Mike's Real Estate Journey

Super Busy

2005-04-01T00:10:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

I am sorry I haven't been posting as often as I should be. I have been fairly busy the last week. Later today I will be posting about the weeks adventures.

From now on I will try to post once again on a daily basis.

Thanks for reading my blog. Have a great day.

Officially Licensed!!!

2005-03-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

I am officially licensed in the state of Minnesota to sell real estate!!!!!!!!!! Watch out MN now I'm dangerous!!! Haha! It's nice to see the official document. It represents all the time and hard work I have put into starting this career.

HomStar USA

2005-03-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I went to a couple hours of training over at HomStar USA. We discussed about how to generate more business by introducing real estate investing to past clients. It was a pretty good session. I got to meet quite a few new people.

Before the meeting I filled in all of the paperwork. I couldn't hand in my application because I didn't have $100 with me for the application fee.

After I got done with the paperwork I chatted with Larry. Larry is currently an office manager at the Eagan branch but he also has a broker license. He is opening a HomStar branch over in Lakeville. It will be opening in a couple months. Larry wants me to transfer from the Eagan branch over to his branch once it opens. Larry seems to be a real great guy. Very knowledgable. He offered to sit down with me twice a week for a half an hour and help me come up with an action plan and answer any questions that I have. He also offered to help me through my first transaction from A to Z if I gave him 20% of my commission. He would look over all paperwork, go to the closing, answer all questions I had, and sorta mentor me through the whole process. I may hit him up on his offer.

A Brand New Look

2005-03-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Something was wrong with the blog the last few days so I decided to revamp the entire thing. It is the same format for the most part but I changed the colors to brown/tan and I have removed some of the banner ads. I hope everyone likes the new look.

My Experience With Amazon

2005-03-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

I have been putting links to Amazon.com on my website. I do this primarily for 2 reasons.

To let others know which books I recommend reading. I do not put links to every book I read. Some books just aren't worth reading. However, there are many that are worth reading.
I recieve 5% of all purchases that are made at Amazon.com in which the buyer purchases a book after clicking a link from my blog. I can then use the money I make to buy more books.

I had never ordered a book through Amazon.com so I thought I would check the whole process out. The experience was awesome! I do not know why anyone would ever buy a book at a bookstore. Let me explain. I chose to buy The Sales Bible, Secrets of Closing the Sale, and Sit & Solve Pencil Puzzles (a brainteaser book for my girlfriend).

Here's a breakdown of the process.

Search for the book
Click the add to shopping cart button at the top of the screen
Repeat the process for all other books that are desired
Click proceed to checkout
If you have an existing account just type in your password. Otherwise follow the simple instructions to create a new account. REALLY SIMPLE! Just type in your name, email, and a password and you are good to go.
After that you type in your shipping address and credit card number.
Once the transaction is complete you can track your order online. This is really cool! I watched as my order went from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Minneapolis. It even tells you the time at which your order arrived. Once I saw my order arrive in Minneapolis on Friday at 11:00 am I knew that I would recieve my package the next morning. And I did!

The other great things about Amazon.com is that they have lower prices. How much lower? I will break down my order for you. The bookstore I am referring here is Barnes & Noble

The Sales Bible: B&N = $19.99 Amazon.com = $13.57 Total Savings = $6.42
Secrets of Closing the Sale: B&N = $15 Amazon.com = $10.20 Total Savings = $4.80
Sit & Solve : B7N = $4.95 Amazon.com = $4.95 Total Savings = $0.00

As you can see I saved $11.22 just by shopping at Amazon.com. Wait didn't I have to pay shipping? Nope! If you purchase $25 worth of books the shipping is FREE!

Overall I would give my shopping experience with Amazon.com a 5/5 rating. The only downside to shopping at Amazon.com is that you cannot physically touch the book and preview it. To combat this I go to Barnes & Noble, look at the book that I am thinking about buying and then go home and buy it online. I hope this review helps all of the readers that have not shopped through Amazon.com.

I hope that next time you buy a book, movie, music, computer, or anything else Amazon.com has to offer, you will do it by first coming to my blog and clicking on one of my links to Amazon. I would greatly appreciate it. I promise that any money I make through your purchase I will apply to buying more books and thus learning more. Thank you for your support.

Turn Off That TV!

2005-03-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

AND READ!!! I am absolutely amazed at how much you can learn when you read. I have acquired so much knowledge just by reading. I highly encourage everyone to read, read, read. Many people say they do not have the time. If you cut out watching television you will have more time to read and exercise. By doing this you will feel better about yourself.

I Know It's Been Slow

2005-03-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have been spending the last week reading. I haven't had much to report on. I have also been working on my 12 Year Action Plan. In a couple weeks things will really pick up since I am starting my real estate career. I will be posting all of my daily adventures. I hope to get feedback from the readers.

Thanks for reading this blog. I really appreciate the support.

12 Year Action Plan - Part 1

2005-03-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started writing my 12 year action plan. I plan on covering what I want to accompish in all phases of my life for the next 12 years. I have been working on the financial/investing side of things. Today I am going to continue working on this section. After I am done with the entire thing I will post it here on the blog.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Only 2 Weeks

2005-03-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

Wow! 2 weeks til I start my real estate career. While most people my age are still trying to figure out which college to go to I am already starting a career. I am going to sit down in hte next couple days and come up with my complete 12 year plan. I will outline everything that I want to accomplish over the next 12 years to reach my goal of retiring. It will be pretty extensive.

Great Quote

2005-03-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

By the time someone graduates from college, they have completed seventeen years of formal education. But in that time, they didn’t attend a single class on how to raise a child, and they haven’t been the first thing about how to sell – which, ironically, are two of the most important functions an adult will be asked to perform in their lifetime.

Thomas A. Freese, author of Question Based Selling

Ticking Away

2005-03-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

Only 16 days til I start my real estate career!!! In the mean time I am going to continue to read books about the subject. I am going to write an action plan for my first year. I am excited!!!!

Age

2005-03-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

My study hall teacher Mr. Hart told me that he was having a discussion about me with some of the other faculty members at my high school. He told me that they thought it was cool that I was so ambitious but they also commented "Who in the heck would let an 18 year old sell their house!"

Mr. Hart told me that him and Mrs. Huls (my current events teacher) both think that I will do an excellent job. These other teachers didn't know me so they really can't judge me.

Mr. Hart also told me that by wearing my hair professionally, wearing a suit, wearing a tie and dress slack I could easily look in my 20s.

I hope that I can prove to people that age doesn't matter.

Love To Hear From You

2005-03-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

I would love to get an update on all the readers. I know alot of you from Pro Source. I thought it would be cool if I could recieve an update from you guys at least once a month. Mabye I could have a monthly feature where I write a post about the progress of everyone else out in the real estate world. You can send me an email at pahl_mike@yahoo.com

The Dictionary

2005-03-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

I think I read this in one of Zig Ziglar's books. A man that Zig knew had read a page of the Dictionary everyday. This ended up greatly expanding not only his vocabulary but also his knowledge. I think that I could easily take 5-10 minutes a day to read one page of the dictionary. In the Dictionary that I have at home there are 1365 pages. This will take me approximately 4 years to read the entire dictionary. Wow! At age 22 I will be able to say that I have read the dictionary.

I think that I will post a word of the day from now on.

Shopping Sucks

2005-03-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Haha! The last few weeks I have been out shopping trying to find some dress shirts that fit me. It reminds me of Mission Impossible. It seems that the clothing companies have decided that no scrawny guys wear dress shirts. Luckily I came across a website that makes custom shirts. I think that I will order a custom made shirt and see how it goes. Being a young guy I am going to have to look really sharp. Wearing baggy dress shirts does not make you look sharp.

Congratulations!

2005-03-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

I would like to take a minute to congratulate Steve on the purchase of his first investment property. Steve was the inspiration for this blog. I was very excited when I read that his offer was accepted. I plan to be in his shoes within the next year. Once again congratulations Steve!

If you would like to read Steve's blog you can find it here.

Over The Top!

2005-03-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

I spent the last couple days reading Over The Top by Zig Ziglar. This book is pheonemal! I am really glad my Aunt Mary sent it to me. This book will really change your life. I am sure of it. I want everyone reading this blog to go out and get a copy of this book this weekend. I don't care if you check it out at the library, get it at the bookstore, or buy it online but I truly believe everyone should read this book NOW! I know some of you have already read it. I encourage you to read it again. Take action today otherwise you may never read this book.

Zig Ziglar is a tremendous author and speaker. I have been listening to some of his audio casesstes while I drive. (Yes, I only have a cassette player in my car) He is very motivational and often hilarious. If anyone gets a chance to listen to his tapes/cds I would highly recommend it.

This weekend I plan on picking up a copy of Secrets of Closing the Sale. This is another Zig Ziglar book. I read a few pages of it last night when I was at Barnes & Noble and I like it quite a bit.

A Quick Thanks

2005-03-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

I would like to personally thank everyone that has helped me out so far in my life. I would like to thank all of the people that read my blog. I would like to thank all the readers that contribute to this site by posting comments. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots To Come

2005-03-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

I have written quite a few posts in my notebook. I will be typing them up and putting them online this afternoon. Make sure to check back!

Things Slowing Down Just a Bit

2005-03-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't been as active writing post since the death of my grandpa. That week was pretty stressful. I was going to go full force into the real estate gig but my girlfriend and family encouraged me to take some time off before I go full force. I think I will get started at the beginning of April. That will give me some time to really consider which company I will work for.

I am still spending quite a bit of time reading books and listening to tapes. I am very excited to get started but I do think it is a good idea to slow down and enjoy life too. After all I am only 18 years old.

Zig Zigler

2005-03-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

I recieved my early graduation present from my Aunt Mary. I have been listening to some of Zig's tapes and I think they are amazing. Not only are they helpful there are some really hilarious parts. I am also reading one of his books. It is really good.

10 Keys To Success

2005-03-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

I was reading an old book that I found on my parents bookshelf. It is pretty outdated but still offers good advice. These are Marc Garrison's ten keys to success for investing in real estate. These 10 keys can be found in the book, Financially Free.

Do set aside time each day for success.
Do learn before you leap.
Do organize our personal finances
Do set realistic goals
Do establish a reputation for honesty
Don't believe everything you hear
Don't trust instinct alone; use experts if necessary.
Don't wait for success; make it happen.
Don't eat all of your profits.
Don't buy without a good propety analysis.

Pros/Cons

2005-03-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

There are three companies that I have seriously looked at. They are Keller Williams, HomStar USA, and Independent Brokers Realty. They all have their pros/cons.

KELLER WILLIAMS
Pros
Largest of the 3 companies
More established
Appears to have the most training
No monthly fees

Cons
Profit sharing is confusing
Being pressured to join a team

HOMSTAR USA
Pros
Fast growing company
Very nice/knowledgable owner
Very generous recruitment bonus
Training every Wednesday
Excellent website tools
No monthly fees

Cons
Not as well known as other companies

Independent Brokers Realty
Pros
Best split 90/10
One on one personal coach
Very nice/knowledgable owner
Excellent website tools

Cons
Office is far away
$100 monthly fee - plus you have your MLS fees

Good Read

2005-03-06T00:26:00.000-08:00

I read this online. I thought that it was a very excellent read and wanted to share it with you guys!

Say you were a dancer or a football player and I told you that you were amazing, aside from the 10 mistakes you seem to commonly make.Wouldn't you want to know what those 10 mistakes are? If you could get a video of yourself making those 10 mistakes, would you watch it over an over until you could identify and correct each mistake and be a perfect dancer or player?When would you want to make that video of those mistakes? While you're practicing, or when you're on stage or in the final game.I consider mistakes to be highly valuable. Everyone knows you should "learn from you mistakes," but most people are also afraid of making mistakes. On top of that, most of us will try to cover up, hide, or forget about mistakes we've made because we are ashamed of them. In my opinion, hiding mistake is the opposite of learning from them.This is why most dancers and martial artist practice in front of a mirror. You see yourself making mistakes and you can realize it, and correct it, thus becoming better at what you're practicing. Football teams and coaches will actually watch recorded video footage of themselves and other teams, looking for mistakes and weaknesses to capitalize on or correct.So I think mistakes are good if you stop and reflect on them, learn from them, and correct yourself or the situation to not repeat this mistake. After all, this is the inevitable process. Either you correct your mistake the first time you make it, or you will repeat that mistake until you finally correct it. Mistake get correct eventually, it's just a matter of how many times you want to repeat it before correcting it.As I've already said, you want to make that mistake while you're practicing, not in the final performance. A mistake in either situation can be learned from, but one has a much higher "cost" than the other. Learning that you fumbled a play in practice because you don't know how to hold the ball right, compared to fumbling the ball in the final game for the same reason is a big difference in cost. One might cost the team the time it takes to redo the play, or maybe cost you an extra couple of laps after practice. The other might cost you the game, or might tarnish the team/fan moral.

-Danny's Blog

Torn

2005-03-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

This morning I had an interview with Kevin, the owner of Independent Brokers Realty. He was a really nice guy. He was very knowledgeable and very positive. The company is smaller but still seems to have everything that an agent needs. He pointed out that most people don't choose a realtor based on the company that they work for but rather on the reputation of the person. They have a personal trainer that will coach you through the entire process. The 90/10 split is very tempting.

Denied!

2005-03-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today I recieved a letter from Discover Card saying that they would not issue me a credit card due to my lack of credit history. It's a classic catch-22. To get a credit card/loan you need a credit history. To get a credit history you need a credit card/loan.

Luckily for me I have a backup plan. My friend Richard informed me that his 19 year old daughter applied for a secured credit card through Capital One. She put up $300 as collateral and Capital One issued her a credit card with a $300 credit limit. After a few months of using it responsibly Capital One bumped her credit limit up to $500. I plan on using the exact same method as Richard's daughter to establish my credit history.

IMPRESSED!!!

2005-03-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

I interviewed HomStar USA today. I am extremely impressed. The broker is a really great guy. Througout the entire meeting he kept his entire focus on me. The phone rang a few times and he ignored it. He is the founder of HomStar USA. I was very impressed with every aspect of the business. The company meets the two most important requirements that I am looking for.

Friendly, available, knowledgable broker
Training in place

I have a gut feeling that this will be who I will be working for. However to be fair I will still interview with Independent Brokers Realty and I will still talk to the agent Susan's parents want me to meet with. He still hasn't called me back and I left a message on Monday. That is sort of dissapointing.

Early Graduation Gift

2005-03-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

I talked to my Aunt Mary the other day. She informed me that she has quite a few books and audiotapes that she thinks may be helpful in my pursuit of retiring by age 30. She told me that she is going to send them out in the next few days. I am excited to see what I will recieve. I am sure that I will learn something new by reading/listening.

Exploring My Options

2005-03-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

At the advice of my uncle I am going to explore my options when it comes to deciding what real estate company to work for. I have already talked with Keller Williams. They are the front runner for now. However, I haven't really looked at any other companies yet.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the broker for HomStar USA.

On Saturday I have an appointment with the broker for Independent Brokers Realty.

Susan's parents have dealt with an agent for quite a few transactions and they told him about me. Her parents tell me he is quite excited to meet me and wants me to sit down with him and his broker. I left a message on his voice mail. I am sure he will call me back tomorrow and I can set up an appointment.

After I have interviewed the different companies I will post a recap of my findings. I would love to get some feedback from the readers to see what they think.

Changes to This Site

2005-02-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

I have made some changes to the site. I added a message board on the side in hope that I can create a community where ideas can be exchanged, comments can be made, and feedback can be given. It is really easy to post a message. Just type in your name, email address, and your message and click the TAG button.

I have also moved some items around. I hope this doesn't bug anyone. I have been trying to make a strong effort to promote books that I have found useful. At least once a week I will update the Featured Reading and Featured Audio.

If there is anything else that you would like to see added/removed just let me know by sending me an email at pahl_mike@yahoo.com

Short Quote

2005-02-28T22:37:00.000-08:00

If you make a sale, you can earn a commission. If you make a friend you can earn a fortune.

-Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling : 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness and The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource, Revised Edition

Dress For Success

2005-02-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

In business and life people are going to judge you by your appearance. It will be important for me to appear sharp while out in the real world. A couple weeks ago I went into a Nordstrom's department store and sought out the advice of a man that was working in the men's department. We discussed the basics of dressing well and how to establish a basic wardrobe on a semi-limited budget. Here are my findings.

The Basics of Any Man's Wardrobe

Dress shirts: 4 or 5 different shirts would be a great start. The colors that were suggested were white, ecru, French blue, and light blue. All of these colors are very versatile. Since I am a thinner guy he recommended a tapered cut to fit my body better.

Pants: 3 pairs would be satisfactory. The colors that were suggested were khaki, grey, and black.

Suits: The gentleman from Nordstrom's suggested a basic navy blue or black suit. I may or may not buy a suit right away.

Neck Ties: Only a few ties are required right away. The key is to make sure that the tie and the shirt share a common color. By buying ties with blue in them I can pretty much wear any tie with any shirt.

Shoes: It is critical to have a nice pair of black shoes and a nice pair of brown shoes.

Real Estate Invesment Seminar

2005-02-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

On March 4th and 5th there will be a real estate investment seminar taking place in Minneapolis. I saw the ad in the local real estate section and I became super excited. The only downside is that it cost $250. That is a hefty price for a total of 6 hours of education. If you would like to take a look at what is being offered you can go to http://64.78.44.14/conference2005/about.html. If the information is worthwhile then the $250 price tag would be justified however using that $250 would also be useful to help start my real estate career. I don't know what to do!

Good Quote

2005-02-27T01:28:00.000-08:00

When I was reading How to List and Sell Real Estate: Executing New Basics for Higher Profits I came across a terrific quote.

"To be blunt about it—you’re no good to yourself or anyone else if you’re dead, Nor are you of much use if you’re dragging yourself around half-dead. So your most essential goal is to stay alive, healthy, and energetic.
This seems too obvious to write and yet every year three wildly popular killer lifestyles claim the lives of many Americans long before their time, and sap the energy of even more. How many people do you know whose lives decided too soon because thy put on too much weight, smoked, or avoided exercise?" -Danielle Kennedy, author of How to List and Sell Real Estate.

5 Properties

2005-02-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

The other night Susan and I ran the numbers on five properties. We ended up finding 2 properties that would produce positive cashflow even if we paid the list price. The cashflow for the first property was $170 and the second was $130. I am wondering if I didn't factor something in. I used the Dakota Country Rental Market Report to figure out average rents and vacancy rates. I figured a 6.5% interest rate. I know that is a little high but I like to be on the safe side. I am going to send the data over to Todd or Joe and let them see if I missed anything. I will post a more detailed result of my analysis on these 2 properties tomorrow.

Swimmin With The Sharks!

2005-02-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today I started reading Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive : Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition for the third time. It was the 1st book nonfiction book that I ever read that wasn't assigned during English class. The best feature about this book is that it is broken into short lessons. Most lessons are 1-2 pages. This is great because you can read a lesson or two when you have a few spare minutes. Imagine how much more you can learn if you utilize those otherwise wasted minutes.

Here is a few lessons that I found useful for selling/investing in real estate.

Lesson 1: It's not how much it's worth, It's how much people think it's worth
Lesson 10: Short notes yield long results
Lesson 20: Smile and say no until your tongue bleeds
Lesson 21: Send in the clones (very useful for real estate investing)
Lesson 24: Single most powerful tool for winning a negotiation is the ability to walk away from the table without a deal
Lesson 32: Everything is Negotiable
Lesson 33: Buyer/Seller Battle

All of these lessons are only a few pages maximum. Most are only 1-2 pages long so you can read them in a very short period of time. The other cool thing about the book is that in the back are "quickies". These are really short-to-the-point lessons. These are really quick reads.

Barnes & Noble - More Than Just A Bookstore

2005-02-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

It's a great place to network. I was only in one for less than a half an hour and I met two very interesting people. My main purpose was to find some books by Zig Zaglar. I couldn't find them on the shelf so I asked an employee. He couldn't find them so he left to look the location up on a computer. A man in his mid 20s approched me and we started chatting. He pointed out some books that he thought I would find useful. He runs an internet marketing business. He was very impressed with me being so ambitous.

A second man approached me after the 1st man left. He was a really nice guy. We chatted for awhile. He is a stock option enthusiast. I am looking forward to chatting with him in the future about that whole investment option. There is alot to be learned but it would open myself to a second avenue of investing. He also informed me of how his 19 year old daughter established good credit. She went out and got a secured credit card through Capital One and used it to buy small things. She would then pay off the balance upon recieving her statement. She did this for 6 months and boom she had a good credit history. I am going to get myself a credit card in the coming days and start the process.

Roaming the Halls of School

2005-02-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

As I was roaming the halls of my school I saw a poster near the social studies department. It was called Thomas Jeffersons: Rules of Conduct.

Here is what is said:

Never put off tomorrow what you can do today
Never trouble another with what you can do yourself
Never spend your money before you have it
Never buy a thing you do not want because it is cheap
Take care of your cents; dollars will take care of themselves
Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold
We never repent of having eaten too little
Nothing is troublesome that one does willingly
How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened
Take things always by their smooth handle
Think as you please and so let others and you will have no disputes
When angry, count 10 before you speak; if very angry, 100.

I think these are all good rules to live by.

Gold Mine Worth of Info

2005-02-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

I was doing some research online and I found a gigantic report put out by the county I live in. The report contains information about the rental market in each city of the county. The data is pretty extensive. I can see average rent prices and vacancy rates for each type of property. For example by looking at this report I can find out the average rent price of a 2 Br unit in Farmington. I can also see the average vacancy rate for that unit.

This report could be a very valuable resource when looking at rental properties to buy. The report can be found at http://www.dakotacda.org/04survey.pdf I have a good feeling I will be using this quite a bit in the future. It would be interesting to see if other counties in the Twin Cities do a similar report.

Meeting with Grand Puba - Part 2

2005-02-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

The meeting with David Christensen went really well. Keller Williams appears to be a very solid company. They are encouraging me to be part of a team. I am not exactly sure my role on the team but that will be discussed next week. The person in charge of handling new recruits is out in Las Vegas right now so I have to wait til at least Friday. With my grandpa's funeral/visitation coming up I think I will wait til next week to get started.

Running Some Numbers

2005-02-23T01:37:00.000-08:00

The other night I was looking at properties online. I saw a 1 bedroom place located in Hastings, MN. I decided to run some numbers on the property to estimate the cashflow, tax benefits, appreciation, and equity built within the 1st year of ownership. For all my estimates I was very conservative. I used the Dakota County Rental Market Survey to determine my rent price and the vacancy rate.

Here is what I found if I paid the list price for the property:

It would generate a negative cashflow of approximately $30/month
I would be able to pay off $800 off the principal
The appreciation would be approximately $5000.
The tax savings would be about $50.

This would be if I paid full price. I should have ran the numbers if I offered $10,000 less the list price.

Meeting with Grand Puba - Part 1

2005-02-22T01:38:00.000-08:00

At least that's what I think Jenn calls the broker over at the Lakeville Keller Williams office. Today at 3:30 I am going to be interviewing the broker to see if I want to work for Keller Williams. It should be an interesting meeting. I will keep you updated.

Good and Bad News

2005-02-21T22:28:00.000-08:00

Got a bit of both.

Good News
I had a meeting with Jenn today. Things went really well. I am going to be interviewing the broker tomorrow. I think that Keller Williams and I will be a good fit. Susan and my family do not want me working a whole lot until after I graduate. Shane is starting a team. The first person he recruited to be on his team was Jenn. Now he wants me on his team. I am not 100% sold on the concept totally but we will see.

Bad News
My grandpa passed away today. I recieved the news in the afternoon before my meeting. It is really sad. For the last 15 minutes of his life he held my grandma tightly in his arms down in a hospital. I will really miss him. He was a great man. Quite the jokester. I will really miss the conversations we had. He was quite the real estate guru. I remember having conversations with him when I was younger but I didn't understand alot that he said. Now I can and he is no longer around.

Grandpa I know you can read this and I want you to know that I love you and I will miss you.

Books

2005-02-21T01:05:00.000-08:00

As you can all probably guess I am a book-a-holic. I think they are great. On Sunday Kelly mentioned the RichDad PoorDad series. I have personally read practically every book that Robert Kyosaki has written. They are great mind-set changers. I truly believe these books should be on every single bookshelf in America. These books played a huge role in making me so ambitious.

Here a step by step breakdown of what you need to read to change your mindset:

Grab a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Read it once. Then read it again. Really absorb all the information.
Then pick up a copy of Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom. Read this book over. Feel your mind start to shift.
The next 2 books I am going to recommed did not recieve as high marks with some customers at Amazon but I still enjoyed them. Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! are both great reads in my opinion. Buyers beware these are a little bit longer than the 1st 2 books.

Congratulations!!!! You are going to look at things differently for the rest of your life.

So Much To Do

2005-02-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

So much to do! So little time! Just joking. I have plenty of time but I think that I should start sooner than later. Maybe I could get my 6 months of experience and be with Keyland Homes before the Fall Parade of Homes. Who knows? Maybe I will like selling existing real estate.

Here's a list of things to do on Monday.

Call Keller Williams and set up an appointment/interview
Call Prudential Realty and set up an appointment/interview
Call Ryland Homes and see what opportunities exist
Call Jenn and set up time for meeting
Go order a new pair of glasses (Pearl Vision has a 50% off sale)

I'm sure there are more things to do. This is a good start.

Graduated!

2005-02-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

I have completed all 90 hours!!!! Whoo hoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Today the class was great. We discussed all the benefits of owning investment properties. We also discussed how to manage time and money. Goal setting was also discussed. When I got home Susan and I immediately went out and looked at three houses on the Parade of Homes. At the first house I chatted with the real estate agent. I let her know that I just graduated and was looking to get with a builder. She let me know that Ryland Homes was always looking. I will look into it. She gave me a card and said she loved working for Prudential Realty. She said it was a smaller company but they give you free training and the sales manager is really nice. I will have to give the sales manager a call.

We were looking at the third house when Jenn called. When she said her name I couldn't recall meeting her. Anyways she told me that she had been hired by a real estate company and she had joined a team. She was very impressed with me and said it would be nice to work with me. She wants to meet with me tomorrow. I don't know which company she works for but I am going to give her a call in the morning and set up a meeting for early Monday morning. I will look into the details.

Keller Williams?

2005-02-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

A few people at Pro Source today told me that they think Keller Williams is one of the better real estate companies to work for. After I got home I called Francine, whom I met at class, and talked to her about the benefits of working for Keller Williams. She informed me that starting out you receive a 70/30 split on commissions. This is alot better than the 50/50 you see with Edina Realty or Coldwell Banker Burnet. From there the commission split becomes more in your favor as you sell more real estate. There are no desk fees like alot of other real estate companies. This is very important especially to someone starting out. They also have a profit sharing program. It seems a little complex and I don't quite understand it well enough to explain on the blog but I will try to find out more and explain it later. They also appear to have an excellent training program.

Heres a list of cost associated with getting started:

$100 license fee
$50 new agent resource manual (optional)
$94.73 SUPER KEY lock box (electronic lock box system) or $20 for push button lock box
$20 MLS Setup
$25 Keller Williams national fee
$277 Errors/Ommisions insurance
$374 Southern Twin Cities Association dues
$38/month MLS fees
$10/month National Technology Fund

So we are looking at slightly under $1000 to get up and running with Keller Williams. Francine said she compared Keller Williams with Edina and the start up fees were significantly less. I have the contact info for the Apple Valley office and I think I will be giving them a call on Monday.

Saturday Classes - Part 2

2005-02-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

Today we took everything that we have learned in the past 75 hours and we ended up "completing" a transaction from top to bottom.

Some of the stuff we filled out today:

Convential/Insured convential qualifier
Buyers expense sheet
Sellers expense sheet
Purchase agreement
Financing addendum
Personal Property agreement
Inspection contingency addendum
Others that I can't remember

We also went over how to present an offer. The instructor, Steve, was a very informative guy. We spoke quite a bit during the breaks. He gave me some good advice. I noticed that all the instructors at Pro Source are pretty good at teaching/speaking. Only a couple teachers were boring. Only 1 more class to go and I'm done!!! Until I decide to take some continuing education.

Saturday Classes - Part 1

2005-02-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

I am so excited!!! This morning I printed out some business cards with my contact information and the address for this blog. As I was passing them out I ended up meeting a man named Pete. Pete owns quite a few investment properties and really seems to know what he is doing. He owns his own construction company. I will definetely be speaking to him tomorrow. He said it would be cool to get together with him outside of class and talk some more. I want to learn as much as I can.

The Meeting

2005-02-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

I drove up to Cottage Grove to talk to Tim. We ended up chatting for about ninety minutes. He was a very nice knowledgable guy. He informed me that most builders are going to require that you have some experience in the industry before hiring you. He suggested that I go hang my license with a bigger company such as Edina Realty, Remax, or Coldwell Banker. That way I can get some additional training and learn the business. He told me that he would keep an eye out for any opportunities that arose involving his company or other new construction companies. We are going to keep in contact. I am looking forward to meeting with him down the road again.

Parade of Homes - Thursday

2005-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

We ended up seeing approximately a dozen houses this afternoon. We could have seen more but I spent alot of time talking with the real estate agents. Some were pretty discouraging. They told me I didn't have much of a chance getting hired in the new construction field at my age. However, a few of the agents thought that I had tons of potential and may have to start out as an assisstant to someone but they believed that I could do very well in the field.

One agent suggested that I look at bigger construction companies because they typically have training programs. He said it would be almost impossible to get with a custom builder right away.

He suggested looking at:

Lanar
US Homes
Keyland
Centex
Rottland
Ryland
M.W. Johnson
Kenco
Swift
Hans Hagen

I wrote down the numbers of some people to contact at some of the above builders. I think I will give them a call either tomorrow or Monday.

It is simply amazing how much houses cost here in the Twin Cities. Some neighborhoods you are looking at $400,000 minimum. Lots are going for over $100,000 in many subdivisions throught the Twin Cities. Unbelievable!

Parade of Homes

2005-02-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

Right after school my girlfriend and I are going to go see a bunch of homes on the Parade of Homes. For those of you that don't live in the Twin Cities the Parade of Homes is a showcase of new construction single family homes. There are over 1100 houses on the Spring Parade of Homes. While we are out looking at homes I am going to bring a notebook and write down all the different construction companies that build the houses and try to find out which real estate company represent them. That way if things don't work out with Tiffany Realty (represents Keyland Homes) then I will have a backup. I hear from some people that it can be difficult to get into the new construction field without a contact within the industry. I guess I will just have to see how dificult it can be.

Big Meeting

2005-02-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

On Friday I have a meeting with an agent that works for a real estate company that represents a builder here in the Twin Cities. My parents have built a couple homes in the past 10 years with him being the agent. He seems like a really busy guy but very friendly. His dad happens to own the real estate company so I am hoping that maybe he will be able to pull a few strings for me. I have to decide if I want to dress up for this meeting. My dad doesn't think so but I do want to leave a good impression.

My REI Plan - Part 3: To Do List

2005-02-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

Right now I am not in a position to put my plan in motion. I need to accomplish certain things before I can get the ball rolling.

I need to:

Establish a credit history
Possibly start a corportation
Create business cards
Build a team (Lawyer, accountant, mortgage originator, appraiser, home inspector)
Find a mentor
Continue to learn as much as I can about investing in real estate

My Real Estate Investing Plan - Part 1: Goals

2005-02-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

To accomplish anything you need to have a plan. It can be quite difficult to achieve your dreams without goals and a well structured plan.

Introduction
This section of my REI plan is to state what I want to accomplish by investing in real estate.

Retire
Even though I am only 18 years old I know that I don't want to work for the rest of my life in the traditional sense. I spent 1 1/2 years working at local retail shops and I hated it! I dreaded going to work everyday. All I ever did was deal with idiot "guests" and idiot managers all day long. I figure that no matter what you do in life you are going to have to deal with idiots but at least you should get compensated well for it. By age 30 I would like to "retire" in the sense that whether or not I get up in the morning and do something that day I will still be able to live comfortably.

Family
By age 30 I want to be able to start a family. I want to be there for my wife and kids as much as possible. I want to be able to play in the backyard with the kids when they get home from school. I want to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my wife and kids.

Coaching
I have always dreamed of being a high school football coach. Molding young guys into men would be very satisfying. I love the game of football and wasn't blessed with enough athletic talent to continue playing in college and beyond. Coaching would be the next best thing to playing.

Travel
There are so many places on this planet worth visiting. When I was younger I had an absolute blast going to Florida with my family. I want to be able to provide that same joy to my kids.

These are the main reasons that I want to be financially independent by age 30.

My REI Plan - Part 2: How I'm Going To Do It

2005-02-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

$10,000 of passive income/month is my goal at age 30. The method I believe I will use to achieve this goal is through rental properties. Of course more research of my local market may determine that other methods would be more suitable.

How to achieve $10,000 of passive income/month in 12 years.

Figuring each property provides $150 positive cashflow each month, I would need to purchase approximately 67 properties in 12 years.
This would equal out to approximately 6 properties a year.
This would mean that I would need to purchase 1 property every 2 months.
The general rule of thumb that I've seen is that you will need to look at 100 properties before you find one worth buying. To be on the safe side I will look at 120 properties which equals out to looking at 2 properties every day for 12 years.

After breaking it down it doesn't seem too bad. Right?

About Me

2005-02-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

Ever since I discoverd blogs I thought that it would be a great way to keep track of my progress and get to know other individuals. I personally read every post over at http://myrei.blogspot.com . Steve's blog was the inspiration for me to start my own.

MY BACKGROUND
I'm an 18 year old guy from Minnesota who happens to have a passion for real estate. I am currently a senior in high school. I am well on my way of obtaining a real estate license. I have completed 75 of the 90 hours required here in Minnesota to obtain your license. Next weekend will be the last 15 hours of classes and I will be done!!! I passed both the national and state test at my first stab at it. Once I graduate from high school in early June I plan to work as an agent for a new construction company here in the Twin Cities.

I have read many of the books in the RichDad Series. I have also read many other books petaining to investing in real estate. My goal is to "retire" by age 30. I want to be finacially independent by that age so I can start a family and be there for my kids.

I know I have alot to learn about many different things but I feel the best way to learn is to do.

Get ready because this is going to be one interesting and probably crazy ride.