I mentioned the Diva Money Club a month or so ago and I’ve been involved as a member, or Diva, since they opened their virtual doors. Anyway, the gist of the Diva Money Club is they want to help all Diva’s and Divo’s (yes, men you are allowed to join too) get out of their jobs within 12 months and they do it in 2 ways; real estate and online marketing. Basically they will help you replace a $50,000 a year salary with one or both of those methods within 12 months. (Ok so if you make more than $50k a year…don’t worry, I’m sure they will help you make that happen too!)

Who are the Diva’s? Well a few of them you may be familiar with as they are friends of mine that you’ve seen on this blog before. The other ladies I’ve come to really like and have become friends with as well. Here is the breakdown for you:

Steph Davis – you may know her from FlipThisWholesaler.net She’s the blogging and wholesaling diva.

Shae Bynes – you may know her from GoodFaithInvesting.com She’s the real estate Diva and online diva as well (Plus she’s quickly becoming the private money diva because of all of the private money she’s been getting lately.)

Julie Broad – you may know her from RevNYou.com She’s the real estate and online marketing Diva. She’s from Canada, eh? hehehe I love doing that with Candian folks.

Susan Lassiter-Lyons – you may know her from well a lot of things and most likely theinvestorinsights.com Susan has done it all. She’s the Diva of Diva’s. She’s made loads of money in online marketing, loads of money in commercial real estate, loads of money syndicating real estate deals and she’s raised over $26 million in private money (oh and yes, I said million!)

As you can see there are some real heavy hitters running the show at the Diva Money Club.

Now, what do I think of it? Well if you know me and I’d like to think that you do after spending this much time with me thus far, you know that I’m not about b.s. I don’t care for it, I don’t have time for it and I don’t think you deserve it. So I’ll never hold back what I feel (sometimes that’s good, sometimes uhh not so good )

Anyway, here is the scoop: I have learned so much from just Susan alone these past couple of months that she alone is worth it. You all know that I’m launching my ATM course, well a lot of questions that I have I ask Susan to help me with because she’s launched tons of courses online. Actually, all of the Diva’s have launched some type of course online. I think Susan may have the most, but Julie has a lot too. Anywho, I don’t just get Susan’s feedback…I get everyones. Plus, I get the feedback of the other members of the DMC.

It’s kind of cool….we’ve all became a tight nit bunch and we’re constantly trying to help one another out; whether it’s critiquing websites or sales pages or helping with wholesaling contracts or investor friendly title companies we’re ALL there to lend a hand.

Are they teaching some stuff that I already know? Of course. But that’s ok, not everyone else knows it. I just don’t spend time on that stuff. I spend time on the forum in the sections that I want to learn more about and I spend time watching the video modules that I want to learn about. Oh yeah I forgot to mention, not only is there a forum but there are video modules for real estate investing and video modules for online marketing. It’s awesome!

Plus, they have extra bonus they’re always adding and they have something called Deep Dive Trainings. They are just extra video trainings that they share. It’s really great stuff!

So bottom line….I give it 2 thumbs up. If you’re looking to eventually leave your job or even if you love your job but you’re looking for some extra income then you have to check out their 3-part free video training at the Diva Money Club.

It’s free training! It can’t hurt to give it a listen, can it? I promise you’ll be blown away. Check out the training videos for the Diva Money Club here. And then I would love for you to come back here and let me know what you think!

Ok guys and gals it’s time! Time for you to buckle down and grab YOUR financial freedom. It’s right there just waiting for you…..you can do it and you can do it a whole lot sooner than you thought possible!

Today Shae launched her: Financial Freedom GPS and I have to tell you it is awesome! If you know me well at all or even semi well you know that I don’t refer crap. If I refer it and I’m willing to put my name on the line for it then I truly believe in the product. Actually, I even wrote a testimonial for Shae as Kathy and I have been working the plan since October 1st (yes, the beginning of this month.)

This is a must have guide if you want to leave your job (aka the rat race) or maybe you don’t want to leave your job but you want to have options in life….a whole lot more options in life than most folks have. Or maybe you just want a great new step-by-step way to get out of debt and start putting more $$$$ into your pocket! Folks this ebook really is worth the small investment…I can’t tell you enough.

Check out the Financial Freedom GPS here.

I promise if you follow the simple steps that you (and even your spouse if you have one) can be well on your way to YOUR Financial Freedom.

P.S. Yes, these are affiliate links, but if I’m an affiliate for a product, it’s because I BELIEVE IN IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY!

THIS BLOG WAS ON THERE!!! Yep, GoinFlippinCrazy.com got an Honorable Mention on BiggerPockets.com list of Top 20 Real Estate Investing blogs and I gotta tell you that a) I wasn’t expecting that at all and b) I was super excited to see I was there.

I just wanted to thank Joshua for including this blog as an Honorable Mention on his list of top 20 real estate investing blogs. You’ve just motivated me to kick it up a few notches so I can make the REAL DEAL list next time Thanks!

Here’s mine that I’m going to share with you. Remember, I encourage you to write your own give up list at home. You can share some of the things you’re going to give up here or keep them to yourself, but the important thing is that you do it and actually write it down. I’m actually going to type both of my lists up neat and print it out and frame it and hang it in my bathroom (we’re going to get a printer tonight when Kathy get’s home from Joe’s soccer game.)

Financial-

Physical-

Mental-

Social-

Career-

Spiritual-

Family-

Secret Stuff-

Ok so that’s it. That wasn’t so hard, eh? Again, I can’t wait to get a printer and type this up all nice and neat and then I’m going to hang it in my bathroom (Kathy will be thrilled I’m sure In case you forgot, here’s my life plan list that I’m giving all of the above up for.

Share yours or not but please, please DO IT. Go ahead I dare you to think about what are YOU willing to give up to hit your life plan goals?

Anyway, I was very intrigued with him and his speech. When I got home I ordered 2 books by him and the first book I want to talk about is called People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!: The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them.

Well the title says a lot eh? lol And you know in your heart it’s true..the part about people being idiots and the part about how we sabotage ourselves. So this list that I’m doing is a list he asks you to do in this book. You want to write out what your plan is for your life in different aspects. Here goes:

Financial-

Physical-

Mental-

Social-

Career-

Spiritual-

Family-

Other Secret Stuff-

-I have something in this section and I like you all that visit my blog a lot but not enough to share this last section with ya

Ok so that’s the “My Plan for My Life” list. I’m sure you have heard this before or even done this before and labeled it as goals…and that’s really what they are. But ya know, something about the title of this list just resonates more with me then goals.

Feel free to share any or all of your plans for your life here, but definitely please take the time to do it at home for yourself. Check out this post to find out what I’m willing to give up in order to get the things on my life plan list.

When You Find A Qualified Buyer
After you find a qualified buyer you want to write up an agreement of sale. I’m going to assume that you don’t know anything about an agreement of sale or about how to fill one out. With that in mind, my advice is to then NOT DO IT.

You should have a competent real estate attorney that you use to help you draw up an agreement of sale and that helps you with all of the rules and laws associated with selling your house (like fair housing laws, seller disclosure forms, etc.) The real estate attorney can even do the closing for you and your buyer (they will take care of EVERYTHING associated with getting your transaction done and getting you your check in your hand.)

To find a competent real estate attorney in your area you should ask other investors who they use. Also, it doesn’t hurt to call local real estate agents to see who they may recommend.

If you know how to fill out an agreement of sale then you should have a title company that you want to work with to get your transaction to the closing table and get your check in your hand. They can help you with any questions that you may have, but they may not be permitted to give you legal advice in regards to rules and laws regarding selling your house, but ask, because a lot of them have real estate lawyers within their company that will be happy to help.

If you don’t have a title company that you use yet or that you feel comfortable with then you can find one by asking other local investors who they use. You can also join a local real estate investing group and ask the folks there who they use, a lot of times there will be title companies and real estate attorneys there trying to market their services. But if all else fails, you might want to find the local REO agent in your area and find out if they know of any investor friendly title companies.

Now take your big check to the bank baby and you can now say “I can save tons of money on commissions because I can sell my house myself!”

I hope you’ve learned something from this 4 part series. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here.

When You Get The Calls Coming In
A lot of folks are just gonna wanna know the price at first if you don’t have it listed already. Then they may want to set up an appointment to check the house out. If you’re not careful you could be wasting A LOT of time. Here’s what I do:

First I tell interested folks to do a drive-by of the house. If they like it after driving by I tell them to call me back to set up an appointment.

If they call me back to set up an appointment I ask them if they are pre-approved for a mortgage. If they say yes, I inform them that they must send me their pre-approval letter before I will set up an appointment to show them the inside of the home (be nice about this, not rude.)

If they say no, then I tell them that they must be pre-approved before I will set up an appointment to show the inside of the home. I generally will refer them to a mortgage person or a small, local bank that I use. (You should do the same. Hook yourself up with a small, local bank in your area that will get people pre-approved to buy your house. You can do this with a mortgage person too, if you have one in mind.)

Now if you’re wholesaling and looking for cash sales then you can ask them if they are cash buyers. If they say yes, ask them if they have proof of funds? If they are a real deal cash buyer they will have no problems answering your question about proof of funds and they will have no issues faxing you such proof. If they are a newbie or someone with no money they will give you attitude when you ask for proof of funds. Trust me on this..don’t waste your time with folks who don’t have the funds to close your deal.

If they pass all of the above then you will set up an appointment. PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS. These are strangers that you are letting into your home. Always have more than one adult home when having showings and it’s a good idea to have a sign-in sheet for folks to sign and you should make them even show their driver’s license or some form of i.d. I know that you may feel uneasy asking this stuff, but it’s for your own protection.

Word of Caution: If you ever, ever feel uneasy about someone that you are talking to on the phone, do not, under any circumstances let them into your home, especially when you are alone. Women..use that women’s intuition that you have. Fellas, use that gut feeling that you can get.
(This is probably the scariest part about selling your house yourself, in my opinion.)

If folks are interested in your house then write up an agreement with them! (we’ll get into that in a few.)

If they aren’t interested, ask them if they could give you some feedback so that you can improve your chances of selling your home. Tell them to be honest as you won’t be upset or take anything personally (and hold true to that!)

Ok so moving right along…now you have a buyer. What do you do now? We’ll go over that in the final part of the series How to Sell Your House Quickly.

Market Your House Like Crazy
Your house being for sale at the prefect price doesn’t mean anything if nobody in the world knows that it’s for sale, does it?

So here’s what you need to do to market your house and to tell the entire world (or at least folks in your area) that it’s for sale.

Break out your digital camera, cell phone, disposable camera or what you have and take pics of your house. Outside front, back, side, yard, living room, dining room, kitchen, etc. you get the picture. Common says tells ya that folks want to see what your house looks like and yes, even before they walk into it even. Please take in focus, decent looking shots. Don’t forget to get your darn finger out of the way!

Now pictures are a necessity but if you have access to a video camera you have got to take advantage of that. Honestly, in today’s day and age, I’d say even video is a necessity. So just have all of your bases covered and try your best to take pictures and video of the home. Just do a walk through of the home with your video camera so folks can see the inside of it without even being there.

Place a for sale sign in your front yard and rear and side yards if you have them. I get mine from Dirt Cheap Signs but you can get a few For Sale By Owner signs at Lowe’s, Home Depot or a local hardware store if you prefer. Make sure you get the 18 x 24’s and make sure you pick up some metal stakes (get extra to use in the next step) so you can stick them into the ground. By the way, please do not under any circumstances forget to put your phone number on your signs when you get them home. (Sounds silly to say that doesn’t it? But some folks have done it.)

Now here is a tactic that will get your phone to ring off the hook with potential buyers. You need to buy anywhere from 10 to 50 blank corrugated plastic signs. They should be 18 x 12 in size and they can be any color you want, but white probably works the best and is the cheapest. After you get them home you’ll need to get a thick, black, permanent marker. When you have that you want to write in your own handwriting with the marker on the signs the following:

3 bed/2 bath House Must Sell! Pottstown Area, $150k 610-555-1212

Of course, you’re going to change out the information above with your appropriate information for your home. If you house is a fixer upper try something like this:

3 bed/2 bath Needs Work! Must Sell Quickly. Area, Price, Phone Number

For wholesale deals try:

Cheap House 45k CASH. 215-555-5555.

You can use any combination of wording, but make it seem URGENT that you need to sell. Now you need to place these signs all around your neighborhood. Put them at popular intersections, at popular stores (like Walmart, WaWa, etc.) and just put them in heavy traffic locations. You want extras because some of these will get taken down, some will blow away and some will just become dirty and ugly so you’ll want to replace them with fresh ones. I promise you that you will get calls.

You can buy your blank signs from a place like Dirt Cheap Signs or they have them a little pricier at Lowe’s and Home Depot or Steph over at Flip This Wholesaler recommends Laird Plastics. I haven’t used them personally but I do have a call into them.

Next you’re going to want to create what’s called a Postlet. Go to Postlets and create an account. It is free. You’ll want to create a postlet about your house. Post your pictures, list all of the features, write up a nice description. People want to know about square footage, school districts, beds and baths, taxes, etc. You can upgrade to Postlets Plus and this will allow you to post more pictures on your postlet and also allow you to post a video. Every little bit can help you market your house.

Now, you want to go to Craigslist and post your house for sale there too. This is free also. You’re going to want to post in the portion of Craigslist that’s for your area. Find your area on Craigslist then go to housing and real estate for sale. Follow the steps, it’s pretty easy. Also, there is a craigslist section in your Postlets, so you can merely click that link and copy and paste the code they give you into your craigslist post and a nice little ad will appear. Don’t forget that you’re craigslist ad is NOT posted until you get the email from them and publish it. That is the final step.

Those few things should get your phone ringing, but since you are saving thousands by not using a real estate agent you should really market even more. So here are some extra things you can do that will cost some money.

Place a classified ad in your local paper. There are all kinds of papers that will work. You can place an ad in a daily paper, weekly paper, monthly paper, throw away papers like the Penny Pincher, etc. You can even try them all if you like. The smaller papers will be more cost effective. And keep in mind that you do not want to just run the ad for a day. That’s a waste of time and money. I suggest running it at least from Thursday to Monday for a month. See what kind of action you get and go from there. If you are under major budget constraints then you can work out a game plan that works with your pocket book. Generally, your ad will look something like this:

Downingtown, 3 bd/2 ba twin for sale by owner. New roof, central air. Must sell. 610-555-1212

Of course, insert the info that is appropriate to your home. You can even use the same type of ad that you hand wrote on your blank corrugated plastic signs. Remember that with classified ads you are pretty much paying per word. One word of caution: don’t try to create crazy abbreviations for your ad so you can fit more words in. A lot of folks may not know what your abbreviation means so it may confuse them and keep them from calling. The classified ad rep from the paper will sometimes suggest abbreviations for words to make things fit, just be cautious that it is a standard abbreviation that most folks know what it means like br for bedrooms or ba for bathrooms. Don’t get fancy with abbreviations, trust me.

Post an ad on ForSaleByOwner.com They have all different pricing levels starting at $89.95 (which I don’t like because it’s a monthly fee) all the way up to an $899 one time fee. The basic plan is pretty decent, it gets you an unlimited listing on their site until it’s sold and an awesome thing about their ads is that you get a private voicemail system (so you don’t have to give out your home phone number!)

Just so you know, the Gold package for a $699 one time fee is definitely worth checking out. It’s the cheapest of the packages that gets you listed on the MLS (multiple listing service, which is what all real estate agents use to list properties and find properties for their buyers) and on realtor.com Please keep in mind though, if you go with an MLS option, you are going to have to pay a commission to the agent that brings you a buyer (typically between 2 to 3%, but commissions are negotiable and you state when you pick your package the commission you are willing to pay.) Keep in mind, if you make the commission too low for the agent with a potential buyer they may not even show your house. So, personally, I’d stay within the 2 to 3% mark.

If you’re wondering do you have to list your property on the MLS for sale, the answer is no. I just want to make you aware that the MLS is what over 32,000 real estate professionals in this area use to view properties for sale. That’s a HUGE market that you’d be missing. But it’s ok, the basic package will at least get you in front of folks who are searching for a house to buy for themselves.

This marketing method may be a little more than most of you want to get in to, but you can send out postcards to either folks in your area or to renters in your area. For folks who live in the area you can send out sort of a “Pick Your Own Neighbors” type of post card and let them know your house is for sale. For renters, you may just want to let them know how easily they can get into your home. Get 50% off postcards here!

You’re going to most likely want to purchase a list of renters and homeowners in your area from a place like InfoUsa. For homeowners in your area you can actually get their names and addresses from public records and that is free, especially if you go to the courthouse. Just get a simple House For Sale postcard or Why Rent When You Can Own Postcard? And send them out.

A free alternative to use is the same kind of House for Sale or Why Rent When You Can Own ad for the postcard above but print it out and make flyers at home. (Btw, if you are savvy with your computer you can even print out postcards.) A flyer that I like to put together to hand out to the neighbors on the same block as a house I have for sale is the “Pick Your Own Neighbor” flyer. Folks love that and you never know? They could have a friend or family member that is looking to move into the neigborhood. Your general flyers you can post in laundromats, grocery stores, around rental apartments, etc.

One last free marketing tip that I forgot to mention is word of mouth. Don’t forget to tell everyone you know that your house is for sale. You never know who knows someone that is looking to buy.

Ok so now you know how to figure out what your house is worth and market your house to find a buyer……now what the heck do you do when the calls start coming in? We’ll find out in part 3 of this series.

I’m going to give you an outline to follow and if you follow it to the T, you should be alright!

Do Your Research About Your Homes Value
You need to find out what your house is worth so you can put a price tag on it. How can you find this out?

Interview a handful of real estate agents (at least 3) and get Comps (Comparables of houses that have sold like yours) from them. Do not tell them what YOU think your house is worth, just let them do their thing and present you with their evidence of what they feel your house is worth.

Now as JP from REI Tips pointed out below in his comments it’s a very good idea to keep your eye on DOM or Days on Market when checking out the comps. This is how many days the house was on the market until it went under agreement. How do you use this type of data? Well for instance let’s just say you have a few different sold comps and 1 had a DOM of 9 and one had a DOM of 83 and one had a DOM of 197. Ok? Obviously, if you want to sell your home in the same time frame as one of those 3 comps, you’ll want to price your house accordingly to those comps. Does that make sense?

Check public records if you have online access or if you know how to do this at the courthouse yourself (or if you have a real estate agent friend that will allow you to look over their shoulder as they access their public records on the MLS.)

Drive around your neighborhood and call on all of the for sale signs that you see. If they are having open houses too then GO TO THEM.

Research your local papers classified section for houses for sale in your area. Call the numbers and get the facts on the house (remember, you’re comparing all of these houses to yours.)

Hop on Craigslist and reseach the real estate for sale ads there that are in your area. Alot of times folks will have pictures and even videos in here, so you can actually see the houses. If there isn’t much info then email or call the person who is selling their house.

Go to Realtor.com and research houses that are for sale in your area. Again, if there isn’t much info, then call the agent up and ask for some info about the house.

Check out zillow and cyberhomes and see what they come up with as values for your house. Also, the comps that they list, drive past the houses to compare at least the outside of your house and the sold house. (I wouldn’t put as much weight on these 2 sites, but there is definitely more information here for you.)

Now, you should have a good idea of what you could sell your house for. By the way, when looking at public records, comps from agents and places like zillow and cyberhomes you only really want to look at sold houses within the past 6 months. Some folks will tell you to go back a year, but I think that’s even too far. Honestly, in this market, I’d say look at them in the past 3 months!

Ok so you have a value in mind. Well I need you to be honest with yourself about the value and how you came up with it, ok? Does the value indicate a house that is in pristine condition and your house isn’t that pristine? Does the value indicate a fixer-upper price and your house doesn’t need any work? Those are the things you have to think about when getting the comps from all of your resources above.

Make note of the condition and location of all of the comps that you get from your resources above then you have to HONESTLY compare it to your house. Honestly being the keyword here. If your house smells like dog, well admit that to yourself and know that it’s going to lower the price of your house. If your house is right next to an active railroad track, well don’t ignore the obvious and know that it will lower the price of your house as well. If your house is totally trashed and needs a lot of work, please, please, please don’t think that you are going to get maybe a couple thousand less than what a pristine house sold for. That is UNREALISTIC!

And always keep in mind the type of real estate market we are in. Right now at the writing of this blog posting, here in Pennsylvania we are in a BUYERS MARKET. Please recognize that and adjust your game plan (and more importantly) your thinking accordingly.

If you don’t adjust your game plan and thinking accordingly, believe me your house will sit there and it will NOT sell (until you come to your senses.

Check out the 2nd part of this 4 part article and learn how to market your house for a quick sale.

I asked Joe how many kicks he got in practice…he said 140. I said great. So he goes on to say about how that’s how many kicks he’s gonna get…..140. I said well hang on there….you already KNOW you can do 140, right? He said yeah. I said well I will give you .05 per kick on one condition..he said what? I said I want you to at least TRY to get 150 kicks. If you don’t make it that’s fine, but I want you to at least try, because we both already know you can do 140. Ok? He said that was a deal.

So today was the kick-a-thon. Joe was leaving to go with his mom (I couldn’t go because I had to take Brandon, the 17 yr. old his meds that he forgot) and I said so how many kicks you gonna get? He said 300! I said really? He said nah, 200? I said no really, how many kicks are you gonna try for? He said, 140. I said oh no…remember, you have to at least TRY to get 150 kicks, remember? He said oh yeah…ok. Then I wished him good luck and they were out the door.

About 15 minutes later I get a text from Kathy saying this: “U should challenge joe more often lol he did 300 kicks.”

And that was exactly the point of the challenge…..to make him realize that once you know you can do something to try to challenge yourself to do just a lil more….you’d be amazed at what you can accomplish if you did that. Don’t just settle for what you KNOW you can do. Try to do just a lil more.

Now, technically I owe Joe $15 for his charity and I will give him that but I’m gonna give him a lil bonus for himself personally to put in his jars (remember the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind?)

I think this is a cute lil story for us to remember and reflect on. Let’s not forget to challenge ourselves and our kids. I honestly believe that a lot of kids are lazy as hell nowadays and most of it I blame on the parents. Let’s get back to challenging our kids, holding them accountable for their actions and inactions and also rewarding them for challenging themselves, etc.

Kathy and I come from 2 different schools when it comes to parenting..grant it, they are HER kids and they are just my step-kids (I know we’re not married, but we would be if it was legal, so trust me, these boys have 2 moms ) She’s more of the “I’m their mom I want to do EVERYTHING for them and take care of them forever because they need me for everything” side of things and I’m more of the “They can do it themselves……they need to learn to do things on their own someday and they can do it now if you just LET THEM!” (Especially the 17 yr. old….he’s gonna be 18 in January and he’s helpless without his mom, so he’s taking the most work right now lol from BOTH of us.)

It’s amazing the things that go on in a kids head when you show him that he can make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Or he can sleep in his own bed! Or that they can make something called passive income where you don’t have to go to work 40 hrs. a week for your money! Btw, the 9 yr. old gets this concept wayyy better than the 17 yr. old. And I let him know too….I think it challenges him to listen more and pay more attention when we talk about money and investing. hehehe

The challenge with us, is that every other week Joe goes to his dad’s house. And at dear old dad’s house he has zero discipline, zero challenge, and he gets told that all of our ideas and rules are dumb. Like passive income and the no video game Thursday rule. So that’s our challenge….luckily it doesn’t take the kid long to adjust to this world when he leaves la-la land with dad.

As for Brandon, he lives with us full-time now….he refuses to go to his dad’s house (if you read my flippinghomes.com blog before you’ll know that I mentioned there that it was just a matter of time before Brandon came to us and said he didn’t want to go to his dads house anymore.) He’s making progress with the whole discipline thing, just not so much with the money thing….but I think he may start listening more because he’s got a girlfriend now and he’s learning that they can be expensive lol

Sooo I’ll stop rambling and just ask you all, myself included, to continue to challenge yourself and your kids.

Flippin’ Carey