Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

I began investing in rental properties in the summer of 1996. I was very involved in CRE Online and chat room at that time. I attended the CRE Online Convention back then in Las Vegas. It was wonderful.

I just wanted to share my success story with you. I purchased Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs about four months ago. I knew right from the start that this was going to be my kind of business. I started telling everyone I knew about what I was doing and that if they found any deals for me, I would give them a commission.

I live in Northern California. I started looking at Creative Real Estate Online in 2001. When I began to explore real estate investing, I had closed a business on the east coast and returned to northern California to care for my mother and support other family members who had cared for her during a long illness.

Last Fall, I started hearing about using your IRA for real estate investing. In the past, I haven’t invested much in retirement accounts because I didn’t think there was much flexibility to invest my cash. Once I heard about the possibilities with a Roth IRA and real estate, I knew I had to try it.

Just wanted to post a success story. We just completed our fourth mobile home deal in the last eight months. Here’s how it went: My wife and I were out riding the speed bumps when we spotted a 14×70, 1986 2-bedroom/1-bath mobile home in our favorite park. It was listed by a Realtor we know, so we called and found out the asking price was $8,900.

I own a quadraplex apartment and was finally remodeling the last unit with my husband. The day was nice so we had the front door open. A young couple pulled up and asked if the apartment was going to be for rent and when. They owned a place and were trying to sell with no luck.

Thank you, CRE Online, for providing such a valuable resource. This site is a blessing for those of us who want to learn from others who are so willing to share their insights.

I’ve been promising to write my story for a few months. I’ve been on the message boards as Mike (Seattle WA) for a while, so now it’s time to give back more. I started coming to this site just over a year ago. After a week or so of absorbing information, I decided that this was for me.

I just wanted to share my success story with everyone out there because I believe that with the help of Creative Real Estate Online, I am on the way to establishing a financial security that I never would have done without the help I have received from this forum.

I live in Central Tennessee and not in a metropolitan city. In the past six months, my wife and I have helped three different people who were in pre-foreclosure avoid foreclosure, deficiency judgments, garnishments, and bankruptcy. In the process, we have made $20,000 and used less than $25 out of pocket to close.

I started visiting CRE Online in November 2004. I read it just about daily. I bought both Lonnie Scruggs books (A real heartfelt thanks to Lonnie for writing them) and started driving the speed humps.

Here’s my success story. The story began when I read Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, five years ago, and it ended three weeks ago with my first “easy” deal. (Oh yeah, and dozens of hours pouring over CRE Online Main Real Estate Forum posts.)

I made $6,000 for two hours of work, and I am set to close on $130,000 worth of property so far this month for July! I have been reading and participating in discussions on the Real Estate Main News Group for about four years now. I have had several small successes in that time, but I believe in the last two months, I have really started to come into my full potential.

The prices of mobile homes in Riverside County, California are ranging from $20,000 on up, so I haven’t done any deals in parks lately; instead I’ve been doing land/home deals. Before Christmas, I was with my daughter buying some equestrian stuff. We had some time, and I decided to go through this park I knew nearby, just for kicks.

Before I share the details, I just want to point out that sometimes a success story leaves out that which was not successful and leaves you with what appears to be a very straightforward, simplistic view of what went into creating this happy ending.

My husband and I (both in our late 20’s) started a woodworking business three years ago and owned our own home when we started. We were always interested in investing in real estate, but didn’t have a penny to pinch the first year in business.

Now that I’ve found Creative Real Estate Online, maybe I can get something done! I have had a slow start to my real estate investing career picking up only two properties in eleven months. I had no idea there were so many methods out there.

My neighbors came by to tell me they were getting a divorce. Being a sensitive person, I asked, “What are you going to do with the house?” They said, “Give it to the bank.” So I said, “If you are giving it away, give it to me.” They said, “Okay.”

Just a typical 120% yield “Lonnie” deal. I bought a nice 1995 two-bedroom, two-bathroom 14×70 in our favorite park for $4,500. I closed on it at 10:00am. Before 11:00am, I had it sold for $13,000 to a good buyer. She put $1,500 down and will make 48 payments of $302.84 on the $11,500 note.

Just thought that I would share my success story with everybody, since previous success stories have offered me so much inspiration. I am 24 years old and have FINALLY broken into real estate investing. After several years of busting my hump, trying to sell real estate as an agent, I decided to take the long awaited leap and invest myself.

I don’t know if this is a typical “success story.” If it is, the success is only a result of lessons learned. I just finished my first deal. I bought a rehabbed property from another investor. Prior to the purchase, I had an inspector do a thorough review of the house. His review said there were some minor issues, but that the house was acceptable, and as a result, I made the purchase.

After attending Tony Colella’s mobile home boot camp in September 2005 we started looking for properties to expand our Lonnie Deal portfolio

I got a call from a guy yesterday who got my name from the local mobile home parts supplier. They mentioned that I buy used mobile homes, and this guy had just bought a new home and was selling his old one. He wanted to make sure he wouldn’t have to pay lot rent on top of his new home payment.

After a couple years of half-hearted attempts at real estate investing, I finally closed my first deal! The first year was spent mostly learning: courses, Creative Real Estate Online, and some one-on-one training.

I have purchased several “nothing down” seminars and books, including Robert Allen’s, Carleton Sheets’ No Down Payment course, and two courses from Joe Kaiser, including The Mechanic’s Lien System. None of these worked in my county, Marin County, California.