Archive for April, 2010

MyHouseDeals Celebrates 5 Years!

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Can you believe it? MyHouseDeals.com celebrates its 5-year anniversary this week!!

Seems like just yesterday that I was driving along the highway thinking about business when an idea popped into my head.

I said to myself, “I’m frustrated with looking for deals in so many different places. There should be one place where wholesalers can post their deals and rehabbers and landlords can buy them. And I should build it!”

A few days later, I started building the website and after a few months, it went live. At first, the site was just for Houston investors and it had just a few deals and a few members. But it grew exponentially over time.

Now we’re in 15 major cities and we provide info on wholesale deals AND motivated seller leads, plus all sorts of tools and educational resources for new and experienced investors.

But our main focus is still deals. To date, we’ve provided information on 23,051 wholesale deals and 19,416 motivated seller leads with a combined equity of $3.2 billion!

Thanks for making this anniversary possible by continuing to post your deals and buy properties! You haven’t let the real estate “slump” stop you from achieving your goals, and we won’t let it stop you either!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
Real Estate Investor
Founder of MyHouseDeals.com

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Houston Live Event is Huge Success!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

We had a fantastic turnout for the live event last night, I want to thank everyone who attended!

Many attendees arrived early to enjoy the tradeshow and network with fellow investors.  Our panel of Houston All-Star Wholesalers (including Brian Collins, Chris Funk, Jaremy Moritz, and Diego Ramirez) spoke for about an hour giving away many insider tips to the crowd… they even took the time to answer one-on-one questions from the crowd after the panel discussion.

Our photographer, Steve Ganus, took a lot of pictures.  See below for those!

CLICK HERE to View Pics!

Username: myhousedeals

Password: liveevent

(By the way, if you need someone to take interior/exterior property pictures — or anything else for that matter — you should contact Steve on his website: http://ganusphotography.freelancersontherun.com/ )

A new feature for this event was our “Networking Wall.”  We asked our attendees who either needed a service or had a service to offer to write their name, phone number, and a short message on a large piece of paper on the wall.  By the end of the night it was completely covered with offers and services. Many people were frantically trying to copy everything down as the night ended… so we decided to make it available to everyone here: http://www.myhousedeals.com/houstonlive/networking-wall.asp

networking-wall

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith and the team at MyHouseDeals.com

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The Million Dollar Real Estate Meeting

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

We are hosting another Live Networking Event with Training and Trade show in Houston! And it happens tonight! Reserve your spot here.

Remember this?

We came up with our own version of it here at MyHouseDeals.com…

Gentlemen, we can recreate it. We have the technology.

We have the capability to make the world’s best real estate investing seminar.

The MyHouseDeals.com Live Event will be that seminar. Better than it was before.

Better.

Stronger.

Faster.

The Million Dollar Meeting!

Our goal is top ourselves with everything that we do, and that’s the approach we are taking for this live event. We not only have a brand new, larger venue for this event to ensure we can accommodate more investors and allow for more networking than ever before… We’ve also assembled a panel with not one, not two, but FOUR Six Million Dollar Men.

We are calling them our Wholesaling All-Stars and they’ll be leading our advanced training session for the evening. Some would say they are bionic judging by the amount of investing activity they are able to generate. We just think they are smart and know exactly what to focus on to reap maximum profits from wholesaling in the current Houston market. And they are going to tell you exactly how you can too.

I’d like to introduce you to them… But before we get to that, go reserve your seat for Thursday night if you haven’t yet. I guarantee they will go fast. Just go here to register:

http://www.myhousedeals.com/HoustonLive

… now back to the panel. Meet the experts:

Brian Collins is a real estate investor and president of B.P.C Investments & Development L.L.C., a company dedicated to providing high-level expertise in real estate investments. Brian began buying and selling real estate in 2007 and specializes in rehabbing houses that have been abandoned or foreclosed. He is also a member of the Bellaire Exchange Club, a group with a mission to improve the quality of life in the Bellaire area.

Chris Funk is an active rehabber and landlord in the Houston area. Chris began wholesaling in 2005 and has used private money, hard money, conventional financing, and seller financing to buy properties. He currently holds a portfolio of 20 rental units.

Jaremy Moritz has been a real estate investor since 2001. During this time, he has bought and sold over 350 houses in the Houston area. Although Jaremy considers himself primarily a wholesaler, he has rehabbed over 100 properties.

Diego Ramirez started his real estate career as a contractor in 2004. He learned the ins and outs of investing from Doug Smith and Homevestors in 2005. Since then, Diego has bought and sold over 200 houses in the Houston area earning him over $700,000 in profits. Diego is an expert in wholesaling properties in low-income communities, and has a diversified portfolio that includes wholesaling, rehabbing, and rental properties.

Together, they will hare their most valuable tips and strategies, including…

  • How they’re getting their leads and deals
  • How they find the investors who buy their wholesale deals
  • What is working best in today’s market

They will also answer your questions directly during a lightning round of Q&A, so get your questions ready!

But before you can meet our panel and get answers to your questions, you must register to reserve your seat. This event happens tonight, Thursday April 22, from 6PM to 9:30PM at a hotel in the Greenway Plaza area. It’s free to attend, but you must register by clicking the link below…

http://www.myhousedeals.com/HoustonLive

See you at the event!

Doug and the team at MyHouseDeals.com

Posted in Just for Fun, Real Estate Investing | No Comments »

The Mastermind Principle

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Hello fellow investors!

I recently did an interview with an online TV show. For the most part, the interviewer wanted to know what my background was, how I “made it” as a real estate investor, what my “success traits” are, and so on. While the interview was supposed to be about me, I did my best to give the viewers as many success tips as I could.

Some of those were persistence, determination, self-educating, goal setting, time management, passion, work ethic, and living by the golden rule. But I also gave a success tip that not everyone is familiar with. I emphasized the importance of being part of a mastermind group.

The terms “mastermind group” and “mastermind principle” were coined by the late Napoleon Hill, author of the #1 bestseller, Think and Grow Rich. Here’s how he defines the mastermind principle…

“The Mastermind principle consists of an alliance of two or more minds working in perfect harmony for the attainment of a common definite objective. No two minds ever come together without a third invisible force which may be likened to a “third mind.” When a group of individual minds are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual in the group.”

While that quote pretty much sums it up, the video below goes more in depth. It’s of Napoleon Hill himself reading an excerpt from his book. He recorded this video during or soon after 1937, so it’s definitely a throwback. (But that made me enjoy it even more!) Here you go …

If you’re trying to make it big in real estate, I highly encourage you to form your own group so that you can benefit from the tremendous power of that third, invisible mind. Here’s how:

1. Attend local real estate investing meetings on a regular basis and accumulate a sizable list of contacts over time. You can also build up these contacts by contacting wholesalers on MyHouseDeals.com and/or posting deals on MyHouseDeals.com. You’d be surprised how many people say that their favorite part of the website is “networking.”

2. Then reach out to a few of these contacts and try to get to know them on a deeper level. This will likely involve meeting up for lunch or coffee.

3. Arrange for you and the 5 or 10 contacts with whom you get along best to meet on a regular basis to discuss your real estate goals and challenges. And whalla! That’s your mastermind group!

I wish I had done this as a new real estate investor. It could have really helped speed things up. After all, it took me eight months to do my first deal. Talk about frustrating!

But I have been much better about applying the mastermind principle since starting MyHouseDeals.com. For the last three years, I’ve masterminded through a group called EO, which is short for Entrepreneurs Organization. It’s not just for real estate investors. It’s for all business owners.

We talk about issues pertaining to marketing, employees, overall business strategy, managing growth and more. While all of our business are so different, they’re all the same in so many ways. Not only have I gained a lot of ideas that have helped to make MyHouseDeals.com what it is today, I’ve also made a lot of great friends. It’s a great side benefit!

We even go to annual retreats to “bond.” This was new to me. I was never involved in Boy Scouts and never joined a fraternity, so I missed out on all that stuff. But you know what, “bonding” can actually be more fun than I initially gave it credit for! Here’s a pic of me and my group after we spent two days playing games and goofing off at a members ranch…

My EO mastermind group. I'm standing up with a white T-Shirt and khaki shorts.

My EO mastermind group. I'm standing up with a white T-Shirt and khaki shorts. Nate (blue shirt) is clearly up to no good.

Don’t do like me and wait so long to get involved with a mastermind group. After all, dramatically increasing your profits while simultaneously forming lasting friendships seems like something you’d want to do sooner rather than later!

So what’s your next action step? Join a local organization that arranges mastermind groups. Or form one yourself. That way, you get to pick the members, and it’s FREE. (I’m sure you like that part.)

Until next time, happy (and profitable) masterminding!

Doug Smith
Founder of MyHouseDeals.com

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We are on a roll…

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

productive

It was quite a busy month of March for us here at MyHouseDeals.com. We have been working hard to make the website even better than it already is and continue to provide you with the highest level of service. We thought we’d take a few minutes to give you a brief summary of all that’s been going on with us.

In the last 30 days we’ve…

- Added 474 wholesale deals to the site

- Added 309 motivated seller leads to the site

- That’s 783 new properties added, with over $39,800,000 in equity!

- Hosted two “How to Use MyHouseDeals.com” webinars – We had over 415 registrants. Thanks to everyone who joined us on the live calls!

- Followed up on 687 deals and leads to verify their availability and accuracy.

- Marked 496 properties as Sold or No Longer Available – That means you guys are taking action quickly. Way to go!

- Tweaked our search form to allow you to search for deals more efficiently

We hope you are taking advantage of all of these changes and updates. We do it all for you!!

Now let’s have a productive April!

The team at MyHouseDeals.com

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Big Announcement

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

We have a big announcement.
The National Association of Realtors is trying to shut us down! You heard me right. They want us gone, kaput … OUTTA HERE!
The details were revealed in a letter we received from their attorney late yesterday afternoon. Among other complaints, they stated that …
- “Hundreds of properties are being bought and sold on your website without the professional guidance of a trained Realtor.”
(Translation: They want your commissions.)
- “Properties are being presented outside of the time-tested framework of the traditional MLS system.”
(Translation: They want to maintain control by locking you into their MLS system.)
- “Sellers are clearly misinformed because their asking prices are far below what comparable sales show to be fair market value.”
(They cannot fathom that someone would take a discounted price because they want a quick and easy sale.)
Their claims are so outrageous that they’re hard to believe! In fact, before you get all worked up, maybe you shouldn’t believe. Look at today’s date. It’s April 1st.
Happy April Fool’s Day, Susan!
That’s right. The story isn’t true. Sorry if we almost gave you a heart attack! Our site and your deals aren’t going anywhere whether the Realtors like it or not! :-)

The National Association of Realtors is trying to shut us down! You heard me right. They want us gone, kaput … OUTTA HERE!

The details were revealed in a letter we received from their attorney late yesterday afternoon. Among other complaints, they stated that …

- “Hundreds of properties are being bought and sold on your website without the professional guidance of a trained Realtor.”

(Translation: They want your commissions.)

- “Properties are being presented outside of the time-tested framework of the traditional MLS system.”

(Translation: They want to maintain control by locking you into their MLS system.)

- “Sellers are clearly misinformed because their asking prices are far below what comparable sales show to be fair market value.”

(They cannot fathom that someone would take a discounted price because they want a quick and easy sale.)

Their claims are so outrageous that they’re hard to believe! In fact, before you get all worked up, maybe you shouldn’t believe. Look at today’s date. It’s April 1st.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

That’s right. The story isn’t true. Sorry if we almost gave you a heart attack! Our site and your deals aren’t going anywhere whether the Realtors like it or not! :-)

Posted in Just for Fun | 3 Comments »