Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

First off I would like to start off by thanking a few people that really helped to put this deal together: Angel Gutierrez, for helping me to think outside the box, and Ed Garcia and Terry Vaughan for allowing me to attend their How to Get Lender’s Fighting to Give You Money Workshop, without which I would never have met Angel.

Well gang, I am ashamed to say that I have been in the mobile home industry for over nine years either as a salesperson or a manager for large retailers. I went into the used mobile home industry three years ago and have had my own dealers license for the past two years. I have focused primarily on selling pre-owned homes in parks and getting them finance through lending groups (with the occasional land pack thrown in for good measure)

Thank you to the many friends I have made on this site. I was lost just trying to make my way in the world with a wife and two small daughters. I have been reading the message boards on the site for almost two years. Finally, I realized what life was about when I woke up from a bad dream. It was called MY PAY DAY.

My name is Derek Pierce, and I live in Alabama. I have just taken one of the biggest steps in my life by becoming a full-time real estate investor. First of all, I always thought that I wanted to be a corporate man and hold a big title with a big company. After about a year with a wireless phone carrier, I discovered that it wasn’t for me.

I’d like to thank J.P. and Terry Vaughan for this awesome site, everyone at the CRE Online Convention who was so caring and supportive and everyone else who contributes to this site. It truly is an amazing resource!

This post is for all of you that have asked me to share my experiences with you. I hope you find it interesting and inspirational.

As Ed Garcia put it: “You’re driving by the gold on your way to the silver if you don’t have the knowledge to really know what it is your looking for in the first place.”

First of all I would like to say “thank you” for such a great site to share and gather information on such a great business.

Two years ago, in Spring 2001, I was a first year law student at Fordham Law School in New York City. I really enjoyed law school, but I was beginning to realize there was a decent chance that the 80+ hours per week I would be working when I graduated (if I got a job at all) would only have me bring home around $50K per year.

My story starts out in January 2001. I was 25, sick of my job, and hungry for money. I ordered Carleton Sheets, the course arrived, and I completed the course in one day. About an hour after completing the course, I hit the Internet. While searching for the Carleton Sheets website I stumbled upon CRE Online. This was not good, seeing as though I was now obligated to review every last page of this site.

My name is Andy Martin. I am a Project Manager for a construction company. I work full-time and run a window cleaning company on the side while looking for houses to rehab and flip.

Although I have dropped by the CRE Online website every now and then, I have never submitted anything. I am a fence-sitter who has enjoyed some success at real estate investing and also got a little big headed and suffered through a couple of deals that proved to be less than profitable.

I thought I would take the time to tell you a bit. I went to the CRE Online Convention in Atlanta. I listened to all and bought Ron LeGrand’s material. After several months of preparing and learning, I did a deal.

My partners and I have been searching for handyman specials since late August. After looking at about 40 or 50 properties we ran into a junker that was a bank REO. The property had been on the market for two months when we found it. The price of the property was reduced from $44,900 to $38,900.

Picture this: A new investor with $15K college savings for kids learns about buying a second as the way to get a foreclosed property. He finds a vacant foreclosed property with a second note, takes kids’ college money (First kid going to college within a year. No problem; I’ll be in and out in 3 months), and buys the second.

I wanted to share a recent success story of mine. After reading a few books on creative real estate investing, I made the decision to try and go for my first deal in real estate. I was skeptical because I live in one of the most expensive counties in the U.S.

I wanted to submit a short example of two of the successes my partner and I have had “flipping” mobile homes. At the beginning of this year, we purchased a used 1975 mobile home for $800 and resold it on a contract for $5,000. As of next Monday, we will have recovered our investment and have a 50% profit already, and this is only the first six months of the contract!

I should have written this a long time ago. I have been reading the CRE Online website for a couple years or so. There are several areas of real estate investing I am going to work on, and all of them I learned about from this site.

In 1998, I built my own home on ten acres with a mortgage of $84,000 on four of those acres and the home. In 2000, I sold five acres for $13,500, leaving me with a mortgage balance of $70,500

The How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money workshop was the best thing I’ve ever done. I am a huge skeptic on these types of things and am usually reluctant to pay for them. But something caught my interest, so I called Ed Garcia.

A local real estate agent contacted me recently. He had heard that I could possibly solve his problem. I told him that if I were able to solve his problem he would have to refer me to other clients. He said sure.

I thought I would share a story with you from my experience with your financing seminar [How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money]. I attended the seminar this past summer in Atlanta. I was in a serious financial situation, not due to my business going bad but due to my reliance on a single lender.

A few visitors of Creative Real Estate Online asked me to share this story with you. They think it should be put on the success stories. Please feel free to do so. I would love to share it with everyone. Thanks for this wonderful site.

I was a recently laid off tech worker with over 10 years experience in the field. Even when I had a cushy, high-paying job, I never felt I had job security and hated relying on others for a paycheck.

I have been coming to CRE Online for over two years. I have read books, talked to people, partnered with people, and until this past Friday, I have never done a deal. I was the ultimate procrastinator. Well here it is, and if you think you have seen all the reasons a person can be motivated, then read on because I still cannot believe it.