Overcoming Your Mobile Home Investing Fears (Video)

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

If you suffer from the rare genetic disorder known as Urbach–Wiethe you may likely experience no fear in your life. For the rest of us, we may feel fear and anxiety on a regular basis. As a full-time mobile home investor for over a decade, I would like to share my initial fears and story of overcoming with you.

Please enjoy the story below transforming me from a scared mobile home investor to a semi-scared mobile home investor.

real estate fears 1

Step 1. Make the Decision: After finding and reading through three binders worth of real estate investing information (2002) featuring a popular infomercial real estate investor, I was hooked. I learned the very general concepts of wholesaling real estate, fast-turning properties, and lease options. My head was swimming with the possibilities of what the future would hold.

The real estate investing binders I was reading made very clear the hard work and daily effort real estate investing was to take. I promised my future self then and there I would make no excuses and do what it takes to get through my first few deals successfully.

Pro Tip: Make the committed decision to get through your first few deals. When you have made this decision one time you will never have to make it again. Moving forward you will do what it takes to become a successful investor without complaining.

real estate fears 2

Step 2. Get Educated/Ask Questions: My education grew rapidly. Within weeks I was a part of three local real estate investor clubs. One of the local real estate clubs was hosted by a 20 year real estate investor veteran that offered his services to coach newer investors. I gathered what little money I had in my possession and paid for his investing course and daily phone access.

Pro Tip: Although I made the right decision with this old-timey investor coach, a prudent real estate investor like yourself will not rush into any investment or training programs until you understand which real estate niche(s) you would most like to pursue.

Step 3. Set a Date: You cannot learn forever. I remember asking myself, “When do I stop learning about different investing strategies and start advertising and making offers?” The solution was to pick a date-in-the-future and begin taking immediate and massive action starting then. I decided on a date 30 days into the future.

In the meantime I soaked up as much real estate knowledge and free information as I could. Please keep in mind I was still living at my mother’s home and did not know the definition of a Deed. How was real estate owned? What is an appraisal? I knew nothing… I chuckle to this day that my mentor must have gotten annoyed occasionally at my daily questions which always led to more and more questions.

mobile home fears

Step 4. Take Action/Stay Persistent: My start date came and I was eager to begin. While my finances were limited, I took massive action immediately. Over my first 90 days I knocked on 100’s of doors, mailed hundreds of letters, made offers with Realtors, and had no deals to show for it.

My first property, a mobile home in a park, came from a motivated seller who saw my bandit-sign in her neighbor’s trash can. The seller began to tell me about her four bedroom, two bathroom home on the side of a small lake. The home was in good condition with one small pipe leak somewhere in the home. She was asking $8,000 and was negotiable! Before long I quickly tell her I will be right over and hang up the phone.

Without the knowledge to ask if this property was a mobile home I was in the car and minutes from the property (Google Earth was not a thing yet). It was not until I drove past the mobile home park gates that I figured the home must be a mobile home. As I rounded the last turn my stomach butterflies turned into a punch to the gut. I pulled over and vomited on the side of the street. After wiping my mouth and looking at myself in the mirror I had a crucial decision to make, run home or push through to try and help someone 3 times my age… I made the appointment.

After a few hours of talking and soft negotiations we were at a price of $3000, payable as $300 today and nine additional monthly payments of $300. The reason for the payment-terms were due to my lack of any capital at the time. With only a call to the local plumber and a general cleaning this home resold with payments for over 10 times the purchase price paid.

Pro Tip: Have an experienced investor or group of seasoned investors to ask your real estate questions to and get real-time answers. Without my mentors and friends along the way I would have failed many more times.

real estate fears 3

Step 5. Improve: It took me far too long to begin outsourcing the daily activities that did not have to be performed by me personally. These activities included certain marketing, advertising, making repairs, selling homes, collecting payments, and managing properties.

The education and friendship-making should never stop as well. None of us knows everything about real estate and we are all in need of more active and experienced investors. Along the way my attitude was/is to “test” different strategies and methods to see what works best and what fails. A real estate mentor of mine once said, “real estate investing is a smorgasbord, take what you like and leave what you don’t.”

Pro Tip: Aim to review your daily activities at the end of every week. Aim to recognize what produces results and what sucks-up your time and energy. Make appropriate changes.

In conclusion everyone’s journey is a bit different. However one similarity is consistent with all of the long-term and successful real estate investors you interact with, we were all scared and we all continually push through our fears. Focus on providing value to others and letting local sellers and buyers know who you are and how you can help.

I hope this article can relate in some way to your fears and apprehensions when it comes to pushing forward. If you feel something was missed from this article or you have any additional questions please never hesitate to comment below or reach out to me personally.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
support@mobilehomeinvesting.net

Related Videos:

South Florida & Interviewing A Mobile Home Buyer

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

I am reminded of a quote from many years ago that has stuck with me… Be grateful for where you are, however be uncomfortable enough to keep pushing forward and growing. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people on earth. For many years I have always heard from others, “Good for you for getting started investing so young.” I am now finally thanking my younger-self regularly for getting started building my passive cash-flow portfolio back in 2002.

If you are just getting started in a side business or real estate investment niche be excited and passionate about building a local name for yourself and helping countless families buying and selling homes over the next few years.

As a full-time mobile home investor the freedom away from corporate America is completely liberating with almost endless possibilities. However it takes hard-work and endless determination. With that said you must be the best boss you’ve ever had AND the most motivating boss you’ve ever had. You get back what you put in. If you believe you can do it, YOU CAN.

Investing takes daily effort and dedication

Recently, I returned home from a two-week trip to Florida. This short trip was a combination of business and pleasure. While I did visit 2 new properties recently acquired (new video to come), I was also able to spend quality time with family, students, and friends. Three days into the vacation a few friends and I took a road trip south to Miami Beach to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf.

After a few beers and many laughs we found ourselves mainly relaxing on the beach and listening to the waves come in during high tide. For all the high-tech fun and games in today’s world, there is something so peaceful about connecting with nature.

Miami South Beach

South Beach from water

Trapeze anyone? This was more than a lot of fun. If and when you get the chance to safely swing on some trapeze, I highly encourage you to pull the trigger. With only a few swings back and forth the trapeze instructor easily taught us to hang upside down and performing in-air somersaults landing on the net below. While I don’t have a fear of heights – I will admit I was a bit apprehensive to take the first step off the high platform. 🙂

trapeze at Club Med

be check Club Med

A last-minute unexpected phone call brought me to a surprise concert. I received a friend’s phone call inviting me to join her at a country concert in town. Lady antebellum was headlining with Sam Smith and a few other country artists I had never heard of before. While I didn’t know many of the songs, the vibe was great and my feet eventually ached from dancing as we headed home for the night after the concert.

9-18-2015 11-04-24 PM

Perhaps one of the most humbling and memorable events of the entire trip was an interview I had with a tenant-buyer that had just recently paid off her mobile home free-and-clear. I made an appointment to see this buyer/owner and present her with her mobile home’s free and clear title. Please see the video interview and lesson below.

Bullets From Video:

Work with your tenant-buyer logically.
Give small breaks to tenant-buyers that have been paying on-time for more than 12 months.
Know the difference between rational excuses and irrational excuses.
Meeting with tenant-buyers when they have paid off their home is a great way to say thank you, congratulations, and goodbye.
Helping others feels great.
Bad things happen to good people.

When possible I always like to meet with every tenant-buyer that has just recently paid off their mobile home. I do this because I want to make sure the buyers understand the procedures moving forward to safely and quickly transfer ownership into their names. (Steps vary by state however normally the mobile homes remain in personal property trusts until paid in full.) During this meeting I also like to congratulate and thank the buyer for their years of payments, communication, and dedication to owning this quality mobile home.

In conclusion, while this article did not have a specific topic of focus, I hope that it did help to encourage you to pull the trigger and begin/continue helping local mobile home sellers and buyers that need your assistance. If someone else has successfully proven a specific business model, then there is little reason you can not achieve these same or better results. With a clear plan, daily focused effort, and ample desire, almost any goals are possible. If you have any comments or questions about mobile home investing never hesitate to comment below or reach out to us directly for help and clarity at the email address below.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
support@mobilehomeinvesting.net

Chicago, Puppies, Outsourcing & A Humbling Experience

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

This last trip to Kansas was extremely fruitful at the mobile home park. After firing one handyman and two general contractors – I believe we have now found 2 very good crews of mobile home rehabber that are currently working on repairing a few dozen vacant mobile homes as I sit and type this article. Once repaired these mobile homes will be sold to local rent-to-own buyers with high prides-of-ownership and clean semi-backgrounds.

Side note: What a great business is this. We investors are able to hire out rehab work to concentrate on finding more deals and becoming better known in the local market.

Already in the community there is a buzz of excitement. All the updating of homes, painting of community buildings, and refreshing the playground has brought the community together volunteering some of their time to pitch in to make the park a home for everyone.

In August we held our 2nd quarterly meeting in the park community building. While there were a lot of good ideas discussed and new changes announced, there was not as many attendees as expected. 11 residents out of 56 attended the meeting. This is up a few people since the first meeting.

Now that there are homes for sale and homes currently being rehabs our marketing machine is turned ON. In the last week alone we have received over 34 calls from buyers or renters (we are not looking to rent) looking for homes to own. Currently 4 homes are spoken for and set to close next week. 🙂

Mindset: Due to the number of quality homes vacant in the park, our philosophy is not one of greed; instead while filling rehabbed homes we will offer extremely affordable move-in arrangements as long as all buyers are low-risk. Low -risk translates to no evictions, no violent crimes, good consistent income, plus a credit score over 600 is good to see too.

New banner advertising Move-In Specials in English and Spanish

East Down & Chicago Bound

I arrived on Thursday and had 2 more days to enjoy and explore before attending a client and friend’s wedding. My hotel was in the city so I was able to travel most places by subway or walking. With my cell phone, wallet, and laptop I took off each morning and explored the city with leisure.

The Bean. What a cool monument. Did you know the Bean is made from 168 stainless steel plates welded together.

Underneath the Bean. It was so nice to be in the shade.

In the 2 days I had free it was unbelievably relaxing exploring a new city. Everyone I met seemed friendly and willing to chat for a bit. While traveling I tend to grade my liking of that city by how the majority of people treat others. Chicago gets a passing grade in my opinion. While there I had fun:

Stopping into shops
Visiting art and natural history museums.
Catching a comedy improv show club.
Stopping by neighborhood pubs.
Seeing a major library. (A secret passion I like to do in bigger cities.)
Calling back sellers. Lined up 1 mobile home to purchase and move into my park.
Calling new sellers. Setting new appointments for when I returned to Kansas in a few days.
Organizing future campaigns and systems.
Making other real estate related calls.
Productivity meets fun and enjoyment!

Your time is now: I say all this to encourage and challenge you to build your business to a point where you naturally need to start outsourcing your repetitive and time-consuming tasks to others. Once you start, you’ll be instantly addicted. Do not worry about the money, by this time you will naturally be producing regular income and cash-flow in your investing business. You can absolutely achieve your goals with proper planning and daily action.

Pro Tip: Outsourcing your investing business is a natural progression of a scalable business. There are people and technologies to help relieve you of many of your routine and daily operations. More time to focus on working with more leads, increasing business, spending time with family, traveling, etc.

Super Humbled and Honored

An active real estate investor that reached out to me for help February 2014 invited me to his wedding. Vince joined our Mobile Home Formula training in February 2014 and has since closed multiple mobile home deals for cash-flow and helped many families own homes that never thought they could. Vince has appeared on a few case studies (See below) sharing his lessons, successes, and mistakes for everyone’s benefit.

Having never met Vince face-to-face before I quickly agreed to his invitation. 🙂 When I created my first blog online in 2005 I never thought it would lead to close personal business and friendship relationships with like-minded investors across the country communicating only through Skype and phone. Thank you to everyone for your readership and support. Every day that goes by I look for more way to serve you better with my past successes and failures. If you have any blog or video topic ideas never hesitate to reach out.

New Puppy

While we are on the subject of unexpected events – I adapted my mobile home park puppy. Meet Oso, Spanish for bear. He was the biggest puppy of the litter. Our park manager’s dogs had a litter of puppies, and Oso was born. Never would I have thought my family would get bigger as a direct result of mobile home investing. So far Oso is adapting to his new life marvelously. He’ll be back to see his family (Mom, Dad, and 2 brothers) in a few weeks when we head back to the park to visit.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro

Related videos:

Overcoming Your Real Estate Investing Mistakes To Be A More Savvy Investor

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

If you’ve never made a mistake real estate investing it is likely you have not put forth much effort yet, or that you are lying to yourself. The mistakes you have made and will make are your badges of honor. None of us are natural born real estate investors, so mistakes and challenges are expected and should be welcomed. In this article we will identify many common mistakes and address how to overcome them to become a better and stronger real estate investor.

The author Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Experience often times is developed through making our own successes and failures while risking our own time, energy, and capital. However, there are other ways to gain valuable experiences.

Below is a short list of ways to learn and gain value through other people’s mistakes and experiences.

1. Trial & Error: This is the default for most of us. We aim to learn as much as we can through online resources and then head out on our own to build our real estate investing empires.

2. Listening to the advice and stories of others: When listening to the advice and stories of others make sure to internalize this investor’s pain and/or joy. When another real estate investor tells you how they were scammed or how they did not perform proper due diligence, put yourself into this real estate investors shoes. Try to feel the pain this real estate investor had so that you do not make the same mistakes that you just learned about.

3. Working with a mentor: A mentor with a vested interest in your success should be similar to working with a partner, without splitting any of the profits.

4. Partnering with a local expert: With the help of your local real estate investment club, aim to identify the active local investors in your area who specialize in other types of real estate specialties you do not. Aim to partner with these investors if you discover a lead in your area that fits their niche.

“If you don’t learn from your mistakes, then they become regrets.“ – John Cena

When we make mistakes it hurts. The idea in psychology called loss aversion can help explain this hurt and regret we feel when we miss an opportunity or make a mistake. Loss aversion refers to people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Most studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically, as gains. Use your mistakes as signposts and directional markers along your journey to your financial goals. When you make a mistake or do not perform as well as you feel you should have, aim to learn what went wrong and how to avoid these same mistakes in the future.

Pro Tip: Review each deal, each week’s actions, and/or each mistake as objectively as possible. If you did make a mistake it was likely due to only a couple of factors. Do not let a single mistake create a false limiting belief in your mind that may do much more harm than good.

1. Mistakes with yourself: There is no question that you will eventually miss out or lose a deal because you are too lazy, analyze too slowly, or are temporarily too greedy. Each mistake you make refines your investment skills and makes you a more powerful and experienced as a real estate investor. Allow these mistakes to motivate you to correct the problem inside yourself and help local sellers even faster. False limiting belief: “I’m a lazy person that can’t do this.” “I’m not a people-person.” “I like to sleep in late and watch too much TV.” “I’m too young/old to start now.”

2. Mistakes with your property: Perform proper due diligence always. Sellers sometimes lie or simply forget to disclose pertinent information about their property for sale. No one is to blame but yourself if you do not take the time to know precisely what you are buying while stepping into the seller shoes. False limiting belief: “I made a mistake and did a bad deal last time, so I’m going to do a bad deal again.”

3. Mistakes with sellers: While working with real estate sellers we can often times make mistakes in our negotiations or due diligence that costs us hundreds or thousands of dollars. Working with sellers and buyers has partly to do with your current level of people skills and sales skills. If you feel you are lacking in people skills or negotiation techniques aim to read up and educate yourself on the subjects. False limiting belief: “Sellers don’t like me.” “I can’t get the types of deals these other investors can.” “There is no way I can help sellers.”

4. Mistakes with buyers: Often times it can be easy to develop close relationships with your renters and tenant-buyers. Additionally, it is sometimes easy to be fooled into renting or selling your investment property to a high-risk, unqualified buyer. Make sure to thoroughly screen every adult that aims to live in any of your investment properties. False limiting belief: “I always choose the wrong people to rent to.” “I’m such a sucker.”

5. Mistakes with education: Over the years real estate investing I have tried to be an information and real estate training junkie. While learning as much as I can about real estate investments, I have wasted my fair share of money on hokey and fluff-filled real estate investment training courses. Many times I’ve made these purchase decisions based purely on emotion and not based out of logic. False limiting belief: “All real estate investor training material is outdated and a waste of money.”

6. Mistakes with family: How many times have you received happiness from an outside source? Closing deals, helping sellers, and making money makes us thrilled as real estate investors. Often times we can make the mistake of taking-out our frustrations and personal depressions on our family members and loved ones. False limiting belief: “My family thinks I’m a failure as a real estate investor.”

Maxwell Maltz is quoted saying, “You make mistakes, mistakes don’t make you.” Starting today move forward with new lenses. You are not the same person that made these mistakes in the past. You have changed and are improved and will not make the same mistakes again.

In conclusion use your past mistakes to empower your future self; do not make these mistakes in vain. Move forward from every day of your life with the clear understanding of what has been productive and what has been counterproductive. Aim to duplicate and improve what has been productive, and eliminate or outsource the unproductive and time wasting activities of the day. If anyone has been a success as a real estate investor than there is no reason you cannot be either. Embrace your mistakes and grow from them.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
support@mobilehomeinvesting.net

8 Must Read (Non-Real Estate) Books For Real Estate Investors

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

Below is a list of eight of the most impactful books that have positively affected my real estate investing business. The catch is these books have little to nothing to do with real estate investing or mobile home investing. That’s what makes these books so valuable!

Life does not come in sections – It’s all connected.

Many times I too have made the mistake of sectioning off my life; family time, work time, school time, personal time, business building time, etc. Something that typically affects you in one area of your life almost always bleeds over to positively or negatively affect every other part of your world.

Cure the problem at the roots instead of the branches.

Most of these books work on human psychology and get to the roots of many problems/issues we face as a society and as human beings. When you take these books to heart below and really hear/implement the lessons being taught in the stories, your life may change just as mine did. I say with complete sincerity that I would not be the investor or person I am today without each one of these books below.

Enjoy!

It’s #1 on the list for a reason. I read How To Win Friends & Influence People yearly. Mr. Carnegie goes out of his way to distill the “likable qualities ” of dozens and dozens of past successful entrepreneurs and business leaders into bite-size and easy to read nuggets. This book alone has made me into a better and more compassionate human being. This in turn has led to much of my success in the mobile home investing arena.

Pitch Anything is divided into two parts. The second part of the book walks you through building a “perfect pitch” to present your business, thoughts, or ideas to an audience. While this second section is good, the first part of the book is the section that has changed my life since reading it. If you have ever suffered from being passive aggressive, afraid of confrontation, or a weak debater then this book is for you. Start looking at confrontation a completely new and fun way.

Do the more choices you have make you less happy? How many choices of cereal do we really need? Have you ever made a decision that you regretted? After reading The Paradox Off Choice I felt as if my head was pulled out of the sand and I could start seeing clearly. Now I knew where certain negative emotions were mysteriously coming from, and more importantly I knew how to fix it. Stop letting the media and advertising control the happiness you have and the choices you make. This book is a must read.

the seven habits of highly effective people book The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People is a classic! You know you have heard of it. Have you read it? Are you still using the habits? Can you remember any of the 7 daily habits? Emulate what the most successful and effective people do daily. Easy daily habits lead to lifelong positive changes.

If the previous book teaches you the habits of effective and successful people, then The Slight Edge is the mindset these successful people have day-to-day. We all have the same amount of hours per day, the most successful people in the world know how to use every edge to their advantage. This book is packed with some of the most useful and sometimes counterintuitive tactics to increase your happiness and increase your passion naturally.

At less than 100 pages, The Way To Love has done more for my happiness, relationships, and business than any other tiny book of its kind. This is another book that has completely changed my thinking. I look at who I was before reading this book, and thank God this book found its way into my life. Without a doubt this is a book I recommend to almost every friend, partner, and colleague. Do what you can to read this book soon!

Very few of us are born leaders. For the rest of us there is Bringing Out The Best In People. If you lead people or interact with people on a day-to-day basis you owe it to yourself, your business, your team, your employees, your friends, your family, and everyone you meet in the future to read this book. Learn from the successes and failures of the inspirational and super-effective leaders of our time and recent history.

While I’m not the biggest fan of fiction books, this one is a quick must read. The Richest Man In Babylon walks the reader through time-proven moneymaking strategies passed down from century to century. If you think you are dealing with new financial problems never before seen by man, think again. Make sure to learn these disciplines now and change your life forever. Do not end up like so many others who never learn the rules and lessons of money.

Bonus:

If there is one book that completely altered my mindset about how effective and honest sales should work it is How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling. This book has everything to do with time-tested, high-quality, and putting people-first in sales. As mobile home investors we sell every day. We sell our ideas, we sell how we can help, we listen to sellers and buyers, and we contour specific purchase and selling offers uniquely based on who were talking to. This one book is a must read for every real estate investor.

Am I using these principles at least one year later?

This is how I truly judge if I will recommend a book. If I am using the principles and techniques taught in a book at least one year after I read it, then the book has been a success. All of the books below have taught me many things I still think about, implement in my business and use today.

Thank you so much for giving these books the consideration they deserve. I know your time is valuable and I do not wish to waste any of it. These books have truly changed my life for the better and have helped to allow me to flourish in ways I’ve never dreamed possible. So many times people think they may know everything, every time I read a great book I am reminded of all the growing I still have left to do.

What book has changed your life? Please comment them below so we can all learn and grow together.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro

Related Videos

New York City & Mobile Home Park Video Preview

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

Whenever I am traveling and moving around I seem to work harder and achieve more in my combined businesses. I have come to learn that I set better goals and rewards for myself when I travel and have trips to look forward to, even if their mini-vacations or work-vacations. 🙂

These past 2 weeks have seemed to fly by when I was actually IN the moments, however looking back over these days they were so very productive. My time was limited so I packed 100% effort into a little normal amount of time, and got so much done. Do you ever feel like that?… When you are so exhausted and feel so accomplished and happy with your work?

In this article I’m going to focus on my recent trip to New York and Kansas. NYC was for pleasure and Kansas was for work, however is ending up being very pleasurable. There are so many stories I want to share with you. Okay, here goes…

New York City: The snow was falling and the sun was shining, for a total of one day. The rest of our time there was freezing cold (Winter storm Thor), windy, wet, and grey. With that said, my freezing feet and numb face were no match for my excitement over being in this giant city again, and my lust for finding so many hidden things to do in NYC.

This trip to NYC has allowed me to check off more things from my NYC done list:

Road a subway car from the start to the stop of the line.
Worked from my laptop at the famous NYC library.
Freestyle rapped with the help of a street drummer.
Visited Grand Central Station.
Danced to Quest Love music.
Pickled Beet Juice
Walked through a secret phone booth passage to get to a private speakeasy bar.
Snowball fight in Central Park

While in Brooklyn late one evening my friend and I ended up at a small concert venue listening to a band we had both never heard of. After a short while the music stopped, the band closed down and it looked like it was closing. When all of a sudden Quest Love from the Roots popped out of nowhere as guest DJ and stayed playing music all night.

Celebrity Sighting: Quest Love

quest love surprise dj set in nyc

It’s so great to watch the snow falling while you’re inside a nice toasty warm shopping mall. While there I picked up some new warm snow boot and mittens. If you live in this city it is hard not to walk or bike most places. I love this city.

snow falling nyc

Secret pleasure when in NYC: Ride the subway, get off at a random stop, and find an adventure or something new to do.

Kansas: First Community Acquired! 🙂 Now it’s time to improve this park and triple the revenue and community pride.

There is no magic pill for this. Trust takes time! The town is growing and the area is beautiful. Over the next 12 months many changes and additions will be added to the community. I am really hoping the park residents are ready for this change and growth, it has been a long time coming.

welcome to kansas

This community if filled with hard-working folks that want a nice and safe place to live. This community has been denied some basic improvements, rules, penalties, and structure. It’s a bit like the wild west out here. Not for long!

Over the next few months while this community is being improved, expanded and rehabbed I want to document what I am doing. I hope you can join me for this fun journey? I am hoping that this information will be helpful and entertaining to you. In future videos and articles we’ll be discussing the current state of affairs, future plans, entrance strategies, and exit strategies.

Here is a video preview of the coming Mobile Home Park series in the works now.

Thanks for stopping by this page. As you know, if you have any mobile home investing questions or real estate investing questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro

7 Ways Mobile Home Investing Has Prepared Me For Traveling Abroad

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

While growing up, the notion of traveling and seeing the world was never talked about or even considered as an option in my family. Not until taking the time to build my real estate portfolio and making the time to take trips was it possible to comfortably and extensively travel.

Over the past few years traveling, I have been pleasantly surprised that my chosen career of real estate investing seems to be aiding me while seeing new cultures and meeting strangers on a daily basis. Below are some of these reciprocal skills between real estate investing and traveling.

7 Ways Real Estate Investing Has Prepared Me for Traveling the World

1. Being Open-Minded

When I started my career as a mobile home investor, I was not a “people person” and to put it mildly, I wasn’t very friendly. Over the next decade, I noticed my shortcomings and started really caring for sellers, buyers, and all people in general. This fondness for people and my current career of helping people (mobile home buyers and sellers) has fueled my passion for seeing other countries and lifestyles all over the globe.

How we see others is how we may view the world. Do you like meeting new people? Do you get annoyed easily? If you are the type of person who enjoys meeting new people, trying new foods, and experiencing new cultures that are different than your own, traveling may already be a good fit for you.

2. Ability to Change Plans at a Moment’s Notice

While in the country of Laos in the Winter of 2013, the electricity went out in a very small village I was trekking through at the time. The translator I was with relayed the message that the power would be out until new supplies could be delivered from town, a one day boat ride away and back.

The next day’s plans were supposed to be caring for elephants and visiting a nearby waterfall; however, instead of hanging around the town with the pre-programmed tour I took the opportunity to travel with three tribes-people to find and buy the broken generator parts. That boat trip ended up being a once in a lifetime adventure through a jungle river that I would have missed if I was busy being upset, short-tempered, or mad that the power was out and plans were changing.

3. Creative Problem Solving Skills

While in Pai, a city in northern Thailand, I was invited over a local’s house to celebrate his son’s 9th birthday with a few dozen family friends, a full-sized roasted pig, and too much food and liquor.

At the party everyone more or less got to know each other, and I was one of the only new faces in the group. While making conversation and having drinks, I began listening to a real estate investment negotiation between two of the local guests. Uri, the host of the party, told some of the locals that I invest in real estate back in the States, so they wanted to see if I had any suggestions on the situation.

In short: Ben Buyer wanted to buy Roy Seller’s land and take over his farm. Ben Buyer and Roy Seller had already decided that Ben would make Roy monthly payments for the property and agreed to the amount per month. The only stopping block seemed to be the down payment amount Roy was demanding from Ben. Ben of course wanted to pay as little as possible, as there was more work, and expenses would need to go into the farm after closing. On the other side, Roy wanted as much as possible down, but would not take any lower than 150,000 baht (roughly $4,500) down as security.

After considering the situation, I proposed something that had worked for me many times in my own real estate history. My suggestion was for Ben Buyer to pay the 150,000 baht at closing, and for Roy Seller to consider this money as prepaid monthly payments for the next few months. This way, Ben would not have to make a scheduled monthly payment to Roy for almost 7 months. This would allow Ben to generate income and make repairs instead of paying the note monthly for the first 7 months.

To my surprise, the compromise was agreed to. The rest of the night we danced, laughed, ate and drank. Win-win-win.

Related article: John Fedro In Bangkok-Day 2

4. Budgeting Savvy

As real estate investors, we budget for repairs, holding cost, time, financing costs, transfer fees, Realtor fees, and much more. A large expense (10%-20%) many investors budget for are miscellaneous fees in case of incidentals and unforeseen expenses that appear without notice. You need money in the budget or you’ll run out of capital to complete your rehab and/or resale.

Depending on the countries you decide to venture to, the art of budgeting will be a smaller or larger item to consider. It is all too common to underestimate the amount of money you’ll need to when traveling abroad. Much like traveling, when rehabbing and reselling an investment property, there are unforeseen expenses and costs of doing business.

Disclaimer: Especially while starting out as a newbie investor or traveler, it is impulsive to believe you can account for every expense along the way. A travel tour guide (when traveling) or a seasoned mentor/investor on your side can oftentimes help greatly.

5. Ability to Embrace Delayed Gratification

In my personal real estate investing business, the art of the follow-up with previous sellers is a healthy portion of my business. This group consists of sellers who have previously said “no” to my purchase offer(s) and over time have changed their minds to a “yes” answer for me purchasing their properties. This natural follow-up waiting game can take weeks or months with proper effort.

In late 2014 while trekking in northern Vietnam, the jungle often gets so thick and dense that you can’t see more than 5 feet in front of you. After hiking for several hours, every tree, rock, and small river starts to look the same. After hiking in what seemed liked circles all day, my trekking party made it to our campsite on the edge of an incredibly large rice-terrace cliff. The trip and struggle was well worth the wait and effort.

Some of the best people, places, deals, and sights take the most patience and time to develop.

6. The Practice of Patience

While real estate investing, your patience will naturally be tested and stretched. This stretching is a very good thing for other aspects of your life. Whether it is a seller who hasn’t called you back after two days or a tenant who is late on their monthly payment again, this patience practicing will help grow your patience not only in your business life but also your personal life, too.

While traveling in Costa Rica, Key West, or Puerto Rico, I can almost always expect to run into “island time” when dealing with locals. On many islands and in coastal towns, a slower-paced lifestyle is typical. Whether I’m ordering food, waiting for locals, waiting in line, waiting for whatever else, or just being helped at some sort of business, I know that the quick-service I am used to in America may not be what I get while traveling. Growing your patience may help your ability to accept and adapt to changes in your perceived delays and expectations.

7. Knowing How to Set Expectations

One of my favorite things about real estate investing is that each day typically brings something new and different. Whether I receive a new property for sale or speak with an eager buyer with cash, I am almost always eager to get my day started. My happiness level was not always this high and consistent. Over the years real estate investing, I began understanding that our expectations can oftentimes lead us to unhappiness rather than success.

It wasn’t until I understood which expectations I should consider realistic as a real estate investor that my stress level went way down and my happiness soared.

In conclusion: Whether you realize it or not, life is happening all around you. The daily habits, traits and qualities you are using, practicing, and conditioning throughout your day will grow and develop within you naturally. Start being aware of which particular traits you are conditioning within yourself throughout your daily routine.

As always, love what you do daily,
John Fedro

48% Of People Make This Huge Real Estate Investing Error

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

Most real estate investors do not know the answers to the question, “What price and terms did every past seller you’ve spent time with finally sell their properties for?” While this question may seem daunting at first, a simple tweak in your business practice can provide you more real-world sales data for your niche and additional face-time with possible soon to be motivated sellers.

According to followupsuccess.com, 80% of sales are made between the fifth and twelfth contact with a seller. Additionally, 48% of sales people will never follow up with a client. This article will discuss just a few of the ideas to consider when calling sellers back. Additionally, this article will be discussing following-up with sellers you have already made purchase offers to; these sellers have previously said “No” to your purchase attempts and no Win-Win purchase offer has been reached.

follow up negotiations mobile home

Below is dialog from a recent call made to a seller.

Me: “Hello, Mrs. Tomkins. This is John Fedro giving you a call back about your 3 bedroom mobile home for sale in Sunny Dale MHP. I was curious to hear if you have had any more showings or interest from potential buyers since we last spoke.”

Seller: “Hi John. Yes, the home was sold last week to a nice young couple.”

Me: “Oh, good! I am really glad to hear that for you. I am curious, what price did you end up selling the home for?”

Seller: “We sold the home for $8,500.”

Me: “Congratulations Mrs. Tomkins. I am very happy for you and your family. The home was worth every bit of that. The buyers got themselves a beautiful home. In the future if you have any other real estate concerns or another mobile home for sale please don’t hesitate to ever call me anytime. Congratulations again.”

Following up with sellers should already be a mandatory part of your real estate investing business. To assume a seller’s current “No” to your purchase offer is permanent is unwise and simply untrue. Seller’s become more flexible overtime. As the market shows the seller’s original price was too high, your purchase offer becomes more and more realistic.

Continue following up with sellers as long as their homes are for sale and they are happy to hear from you. The number and proximity between each phone call or letter can depend on the motivation level of the seller and how close to a Win-Win deal you are both becoming.

Here are just a few benefits to following up with sellers:

1. Word of mouth referrals:Simply calling sellers back allows them to hear your voice and name again. Additionally, being proactive and genuinely interested in helping each seller is a great way to expand your circle of influence. Sellers often know other owners/sellers that may or will need to sell eventually.

2. Hear valuable first-hand information: “Have there been any showings to potential buyers?” “Any new buyer potential buyers?” Any purchase contracts accepted?” “Is the asking price still the same?” Ask these questions to better understand your negotiations and the seller’s current situation.

Always aim to provide clarity and help to every seller you interact with. More than simply offering a fair price for most properties, investors aim to listen to sellers and give experienced filled advice and options to improve a seller’s situation.

3. Top of the Mind Awareness Through Others (TOMATO):Sellers understand that we are real estate investors. As real estate investors we purchase and are knowledgeable in real estate matters. The more time a seller spends with you and remembers your name, face, message, and phone number the further in the front of their minds you may remain. When the time is right and a sellermust sell, your name may be the first one they call. The squeaky wheel get the grease.

top of mind awareness

4. Congratulating the seller:Sometimes sellers find alternative solutions for their selling needs. That is very OK. Share in a seller’s happiness. Too often you may hear from sellers whom you cannot help, and you know a foreclosureor further heartache is imminent. If you have been investing for any period of time you may have experience dealing with sellers in tight-financial situations with nothing you can offer to help besides advice.

At the beginning of this article I mentioned a quick bit of dialogue discusses during a recent conversation between a mobile home seller and myself. Mrs. Tompkins had been trying to sell her home for over 4 months with no success. We had previously met once and spoken via phone multiple times about her property. Three hours or less time spent in total with the seller. She is a mother, widow, painter, and hard-working woman. When I heard she sold her home for almost what she wanted I was very happy for here. As we should aim to be with every seller we deal with.

What can we learn from a home that is already sold? First things first, if the home is not technically closed on then there is a chance the potential buyer will bail or be unable to close, thus giving you the continued opportunity to create value with the seller. However if the seller’s property did sell then this would be a good time to ask permission to find out from them…

When the home sold? Will give you additional information about the number of days on the market for this street in your market.
To another investor or end-user? Who is working in your general area? Did another investor pay a higher price or give more favorable terms? If yes, is there anything else you could have done or learned to do differently?
The final sales price?* How low the seller was really willing to drop down in price. In the future it would be wise to remember this negotiation and the seller’s final price and terms. *In some states the sold price may be free public information, while in other states this sale data is kept confidential.

Seller situations change from month to month, week to week, and day to day. A once wishy-washy seller can develop into a motivated seller over months or days. It is important to be remembered at this tipping point when a seller realizes that a fast sale may not be possible without you.

Try this: Start following up with your past sellers. Aim to say Hi, reintroduce yourself, and get an update from each seller as to what has changed since you both last spoke. Begin with the past 2-4 weeks and call the past sellers you have made unsuccessful purchase offers to. Do not call with the expectation of making any deals, simply call for a quick 1-4 minute chit-chat or quick voice-mail message.

Conclusion: If a seller does not remember you or that you buy homes, it is not their fault. Make sure to be following up with sellers regularly. Some sellers will have sold. Some sellers will have decided not to sell. Some sellers will have not changed anything. While other sellers will realize their asking price/terms are too high and that your original purchase offers are fair and reasonable.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro

Related videos:

Sources:

Colorado Road Trip 2014

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

I have a problem. Lately I’ve been addicted to traveling.

Seeing new sights. Eating with different cultures. Meeting new friends. Making unforgettable memories. Being unsure of what you’ll see and learn is all so thrilling. I can’t say I always felt this way about traveling, but since a year ago I have been bit hard by the travel-bug. These days I would rather spend my time and income investing in passive cash-flow investments and traveling the world.

Whether foreign or domestic there is something so liberating about being on the road. With that said this would not be possible without the passive cash-flow from my mobile home portfolio.

Colorado Or Bust:

With short notice my friend Jaime and I decided to drive overnight and wake-up in Colorado. I had slept-in-late the morning prior so I was able to easily drive through the night and let Jaime sleep for most of the ride from Austin, TX to Colorado. How many energy drink is too many?

Over the past few months I have taken 3 trips to brand new states I have never stayed in before. I made these trips in order to inspect 3 large mobile home parks I was negotiating to purchase at the time. These states are Illinois, Alabama, and Tennessee. All beautiful states that deserve time and attention when driving through. I was blown away at the amounts of recorded history and local-pride both large and small cities have for their home in these areas, likely all areas. These trips will be discussed in a future article. Now back to the CO mini-vacation.

Colorado Springs:

The drive always goes by fast and we arrive by 8am in Colorado Springs. The weather is cool and sunny in mid-August compared to the ridiculous Texas heat. We roll into Colorado Springs first and right before I exit the highway I snap a picture of the Welcome to Colorado Spring sign.

We check into our hotel and we’re off to enjoy some micro-breweries, local food, and of course the nature. After asking the locals what to do we set our sights on a place called the Garden of the Gods. While I was there I couldn’t stop thinking of the hundreds of generations of people that have used this location as a home. Here we are in the present century walking around these ancient people’s home.

Travel tip: Always do a little bit of research on a place that you’re going for history info, tourist reviews, and tour guide reasons. It is nice to be surprised when you get to your destination however without some preparation you may find yourself confused and/or not maximizing your fun. Example: When I knew we were going to the Garden of the Gods I immediately searched the nature park on Tripadvisor.com to read reviews. What I discovered was to arrive early in the morning to avoid the heave traffic of the afternoon.

Denver:

After a 2 days in Colorado Springs enjoying nature we decided to head north to Denver and then on to Fort Collins.

Driving up to Denver was short and beautiful to see, the Rocky Mountains to my left, flat lands to my right, and the big city right in front of me. Three years ago I spoke on stage in front of a packed-room filled with real estate investors listening to me discuss mobile home investments.

After hiking and biking in Colorado Springs I was looking for some much wanted relaxation and chill-out time. With that said everyday was a minor workday; I of course needed to make sure all emails to people are answered, I respond to sellers and buyers that have called, set appointments for next week when I arrive back in Austin, and continue building my mobile home investing machine. After the morning hours of dedicated work and setting appointments for the coming week I wanted to enjoy nature again. However this time we decided to play some disc-golf in Denver.

This is a shot of me right before losing my driver-disc on the second to last hole. I didn’t bring a spare driver so we packed our things and headed back to the condo we were renting. After losing my favorite disc I decided we should get some Voodoo donuts. I remembers seeing this donut company featured on the show No reservations with Anthony Bourdain and since then always wanted to go. The dounuts and service were amazing! I highly recommend this spot. My favorite was the maple and bacon donut.

Travel tip: In addition to staying in motels and hotels I highly recommend airbnb.com and homeaway.com for reasonable condos and houses to rent for a short-time while traveling.

Jaime booked us for a haunted ghost tour-pub-crawl in downtown Denver. Here’s Jamie playing around in a “haunted” furnace. By this time we had visited 3-4 pubs already. Glad we were in walking distance of our condo.

Travel tip: Doing things doesn’t have to be expensive. Check out Groupon.com in your “destination city” to look for discounted events and random activities to try in your local town or during a vacation. Without Groupon we would have never known about the very fun and educational ghost/pub-crawl tour. 🙂

Fort Collins:

Did you know Fort Collins does not have an active military base there? Well, I certainly didn’t.

Perhaps one of the few areas in Colorado where I saw a great deal of new home construction was Fort Collins. A few things that struck me as wonderful and unorthodox were the public pianos scattered around downtown, the love-of-bicycles the city seems to have, and the friendliness of the community. Additionally, the real estate investor inside of me noticed that there were almost no “We Buy Houses” bandit-signs hanging on power-poles or in the ground. This typically translates to this city being a very clean and strict-code-enforcement type of city. Does this make sense?

fort collins piano rocky mountain oysters john fedro

Have you ever had a Rocky Mountain Oysters? They may be called different names around the world however if you’ve had them you would likely remember. These slightly-gamey and chewy fried strips (next to the onion rings) are actually the sliced testicles of bull. I think of myself as an adventurous eater so after some internal pep-talking I dived right in and had some. 🙂

In total the trip took 6 days and less than $2,000 total. If you are able to make these trips I would encourage you and your significant other or a friend to travel somewhere you have always wanted to go. If taking spontaneous trips like this is something that you would like to start doing but do not have the financial means to right now, I encourage you to stay dedicated to your side business and continued daily effort to make a better life for your family’s future. The difference between the doers and non-doers is clarity and action.

If there is anything I can do to help provide you with clarity please don’t hesitate to ask.

Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
John@johnfedro.com

Do you ever take mini-vacations? I highly recommend them for hard working and productive investors. I say hard working and productive as mini-vacations are a great way to reward yourself. Tim Ferris writes about these small getaways and other life-changing concepts in his past book The 4 Hour Work Week. Enjoy the free digital copy.

I Heart California… And Tombstone, And Roadtripping

Posted on by John Fedro

Welcome back,

We’re back home!

Over 2,000 miles over the past 3+ weeks, so many delicious foods tried, many new fiends met, and hundreds of memories created. This trip has reminded me that “things” are just things, what matters in life are the memories we create and the people who we create them with.

Joshua tree

After leaving the Grand Canyon and almost not finding an open gas station in time we were on our way. 🙂

On the way to California and the Sequoia National Park we passed through the Mojave Desert. I pulled over and took a close up picture of this Joshua Tree. These spiky plants are some of the oldest living organisms on Earth. Many Joshua trees living to be hundreds of years old and some living for thousands of years.

sequoia park 1 sequoia park 2

After 8 hours of driving past beautiful landscapes, huge wind-generators, wineries, and desert we made it to the “Land of Giants”. The first day we arrived at the Sequoia National Park we only saw average sized trees, this was due to our lower elevation. We spent the first night exploring within the first 20 miles of the entrance to the park. We later learned the great sequoia trees did not appear until some miles up the road.

When we finally reached the actual sequoia trees they did not appear here and there, they stood in a line like an army. It looked as if someone planted a giant brown living wall of trees. From this “wall of tree” line forward we were surrounded by immediate shade, quietness, and calm giant tree trunks. It was incredible and undescribable to feel that tiny.

Lombard Street 7-29-2014 1-06-27 PM

After spending a night at the Sequoia Forrest we headed for San Francisco. The drive went by faster than expected as me and my partner-in-crime took random pit stops trying local foods and snacks we found along the way. After arriving in town I was immediately greeted with the famous SF Bay traffic. After an hour and twenty minutes in traffic I was greatly surprised to see we had made it atop of Lombard street. This street is known for its twists and turns in just one small section.

Pier 39 1 Pier 39 2

Some standard sightseeing at the famous Pier 39. These seals would not stop barking and showing off for people. I couldn’t help but be amused and laughing right along side everyone else.

This is what working for yourself can mean. There is likely no good reason you can not be doing the same in 2 years or less; unless you’re dead or in jail you have the ability to make your business a reality. Ok, now off my soapbox and back to the sightseeing.

Tea Garden 1 Tea Garden 2

San Francisco is amazing. Such rich and sorted history packed in such a small city. All the locals we met were amazing and super helpful to tourists. A couple whom we asked directions from walked us 2 miles down the street to lead us to the Japanese Tea Garden and Rose garden. We ended up all going in together and having a Japanese snack.

Coy Pond Rose garden

Did you know each rose has a unique smell? I never even thought of that question before today. Literally stopping to smell the roses was one of my favorite memories of this day.

Challenge: Take some time this week to stop and smell local flowers. If your area in currently cold or flowerless then do the next best thing, head to a grocery store and start smelling the fresh produce. It may sound odd or silly but if you can’t remember how a fresh plum or walnut smells like you should wake up your smell receptors and start exercising them today.

LA view La hills view

Can you believe this view we got when we arrived in Los Angels? Thanks to Airbnb.com and local owners Nate and Ben we were able to reserve and stay at a beautiful bungalow looking over the LA hills. We spent 2 nights at this amazing house enjoying the private pool and hot tub as much as possible. Classic sightseeing and nightly celebrating ensued. 🙂

Tombstone 1 Tombstone 2

On the way back home we made a pit stop in Tombstone, AZ. The weather was hot, the streets were dusty, and it was everything I loved from the movie. Not much of its rough past, this tourist town now seems to cater to families and kids of all ages. After having lunch and seeing a gun fight at the O.K. Coral we were off. Our final destination on this road trip was home, Austin Texas.

Conclusion: An amazing time well spent with amazing friends. Everyday I was able to work a bit online helping folks nationwide invest in mobile homesand build wealth for themselves. With regards to my personal portfolio of properties everyone was still paying and happy when I returned. What a great business real estate investing can be that we may leave for 3 weeks and come back to a smoothly operating cash-flow business.

Love what you do daily,

John Fedro