Watch this video:
For your edification…you can get more info on the test I failed here:
I’ll keep you posted how all is going.
Brandon
This post is about saving time. Ultimately…that is our most valuable asset and I want to share with you 2 scenarios to get your brain cells churning.
When I first started out landlording, I’d get a call from a prospective tenant, and inevitably, they would ask:
“can you tell me about the apartment (or house, etc)”
I used to go into a long, drawn out, detailed, explanation of everything about the apartment, trying to sell the apartment.
Nowadays, I tell them how much it costs, and then ask them…”is that in the price range you were looking for, or were you looking for something a little less ?” If they are calling from the yard sign, and just dialed me up, and that is not in their budget…I just saved myself 5 or 10 minutes.
I also cut to the pet topic right away. No dogs ? Tell them right up front, and then ask them, is that a problem ? It is better than waiting until they have told you their entire personal crisis story and how they need a place to live right now, and 20 minutes later, you find out they own 3 dobermans and 5 cats. “Is that a problem?”, they ask ????
On the flip side, suppose somebody is calling you to sell their home. Probably 1/2 the time the phone call comes in, the seller begins telling you about every lovely detail from roof to basement about the property. Do not let them sell you on the property for 15 minutes, before you ask the questions that YOU need answered. You do not really care about the hand-cut crown moulding grandpa put in 8 years ago, before his poodle died, and he had to move to Florida.
Do not get me wrong, listen and empathize with them…for about 60 seconds, and then cut to the chase. It is YOUR TIME they are probably hijacking.
I oftentimes get calls from home sellers that start with “Can you tell me about how you guys work ?”, or “Can you tell me about how your program works”.
I DO NOT even consider it for 1 second, HOWEVER, I used to. I used to tell them for 5 minutes about how I generally work, etc, etc.
Now, I say: “Well, why don’t you start by giving me your name and the best phone number to reach you at, in case we get disconnected”. They will not even hesitate, provide you their info, and then you move right into asking THEM questions…not the other way around.
These are all things that come with time and experience. Believe me, it only takes wasting a Gazillion hours on people, and them squandering your time away, before you too will realize the Time Vampires that are sucking you life right out of you.
Well, here is exactly what I would recommend. You know in your heart and soul, probably 90% of all the calls you get from home sellers will start out with 1 of 10 different questions. Write them, down, and then write you own flanking responses to their questions and positions, etc.
Now, do the same for when a tenant calls. What are the 10 most common ways that your conversations start. Write down you 10 best flanking responses to get through those.
If you do JUST those items, every time it happens, depending upon how many calls you get per month, you can literally add DAYS to year.
Watch this video, it sums everything up.
When you are done watching…head on over to:
http://www.ProsperityPitstop.com and get started today!
Take care,
Brandon Yeager
This is article truly sheds some light on a growing problem in America. From the common consumer to our governmet, we all seem to live on borrowed funds. This is a trend that must (or will automatically) correct itself.
Check it out:
By Chavon Sutton, staff reporterMarch 9, 2010: 8:21 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence Survey. That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans.
Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27%, from 20% in 2009.
Confidence in ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement hovered at 16% of respondents, the second lowest point in the 20-year history of the survey.
“Americans’ attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010,” said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI’s research director and co-author of the survey, in a statement.
The percentage of workers who said they have saved for retirement fell to 69%, from 75% in 2009.
While VanDerhei attributed the decline in current savings rates to job losses, mortgage problems and the suspension of corporate 401(k) matches in 2009, he said the economy isn’t entirely to blame.
“In previous years, there were a whole lot of people who had nothing to begin with,” said VanDerhei.
The gap between what Americans have saved and what they’d need for retirement is forcing workers to prolong their working years.
According to the survey, 24% of workers said they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year, up from 14% in 2008.
But even as fears over health care costs and job prospects mount, the survey found that only 46% of workers have tried to calculate what they need for a comfortable standard of living in their golden years.
“People just don’t want to think about this,” said VanDerhei. “Everybody thinks they’re too young to think about it, until suddenly they’re too old to do anything about it.”
In general, financial planners say that retirement savings, including Social Security benefits and pension, should be large enough to provide about 80% of pre-retirement income.
To reach that target, “most Americans need to be saving within the healthy range of 6% – 10% (of their salary),” said Beth McHugh, vice president of workplace investing for Fidelity Investments.
But the survey found that 54% of the workers with some form of savings said that they have less than $25,000 stowed away.
Delaying retirement, though not ideal, is a good sign that people are finally facing reality.
“People have figured out that they don’t have enough money,” VanDerhei said. “Still, I’d rather they bite the bullet today, rather than take the chance that they’d have a job when they are 65.”
The EBRI surveyed 1,153 U.S. workers and retirees, age 25 and older, in January. 
Well, I’ve taken some big strides to bring the Pennsylvania social networking site closer to reality. And i’ve also changed my mind. I’m going to eat the costs of the site…and offer it for free. Many reasons why, but since I believe in complete “transparency”…( i hate that “pc” word), I’ll tell you.
I would rather have MORE people on the site. It was never intended to generate large amounts of cash, but to provide a medium for beginner and experienced investors across PA to better access/network with each other.
That being said, I do intend on offering training and joint ventures with other investors via that channel. I’m comfortable with that. Hopefully you are too. It will help to offset my costs, time and involvement with keeping it going. I really look forward to getting all PA investors (and support folks on it) We’ll see how it turns out.
Can’t leak too many details on it yet, but we are shooting for a launch date for Pennsylvania first (and best 
) online community for real estate investors. It is guarantteed to be an awesome platform for conversing with other investors across the state, as well as seeking expert advice.
Honestly, I’m not positive yet. I can’t offer it for free….but I’m going to try and make it a painless drop in the bucket for you.
- Discussion Forums
- Blogging platform
- Dial up friends instantly for a teleconference…free.
- audio and video presentations & postcards
- Private Messaging
and so much more…so, stay tuned!
So, you want to invest in real estate by monopolizing on the many REO (Real Estate Owned…i.e. homes foreclosed on by banks) opportunities that are proliferating across the country.
One of the keys to buying these homes is offering immediately upon a price drop. Oftentimes, banks put their listings on some type of a “rhythm” so that the price drops rather repeatedly every 3 to 4 weeks until the home sells. This is not always the case, but more often than not, happens. You want to see these price drops every time they happen.
Ask your local real estate agent to get on their mailing list.
When a new listing comes out, you NEED to know about it. Again, you need to be on this list that the agents can produce for you. Listings can be emailed straight to you, or better yet, have your better half get their real estate license, or yourself. Bottom Line: You need access to the MLS listings.
Usually, it’s the new listings/price drops that get you a bank REO. However, that is not always the case either. Even more so, today, banks are repeatedly taking offers at 50 cents on the asking price just to move the inventory. Make the offer and see if it sticks.
Happy Investing, Your friend and mentor,
Brandon Yeager
