Posts Tagged ‘Louisville Gals’

Dreams Still Come True

Friday, September 21st, 2012

Dreams come true: without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.” — John Updike

One of my favorite blog authors is Lynne Spreen at Any Shiny Thing. Her article “Our Dreams Persist” describes the long and winding road that she traveled to write and publish her book “Dakota Blues.” I admire her persistence in the face of many obstacles to hold tight to her dream and to finally see it come to fruition.

Reading her story of how she wrote her book reminded me of my own experiences.

I first determined to write a book when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras in 1987. I didn’t have any idea, at that time, exactly what I wanted to write about. I just knew that I wanted to write a book that would be useful to others, and to hopefully inspire them along life’s way.

Time Marches On

It wasn’t until 15 years later, after starting my fixer upper and rental house business, that I began to put pen to paper (and fingers to computer keys) to begin writing my book. I thought that sharing my experiences with fixer upper houses would be that useful and inspiring book that I had imagined writing years earlier.

Four years later, through many iterations, and alternating periods of exhilaration and self doubt, “Fix em Up Rent em Out” was proudly rolled out on Amazon.com. Seeing my book finally published gave me a warm glow  that still shines inside me to this day.

The Seed Continues to Grow

What I find interesting, in both my experience and Lynne’s, is that once the seed of a good idea is planted, it grows inexorably and invisibly inside of us, until it eventually becomes reality. The fact that it takes years for the final completion of the dream makes it all the more satisfying.

Weekly Blog Roundup

Additional recent blog articles that I liked:

The Landlord Quick Fix at LandlordInvestor

21 Ways to Manage the Stuff that Sucks Up Your Time at Louisville Gals Real Estate

 Why is it Healthy to Change Bank Accounts? at Fearlessmen

Give your Family an Amazing Fall with these 8 (Frugal) Activities at Frugal Habits

Hording Gold at All Things Pondered

How to Save Money on Contacts and Eye Care at Work Save Live

How We Bought A $50K Duplex – Part 4 at plantingourpennies

Legal Battle Over a Sagging Balcony  at Blue Collar Worker

What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What You Want To Do With Your Life? at Untemplater

Auto Insurance Basics And Recommendations For Everyone at Financial Samurai

Household Budget Tips for the Upcoming Fall at My Money Design

Catering Your Blog To Your Readership at Modest Money

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Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

Friday, August 24th, 2012

Taking a break from my regular fixer upper rental house blogging, today I am going to comment on some favorite blog articles that I have recently read.

Fearless Men

While I agree with Fearless Men’s article on the silliness of most bucket lists, in their article, 12 Things A Man Doesn’t Have To Do Before He Dies-Stupid Bucket Lists, I also think that starting a part time business is the exception to the rule.

While most bucket lists consist of activities that might reduce your life expectancy ( e.g., bullfighting), or your ability to enjoy life (e.g., broken body from the ever-popular choice of skydiving), a part time business, like owning rental houses, can actually improve your life.

Landlord Investor

Chuck’s article on Vacancy, First one in a while for us . . . is an insightful description a recent episode of  losing  and replacing a tenant. I appreciate this “real life” rental story that I can both relate to and learn from.

Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog

In her article entitled, 13 Cool Tools to Make You a Marketing Superstar, Sharon describes 13 amazing tools to help real estate investor to streamline their business. This is great for me because I didn’t know a lot of these things even existed, or that I needed them, until I read her article.

Any Shiny Thing

I actually read Lynn’s article Nora Ephron Left Us Sleepless a couple of weeks ago. It’s the type of article that touches your heart and makes you reflect on life’s bigger issues.

Turn Your House into a Rental House

By now, you probably know that my theory is that one of the easiest ways to get started in real estate investing is by turning your home into a rental house, instead of selling it.

My wife, Angy, and I are presently finishing up a book about how we go about doing this, entitled, not surprisingly, How to Turn Your Home into a Rental Property, Instead of Selling It.

Here is a quote from a book

According to the American Association of Realtors, the average American purchases 7 houses during their lifetime. In our opinion, those are 7 houses that we should hold onto for the rest of our lives, to generate monthly income and for long-term economic family security. Don’t give away the goose that lays the golden eggs!

 

The usual procedure that most people follow is to sell the home that they live in and to use the cash from the sale to buy a new house. If we tweak the old procedure just a little, it can result in a huge difference in our net worth and our economic security. We propose that instead of selling your home, just refinance it, and use the money from the refinance as a down payment on your next house. Now, you own two houses and you can just turn your old home into a rental property.

Presently, the book is going through the final editing and formatting process. Of course, it’s being reviewed by Homeland Security and the Pentagon, to avoid any classified information from leaking into the wrong hands.

By September the book should be available in both Kindle and paperback editions.

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Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

The intrepid Sharon Vornholt, of Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog, interviewed me last week about my book (Fix em Up Rent em Out) and how I got started in my fixer-upper house business. Today she posted the interview on her website. It’s entitled “Escaping the 9 To 5; How I Did It Interview With Terry Sprouse.”

I encourage you to check out some of the other interviews that Sharon has conducted with several real estate investors. Its always interesting for me to hear how other people operate their businesses.

Upcoming Speaking Engagement

I will also be making a presentation to the Arizona Network of Real Estate Investors. Mark your calendars.

Where:
Fidelity National Title, 6760 N. Oracle Road, Suite 100, Tucson, AZ

When:
June 7th, 2012

Time:
Meeting begins at 5:30 pm, presentation at 6:00 pm

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Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

Why You Should Not Pay Down Your Mortgage

Friday, November 11th, 2011

Tired of making those monthly housing payments?

Are you tempted to pay a little extra on your mortgage to speed up the pay off time and own the property free and clear.

Then, think twice, because that may not be the best idea.

Check out my guest post, “Why You Should Not Pay Down Your Mortgage” over at Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog