily distracted. But hopefully the tread will grab soon!


"she sent me a picture of her new boyfriend and her then blocked me on Facebook"

What a doll. Guess she really cared about you. But to be fair, you shouldn't have taken her back after she left you the first time. Finding your success in Real Estate will be much easier without her or any girlfriend.

Yea, pretty crappy situation. Went on way too long. We wanted to make it work.. but the level of trust just could never be as deep again after the first time. Yes, I agree. Success is easier when your emotions are tied up elsewhere.
 

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
November 3rd Update:

Weight was 289.4 yesterday, here is todays. I hope tomorrow moves downwards.. I won't get much sleep tonight and my eating wasn't perfect.
I ate a footlong subway italian BMT and then a 6 inch italian bmt, and then.. 2 cups of baked beans with sausage..

I went to the gym though for the first time since the bike wreck.. did chest and triceps and a little bit of shoulders and 7-8 minute cardio warmup.. felt like a limping mummy, but still got heart rate up to 140 before lifting.

d025ec177e.jpg


Signs:

Put out 36 We Buy Houses signs on the first, it rained yesterday, then put out 24 today.
Will put out an additional 100 on Saturday night.

I did something fun today that is pretty exciting.. usually on my ex-girlfriends birthday.. I would take her somewhere cool.. so in 2017 I'm gonna keep the tradition going.. just.. without her this time.. LOL
I bought a one way ticket to Germany for $340 USD for January 25th.
Plan to stay 2-4 weeks and stay in hostels and couch surf. Starting in Frankfurt, then maybe head south.. then Munich, then maybe Berlin, and then end the trip in either Prague or Amsterdam, not sure yet!

One_Way.jpg


I didn't do as much as I wanted to today towards real estate...
I went and picked up this money today and the guy talked to me for like 2.5 hours, and we went and looked at his fix and flip house project.. it was badddd lol and just talked.. he like wants to hire me and partner with me on Airbnb stuff.. the more successful I become, the more people want to "partner" with me or hire me.. or let me use their office for "free" lol.. they try to employ the unemployable!
But here's a past success I can share... 2 months ago, I bought a house for $14,000 and did an eviction, cleaned it out, pulled carpet, trimmed trees, and misc stuff.. was in the property for about $15k. I sold it on a short term owner finance for $25,000. I received $5,000 down.. in cash.. and will receive $2000 per month for the next 9 months.. since I picked this one up today. Pretty awesome.. since I was going to wholesale it and make only about $2,000.. now I get to make $10k on a crappy little ghetto 2 bed house. Wish I had 5 of these a month.

receipt.jpg


Will update weight and progress tomorrow. Thanks for following :)
 
Last edited:

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
11/6/16 Update:

Weight loss is going steady I suppose. Was 287.6 on November 3rd. Here is November 6th's weigh in.
Man time goes quick! 3 days flew by like nothing.. the whole weekend.
Went and did back and biceps tonight. Meals was pretty bad.. biscuits and gravy with sausage and eggs for breakfast, sams club hotdog for lunch, and tuna packet, 1/2 cup cottage cheese for dinner.

dLZkr.jpg


Real Estate Update:

Honestly haven't done enough here..
Friday night, I hung out with friends, went downtown and drank too much tequila.. so much.. that it ended with karaoke and leaving the bar past 2am..
Saturday, I woke up at a friends house, very hungover.. went and looked at a rehab project, helped friend carry 16 boxes of tile.. went home.. slept off my hangover.
Sunday.. went to church, then Jimmy's egg, then breakfast meeting with a guy I met at the library who is interested in investing in real estate. Gave him some advice, gave him a book to read, and told him to call me once he's done reading that book. Went to the gym, did back and biceps.

I use IFTTT along with Craigslist homes for sale by owner with the keyword searches:

"must sell" | "below market" | "fixer upper" | "discount" | "wholesale" | "reduced" | "cheap", -"mobile home", -"double wide"

Whenever any of these keywords come up on a property between $4k and $80k, I get an email. So.. if craigslist post, then email me.
I have another set up as you can see that is $5k-$50k and minus acreage, mobile homes, and small towns surrounding.
And I'll scan these emails once a day or so very quickly. You start to see patterns and memorize phone numbers of your competition.
But if you see a property come up, that doesn't look like anything you've seen.. or it's a homeowner... THAT'S A LEAD!!

So today I got a lead.. it came up in my email, they were asking $40,000 here's what the email looked like.

mVV9a.jpg


Here's what the house looked like..
-yGdN.jpg


So I talked to her on the phone, asked her to tell me about the house, what kind of work does it need, how many beds, baths, does it have central heat and air.. blah blah.. what is owed against it? What is the best price she'd consider?

Turns out.. it has a 3 year old water heater, 7 year old roof, few year old condenser, 2 bed 1 bath, needs tons of work, owned free and clear by her mother in law.. they need money to move 1.5 hours away, and $6k for dental work, and money to give the mother in law.

I went out and looked at the house IMMEDIATELY.. i scheduled for 1 hour out, because I knew someone would jump on this house.. and they were motivated and ready to be done with it. I put together a repair sheet..

GXWwl.jpg


Hopefully you can see... She was asking $40,000.. I wrote that the assessor value is $78,500.. and I think that may be accurate for the amount of square footage and the area... maybe $65k-$80k depending on how nice you fix it up. The estimate came out to $28,500.
She said her guess would have been $30k! so we're good. She's comfortable with us.

BtEo1.jpg


I can see that she paid $32,500 for this property back in 1992. I looked at the taxes, and they were due for this year, meaning they're not escrowed in a mortgage. she told me the house is owned free and clear.

This is how I came up with an offer... I said hey, your house after fixup would be worth about $78,500..
I can pay 70% of that minus repairs.. 10%-15% goes to realtor fees, closing costs, origination, acquisition, etc.. then 15%-20% is what we try to make as a profit. I pull out my calculator and say.. so.. $78,500 x 0.70% = $54,950 - $28,500 = $26,450

I told her I was sorry that I couldn't pay more.. but I would need to be at about $26,450 for the numbers to make sense..
She told me.. oh no.. we couldn't go lower than $30,000. BOOM down $10,000 off the original asking price of $40k.

I told her I'd really love to take on the project and fix it up. I like the house, it's got a weird addon, but it's got potential. Nice house for the price.
So.. I spent half an hour making friends.. and told her, well I'd really love to do business today.. what if I could come up to $27,000? we're not that far apart and I'd love to buy your house and help you guys out!

She couldn't get her mother in law on board.. but after I left, she talked to her quite a bit and was rooting for me and said they accepted my offer of $27k. Going to sign it up tomorrow morning at 11am..

I think I can sell it for $32k-$35k, going to shoot for $38k though.. we'll see what happens!!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
11/17/16 Update

I feel bad that it's been a minute since I've made an update. Time passes soooo quickly!
I've been healing up well, it's now been 35 days since the motorcycle wreck.
I lost my shoes and my phone in the wreck.. so a few days ago I spent $200 and replaced them.. got myself some new balance shoes and an LG G3. Excited.

I've been back to the gym for over a week now.. did chest, shoulders, triceps day, then back and biceps day, and tonight I did leg day.
My last scale pic said 286.4, I'm now down to 283.6 which is good, but it could be lower.. I fell off for a couple days on diet.. had the freakin 2 for $4 at mcdonalds one time.. and a taco bell burrito.. and some smoked pulled pork nachos one night.. lol oh well. back on it now.

c316S.jpg


Real Estate Update

I've put out 260 We Buy Houses signs now.. and have received less than 8 calls.. it's the worst response I've ever had in 3 years..
Got an appointment out of today though.. went and looked at a triplex that needed about $28k in work.. was worth $72k.. I offered her $25k she told me she wanted $50k.. and has a standing offer for $40k.. I will follow up with her in a week or so..

I need to put out more marketing and get the phone to ring more!! I hate seeing the money go... will work on it tomorrow evening.

On November 7th I signed up a property for $27,000.
I called an investor and told him I'd like to sell it to him for $43,000. He came out and looked at it Tuesday.. and he passed.. and wasted like 3 days of my life while I waited for him to run numbers and finally give me a NO..
Called second guy.. he brought in a friend today and looked at it, and jewed me down a lot lol I asked for $43k, He told me he could only do $34k.
His friend talked him into doing $36k.. so we signed a contract on that today with the contingency that he pays cash and closes Friday..
So I'm taking less money, but I'm getting it closed fast!!

oPhPY.jpg


So.. this will be my first proceeds towards my $50k goal I made for April 1st in post #2. After closing costs my proceeds will be $8841.50
I've also lost ~10 pounds since creating this progress thread!!! 17 days in..


Thanks for following guys! If all goes well, I'll post a check Friday!!!
 

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Done Deal!

Since the breakup.. I'm moving January 1st to live with a friend, will be selling my house and all my stuff and going kinda minimalist.. so I'm spending this weekend selling my books and donating like a thousand dollars worth of stuff, and putting my dog and furniture on craigslist...
also trying to find a motorcycle mechanic for the bike.. will update soon on what I've done.

olB-V.jpg
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Pictures keep going sideways with picorator, do you guys see the picture sideways?
What site do you use to upload pics?
 

Almantas

Nothing to Lose
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
475%
Dec 21, 2015
887
4,210
32
Ireland
Done Deal!

Since the breakup.. I'm moving January 1st to live with a friend, will be selling my house and all my stuff and going kinda minimalist.. so I'm spending this weekend selling my books and donating like a thousand dollars worth of stuff, and putting my dog and furniture on craigslist...
also trying to find a motorcycle mechanic for the bike.. will update soon on what I've done.

olB-V.jpg

Well done, inspiring story and lovely progress. Keep us updated of the future. I am myself interested in flipping houses when I hit €50'000 in savings. Keep beastin' on!
 

Almantas

Nothing to Lose
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
475%
Dec 21, 2015
887
4,210
32
Ireland
Hi mate! Just checking how you doing. I've been closely following your thread, please keep us updated whenever you can.
 

Argue

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
385%
Oct 1, 2016
645
2,483
32
NYC
This thread is amazing! Your story almost made me tear when you got into an accident. I felt bad glad you're alright man. Love you're enthusiasm and fearlessness. Love the fact you went from working from mcdonalds to 13/hr to flipping houses and making Benjamin's.

I'm interested in learning real estate too. It's on my vision board. In one of your posts you wrote:

"went to church, then Jimmy's egg, then breakfast meeting with a guy I met at the library who is interested in investing in realestate. Gave him some advice, gave him a book to read, and told him to call me once he's done reading that book."

If you don't mind sharing, can you tell me the book? I want to read it asap. Thank you! Keep hustling.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
Hi mate! Just checking how you doing. I've been closely following your thread, please keep us updated whenever you can.

Sorry! Fell Off The Wagon for the holidays!

This thread is amazing! Your story almost made me tear when you got into an accident. I felt bad glad you're alright man. Love you're enthusiasm and fearlessness. Love the fact you went from working from mcdonalds to 13/hr to flipping houses and making Benjamin's.

I'm interested in learning real estate too. It's on my vision board. In one of your posts you wrote:

"went to church, then Jimmy's egg, then breakfast meeting with a guy I met at the library who is interested in investing in realestate. Gave him some advice, gave him a book to read, and told him to call me once he's done reading that book."

If you don't mind sharing, can you tell me the book? I want to read it asap. Thank you! Keep hustling.

Haha thanks for following. Yea, it's been a gradual roller coaster for sure. But always getting better. Trying to always raise my standards.
The book is called "The ultimate real estate blueprint" by Sean Terry. You can get it for free on Amazon, or see if this link works:
Dropbox - The_Ultimate_Real_Estate_Investing_Blueprint.pdf
 

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
1/2/17 Update

I fell off the wagon for the holidays, I apologize for not updating in a long time. I went off on a tangent and chased a rabbit.
I lost sight of my goals for a minute and with 2 of my best friends having birthdays, and my birthday December 18th, Christmas, and New Years.. and being single.. I've been to clubs and bars too many times this month and drank too much alcohol this month.. and had dates with a few bar girls.. (time waster)
I read a book called "The Game" and it sent me on some crazy tangent.. where I went and got like 15 girls phone numbers in one week and went drinking 3 different times in one week.. which is not in line with the weight loss goal either. And of course Christmas Dinner(s)! Also went hunting for the first time in my life. Didn't see any deer, maybe a good thing. Would probably get buck fever and go waste money and time on guns/ammo/hunting.
I'm guessing my weight has not moved much, will update on it tomorrow.

I have gotten back with my personal trainer and am back on track with lifting weights and food prep full time. Met a super buff 240 pounds lean guy that was so buff he looked like a ninja turtle and he told me his rule was.. "If I don't cook it, i don't eat it. And if i don't weigh it, it doesn't count." Whoa.
I hate cardio, so trying to lift weights 6 days this week and see how I feel and if it's sustainable. Something like.. Shoulders/Chest/Triceps on Sunday/Wednesday, Back/Biceps on Monday/Thursday, Legs on Saturday/Tuesday.

Real Estate Update

I moved out of my personal house and into a friends spare bedroom. I'm paying him $350 per month all bills paid. Feel like a college kid. It's kind of awesome. Like a fresh start. And he owns a company that did over half a million revenue last year and I believe they will hit their goal of $1.1M this year. So I'm increasing my average by hanging out with him. My goal with my personal house is to have it painted and popcorn scraped and new light fixtures and closet doors hung and ready to rent out by January 25th. Then I will put it with a property management company to rent it out while I'm in Germany for the month of February.

I also joined a mastermind group that I will be meeting with every Saturday at 8am. Last Saturday was the first time and we all shared our goals. We all want to buy assets and increase our income on some level. And health is either a goal or already in place with all 5 of us. Going to be a great year!

I closed only one deal in December. Not too great. I found the deal on Craigslist, same day as it was posted, I went and looked at the house and they told me they needed $15k no negotiations. House is worth about $50k but needs $25k in work.. anyway, I brought an investor through, told him $20k, and he said he'll take it.. seller asked me to pay the back taxes of $700 in exchange for lowering the contract price by $1000 so she doesn't have to pay tax on proceeds. So here is the check from that deal!

I have 2 houses to look at today, gotta go!! Will update tomorrow hopefully, may have another closing to talk about!

Edit: Update: Went and looked at 2 houses today. One was a referral from my deal that should be closing tomorrow. And the other was an MLS deal.
I signed it up too high in my opinion but I think I can make it work.
The house is worth about $36k-$40k and I signed a purchase agreement for $20,600 plus delinquent taxes of $857. I think that I can resell for $25k-$26k hopefully. Small deal.
The other house was worth $60k but may have plumbing/sewer issues but is 3 beds brick on a slab, so I offered $24k, may take a few days to see if they reject or counter my offer.

I successfully doubled my income from 2015 to 2016.
Since starting this thread I've made $13939.39
I've lost at least 10 pounds. And should have another $2750 coming tomorrow, and potentially another few thousand from this deal I just signed up today.
Here are some of my other accomplishments from 2016.

20161219_125022.jpg


And here is goals for 2017

20161219_125028.jpg
 

Attachments

  • upload_2017-1-2_18-6-42.jpeg
    upload_2017-1-2_18-6-42.jpeg
    84.2 KB · Views: 12
Last edited:

Harry321

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
49%
May 28, 2014
129
63
Great thread and brilliant progress! All the best for 2017..

I really want to learn how to do this but the UK market seems very different from the USA, anyone got any experience in doing something similar in the UK?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jakawan

We Buy Houses
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
443%
Sep 19, 2013
76
337
34
Oklahoma City
1/5/17 Update

I hired a guy off Craigslist to put out 100 signs yesterday, he put out 34, and told me it was too cold outside to finish and too cold tonight.. so he'd finish in the daytime tomorrow... not calling him ever again.. lol have a new sign guy coming Friday to pick up 100 more.. so putting out 200 bandit signs this week to try and strum up some business before I go to Germany.

I thought I'd have another check to post.. but the property was in probate and turns out the probate attorney dropped the ball and didn't publish something that needed to be published for the estate.. so may be 3 more weeks before I see a dime from this property :( here is the numbers though so you can see potential revenue.. bought for $16k + $700 back taxes and closing costs/doc stamps. Sold for $22,700. = $6000 potential profit. I got this lead from another local wholesaler though, so I will be splitting proceeds with him and writing him a check for $3k or whatever it is.

Loftin.jpg



And I signed up another one Monday. Here is the purchase price, I think I paid too much.. because it has back taxes on there too.. so it's more like $21,400 purchase price. I think I can sell it for $25k-$26k hopefully. Another small deal, but they add up!
Crabtree.jpg


If you want to see pictures of this house you can see them here: Dropbox - 956 Crabtree Cove - MWC
I'm holding an open house on Sunday at 2pm. Hopefully will find a buyer by the 10th. Will let you guys know.

I set up an appointment to go look at another house in Midwest City on Sunday at 1pm. It's a 2 bed 1 bath with a converted garage that can possibly be a 3rd bed. And it's had electric and plumbing, central heat and air, double pane vinyl windows, siding, water heater, all updated in past 10 years or less.
I may try to keep it as a rental property! Working on putting together a mailing list to send some postcards to.
We'll see what happens! that's all for now!
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top