I survived Disney

Got back late Monday afternoon from a 9 day vacation in Orlando.

Since, I hate flying, we drove almost 13 hours but it was fairly pleasant because we made an extremely wise investment -

2 dvd players with PS 2 hookups for my boys. So, both had their old PS 2’s ( I say old because now they have a PS 3 and a Wii)

Didn’t hear a word for the entire trip.

The trip was really cool and a much needed break from the day to day grind.

Back to business as usual though and I’m up to my eyeballs in emails,

Talk soon,

Derek

Holy Smokes - it’s done!

After my web guy and myself worked on the site, it’s finally done - the wordpress upgrade. This really has nothing to do with real estate except for the fact that wordpress is a great blogging tool and can help connect you with other real estate investors and sellers.

In this business, personality sells. People will deed their house over to you because they like and trust you. In every marketing piece that I send out, there’s always my personality and my own personal story.

This allows people to connect with you and you can build rapport really fast.

And a blog mixed with a little of your personality, add a few pics and videos, and throw in some real world tips helps create an unshakeable bond with your seller.

So…

Wordpress - great blogging tool, but I was having some problems this week in the admin dashboard, so upgraded and disabled a few things on the site that I wasn’t utilizing as much as I’d planned - (yes the photos are gone for the time being) I may bring the photos back if enough people want me to post pics, but I found people really didn’t care how many deals I was doing, how much money I made - they just wanted to know how they could get into this real estate game for themselves.

So, the site looks a little different with the new home page, but you can view all of my articles just like before by clicking on the ‘blog’ tab.

Take care and talk soon…

Derek

March Madness

For those of you that don’t know, this year happens to be my favorite time of year for one reason - March Madness.

I literally take time off from my businesses to sit back and watch basketball. Anyway, I love filling out the brackets and I’m working on mine right now.

I just created a group on Yahoo and if you wanna join the group and fill out your own bracket here’s the link:

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/112733

Group ID#: 112733

All you have to do is click on the link above and then click join group.

- Derek

BTW - the best bracket wins like $10K I think and a perfect bracket wins $5 mill.

Inspiring Movies

Some movies just make you tick giving you that needed nudge to go out and do something.
Here are some clips of some of my favorite movies of all time.

I have to warn you though, some of these clips contain very strong language. So, if you’re easily offended, then I urge you not to watch. Otherwise, enjoy:

My all time favorite- The Boiler Room Interview:

Wall Street

Glengarry Glen Ross

Any Given Sunday- Al Pacino

Great time at Bama game

I had a blast this weekend at the Bama game. And to my surprise we pulled off a huge win.

Even though I ripped Coach Gottfried in the previous post, he made the necesarry changes and the team looked like a completely different crew.

Remember, it’s never too late to turn things around whether your talking bball or your financial future.

Anyway, one of the best parts of the weekend was eating at Dreamland. It’s some of the best bbq ribs you’ll ever have. And its more than just food, it’s really an experience.

For those of you that happen to visit Tuscaloosa, you’ve got to take time out to visit the Original Dreamland. They’ll bring you out a coke, slab of ribs with bread on a paper plate and the place stays packed for a good reason - the food is awesome!

Rambo For President

He’s back.

And he’s got my vote for president.

He knows foreign policy. He’s a man of few words that believes actions speak louder than words.

And the only mud slinging he’ll do is when he kicks your ass.

So here’s my question to you:

Would you vote for John Rambo for President?

New Years Resolution Failures

Have you already failed your new years resolutions?

Most people last only about 2-3 weeks with their resolutions.

Why?

Because they’re only making wishes and not setting specific, detailed goals.

And as a result, they fail to make a lifestyle change.

In order to succeed, you’ve got to do more than make a wish.

Regardless of what your goal may be, it’s got to be a commitment.

The main reason that many fail in the real estate investment arena is because they’re afraid.

Afraid it won’t work.

Afraid of losing money.

Afraid of not selling a property.

Afraid of how they’ll look if they fail.

You cannot let fear control your actions or you’ll never achieve anything.

Take your goal setting seriously this year, starting with the end in mind and map out a plan to get you’re there.

If you’ve never done a deal, then maybe your goal is to obtain your first deal that will net you $5K within the next 60 days.

Now, $5K isn’t a lot of money, but you’ve got to crawl before you walk. Focus on making that first $5K, then you can adjust your plans to make more. Getting the first check seems to always be the hardest.

Document everything - your entire process with the direct mail letters you used, ads your ran, houses you looked at, sellers you talked to- everything.

Now, you can go back and look at your plan to see where you succeeded and where you fell short.

If you’re unsure about what steps to take then invest in some programs to grab a better education on what it takes to succeed as a real estate investor.

Gotta go view a property we picked up a few weeks ago. The tenants just moved out and the last time I was in the house you could cut the smoke with a knife and I don’t think it was just cigarette smoke- if you know what I mean! I’ll try to make a video of the house and give you a sneak peak at the deal and how to deal with tenants you inherit without going crazy.

- Derek Pierce

PS – Set aside some quiet time to reflect on what you really want and set detailed action oriented goals, and take the necessary action! The most important part is that you TAKE ACTION!

Skim Boarding

Just got back from a mini 5 day vacation at the beach before the kids trotted off back to school. They convinced me to give skim boarding a go. As you can see in the video below, I need to stick to investing in real estate.

Anyway, the trip allowed us to get some much needed R&R and eat like a king. The beach was clean and the weather was perfect - a nice breeze blowing just about the entire time. Ready to get back into gear, but thought you’d enjoy the video for a good laugh…

Best Places To Live

Money magazine just released their annual “Best Places To Live”.

It’s an interesting read to say the least, but wondering why the Shoals area wasn’t listed….

Derek Pierce

Three Little Pigs Destroy House

Hey guys,

Just saw this story and had to share it with you. Apparently, this homeowner that was facing foreclosure let 3 pigs inside the house to destroy it just before the bank foreclosed. I’ve seen some pretty scary stuff in my day, but I’ve never seen pigs sent to destroy a house.

Is it any wonder why banks want to avoid foreclosing? Check out the video and let me know what you think…

Next Page »