My Ebook Is Available!

I'm pleased to announce my ebook, A Flipper's Diary, is finished and now available for purchase! What does it contain? I'm glad you asked!

I've taken two of my flipping projects that I've presented here and presented them in chronological order (unlike the reverse chronological order of the blog) and added additional comments and information that I have learned since I worked on those first projects. I've also included a glossary with definitions of terms you are likely to encounter in this business. These terms are conveniently hyperlinked for quick look-ups. The book is 150 pages long and includes many full color "before and after" photos of the projects. It also contains full financial details of each project, including my costs and profits. Like this blog, the book is written with the beginning investor in mind.

You can purchase the book using a credit card or PayPal by simply clicking the Buy Now button above. After purchase, you will be immediately emailed a link to download the book. The cost is just $29.98!

Price reduction!!! I've lowered the price of this book over 50%!! Buy it now for just $12.95! Click the button above to securely purchase using a credit card or PayPal!

Lost Some Free Advertising

I lost some free advertising over the weekend. I used to have license plates frames that said "I Buy Houses" and listed my phone number. On January 1, a new law here in Arizona went into effect that says you cannot cover up the word "Arizona" on license plates. The word is printed between the two upper mounting holes on the license plate, so almost all license plate frames that have writing on the upper portion cover the state name. To comply with the new law, I took the frames off. In actuality, it wasn't that big of a loss. I think in the 4 years I had them on, they generated only 2 phone calls. Both calls were from real estate agents and neither one resulted in a deal.

General Update

Well, the holidays are over and things are settling back down to a normal routine.

I received another on-time payment on Hard Money loan #4.

I received another quarterly profit distribution for the apartment complex in Houston. Again, the distribution worked out to our preferred 9% annual ROI. After five months of rising, the occupancy rate dropped, but only by one percent back down to a more normal 96%. I knew the 97% rate from last month wouldn't last too long. (Marketing and retention expenses dropped by about 20% from last month, which may explain the drop in occupancy.) Repairs from Hurricane Ike are wrapping up. Return on equity for the property this quarter is currently at 8.7%, but excluding the cost of repairs from the hurricane, it would have been 10.9%. Next month will see a one-month profit disbursement to sync us up with a calendar-quarter payment basis in the future.There is a bi-annual investor conference call scheduled for the end of this month that will provide investors with an overview of how things are going so far and what the outlook is for the next year.

I almost got hired at a local real estate investment trust company. I made it to the final three applicants, but the company ended up choosing someone else. Too bad. This REIT specializes in commercial real estate and they have over $50 billion in properties under management. I could have learned a lot from them.

Work on my ebook has stalled. Actually, I am done with it, but my wife is working as the editor and she hasn't had time to work on it lately. Hopefully, that project can get moving again soon.

Hard Money #6 Cashflow Day

I got my first payment from Hard Money loan #6 today. I also got copies of the paperwork - mortgage, loan servicing agreement, etc. One thing that is slightly different about this loan is the payment due date and overdue dates. Normally, payments are due on the first of the month and overdue if not received by the 15th. This loan however, has payments due on the 7th of the month and overdue if not received by the 17th. No big deal. Just a bit different. Note that this setup actually gives the borrower less time before a payment is overdue - 10 days versus 15. Not that I expect any late payments.

In reviewing the paperwork, I noticed one other thing different than I mentioned before. I originally said the property was bought at auction for $272,000 and the lender was owed $488,000. Turns out, the lender was owed $524,000. That doesn't really matter, as the important figure is what the house is worth now - which still is around $300,000 to $350,000.