Wealth Steps Blog and Site Updates

Feb 3, House #8: Fix and Flip “Before” Pictures

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:51:43 GMT

This is long overdue but here are the "before" pictures on House #8, our newest fix and flip project. As I had mentioned in the previous post this house is in a new area for us and is bigger, nicer and higher price range than what we have done before.

I'll walk you through the pictures so you can see some of the major repairs and upgrades that we planned for it.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "House #8: Fix and Flip “Before” Pictures"

Jan 25, Reader mail: Doing the work yourself when flipping houses

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:48:28 GMT

I’ve been following your website for quite a while, especially the house flipping part. I'm very interested in house flipping myself and am trying to start

Jan 21, Taking Control of Your Money

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:01:28 GMT

How does your money relate to your happiness?

You and I can probably agree that money cannot buy happiness. It’s a common expression and you have probably seen a case or two of someone with a lot of money that was miserable or even took their own life.

Yet our actions with money throughout our life suggest that the more money we have the more we spend in the subconscious effort to “buy happiness”. Think about it…

When you are feeling down you “treat” yourself to something to make you feel better…Whether it’s a new pair of shoes, a movie ticket, a drink, a nice dinner, an ice cream cone, etc.

When you want to celebrate good fortune you probably spend money in some way…A nice dinner, a gift from the mall, a vacation, weekend getaway, a catered party, etc.

When you are looking to do something fun or are bored you spend money again…Go shopping, the movies, buy something online, the casino, a sporting event, go to some big box store to buy something on credit, etc.

Jan 20, Partnering with Family for House Flipping

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:06:40 GMT

I am interested in asking some more questions geared around flipping houses. My brother is a general contractor so using him would be my best option. If

Jan 19, Life After College Roadmap

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:34:46 GMT

For those of you out there that are visual persons, I thought you would find this image useful. Also, if you have someone in college or a recent graduate you care about you might want to share this with them.

As you can imagine the road to travel after graduation is not always clear cut. Although this sketch oversimplifies the many crucial decisions that hang on the balance at this point in life, I still think at the least is a good starting point to get you thinking.

Jan 17, Beginning Real Estate Investing | Real Estate Investing for Beginners

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:27:48 GMT

Real estate is a proven way of creating wealth. Beginning real estate investing is not as hard as it seems nor as easy as late-night infomercials make it sound. This is one way you can get started...

Jan 14, Tips to Control Impulse Spending

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:04:28 GMT

Do you have a problem with impulse spending? If you don’t know how to answer this question then look at your latest credit card statement. Can you pay it off in full?...

If the answer is no then you might have a problem with impulse spending. Also, I want you to think and give yourself an honest answer to the following questions:

Do you go to Walmart or Target to grab “one quick little thing” and come out with more than you went in for…lots more?

Do you buy things just because they were on sale even though you really did not need them?

The first step in changing this habit is realizing you have a problem and then doing something about it. Impulse spending might be the way you spend money and you might not think of it as a problem.

However, if it’s causing you to go into debt because you fund many of your impulse buys with a credit card that you can’t pay off at the end of the month…or you just “can’t find” the money to create an emergency fund or put money into savings or investments then impulse spending could be a problem for you.

Once you realize that impulse spending is an issue for you the following tips can help you deal with it:

Jan 13, Wayback Machine:House #5: Flipping Bank Owned Real Estate

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:18:20 GMT

We sold House #5 back in 2010 and like all investments it had it's share of lessons learned. Overall this was not a difficult rehab but it still had it's share of surprises.

One of them was dealing with septic tanks. Although there was nothing wrong with the septic tank system before we could sell the house we had to do an inspection and cleaning of the tank. In the process I learned there are some septic tank companies in this city that are less than ethical. What was supposed to be a $200 job they wanted to turn into $800 by trying to pull a bait and switch on me.

Look at the before, after and final analysis on this house so you can follow along on what it took to flip this house...

Jan 9, Rehabbing House #8: The Budget

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:12:34 GMT

Like I had mentioned in previous posts, House #8 was not only going to require a lot of work but it was going to be more expensive work and more extensive too.

Putting together a detailed budget proved to be a challenge because the repairs were very diverse and because of the size and price range of the property they were also harder for me to estimate.

For example, although I have replaced roofs before and have pricing figures from previous roof work, the roof on this house was huge and steep which adds to the overall difficulty of the job. So while in the past I had roofed houses for $3,000 to $4,000 this one was going to be $6,000+.

The other aspect of estimating this was that this house being a higher price range than what I had done before it needed to be finished nicer than the basic homes I had rehabbed in the past. This meant granite counter tops instead of Formica. High end stainless steel appliances rather than basic black. Lots of crown molding, 8 inch base board instead of 4 and more finish trim overall. The list goes on…

Jan 6, What Kind of Results Are You Getting?

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:40:41 GMT

I was talking with someone recently and somehow we ended up talking about real estate. When I told them that I have been buying, rehabbing and selling real estate (otherwise known as flipping) over the last couple of years, he gave me the “deer in the headlights” look. He stopped for a brief second as to see if I was joking… Then he asked, “like they do in those TV shows?…” To which I replied that in principle it’s the same thing except nowhere near as easy or as dramatic as they make it look on TV. Then he said in disbelief, “that is completely the opposite of what you see and hear in the news…” Exactly!

Jan 3, Buying your own materials for rehabbing houses

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:59:16 GMT

Should I buy my own finishing materials, appliances,cabinets,counter tops,paint etc. Or allow my GC to do it all? LM says:Kareem, this cake can be

Jan 3, Tax Considerations when Flipping Houses

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:21:16 GMT

Your blog is very thorough for one to understand the finances of flipping; however, what about uncle Sam's cut? You have not discussed the tax implications

Dec 31, Making Money With Real Estate Wholesaling

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:45:14 GMT

There are several ways to make money in real estate investing. Real estate wholesaling is one of those ways. For many, wholesaling real estate provides a relatively easy and low risk way to enter the world of real estate investing if you are willing to educate yourself and do the work.

Wholesaling real estate provides you an opportunity to build income now while the requirement for capital or credit is very low as compared to other real estate investing opportunities.

Dec 24, Basic Financial Plan to retire in 7 years

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:09:03 GMT

Me and my wife made up our minds that we want to leave corporate America and get out of the rat race in 7 years give or take. We are not exactly debt free

Dec 24, The 6 Steps to Basic Financial Planning

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:42:44 GMT

Its been said that the average person spends more time planning a vacation than they do their finances. Basic financial planning can be the key to not only getting you out of debt but setting you up to build wealth.

When you are dealing with something as important and potentially complicated as your finances you need to take some time to figure out what you want, set some goals and plan to achieve those goals.

So grab a cup of coffee because this is a long one and then follow the link to read more...

Dec 21, Fix and Flip House #8: Negotiating on Bank Owned Properties

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:27:12 GMT

In the last post on House #8 I covered how I came to find House #8. Now that I had done a “good enough” inspection of the house I came up my initial price that I wanted to pay for it considering the repairs that it needed, how much I could resell it for and how much profit I wanted to get out of the deal.

I say “good enough” inspection because I would be doing a more thorough inspection later during the “due diligence” period. This is something that I put into all of my offers where basically I get a couple of days (I typically ask for 3-5) where I can back out of the contract for practically any reason I can come up with, if I want to...

Click here for full blog post and comments "Fix and Flip House #8: Negotiating on Bank Owned Properties "...

Dec 17, 11 Signs That You Need Credit Counseling Debt Relief

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:54:26 GMT

Credit counseling debt relief can be a good resource for dealing with overwhelming debt or learning how to better handle your finances. Counseling credit & debt relief services are available through numerous resources, private or public. How do you know if you should seek credit counseling and debt relief?... Read the following list and be honest with yourself…no one is looking and you don’t have to raise your hand . See if any of these applies to you:

Dec 16, 11 Ways to Improve Your Life Now

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:11:26 GMT

The year is coming to an end and December is one of my favorite months for two reasons. First, because of the Holidays, the time off and the fun of the season. Second, because I get to look back on 2011 and see what I did with the year.

Looking back on your year can be good and bad…

Good because in the rush-rush of everyday we are always looking to what’s next but if you take some time and look back you might realize that it was a great year, better than you remembered.

I know I realized one lifetime goal this year, riding my bike through the French Alps. Yet somehow it feels like it flew by unless I stop and think about how great of an experience it was.

It can also be bad because you might realize that your year did not go the way you wanted...you did not achieve the goals you set for yourself...you might not be where you wanted to be.

As painful as this can be it’s important that you realize it or else you can’t learn from the experience and become better from it.

So considering that December is a good opportunity to look back, evaluate, clean and prepare for the next year, here are some good things you might want to consider doing this month:

Click here for full blog post and comments "11 Ways to Improve Your Life Now"...

Dec 16, Best Way to Organize Bills | Organize Files

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:14:35 GMT

Tired of paying late fees on bills? Follow these easy steps to organize bills and stay on top of them, it’s easier than you think. How to organize an office. How to organize files.

Dec 14, Lessons Learned of a First Time Entrepreneur

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:49:10 GMT

Because of my real estate business and this website I have had the experience of being an entrepreneur and business owner for a couple of years now. In that time I have been able to pick up a few good business lessons that I would like to share with you.

Some people might think that to be successful in business you have to resort to some undesirable conduct or looking out for yourself at the expense of the other in order to make a profit. The reality that I have encountered is not like this at all… Click here for full blog post and comments "Lessons Learned of a First Time Entrepreneur"...

Dec 10, Guide to Simple Net Worth Calculation

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:10:22 GMT

Your net worth calculation can help you measure your financial well-being. By knowing what your net worth is right now and then tracking it over time you can measure the progress you make as you build wealth. It is important to understand what goes into your net worth so you can understand why it goes up or down over time.

Calculating your net worth will help you see what progress you are making in saving, investing and growing your money while at the same time reducing and eliminating your debts...

Dec 9, Our Next House Flipping Project: House #8

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:10:46 GMT

We have found our next house flip, House #8 is our new rehabbing project. Unlike our previous flipping projects there are several things with this house that is going to make it a different deal for us.

Our previous home flipping projects have been mostly houses for first time home buyers. Here in Atlanta, specifically the North and Northwest part of the city, that typically means a house with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and in the low $100,000 price range. Our typical rehab cost is in the $20k range and it takes us about 2-3 weeks of work to turn a house around... Click here for full blog post and comments "Our Next House Flipping Project: House #8"...

Dec 7, Becoming a Part Time Entrepreneur

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:22:13 GMT

Building wealth requires many things. If your main or only source of income is your job, you may also have some savings in the bank, possibly a retirement account and maybe some investments. You may have realized that those will not be enough for you to create wealth or achieve financial independence...

Nov 30, Education in Real Estate Investing – First Step for Creating Real Estate Wealth

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:54:46 GMT

The #1 factor that keeps people away from real estate investing is not money but education. There are many that think that to successfully invest in real estate you need to have money to invest. But that is not the case. Actually, if you have money but no education you are almost sure to loose your money. Successful investing will be a result of your knowledge backed up by your desire and will...

Nov 28, Being Grateful

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:56:29 GMT

My fellow Wealth Steps readers. I just wanted to send you a very sincere and joyous thank you for your support to our little website. I wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving Day and holiday season.

I have so much to be thankful for ...

Nov 19, Blog and RSS Issues

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:05:36 GMT

It has been brought to my attention that our RSS feed (orange button on the left that says RSS)that you use to read the blog updates on your favorite RSS reader is broken. It somehow stopped updating after October 13. Also, if you are subscribed to email updates, those are not working either so you would not have received any new content through email. Honestly, I got no idea what is going on but I will soon find out. If you can help me out I would appreciate it, otherwise I'll let you know when it's fixed.

Nov 17, How Proactive Thinking Can Change Your Life

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:04:00 GMT

Proactive thinking can change your life. Whether you want to change your finances, your relationships or the direction of your life. These proactive behavior tips can help you take charge of your life

Nov 11, Credit card debt conversion to real estate mortgage debt

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:04:31 GMT

Local lenders will not give us mortgages on free and clear real estate (mostly commercial unfortunately). They say we owe too much. If some of the credit

Nov 10, Wealth Creation Secrets

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:44:21 GMT

What are the wealth creation secrets of the top 1%? Read an interesting article about the wealth distribution in the US. It’s not just where the wealth is at but more about how at the top 1% level of

Nov 5, Make Money Real Estate: The Final Analysis on House #7

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:28:38 GMT

House #7 is sold!

After all the rehab is done, all the papers signed and all the returns have gone back to Home Depot it's time to crunch some numbers...

In this article we take you through the final steps in getting this house sold and the final analy$i$ on the deal. See for yourself how the financials of the deal worked out...

Oct 28, Cost of mold remediation

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:07:53 GMT

I love your blog! Just curious how much mold abatement costs. LM says: Thanks you so much for the love :-) Mold abatement can range widely in pricing.

Oct 27, House flipping my first deal

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:22:41 GMT

Hello, I am not sure how this works, but I have an offer on my house of 20,000. The house needs a lot of work its old and I believe it has asbestos and

Oct 22, How to Sell a House: The Final Pictures on House #7

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:59:22 GMT

For investors, trying to figure out how to sell a house can be challenging. If you are a “rehabber” trying to fix and flip a property, picking the right repairs and upgrades that will give you the most bang for your buck can be daunting…

By looking at the final picture of House #7 I will share with you what work we did and why. If you are trying to figure out how to sell a house fast, in this market, whether you are an investor or a home owner trying to sell their home, these tips apply just the same...

Oct 18, Personal Finance Basics | Personal Finance Plan

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:39:16 GMT

Personal finance basics all families must know. The personal finance lessons that families need to follow to secure their financial future.

Oct 13, Ten Things More Important Than Money

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:19:09 GMT

I can assure there are more than then things more important than money but here is my top ten. Experiences Hug someone. Kiss someone. Rekindle a relationship you wish you hadn't lost. Train for and complete a triathlon. Make love. Face the thing you most fear right in the face. Travel…whether it’s a new neighborhood or a new country…The rush you get from experiencing something amazing is one of the best parts of being human...

Oct 1, House #8: We Found Our Next Fix and Flip Project!

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:10:14 GMT

Our next rehab is this lovely messed up house you see here...how do you like the blue tarp? This is a bigger house than we have done before and in a nicer and higher priced neighborhood than anything we have done before. It will be an interesting experiment to see how this turns out. One thing is for sure, this house needs a LOT of work. Although the current owner is a bank (surprise, surprise) from talking to the neighbors it seems the previous owner was a landlord and both the landlord and tenant that was there did a miserable job of keeping the house up. This is sad because this house is in an excellent location and very pretty subdivision. On the other hand that is very good for us because now we are getting the ugliest house in the nicest location! Another interesting development for this house that is new to us is that this house came to use via a wholesaler. We have not bought from wholesalers before so it will also be interesting to see how this pans out. I will have up a full page soon with all the pictures and video of the ugliness. In the meantime go to our Facebook page to check out the pictures and while you are there click on the LIKE button at the top of the page so we can "get social" over there too:

Sep 28, Goal Setting and Personal Motivation

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:44:15 GMT

Goal setting can be a key step in achieving almost anything you want in life. It is so simple and straightforward and everybody knows about it. Yet how many times have you gotten pumped up, set a couple of goals for yourself only to forget about them two weeks later. I know I have, that is why I knew that I was taking the wrong goal setting approach.

Sep 23, Using lines of credit for real estate investing

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:54:03 GMT

Good day. I was wondering a few things if you could help me out please. How would I go about getting a line of credit to buy foreclosures? What do

Sep 20, House #7: How much work needs to be done and how much it's going to cost

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:56:13 GMT

If you are buying a home after foreclosure for investment purposes your very next step after the closing is to put together a rehabbing plan. Unless you are in real estate investing to lose money, your plan needs to include both the scope of work (SOW) and the budget for this scope. Let's go into detail into the scope of work I put together for House #7 so you can see all the repairs that needed to be made and the estimated cost...

Sep 3, Credit Card Debt Solutions | Credit Debt Relief

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:30:14 GMT

We have added new links and new resources to our series on seeking help on getting rid of credit card debt. The #1 obstacle on the path to creating wealth is debt. If there is something that will keep you broke forever is credit card debt. This stuff just does not go away. Use these resources to make a plan to rid yourself of credit card debt and be on your way to achieving financial independence...

Sep 2, Rehabbing and renting a house in Atlanta

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:22:06 GMT

I have in the past two months purchase a 3 bedroom brick house with a partial basement for 17,000 in Atlanta GA. My total repair cost was 5,500 and the

Sep 2, Reader mail: Real Estate Investing- Finding the money

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:05:16 GMT

I understand education is important, that is undebatable. My problem is going in which direction to obtain money for me to actually start the house flipping.

Aug 25, Make Money Flipping Real Estate

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:01:01 GMT

To make money flipping real estate, you have to put many variables together and make them work. Much like I used to do in my corporate job, a low risk real estate flipping opportunity can be created if you manage all these variables...

Aug 18, 4 Smart Budgeting Tips For Families To Lead A Debt Free Life

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:25:49 GMT

When you follow proper budgeting tips and spend money accordingly, you can have control over how much money you spend in order to fill your needs. By following these tips, you can get back on the right track of managing your money and have a firm grip on your finances. This will help you avoid falling into debt problems and lead a debt free life. Budget tips for families that can help you lead a debt free life:

Aug 11, The Recent Market Meltdown and Figuring Out How to Invest in Stocks

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:53:20 GMT

You might have taken notice of the most recent stock market meltdown. You might also have noticed that there is no lack of advice of how to invest in stocks. Yet one thing remains true, NO ONE knows what the heck is going to happen with the market and stocks. However, of all the stock investing advice I see out there the last week and even today looks to me like a great opportunity to buy stocks, period.

Aug 6, NEW! Facebook Comments Throughout Site

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:24:02 GMT

We have integrated a new comments interface that is linked to Facebook. It's pretty awesome because it allows you to comment, share, ask on almost any page on the website and it's super easy to use (pages with comments on the old form will keep the old form). Do not worry...you do not have to have a Facebook account in order to leave a comment. If you have a Facebook account all your Facebook information, friends, etc. stays private. It's just your name and profile picture that shows up on our site which anyone can see on the internet anyway... So go ahead and give it a try. I am dying to see how it works and to make sure I did it right You can go to our latest house flipping article and leave a comment, or... Share any of your personal finance experiences or questions, or... Ask a question on how to make a budget or,... Ever wonder how to profit from FHA foreclosures? ... And lots more..so look around the site and let us know how we are doing (be nice)

Jul 29, Buying a Bank Foreclosure – The “Before” Pictures on House #7

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:27:15 GMT

When buying a bank foreclosure there are many things you need to watch out for. Lucky for you I have encountered many of them and they so happened to be present in House #7! What better way to illustrate my point than with the “before” pictures of the house.

Jul 15, Figuring Out How Much to Offer on Investment Property

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:31:37 GMT

How do you determine your offer price on flip properties? LM says: Determining the offer price basically consists of being able to calculate the following

Jul 7, Finding a good area for investing in real estate

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:08:36 GMT

I have a question and also would like to thank you for sharing your experiences. My question is, What information did you find that indicated the area

Jun 29, How is Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculated for investment property

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:55:38 GMT

Hola! How was IRR calculated? Thank you. LM says: Hi there, this is a good question and something important to know when analyzing your investments.