Archive for the ‘fixer upper book’ Category

Townhouse Offer Details & Presentation to Am. Businesswomen Assoc.

Friday, January 16th, 2009

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Update on Investment Property Purchase Offer

Last week I made an offer of $105,000 on a 1100 sq ft townhouse that was being offered in a range of $115,000 to $125,000.

I asked for sellers to pay 2% of the the value of the house to help with closing cost (about $2,000)(see my previous article about a key phrase to include in your purchase offer to reduce closing costs)

The sellers countered with an offer of $112,000. I sent a note to the sellers saying “in order for this to work for us as a rental property, we have to stay pretty close to our original offer.” And I replied that we wanted to stay at $105,000.

After a little more back-and-forth we finally settled on $106,000 and they paid the 2%.

Other townhouses in the complex rent for $775 and my monthly mortgages payments should come in below $600 per month.

Presentation to American Businesswomen Association

Last Tuesday I made a presentation to the ABA about how I got started in the house fixer upper business. I’m trying to get out a little more to make presentations to various groups to promote my book.

It was really a warm and friendly group. They treated me to dinner and asked a lot good questions about the fixer-upper business, and they purchased many copies of my book.

Info on Terry’s Book

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"Fix em Up, Rent em Out" Featured in Newspaper Article

Friday, December 5th, 2008

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I was recently interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star and responded to a variety of questions related to my house fixer-upper business, such as:

Why did you write the book?;
How did you get into the fixer-upper business?;
Can you give away one secret of success?;

as well as several other questions that inquiring minds want to know the answers to.

Here is the complete interview, entitled “UA researcher fixes up houses on the side, writes about it.”

See also:

For yet another newspaper interview that I did see: Fixer Upper Business Highlighted in Newspaper Article.

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"Fix em Up, Rent em Out" wins USA Book Finalist Award

Monday, October 20th, 2008

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I’m pleased to announce that my book, “Fix em Up Rent em Out,” is an Award-Winning Finalist in the Real Estate category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

Top 50 Amazon Reviewer D. Blankenship says,

What this work does give you is ideas and an outline, that through hard work, common sense, and a bit of luck, you can do quite well for yourself and have a bit of fun while you do it. The author is quick to point out the down side of every aspect of this business and points out ways, if there are any, to avoid them. On the other hand, the author does a wonderful job of pointing out the positive. He not only emphasizes the financial aspects, but does a very nice job of drawing attention to the many side benefits involved, and there are many of these! I like the way that the author directs your attention to the fact that a job well done is a wonderful feeling. The author has listed given us a great list of other books and resources to turn to which I find most helpful. Actually, his list of places to go for information is almost worth the price of the book alone.

A complete list of winners and finalists in each category can be found at:
http://www.usabooknews.com/bestbooksawards2008.html.

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Real Estate Investors and Recession

Saturday, June 7th, 2008


Do you worry about getting through the recession with your fixer upper house business intact?

Check out my ezinearticles.com piece entitled Proactive Responses to Recession – 7 Creative Ways to Make Extra Money With Real Estate.

Looking for motivation to get started in the  Fix em Up, Rent em Out business?

Just Follow Your Dreams.

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Fix em Up, Rent em Out reviewed on Moolanomy.com

Thursday, March 20th, 2008


Moolanomy.com has a review of my book “Fix ’em Up, Rent ’em Out,” and in the same article is an insightful analysis of the pros and cons of real estate investing.

The article is entitled Meandering into Real Estate.

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A Fixer-upper’s Brush With Fame

Sunday, March 9th, 2008


I was interviewed about my fixer upper house business for an article that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star today, entitled Buying Real Estate. I attach it for your reading enjoyment.

Several investors are interviewed about their experiences in the Tucson real estate market. One disclaimer that I will offer is that I actually said “Prices are higher (not lower) so there’s less competition when buying.”

Now I know how my fellow celebs like Arnold and Bradjalina feel when they are misquoted. It’s a heavy weight to bear.

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Best new books list, new review of "Fix em Up," and chance to win FREE book

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

For your holiday reading enjoyment, here is a link the the Best New Real Estate Books list that I posted on Amazon.com.

Also, many thanks to Connie on conniebrz.com for her review of my new book on her blog.

For any one interested in winning a free copy of “Fix em Up, Rent em Out,” ChristianPF is having a drawing, but you must enter before midnight, Dec. 24th. You can register to win and get more details here.

Best wishes for a happy holiday!

Info on Terry’s Book

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Staying motivated to make investment house repairs and finding Serenity

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Setting up a reward system has worked for me to help me stay on-track for making house repairs. I promise myself that I’ll do something I really enjoy, if I first complete a task. When my wife and I were working furiously on our last fixer-upper house project, we told ourselves that we would go out to dinner at a nice restaurant when we sold the house. That gave us little more of a boost to stay motivated. A few weeks later, someone made a firm offer on the house, and we went out to dinner and celebrated, as planned.

As it turned out we were a little premature in our celebration, as the deal fell through, and eventually we wound up renting the house out. But, the reward system still worked.

This technique also worked for me when I was writing my book on investing in fixer-uppers. One of my favorite movies is Serenity. I was still writing the book when Serenity came out on DVD. I rented it and really liked it (as did my boys). So, to stay motivated, I promised myself that I would not watch Serenity again until after my book was published.

Now that my book, “Fix em Up Rent em Out,” is finished, I am making intricate plans for that much anticipated viewing of Serenity. I don’t have all the details worked out, but I know it will involve fresh popcorn, iced tea, and my boys and I shouting out our favorite lines along with the characters (e.g., “Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don’t you think?” or “We’ve got to see Mr. Universe!”). It doesn’t get much better than that.

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How to Publish a Book on Real Estate Investing, Part 2

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

As I mentioned in part I of this topic, it was Aaron Shepard’s book, “Aiming at Amazon,” thatpushed me over the top. At that point, I decided I was going to finish my book, Fix em Up Rent em Out, and publish it, no matter what it took. Everything else was going to be on hold until I finished the book. I worked almost every night for about 4 weeks, on about 2-3 hours of sleep. I started to resemble a zombie from “The Night of the Living Dead,” but I finished the book.

Formatting the book, and making it look like a professional work, required learning another area of expertise. Books like “Perfect Pages” by Shepard and Microsoft Word Manuals were my Bibles. Then, I had to find an copy editor, and give him 6-8 weeks to do his job. And, I located someone to do a cover.

Finally, submitting the files for printing at Lightning Source proved to be another hurtle for me. It took me several tries to submit it the way they needed it for printing. Like anything, the first time you do it irs hard. The second time will be a piece of cake.

Starting a publishing company was another aspect of the process that took time. Not difficult, but you must follow exact procedures and do a lot of running around. I plowed ahead by getting the legal documents to file with the state, setting up bank accounts and purchasing ISBN numbers.

I say this just to show you what you can expect. I think writing a book about your experiences in real estate is a natural next step for someone who has paid their dues and learned the ropes. Who better to describe the hard lessons you have learned than you?

I found that just the exercise of putting your thoughts and experiences on paper, even if you never sell a book, is a worthwhile experience. Its empowering. It broadens your horizons. It makes you draw on sources of power and inspiration that you may not have known that you had.

Remember, an expert is just a regular person who has written a book!

UPDATE

For more information on self publishing, check out my book Carve Out Your     Niche.

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My List of House Repair Books – The Best of the Bunch

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007

**Book Update** My forthcoming book entitled “Fix ’em Up, Rent ’em Out: How to Start Your Own House Fix-up and Rental Business in Your Spare Time” is in the final stages of production and will be available at Amazon.com in September 2007.

In operating a house fix-up and rental business in my spare time, I have found the following books to be very useful. If I encounter a repair that I have never done before, the books on the link below are my guides.

In 400 B.C. Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough, and a fulcrum upon which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Your tools and books are your lever and fulcrum. Once you have them there will be no stopping you.

House Repair Books – The Best of the Bunch

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