Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

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.

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.

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 purchased a home last year from a motivated seller for $500. He was losing the house to back taxes in two days, and the home was badly in need of major repairs. I knew very little about real estate investing then, but after paying the $2,600 back taxes and spending $7,600 in repairs, I proceeded to find a buyer who is paying me $35,000 for the house.

Over the past ten years, I had “successfully” built up an aviation facilities management business. After ten years of hard work, in February of 2001, my wife and I decided it was time to “start taking money off the table.” That is to say, after ten years of reinvesting in the business, it was time to take some money out and put it into other investments like real estate.

My wife, Deb (who has sold real estate for over 15 years), and I have had so many “light bulb” moments over that past six months reading CRE Online and www.RichDad.com that we just about can’t stand it. But we’ll try.

Dear JP and Terry: I thought I would send you a short note. You are always asking for comments and Success Stories. I have been visiting CRE Online for about a year now. I am an American civilian who has lived and worked in Germany for the last 33 years. I love this site. The information is priceless. There is something for everyone.

For the last couple of years, I have been inspired by success stories on CRE Online They have contributed to my motivation to get started in this business. I am thrilled to report my first success story.

Let me tell you about an interesting deal I just finished. A year and a half ago, I came across a motivated seller in the form of a little, old man who wanted out of his house. He didn’t want to fool with “pesky Realtors” and just wanted someone to pay cash for his home. He was going to move in with his son.

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 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.

I have been buying houses since I was twenty and have been reading many books and enjoy your website very much. I have come to one conclusion that is “the smarter the seller, the easier the sale.” I just bought a 16-unit apartment building, and could not believe how great it was.

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.

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.

After finding CRE Online, I attended my first real real estate conference the CRE Online Convention in Dallas a couple of years ago. To say it took me places I have never been is an understatement. I now know that an old dog can be taught new tricks.

As an avid reader of CRE Online Success Stories, I couldn’t wait to post my own! While up late at night with a new baby, I got a chance to see numerous real estate infomercials. I decided to order the Carleton Sheets course and follow the directions on how to get started.

First of all, let me thank all who are a part of the Creative Real Estate Online community. The success that I have achieved thus far can be directly attributed to the motivation and advice I have obtained since coming to this site a year and a half ago. I attended the Creative Real Estate Online Convention in March 2002. Let me say that it is a must for anyone wanting to invest in real estate.

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!

My partner and I just completed our first successful wholesale deal. After having many offers for houses rejected, we finally put a house under contract that had been vacant for about five years and was going to require a pretty substantial repair bill.

I’m really new at this site, but I do want to share a success story with others. “You never know.”

I am a high school English teacher whose wife wants to quit work when we have kids. Being that I have summers off, I decided to look into investing in something. I can’t remember how I heard about it, but after buying and reading Deals on Wheels, I knew that I would be investing in mobile homes.

I’ve been reading and learning all I can on this site. After making the decision six months ago to start investing in real estate, I just closed my first deal that netted $13k. I’m thrilled to say the least! CRE Online has been an excellent source of information and has helped me become more creative in my thinking and putting together deals.

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.

Just like everyone else it seems, I read Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs and decided to give it a try. This, of course, was after going back and forth with the idea, going to look at some homes, and thinking, “I just can’t believe how some people can li

In June 2001, I had contracted to buy a duplex in a low-income area of town for $100,000 as one of two replacement properties in a 1031 Starker Exchange. After further personal examination of the property’s condition, I consulted with my agent, Jerry, to apprise him of what I’d found. He then “officially” advised me to get out of the deal.