Appreciation

"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!"

-Zig Ziglar

With the holiday season approaching, I made my rounds this week with the park managers/owners of my favorite parks (aka the parks I like to work in) distributing goodies and gifts.

My holiday cheer was very much welcomed and appreciated by all. It really brought a smile and put everyone in a good mood. We chatted and talked about plans for the holidays, shopping and the like. It was nice. People really appreciate when I take the time to visit and catch up with them - they feel appreciated.

And guess, what? Since I took the time to care and appreciate these very valuable people in my network, they expressed their gratitude and desire to work with me more in the future. I have been labeled as their favorite person to work with :)

The secret of my success has been directly a result of my network and the relationships I have built. So many people think in terms of money and themselves - what's in it for them? This is why the term "investor" gets a bad name. It's true - most investors are really out there for themselves, greedy and even worse - dishonest. Though, these people never last - it is short term.

Since I am here for the long haul, I make sure my relationships are built with integrity and trust. I am not in it for the overnight success like most people are. I have made a commitment to make this a long term business - I intend to keep it that way.

Speaking of commitment, I'm not going to sugarcoat it - this business takes work. Success does not happen overnight. I have had to put in the hours required to make this business work. Many people I know do not see the benefits - they think I work too hard.

I'll be honest - I've had to give up some things for this business including having a social life. It's true. Some of my friends think I need to be more social and do things normal people my age are doing such as going to events and parties. I guess it just boils down to priorities.

For me, it's not a priority to go out and meet people on a social level. I have a business to run and this takes priority over social events. I do try to make time to be social once in a while. I admit, sometimes it is difficult to interact with others who do not understand. Ah, the life of an entrepreneur!

I respect people's opinions. I think everyone has their own path in life. My path just so happens to be more different than others.

Pets!

Here's the latest deal. I had a whirlwind of drama with this one. We closed on the home but the seller needed some time after the closing to move out. So, I had to use my gut on this one - paid a portion of the funds to the seller at closing and the rest upon move out.

Here's the problem. The seller's car had some issues - it would not start. So, we had to wait a few days for the part. The part came in and the car still wouldn't start. The seller was stressed and told me he couldn't leave without his car. Told me he would have to have a mechanic take a look so it would be a few more days.

At this point, I was getting at the end of my patience. The seller had already breached the agreement - it had already been a couple days after he was supposed to vacate. So, what did I do? I told the seller the park manager was going to file for eviction soon if he did not leave. (By the way, I got the ok from the park manager to be the "bad guy" - he was cool with it).

So, the seller was in a panic. He called up one of his buddies who loaned him a truck. Then, we had one more snag - his cat. The seller was planning to go to a hotel, but asked me how about the cat? Where would his cat stay? The cat may not be allowed to stay in the hotel. None of his family or friends would allow the cat to stay with them. He told me he couldn't leave without his cat not having a place to stay.

Ok, I was at my wits end with this deal - I knew I needed to have the seller vacate asap. I looked into a few "pet resorts," they call them here where you can leave pets overnight. They were booked up. Called a few animal hospitals - they only accommodated existing clients.

I dialed and dialed and dialed. Finally, I found a veterinary clinic. Talked to them - they told me usually they only accept existing clients for boarding overnight. I used my last breath of energy on them, "Well, I could be a potential client." They accepted and I made a reservation for the seller's cat for overnight lodging. Cost the seller $9 per night, but that was good enough. Both the seller and the cat now had a place to stay - they vacated that day. Problem solved, case closed.

Stolen!

Today, I went to meet the electrician at one of the trailers to check out the wiring. To my surprise, all of the window units were gone! In addition, the outside a/c unit was also gone. I knew who it was, I just couldn't prove it. You see, the owner of the trailer who sold the house to the seller (who in turn sold to me) told me the owner gave her all those a/c units. And, before we closed she told me he would also take out the outside a/c unit since it was no longer working. So, it's a surprise that the outside a/c unit and all the window units are gone? Problem is, I can't prove it was him. I tried calling him but to my surprise - he can't receive incoming phone calls! He has a few trailers in the same park as well and it's just a coincidence that one of his he's working on now just so happens to have a new window unit sitting outside. Ugh!

So, I called the park manager and told him I was really mad. The park manager apologized and told me he will look into it and let the maintenance man know to keep an eye out. He suggested I could file a police report but I'm not sure what good that will do since they are already gone.

At this point, I learned a valuable lesson. Secure the house and all it's belongings at all costs. Though there are also window units in this park, anyone at any time can come around and pull it out of the window - that's what happened in this case. This is a lesson learned - a lesson I won't forget.

Bug Alert!

Sometimes this business requires you to get down and dirty - literally. Recently, I had a trailer cleaned out. While the cleaning crew was there, I noticed there were a lot of flys hovering over the carpet. I mean a lot of flys, like 30 of them - seriously. So, I ask my cleaning crew about the flys. They told me they weren't sure why they were there - maybe there was some food in the carpet. I planned to have the carpet cleaned professionally after the trailer clean out.

I decided to seek some professional counsel - aka another park manager. The park manager told me it has to be food or something in the carpet. She advised me to fumigate the entire house with "fogger" (see the pic below) before the carpet cleaners came to clean the carpet so the bugs would be dead on arrival.



So, I took the park manager's advice - fumigated the entire house with "fogger." Basically, "fogger" comes in a spray can and you set it down in each room in the middle and it begins spraying the stuff that kills the bugs dead. I was kind of freaked out about it as I thought it was like bombing the house and wasn't sure how much time I'd have to get out. But, it was no big deal. Once you start it, it sprays slowly and you've got some time to get out of the house. I did this for each room in the home.

In any case, I came back after a couple days so that I could meet the carpet cleaners. Guess what I found? Check this out:



It was crazy! It wasn't just one, but a bunch of these things dead all over the house! Yuck! Guess they were hiding. And, yes those flys died instantly too.

In any case, the carpet cleaners came and cleaned the carpet. I've found it better to clean carpets rather than replace them using an awesome carpet cleaning company referred to me by a park manager - they do wonders with carpets. Even if the carpet is really dirty, they take it out using a special machine to steam clean the carpet.


So, lesson learned. Guess I always learn something new with this business. It's all worth it, even if I have to get down and dirty from time to time!

Here we go again!

Here's another deal. This home was an eviction - very different from what I'm used to. Most of the deals I've made have been straight from long time homeowners. The situation was pretty complicated. I won't go into too much detail - let's just say there was a lot of drama with the seller's personal situation. Enough said.

In any case, the seller had the physical title from the owner on record. This meant that ownership needed to change from the owner on record to the seller, and then to the seller to me. I did not know if this was possible to do on short notice - the park manager literally was going to evict the seller in 2 days! Eeeek!

So, I get on the phone with the housing office and they tell me it can be done but needs to be done all in one transaction. Otherwise, we will have a waiting period if done separately. Ok, good. Now, all I needed to do was talk to the park manager to stop the eviction.

I get on the phone with the park manager - he agrees to work with me but not with the seller. So, the eviction was stopped. We went down to the housing office, did the title work and now the seller is packing and getting ready for the big move.

The seller is having a garage sale this weekend to raise more money for the move. We agreed that no funds will be paid until the seller is completely out of the home as well as all of the contents in the home. I am not going to be stuck with someone else's stuff. Agreed.

Wow, what a roller coaster ride this has been ! The park manager now tells me there's another one in the park he wants me to look at - same situation - he is getting ready to do another eviction. Guess this is how you learn, just going through the motions!

INS Raid

This home was the subject of a major INS raid - 26 illegal immigrants and their families living here held hostage as wage workers. The owner who was collecting rent from these people was sent to jail and the FBI was involved. Pretty crazy stuff!

Window Units and Space Heaters

Interesting pic, eh? Yes, this window unit is being held up with a stick - it is too heavy for the window.

Checked out a home with 3 window units in the living room/dining room and 2 space heaters used in the bedrooms, no central heat and air. This is my first encounter looking at a home without central heat and air. The space heaters could be a potential liability - I hear there are some that have automatic shut off. If I end up pursuing this one, I may look into getting more window units for the bedrooms.