Brian's Journal

She's Doing Well

Sandy had a major surgery yesterday to remove a tumor on her colon. The surgery went very well "Better than expected" said the surgeon. A portion of her colon was removed to ensure her health. The tumor was the size of a golf ball and was located very near her liver. It was a good thing we caught it early. 

The picture to the right is a picture of Sandy before going in for surgery. Of course she was making everyone laugh. She had written "Git-R-Done" on her belly and the surgeon said that it made everyone in the O.R. crack up laughing. That was her intention, to have all in the room in a positive, happy frame of mind. Her positive attitude is going to help her recovery. The nurses in the recovery area loved her and wanted her to be able to stay there because she brightened their day. This is what we all love so much about her. She brightens up any room she goes in, even in the hospital, even when she is the patient!

Sandy and I would implore you to have a colonoscopy if you are at or near the age of fifty; or, if you are experiencing any problems in that area to at least go see a gastroentorolgist and see if one is recommended. The procedure is no big deal, your asleep. Early detection could have well saved Sandy's life.

We appreciate all of your prayers and well wishes. We have a long road ahead, but together we can do what we can't do alone. We love you all.

Investing in Real Estate

by Brian

I just had a nice conversation with a local Real Estate investor, Natasha. She is looking to Buy homes and rent them for cash flow. One of the many ways to invest in Real Estate, and one of the most recommended.

I thought it was time I include some entries on the subject of investing. Information purposes only. Should you decide to invest, it is recommended that you consult with your attorney, tax adviser and/or financial adviser as to the appropriate course of action. Of course, having me represent your interests will be advisable as well.

For this discussion I'll briefly go over a couple of the arenas of Real Estate investing. What are some ways that we can make money investing in Real Estate? This will be a general discussion.

Fix-up and Sell: Otherwise known as flipping. This strategy involves finding distressed properties at a discount.You will then need to oversee the renovation and repairs, or do them yourself. If you like fixing up houses and  have a source for funding the acquisition and repairs, this may be the strategy for you.

Wholesaling: Here, you find a house, any house, preferably at or below market value, and get it under contract. You then find a willing and able Buyer and assign the contract to them for a fee. For example, you may find a distressed property that needs a lot of work and decide that right now is not the best time for you to get involved in a long drawn out re-hab. You simply find another investor who is willing to take on the work and wholesale it to them. If you have little or no money and a lot of time to look at houses, this may be the strategy for you.

Buy and Hold: This strategy would involve becoming a landlord and renting to tenants, or structuring  a lease with option to buy for a qualified tenant. You would look for properties that match your criteria as a good rental property. Then you find qualified renters to pay you each month to live in the house.   If you have excellent money and management skills this may be the strategy for you.

Buy, Fix-up and Hold: Similar to the Buy and Hold strategy above except that the house may need a lot of work before it is acceptable to potential renters. Excellent cash flow management and project management skills would come in handy if you elect to pursue this kind of investment strategy.

Certainly there are many other ways to make money in Real Estate investing, but these are four basic methods that comprise the majority of investment strategies. In future articles I will expand on the individual methods above, as well as, discuss other relevant real estate information.

Should you, or anyone you know, wish to pursue investing in Real Estate feel free to have them contact me and I will be happy to listen to what their objectives are and help structure a plan of action that best meet their needs.

Investing in Real Estate can be very rewarding. Be smart and get the professionals on your team.

Fun at the Perry Hall Fair

by Brian

Saturday was a picture perfect weather day here in the Charm City.  The sky was a deep azure blue with a few white puffy clouds passing by. Temperature in the mid 90's with winds comfortably out of the Northwest, creating a nice dry breeze. A great day to get out and meet the citizens of Perry Hall Maryland.

This is the first time I had been to the Perry Hall fair. Don't know why I have missed it in the past,  but I will try to be there every year from now on. What a nice event for the community.

The police had Ebenezer Rd closed off in front of Perry Hall HS. The neighborhood was walking and talking. Businesses from every corner of the area had little booths set-up all along the road and in the parking lot of the school. There were even pony rides for the kids.

Three bands were playing in three different areas of the fair. My favorite was the US Army Band. I was able to sit in the shade for a while and listen to them play. They closed with "Stars and Stripes" after a an emotional rendition of Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American."

I really enjoyed meeting and greeting a lot of Perry Hall citizens. People asked me a lot of questions about Real Estate and I was happy to answer them all.

The yellow cards you see in my hand are Free Report cards. The particular Free Report that was promoted is titled " Insider Secrets to Understanding House Values." You can access this Free Audio Report ,Toll Free 24/7, by dialing (888) 624-1213 ext. 358. Most folks find it very helpful.

I was fortunate to meet several nice families, who are currently renting in the Perry Hall area, that would like me to help them with Owning their own home in the neighborhood. They all mentioned how the fair really gave them a feel for the quality of the community and the niceness of the people.

Other families I met, have to sell their home and want me to help their family get the most money for their home. One was a military family that has to move. Another was a family that owns a Town house in Perry Hall and needs more room. They want a larger detached home, but want to stay in the Perry Hall. I thought it was nice that they liked the neighborhood so much.

All in all it was a wonderful day. I got to meet a lot of nice folks who want me to help them with the biggest purchase of their life. Talking with so many nice families reminds me that I really love what I do, making peoples' dreams come true through home ownership.

Getting "With the Times"

by Brian

I broke down. I have succumbed to the powerful pull of the technology monster. At left you see a sparkling image of my new SmartPhone. A Blackberry Curve to be exact.

My technology consultant, Josh (who is a confident 22 year old), has suggested that I should get "with the times" and own a PDA. I recently had canned Nextel due to unbelievably poor service, and switched to Cingular. I got a great deal on Motorola's v365 phone, a very good phone. Josh makes a good point, however, that the time to get the PDA is when the carrier is offering me a $200 rebate when signing up with a new two year agreement.

Onto the Internet I go. First to Cingular's site to see what phones are available and at what price. I spend a lot of time looking at all of the pretty pictures and the different data plans available.(For the uninitiated, in order to use the PDA as a PDA, you have to subscribe to a Data Plan in addition to your cell phone minutes plan)

Then I go to CNEt.com to check out the reviews of the PDA's. At this point I had decided to go with the Blackberry Pearl. The Pearl is very trendy and sleek with a lot of cool features. I read all of the reviews and decide the Pearl is for me. So I head up to my local cellular dealer, Murray Cellular, to get my new SmartPhone.

I don't know about you, but I tend to drop my cell phone on hard surfaces, like concrete and ceramic tile floors. So I insure my phones against everything. Insurance for the v365 no problem, insurance for the Pearl, or any PDA for that matter, not gonna happen. Pearls without the sign-up rebate, should I drive over it with my car, are going to run me about $500.  I pick up my beautiful v365 phone off of Sandi Love's desk and head out the door. I need more information.

Back onto the Internet I go, because that's where guys who are "with the times" go when they need more information. Try googling (is that a word?) PDA insurance. No luck. I can't believe it! if Google can't help me, then what hope is there for a guy like me?

I call my insurance company. They will have to get back to me later. Meanwhile, I learn that my e-mail comes to me over a M!@#$%^&t Exchange Server (sorry Bill, no free plug here). Guess what? The Pearl cannot receive e-mail over the exchange server. Next I decide on the Palm Treo 750.

Check out the user reviews for Treo's. Not good. At least the people who have M!@#$%^&t Mobile on them. Any shocker, they crash all the time. I crave stability in my technology devices. After all, if they don't work what good are they?

My insurance company calls me back and sure enough there is a rider I can get on my homeowners that will insure my PDA and other portable technology. Hurray! I am back in the market for real!

People love their Blackberry's, the user reviews say. After an extensive read and review of all the Blackberry's I decide on the Curve. It's the latest and the greatest! Nice size, I like the keyboard, 2 mega pixel camera  and a whole lot more.

I have owned my  Blackberry for a whole week now. I have figured out how to make a phone call and I have also used the Memo Pad feature twice this week for my grocery list. Still haven't got the e-mail to come to my phone yet, but I am confident that it is just a matter of days before I am Mobile e-mailing.

My PDA will let me surf the Multiple List Service from my phone which is an awesome service to folks who I am helping to Buy a home. I'm sure that there is plethora of features that will make my life just wonderful and my service to my Real Estate clients even more awesome than it is now.

Gotta go. My PDA is ringing.  I really do feel like I'm close to getting "with the times!"