Cheap Houses, Hawaii Five-0 and Girls Soccer
Happy Halloween!
Hey Team, hope all is well and everyone is turning in a solid year! It’s been a while since our last blog post, but wanted to consolidate everything that I have been doing in this “all in one” post for ya’.
Here’s a quick peak into my world:
5 Day Sale and Buying Cheap Houses
We recently conducted an auction to sell that condo that we recently completed the rehab on. Without reading the “5 day sale” book listed below, I thought we did pretty well even though we sold the unit by listing it on the MLS. Here is the short, short version of our initial run with selling it by auctioning it. We marketed like crazy an open house where potential buyers bid on your property. After a long 2 days of showing the condo, we had our highest offer, but still not high enough to realize a profit. We then started calling people asking if they would like to advance the bid. We pushed the offer price up about $100k just from making those calls. That was the first “5 day sale” that I did, and if I were to do it again, there would be a much more aggressive marketing campaign. Ironically, the lady who made the highest had to back out.
However… we recently accepted a very strong offer and opened escrow with someone that I showed the condo to for $405k! 
I guess my theories are correct that the ones who buy are never the ones that you had in mind:) So why am I using the term “cheap houses”? Well, I had a great strategy meeting with my local real estate partner Mark Douglass and we were looking at Google key word terms. The keyword “cheap houses” gets an enormous amount of searches monthly. Check it out sometime! I love the Hawaii real estate market and my heart is here on Oahu, as we just sent out 1,000 mailers, and have a solid team coming together. If you or anyone you know is buying or selling in Hawaii, Memphis, or anywhere else let’s do a deal! Greg Harris and I can answer any question you may have. If you are a serious cash buyer or want to start wholesaling with us go to www.getcashcowdealstoday.com or email/call me. Lets talk! rosenhm@gmail.com (808)383-5714
I hear great things about this book, just haven’t read it as of this post. In my opinion, Marc Imhof’s Wholesaling For Quick Cash is the best wholesaling course out there and the REI WebTools software is awesome as well. Another amazing resource on lease options is Bill Walston who in my book is the authority figure on lease option assignments, master lease options and many other creative REI strategies. Check out what he has going on–>BillOnBusiness.Net
U6 Girls Soccer
My middle daughter Courtney is playing in the under 6 division on Ayso soccer. I’m the head coach and really fell in love with coaching soccer. Especially when you have your own child competing. Not to brag or be hyper competitive, but within 6 games we scored 68 goals and gave up 4!! With my daughter scoring 28 of them. Here is where it gets a little wierd…There is supposed to be a 5 point spread before the team dominating gets creative to show mercy on the other team in an effort to promote fun and a good experience. But let’s get real, we all want to clobber our opponent, and if our team was getting smashed I wouldn’t whine and cry about it, I would tell my girls to keep having fun and try to at least touch the ball:). There is more to the story, just ask me:) 
Here is a little clip of the traditional tunnel all the parents do for the kids. We are the pink team, and my daughter is #7.
Team Pinkalicious –>
Hawaii Five O
So my sister in law had an idea to submit my information to a casting agency for an extra role in Hawaii Five-0. As a avid fan, I thought sure, might as well give it a shot. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought how much I would actually love to be in the show. The day I arrived to the set, it was bustling with people and moving objects. Finally found the area where I am supposed to go. Within minutes I am taken to the set where I am sitting on the card table with Billy Baldwin and some others that are portraying former cops..bad cops. Then the director said “ok, get out of your chair go to the lunchroom”, hmmm…am I fired?! So after hours of twiddling my thumbs and eating cereal, they said I would be the driver in a night scene with Grace Park and Billy Ray Gallion who is playing Ray Mapes. It seemed that we did a number of takes with a few of them in a very fast driving scene. Cool thing was the director knew me by name and Grace Park and Billy Ray were like instant friends. Making jokes with them was classic, and having people like that know you by name was really cool. The next couple days we did a scene where we drop off Grace park (Kono) to her house in Manoa. That was a blast, and really got to know some of those people that make the show what it is. What I learned was how much people and equipment it takes to cut a 2 or 3 minute scene. I would love to do that again and even showcase some fighting or action next time. But at this point, I am just some dude driving the Escalade.
Jim Ingersoll’s “Investing Now” Book Review
Jim Ingersoll’s Investing Now
This is a really great book loaded with content. No fluff, hype, salesy stuff, none of that. Fresh off the press practical content from someone who lives and breathes real estate investing.
Why I love “Investing Now”:
- For starters, I like the size and shape of the book. Do you read in bed? Ever fall asleep with a large hard cover book? Yeah, you know then…you wake up with a dent on your forehead:( This book is small, and softcover also good for the airplane:)
- His attention to details on the rehab process were very mind opening. I have a whole new perspective of curb appeal, kitchens, and bathrooms, flooring, landscaping, etc.. In fact in my recent wholesale deal it really helped me look at the deal with a whole new set of eyes.
- His approach to marketing for sellers was awesome and simple! Code violations, vacant properties, looking for burnt out landlords. With clues overlooked like looking for large items of stuff on the curb in front of a house. Follow the path..could be an eviction that leads to a frustrated landlord willing to sell fast.
- Strategies on going to the courthouse for sellers that were phenomenal.
- He mentions BiggerPockets and Joshua Dorkin a couple times. How freaking cool is that!! And the numbers are staggering. Over 61,000 members, over 288,000 posts, over 700 articles, over 1,000 user maintained blogs that total over 10,000 blog posts!! That is gigantic!! I am glad he mentions that cause everyone should be on BP.
- 4 key elements to improving your offer with REO’s: (gotta read the book for his explanation).
- YouTube video strategies, social media, and creating a blog to sell your properties. Tie in a video of the property on your blog and integrate it with all your profiles.
- How to sell your house in this market we are in by really making the house top notch, first class and stand out from the rest of the houses in the area.
- Great case studies with pictures.
- Private Money strategies and techniques that you can do today!
Basically he goes into flipping properties from A–>Z and does not leave one rock unturned.
Love this book! And it’s less than $15 bucks.
To order this book, go here –>
For more information on Jim Ingersoll and what he does, go to InvestingNowNetwork.Com.
P.S. Thank you all for voting for me in the REIMillions Contest for best REI blogs. We took 4th place! Wooohoo!! Results will be posted and sent to all the REI.Com members here shortly.
Product Review: “Wholesaling Quick Launch”
Hey Gang,
I wanted to share with you my complete and candid review on a wholesaling course that I would encourage you to consider.
As you know there are soooo many courses and guru’s promising you the riches of the world overnight. And with the gazillion emails you get about everything under the sun, it can be…frustrating? Is that the right word?? Yes, you can make ton of money and create true wealth, but only after you put in some real time education and get equipped with the know how. The reason I like Marc’s course is that he is a real person in the trenches, doing deals! Not getting down on all the “experts” out there, because I can find something useful in most courses. But I gotta say that there is music to the words, something extra that you get when being mentored by someone who is doing deals today.
In Marc Imhof’s Wholesaling Quick Launch course every module has a video and ebook. (Which I love, because I absorb video more than reading often) When you go through the material, you will see that Marc poured his heart into this training.
Here’s a sneak peak to the program:
- 17 Videos (Roughly 10 hours of pure wholesaling content)
- 19 PDF E-Books to summarize the videos
- 42 Forms
- Seller Forms
- Buyer Forms
- Marketing resources
- Productivity and team forms
- Other forms (power of attorney, business agreement, etc.)
- Key business contacts
- Business resources
- Links and resources on how to create your own bank with a partner like Equity Trust
- Deal analyzer
Literally an A-Z approach on how to wholesale real estate all at your fingertips
Some tidbits that helped me close deals using these strategies…
*5 essentials to wholesaling success.. Mindset–>Know How–>Resources–>People–>Action! *The 3 challenges we face as wholesalers 1.) Locate and negotiate with motivated sellers. 2.) Locate and negotiate with motivated buyers. 3) Create and manage a profitable transaction*Traditional wholesaling vs. Complete wholesaling business model
*How to profit from every deal that comes your way with proper strategies
*Structuring your offers properly with FSBO’s, For Rents, Probate, Code Violations, Out Of Town Owners, MLS, REO’s. *Adopt a new mindset of being a real estate marketer! *How to automate the entire process with REIWebTools
There is so much more… “Wholesaling Quick Launch Cash Flow System” is for both seasoned and new investors alike!
It’s the most comprehensive step by step approach to getting up and running in today’s market using all the advanced
techniques that you must be using everyday!
For more info on his product, check it out here –> WholesalingQuickStart
Until the next post, get out there and make it happen!! I want to hear about your success for some upcoming interviews!
Happy Valentines Day!
~Matt
P.S. Big thanks to Greg Harris for telling me about this course. If you have not yet, check out his blog on wholesaling. You might get hooked on his straight forward style:)
Bandit Sign Adventures
Hey Team,
Are you excited about this year as much as I am??
Goals are set, plans are in place and my marketing system has really come along way. So I have some tips for you if bandit signs is one of your marketing initiatives.
Let’s get into some of my tips I have for you:
- Map out your destination before you hit the road looking for busy streets with telephone poles. Trust me, you will get so much more done if you do this. So first map and mark where you want your signs, then drive the route. When its go time, you will cut your time down dramatically. If you don’t, let me know how long it took you to post 5 signs up!! LOL
- Use the Sign Stapler. Basically its a gigantic pvc pipe with a heavy duty stapler at the end of it. There is a slot for your signs to put in, so when you staple the sign, its really very easy. This way, you can put your signs up higher than most people can reach. You would have to be King Kong to reach some of the signs I posted the other night. You can get the stapler here >>www.signstapler.com. But do not do what I did!! For some reason, the stapler was facing the wrong direction when I put my sign in the slot. I go up to the pole at a very busy intersection…and hurrying mind you cause its midnight, and cops all around. I give it a firm whack on the pole and nothing!! What?? Haha! I know people were watching and laughing, I would be. I noticed it was backwards. So tip..make sure the stapler is positioned properly.
- Use yellow and black or blue and white with a simple message. Nothing more than 3 lines on the sign. Your goal is to get their attention and have sellers call you. While driving, someone just needs to read your phone number and message clearly.
- Get an easy to remember phone number. I tried my best to get an easy to remember # like 255-5555, something with 3-4 numbers in consecutive order. My phone co. had no solution, plus in Hawaii, it was very difficult getting anyone to give me an extra 808 number!! Why Google voice has no love for Hawaii is beyond me.
- Put your signs up on Thurs. or Friday night. The sign haters seem to be chilling a bit more on the weekends, not saying middle of the week is wrong either. Its worth giving a try and tracking results.
- Track your calls and deals from signs. If possible, try to find out how your seller found you out. Was it the postcard? Sign? Where did they see the sign? Although it is a shot in the dark with the exact location to be tracked. Still trying to figure that one out!! If you know of a way to track location of signs, please let me know.
- Break out areas in regions. I broke down most of the island in 4 regions that my investors buy in. Then I focus on putting signs up 1 region at a time, then move to the next region and so forth.
- Hit up each area once every 4 weeks or so. And try not to have signs within .5 of a mile.
- Place signs in areas that are busiest, and where cars stop. Having signs up where traffic is zooming by is a waste of a sign and your time. I like traffic lights, because stop signs for many are too quick often. Plus…who really makes a complete stop anymore?
- Be consistent. Most all sales are done on the second look or the follow up. Same holds true with signs.
- Have someone else put these signs up. Give your intern or property scout your map and expectations. You can pay them for a % from the profits or a dollar per sign.
- Branding your signs. Try to keep the same look on every sign you post. Perhaps you have a very simple logo that could be used, or part of a logo. In time, you want your phone number to be a number people remember.
You can use Bandit Signs.Com and get great service and very nice product. Another good resource is supecheapsigns.com. They both have signs geared toward real estate investing.
Marketing For Sellers
For me, my marketing at its core is:
- Direct mail to absentee owners, pre-foreclosure, and inherited properties
- Leads from one of the baddest brokers on Oahu
- Bandit signs to all 4 regions
- Website lead capture
- Getting on the phone and calling fsbo’s for rents, and pre-foreclosures
- Flyer’s
- MLS with specific search parameters
Please make sure you sign up for the free monthly newsletter. I have been working on some unique benefits that I know you will love.
That’s it for now, stay tuned because I have some cool video from the Big Island I have from the Holidays.
P.S. If you have not..register today for Pitbull Seminars National Hard Money Conference! March 3rd in Las Vegas at the Monte Carlo Hotel. This will be our 23rd national event, and poised to be the biggest and best one yet! You can go to www.pitbullseminars.com or give me a ring and I can take care of you.
Growth, Goals, Takeaways from 2010
Happy Holidays everyone!
I am on the Island of Hawai’i a.k.a the “Big Island”. My wife’s family is from Kona so we’re here recharging the battery, setting some simple yet big goals for the year, and having a good time. I think as we look forward to making 2011 a huge year, it’s fair to look back on 2010 and evaluate what just happened. For my business, we covered alot of ground. So here are some key highlights and takeways that perhaps we can all learn something from.
Key Takeaways:
- Moving forward I will evaluate potential powerteam members with more scrutiny. One of the biggest factors is integrity
- Other things to consider is honesty, know how, and competency. But if their integrity and values do not match with yours, stop wasting your time.
- Having targeted and specific cash buyers for deals needs to be a key area of growth moving forward especially for the Memphis market.
- Attracting private money in Hawaii I believe is a gigantic opportunity in order to be a huge turnkey operation. We have a good amount of serious cash investors, but not all of them can close on 5-6 $300k deals monthly. 15-20 Private lenders that are willing to put up the cash for a solid return will be seriously sweet to have.
- Sifting through all the Guru stuff, I really landed some amazing courses that everyone serious about investing should have in their arsenal.
**Marc Imhof’s Wholesaling Quick Launch. This training is very legit and worth thousands. The training has video and PDF’s for every area you can imagine in wholesaling real estate. Course includes forms, how to use the forms, how to setup your private bank, deal analyzer, how to locate cash buyers, code violation properties, and so much more!! Not to mention the software that honestly I have not purchased yet, but from the looks of it is better that Freedomsoft.
**Joe McCall’s Wholesaling Lease Options..Amazing strategy that if used correctly will give your sellers another viable option to consider.
**Fortune Builders Training: I was blessed to have someone give me full access to the online courses and let me tell you…WOW! I had no idea how thorough they are! It’s basically a 6 month course with action items at the end of each video.
**Drew Downs and Jeff Nemeth’s Do deals today with cash buyers Solid strategies for finding cash buyers, and tapping into the short sale opportunities out there. Another really great source for you to use, and in my opinion a must have.
**Steph Davis Flip This Wholesaler Ebook. Fantastic book that covers every question someone might have in wholesaling REO’s. You can get this for under $50 bucks!!
**Shae Bynes Financial Freedom GPS (A must for every entrepreneur out there!) A guide and compass for taking control of your business and finances. A must read especially going into the new year. Yes…under $50 bucks also!
**I also got to love Constant Contact for the lists you can make, email templates and the simplicity of placina q cash buyer by specific criteria with list. It shows your email analytics, who opened the email, and what pages they visited. Also…no opt in required. You just need to be sure they are on your list! Its just much easier than a double opt in. And…there is a 60 day trial!! No credit card needed.
Highlights from 2010
- Launched MattsREIBlog.Com and was nominated by BiggerPockets as “honorable mention” for top 20 best real estate blogs
- Launched my wholesaling efforts in Memphis TN and closed deals! All from my home office in Hawaii
- Learned a TON from Shae Bynes, Greg Harris, Bill Walston, Julie Broad, Steph Davis and many others
- Started Rosen Development LLC, which will be used for my consulting on social media and real estate investing
- Spoke at my dad’s national hard money conference which is out on DVD
- And was truly blessed to be connected to great people like you!
My next post we will get into some goals of yours, and mine. I am still formulating my thoughts on that and will put it to paper very shortly!
Have a safe and prosperous new year! And Happy Holidays..
Matt
Does your job suck?
If you are reading this, I’ll bet you have a entrepreneurial streak in you. I got to thinking about how much jobs give me the creeps when I was looking for something on my desk and came across an old employee manual. Skimming through it, I read something that gave me the shivers. It says…“You are entitled to two(2) fifteen(15) minute paid breaks each workday. These breaks should be scheduled with your manager” Crazy huh??
I am not dissing jobs, but think about this for a second. Do you ever hear people say, “Well you know, money doesn’t buy you happiness.” And yes, that is true, but it comes pretty darn close:) Funny thing is that those comments always come from life long job people. They spend their best waking moments going to work for someone else’s dream. Playing fake nice guy for the BOSS. If they say money doesn’t buy happiness, then why are they spending 80% of their life making money?? What about your family?? What about the things you truly desire to do? If they stopped paying you, would you still preach this stuff? I would have to imagine that the “love” you have for your job would end quickly if they stopped paying you.
Here are some reasons why being your own boss is so great.
Benefits of being an entrepreneur
- Income is not limited
- Allows you to have a clear vision and direction for your family
- Work from home
- You call the shots. No early morning meetings where you get chewed out:)
- Pursuing your passion will bring out the best in you
- More time with family!
- You control who you have to see everyday
- Wear whatever you want while you work
- Gives you the opportunity to match up your dreams with the income needed to fulfill those dreams
- Spend Mondays at the beach, and send picture messages to your old office:)
- You wake up to your kids, not an alarm clock that shakes you to the core
On the other side of the coin, however, is the risk you take. Remember as a kid at the beach or pool when everyone said “come on jump in the water, it’s so warm.” Yeah…well we all knew that it wasn’t true. The same goes for venturing out on your own. When you first jump in, the water is pretty cold, but let me encourage you to keep swimming because you are closer to success (warmer waters) than you think. The key is you gotta hustle!!! Passion, hustle, grit. When your buddies are out at the bar for Monday night football, you’re working it…10pm-2am is prime time!!
I have a special offer for you today. Developing the spirit of an entrepreneur has to come from within. And quite honestly, it does not matter if you are new and afraid, or if you are seasoned and financially independent. If you do not go back to the basics of sound business principles and financial stewardship then any fast success you have had or want to have will fade faster than you think.
Financial Freedom GPS
A trusted friend of mine Shae Bynes has an ebook called Financial Freedom GPS that could very well be the best ebook I have read on the topic of financial freedom. Shae has agreed to provide this ebook for a limited time at a 30% discount. For the price of a good lunch, you can equip yourself with real time money making strategies that you can use today to get you free from your job sooner than you think. Go ahead and download this book now before she comes to her senses with this price:) Click here to view more details or go to the banner below:
P.S. Want to make some fast CA$H!? Get on the VIP buyers list if you are a serious investor, or know someone who is. I will pay you a very nice fee for the hookup. Enjoy the book and please leave a comment below.
Government Deal Funding **Product Review**
For those of you who do not know me, my background is in hard money, wholesaling and short sales. Government funding was never an avenue I focused on. However, I am learning that there is a treasure chest we as investors need to crack open and it may be the most overlooked and misunderstood ways of getting funds for our deals. I was introduced to this program through Julie Broad from RevnYou.com. If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to follow her lead, sign up for her free newsletter and REI guide she has. She completely hooked me up with this program from a webinar she hosted with Sean Carpenter. Sean Carpenter is the brain child behind the Government Deal Funding course.
The reason I am excited about this program is that its loaded with DVD’s, CD’s, manuals, forms, resource guides, and a call in # for assistance. Sean left nothing unturned when he made this course, and in comparison to most home study REI courses, this seems to have more valuable content than most.
What I am going to do is post my takeaways and perhaps a case study every week or so, and share that with you. It’s a “look over my shoulder” program that I hope will add a ton of value to your business. If you could please “opt in” to the right, I will make sure you get email updates to this 4 or 8 week program. (depending how fast I can read )
Here’s a snapshot of the program, and the 4 major parts that I will post throughout the weeks ahead:
- Quick Start CD
- DVD’s ->Hard Finance, Soft Finance, Tax Credits, Section 8
- Hard Finance Manual and Resource guide (Part 1)
- Soft Financing Manual and Resource guide (Part 2)
- Tax Credits Manual and Resource guide (Part 3)
- Section 8 Manual and Resource guide (Part 4)
Plus bonus CD’s that we will discuss:
- Asset Protection Choosing An Entity
- All the CD’s to accompany the manuals and resources (Part 1-4)
- Section 8 Do’s and Don’ts
- Case Studies From The Trenches
- Secrets To Forming A Non-Profit
If you are interested in Sean Carpenter’s program, you can go to www.governmentdealfunding.com and share in on the journey!
As of this post, I am not an affiliate. 
This is just to share good info with you guys on a weekly and bi-weekly basis.
For next weeks post, I am going to share some social media tidbits that I recently stumbled on for growing your buyers list, and….I am bringing back my old school “follow friday” video shout-outs.
Have a prosperous week everyone!
on 
on 
on 
on