Posted on December 14, 2007 @ 11:56 pm - Written by BawldGuy
By being there in person, and forcing the issue today, we were able to walk away from what appeared to be a solid investment opportunity. It still could be if only we’d hear the same story twice in a row from the developer’s mouthpiece. That’s how it is sometimes. Some think they can fool us, but we pay attention.
It’s not that we couldn’t find the pea — we just won’t play. Hide the pea isn’t on our menu.
It was my local guy though who saw through what appears to be some, ah, misinformation put out by the developer’s rep. Details have to be withheld, but suffice to say we were collectively chagrined to learn we’d essentially wasted the last 7-10 days. i say we, which is kinda sorta misleading. Mr. Single Pointe (Benn Rosales — he of agentgenious.com fame.) had documented, hard copy, everything put out by said developer’s spokeswoman. 2 + 2 consistently kept consistently coming up 5.46.
It’s really too bad. There was some pretty solid potential for all concerned, most importantly my clients. This is the way of searching for the next deal. 9 outa 10 fizzle before you hear the fat lady sing. Stellar transactions don’t grow on trees, contrary to what many may believe.
Bottom line — unless we get credible info and a fresh start, we’re walking away.
This is a good thing, though not as cool as successfully concluding our negotiations with them would have been. Our reaction to this turn of events? We retired for the day and ate BBQ at The County Line. We already know where my clients will land. Also, we now know what project is pinging our radar in Texas. No, can’t say where, as remaining under that radar is and remains our best strategy.
Saturday morning finds me giving an investor seminar to a group gathered by Benn and Lani, and Benn’s brother, Michael. Can’t wait. The best part is always, without exception, the question and answer session after I take a breath and stop talking.
Sunday I’m off for Dallas and the conclusion of an agreement to take the remaining inventory of a local builder. His product is high quality, and he, like I am, is old school through and through. What often takes several meetings, conference calls, and two or three false starts, will take this builder and I about 20-30 minutes to get done.
That’s what happens when you’re not playing hide the pea. Old School is where things get done.
Posted on July 16, 2007 @ 9:55 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Meeting with new clients is among my favorite natural highs. I need a fix at least once a week — more if I’m Jonesing. 
While in Boise last week, I was able to feed this addiction on Friday afternoon by way of a hastily arranged meeting with a new client, who very conveniently happened to live in Boise.
‘Bill’ attended one of my recent Boise seminars hosted by the now famous Jed Galbraith, lending’s answer to Nordstrom’s. Bill was interested in what we said there, and planned I’m sure, to give me a call about getting started. Time passed though, and I hadn’t heard from him.
Turns out he and his wife were a tad busy — adopting their first child, a two year old boy. As it happens with a lot of us, me included, becoming a dad can lend a new sharpness to your focus in life — an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. He contacted me, and when he learned I was going to be in Boise the following week, said he’d do whatever it took to meet with me when I offered.
How can you not love a guy with that attitude?
We met at my favorite coffee house, Rembrandt’s, located in Eagle. It’s a converted church and they did a superb job with the remodel and design. It’s like you’re in a giant living room at your rich aunt’s home. Old, deep cushion chairs and couches that invite you to sit and feel right at home. Trust me, it works.
I set the place for the appointment because everyone seems to like Rembrandt’s. I felt kinda bad though when it dawned on me he worked at Micron which is not the place to be in the afternoon of a workday when you have to take Eagle Road to get to the appointment. Oh, did I mention he’s Mormon? Maybe a coffee house shoulda been on the B-List for potential meeting sites. Ya think?
It didn’t matter because Bill was excited to talk — new fathers are fun.
We talked about his current financial status. He’s one of those guys we all love to hate, as his FICO score begins with an eight. He owns his home with a bunch of equity, much of it gained not only by way of the most recent run-up, but through his hard work fixing and adding. He has some stocks, a significant 401(k) balance, and a great job with good pay. In short, he’s a perfect candidate to begin his real estate investment journey to retirement.
We then discussed my policy of Sominex (Ambien) Accounts. A client without generous cash reserves (stocks, annuities, and bonds count too) is not, and cannot be a client. Bill liked this approach, as he’d had it explained at the seminar. I sometimes use the analogy of squirrels gathering acorns in anticipation of food becoming scarce. Whatever, I explained he had to have adequate liquid reserves — though generous is preferred.
He knows Jed because of the seminar, so I had him contact him to get pre-qualified ASAP. He already has a great 1st loan on his home, and an almost approved line of credit with the same local bank. I advised him to keep his 1st in place as it was fixed and under 6% — Duh. His line of credit will be about 7%, also a pretty good number.
He’ll be able to initially purchase around a million bucks worth of investment property. It’s possible not all of it will be in Boise. He’ll end up with the maximum allowable deprecaition ($25,000) — plus some to offset a portion of his capital gains in the future when he sells.
Part of his Purposeful Plan will include the fact that because of his recent adoption he’s the recipient of a $10,000 tax credit!. That, along with his anticipated $25,000 annual depreciation will allow him to pull out significant cash from his fat (for only 38 years old) 401(k), while paying little or no taxes.
I’m excited for Bill because he’s about to ensure a magnificently abundant retirement.
I was pretty tired going into that meeting. There’d been a day and a half of nearly non-stop appointments phone calls — you know how it goes. But once Bill and I were about 10 minutes into our conversation, it was like he’d given me the magic elixir of boundless enthusiasm and energy. Bill’s excitement and enthusiasm, mostly borne of his new son I’m sure, was contagious. He had me banging the drum for sure.
New daddies often have a more powerfully focused financial agenda. I remember when Josh was born, and overnight I became much more purposeful — so to speak.
Bill’s already been in touch with Jed, and the wheels are turning. The whole trip was worth it because of that 90 minute window. An unexpected fix never hurts.
Posted on June 11, 2007 @ 10:46 pm - Written by BawldGuy
If there’s more than a few places the equal of Boise, I’d like to hear about them. The people can only be described as quality folk. The weather is great — no extremes in winter or summer. The business climate is very positive — and most people are from the old school. What does that mean? It means I made a deal with a developer involving a couple million dollars of property — with a handshake, and I haven’t given it a second thought.
Do that in California. (Turn laugh track on now.)
It’s literally been the easiest place to do business I’ve experienced in almost 40 years. I’m doing tax deferred exchanges as easy as ordering 2 acre cheeseburgers at Big Jud’s. Imagine Mayberry in today’s world with about half a million folks — definitely NOT packed together like sardines. It’s Heaven on earth. That said, we’ll put an office there, but stay anchored in San Diego. After all, it IS San Diego, right? Right.
Later this week I’ll talk about what will be available exclusively to our clients. It’s pretty cool.
Anyway, we’re done with the first seminar, Friday afternoon, and headed toward Big Jud’s for the best burgers west of the that big river in the middle with all the s’s i’s and p’s. We were split about evenly, five adults and five kids. So naturally we ordered three of Jud’s ginormous one pound burgers — two regular, and a Hickory Smoked with bacon and onion rings. Very cool. As you can see, nobody was going to go wanting. Fries, tatter tots, onion rings and all the ketchup a kid could use. That wasn’t all either. Ice cream cones (waffle cones — the best kind) with premium chocolate and what they called Espresso Explosion — it was a spiritual experience.
Of course, slammin’ down great burgers with tons of onion rings and fries, followed closely by waffle cones overflowing with artery locking ice cream, can lead to the need to, ah, slow down? Ya think? I’ve not tasted burgers that good since Grandma made them for me as a kid. Especially the Hickory Smoked option with bacon and onion rings packed in. Man! Why Josh is looking so smug is anyone’s guess, as he ate over half of one those Leviathans — plus fries and onion rings. If the camera hadn’t been there, Lord only knows how much he would’ve eaten.
Chris Niederer, one of two owners, and also a client, came over to grab some much deserved glory. Chris personally whipped up this ode to gluttony. He’s not 30 yet and has owned Big Jud’s for over a decade now, along with his real estate investments. The guy is braver than is safe — which is why I’ve applied the famous BawldGuy brake system as part of his Purposeful Plan. I’ve always thought he looks like the doctor on Lost, the TV show.
The last picture I’ll allow to speak for itself. There’s nothing like a child’s ability to live totally in the moment.
Coming this week — investments available to Brown and Brown Investment Properties clients only — in two states. An alternative to your under performing 401(k) and/or IRA. Investing with minimum anxiety from the comfort of your living room.
Posted on June 10, 2007 @ 12:13 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Josh and I returned last night from Boise, after conducting three seminars in 28 hours. We also managed to squeeze in meetings with developer/builders, a visit to a client’s restaurant, coffee with a fellow blogger, and a bunch more.
Normally we also find time to keep the blog going, but alas, the hotel’s wireless internet was having system problems. The schedule we set for ourselves was so back-back in nature, there simply was no time to adjust. We apologize for the few days of blank space.
A huge thank you goes out to both Jed Galbraith and Kyle Robison for the their support and setup work. Without those two on the ground there, we’d be like a ship without a rudder. They’re both such quality guys, and give so much of themselves to their community. Josh and I enjoyed our time with them immensely, and are looking forward to next time.
The seminars taught us something about Boise folks. They don’t like to spend the warm summer months indoors on a weekend listening to some talking head with no hair. Although the turnout was made up of very high quality people, it was sparse. That was our bad. Our guys on the scene, Jed and Kyle, did a great job setting everything up. But the choice of doing something cool outdoors or sitting indoors taking notes? How hard was that to predict? Why would folks in Boise be any different than people in San Diego for Heaven’s sake!? Again, our bad. A July seminar is tentatively in the works. It will include the outdoors, thick juicy burgers and steaks, and a talking head with no hair at the end. So Boise — how would you like your steak cooked?
The good news is what we found while there, and what our clients will now have exclusively. We found a developer who is not only old school, but who cares deeply about his finished product. Josh and I were literally blown away while walking through his latest effort. I did something I’ve not done in my career — I thanked him for what he’d built. It was that impressive. More on that in a day or two. It’ll be worth the wait.
Meanwhile, I’m resting up from the most demanding schedule I’ve adhered to for quite some time. Even Josh was beginning to drag. This week we’ll talk about what we we saw, who we met, ginormous burgers, and the best homes we’ve seen in quite some time.
It was the most satisfying and productive Boise visit we’ve had since our initial trip. And though the seminars didn’t attract the usual crowds, those attending were stellar — most of whom we’re looking forward to working with.
Right now I’m too jazzed for words.
Posted on May 6, 2007 @ 5:46 pm - Written by BawldGuy
How many business associations result in a win-win-win situation? In my experience not too often. If you’re a mortgage broker looking for more business, I may have something of interest here for you.
Here’s a shot of the happy hosts at the end of our most recent seminar, held in Boise.
Almost three years ago my son and I began beta testing a very intimate invitation only seminar. And the cool thing about it was we weren’t the ones doing the inviting. Folks attending these comfy seminars were invited by someone they not only knew already, but with whom they’d done business — their mortgage guy/gal. (Yeah, I know I said gal, but give me a break, I’m a ‘boomer.)
The concept worked so well at first we decided to take what we learned, smooth the edges, and take it for a test drive in other states. So far we’ve discovered many things, but there are three that stick out.
Attendees said they’d would have invested sooner but didn’t know an expert
The seminar generated from a dozen to three dozen loans for the mortgage broker
Since only lender’s clients expressing high interest were invited, smaller groups made way more sense
So far we’ve had lenders show interest from the Midwest, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada. The lenders who’ve hosted these seminars have, without exception, said the results were outstanding. They also said many their clients actually called them the day after the seminar to thank them for the invitation.
So what does a lender need to do to host his own BawldGuy seminar?
First — you should be licensed in more than just your state, since Brown & Brown is already in several states. Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona would most likely be destination states for investment capital these days. And that’s just the short list.
Second — though we don’t charge a fee for the seminar itself, the mortgage broker is on the hook for our expenses. Generally, it’s flying us there and back, plus hotel, and a car if necessary. Many times we don’t need a car. At most this will involve myself, my partner, and an assistant, but usually just my partner.
Third — the success of the seminar is in large part dependent upon the proactive participation of the lender. Everything from venue, to info sheets on who I am, refreshments — you know what I’m talking about, right?
There are two kinds of clients who attend. Those who haven’t invested yet, but own their own home. And those who may have invested in a small rental or two, but aren’t nearly satisfied with either their performance or the advice they’ve been getting up to this point. What they have in common though, is their focus on retirement. They know they need much more income then their present Plan will generate. They want a great retirement — they’re just not sure how to pursue it.
The average attendance is running around 8-12 ‘entities’. (couples, partners, singles) The atmosphere has proven to be very popular because they don’t feel like they’re part of a cattle drive. Also, it becomes quickly and readily apparent they’re in a room populated by like-minded people which adds to their comfort level. You’ll be happy to hear I promise no silly charts or super hi-tech gadgets — just the reliable info for which they’ve been searching. More than half of the time is spent answering their questions — which for most part is the #1 reason for their interest in the first place.
These seminars are designed to last around 90 minutes — including a Q & A session. We’ve been woefully unsuccessful with that goal though, as folks have peppered us with so many great questions. Many of the seminars have gone more than an hour over. We stop for only two reasons — they’ve run out of questions, or our plane is about to leave without us.
If you’re a mortgage broker, especially in San Diego since we’re trying to get folks to take their investment capital out of here, call or email me. We’d love to have you on our calendar.