What I’ve Been Up To: Opportunities

(Note: Since sometimes I can get really tied up with work and may not have the time to post regularly, I’ve decided to start this new series “What I’ve Been Up To” to highlight my current projects).

Hi all!

It’s been a really crazy week. So, I’ve decided to write another “What I’ve Been Up To” type post. Here’s the recap:

So, the front porch and back steps I had built on another home (as shared in my last post) were completed. Here’s what we finally came up with:

Front Porch

Back Steps

I was able to get the inspection setup this week. And, it passed. Surprisingly, it did not take as long as I thought!

The other project that I had been working on this week was finishing up on getting the home ready on the last one I recently closed on. I had a small “run-in” with the furnace:

After I had finished vacuuming the inside of the furnace (as it tends to get really dusty), I had attempted to replace the cover – it slipped out of my hands and squashed my fingers, ouch! It’s kind of dangerous, here’s the damage it caused to my finger:

(Note: I really must bring a first aid kit with me. Good thing I had something to wrap it in!)

Other than that, I’m still waiting to hear back on the potential deal I had mentioned in the last post. The sellers contacted me this week and told me they went out of town and should have a final decision for me next week. So, we’ll see!

As for the other opportunity with the home in foreclosure, I’m kind of getting a bad vibe from it. The sellers haven’t called back to schedule a time to meet-up – they live out of town and the home is currently vacant. And, the park manager tells me this week – there’s no way there’s a lien of 10k left on that home. According to the park manager, he thinks the sellers are trying to up what they can get the home for. There is a lien on the home from a lender who has a pretty bad reputation.

(Note: This is one of the reasons I really don’t pursue bank owned homes. This particular lender sent me on a wild goose chase awhile back on some homes that were declared missing for back taxes owed from the county. Basically, some of these lenders “hide” their inventory on homes they take back to avoid paying what’s owed (i.e. back lot rent, back taxes, etc).

In any case, I really don’t want to deal with this lender in the first place. If folks have a lien on their home and still owe on a mortgage, I’d rather them pay off the home before I buy it. The way it works in my area is that the lien will be taken off by the lender once the home has been paid off.

Now, I have a real big problem with wiring funds to a lender to payoff a home in the hopes a lien would be taken off. I’ve heard horror stories of other investors who have worked with lenders (especially on bank owned homes) only to have problems having the liens taken off. This is a very common issue when purchasing mobile homes as personal property.

So, I’m not quite sure about this one. The park manager told me just to be careful on it. So, we’ll see.

That’s pretty much what I’ve been up to. But, today I kind of wanted to touch upon a pretty important subject. And, that is the subject of opportunities.

So many times I hear from other investors who tell me they just can’t find the types of opportunities they hear about in mobile home investing. And, they say it frustrates them.

I hear their stories of how hard it is to find a $2,000 or $3,000 mobile home they can buy. And, in hearing their stories – all I can say is that they’re focusing on the wrong thing: price.

(Note: For those who missed it, I made a video on this very subject).

Honestly, this business is about building and creating relationships. It doesen’t matter how much or how little money you have. If you cannot learn to effectively build and create relationships, it’s going to be very hard to be successful in this business.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been receiving calls from a very motivated seller. Now, we’ve had this kind of “relationship” for the past 3 years.

Every couple of months, she calls me telling me how she’s thinking about selling her home because it’s too small for her. And, we’ve talked and done some back and forth – I always advise her to just put the home on the market to see what types of offers she receives.

In any case, she got pretty motivated last week and called me constantly every, single, day. And, in hearing her situation – I told her I just wasn’t interested in her home. Why?

Well, for starters – it’s in the same park as my “$2000 Nightmare.” The other thing is that it’s an older home and quite small. It just does not fit my criteria.

In any case, she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. And, this week – she was calling me 5-6 times per day. To be honest, I cringed every time the phone rang. So, what happened?

Well, it finally got to the point where I got fed up. Usually I try to be as nice as possible, but sometimes I’ve really had to put my foot down with these folks.

On the last call this week, she told me there was another investor at the home right now who had just put an offer for $2,000 for the home. And, she went on to say – she still wanted me to come over and look at the home as her price was really low now. She then said that she’d rather sell to me as she knows me better.

After hearing her out, I took a deep breath and told her – “Listen, that’s great. Go ahead and sell to that investor. I really, really have no interest in the home – price is not an issue. I just cannot do business in that park anymore. Seriously, please stop calling me. Please.”

And, with that – she stopped. For now.

Ok, so what’s my point? The point is that there are opportunities everywhere. And, I probably would have never received this opportunity if I had not taken the time to build and create relationships. It doesen’t matter how much marketing I do, how many signs I put out, how many flyers I pass out, etc. If I don’t take the time to really build and create relationships with folks, I’m not going to get anywhere.

And, that’s the name of the game – building and creating relationships. Once you learn how to effectively build and create relationships, then opportunities will start to come. Without it, it will be very frustrating.

One more thing I want to add, the definition of an “opportunity” is different for everyone. This particular home in this particular park was not an opportunity for me. But, it was for the other investor who made the offer.

I know of one fellow investor who specializes in buying very cheap homes in low end parks. And, he does quite well – it’s his bread and butter. For me personally, this is just not my preference as I tend to work in more high end parks.

So, you see – opportunities are everywhere. But, these opportunities will not present themselves until you learn how to effectively build and create relationships. And, that is the name of the game.

I hope this post had helped. Happy Investing!

(Note: The blog will be on a sort of “mini hiatus” for the next couple of weeks with my work load being so full. I may not be able to write and/or post videos on a regular basis. But, I will try my best! )

p.s. Feel free to leave comments on any post either here and/or my Facebook Page. Comments are always welcome, thanks for reading!