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You know you're a real estate investor when... Subscribe to You know you're a real estate investor when... 87 posts by 39 users

Tim W.

Real Estate Investor
Indiana
Wolf_forum_avatar

1178 posts

1. Your worth a million dollars and can't afford to buy a sandwich.

2. You tell your realtor to send you properties that smell like cat urine.

3. You have at least 5 unopened packages of white, walmart miniblinds waiting to be installed in the next property.

4. When your prospective tenant warns you that they think they have bad credit and after running their report you call them to see if they want to be a credit partner.

There's got to be more

Sponsors:

Jon H.

Real Estate Investor
Denver, Colorado
0926070805-00_forum_avatar
Star Moderator

3983 posts

Your garage is full of used but working appliances.

You carry a flashlight, camera, and tape measure in your briefcase. Bonus points for coveralls and kneepads in the trunk.

You can't drive into a new area without thinking about values and rents.

Jon

Jared C.

Real Estate Investor
Fort Wayne, IN
Jaredmandy_forum_avatar

426 posts

You can spot a vacant house from two blocks away

You have business cards of 114 painters and 345 carpet guys

You yourself have 4 different business cards!

You spend more times reading forums than you do watching tv

Frank A.


Loveland, CO
Horsetooth_009_forum_avatar

1097 posts

Your " war stories" include tales of clouds of fleas hovering about 8" above the carpet (this really happened to me in Houston) and of walking in on tenants/sellers or squatters in " flagrante delicto" (this too!).

When you talk about mortgages you mean the " coming in" kind, not the " going out" kind.

Your tenants/tenant buyers all have nicer; cars, TVs, stereos, (I guess now we can add; iPods, PDAs and cell phones) than you do.

Your tax return is a thicker than any paper you ever wrote in HS or college.

You've been asking your local HD manager why they don't sell fishing, camping and skiing gear, and groceries.

all cash

Vernon B.

Real Estate Investor
Fliprenticon_forum_avatar

21 posts

If your vehicles are full of tools, hardware, and fast food bags

If your idea of a great weekend involves looking at houses, showing houses, and fixing houses

If you hate permits and nosy neighbors reporting on your renovations to the city

Michael S.

Real Estate Investor
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Dscf3587_forum_avatar
Star Moderator

1111 posts

When you always try to take a different route to see a part of the town you have never seen before.

When you see a " For Rent" sign and wonder how much they are charging.

Bonus points if you pull out your cell phone and call the number immediately to find out.

When your in a large city you look at the apartment buildings and try to guesstimate how many doors there are and what the market value would be for that building.

And a bonus for dreaming of owning a building that big some day.

Tim W.

Real Estate Investor
Indiana
Wolf_forum_avatar

1178 posts

Originally posted by "dafly"
When you see a " For Rent" sign and wonder how much they are charging.

Bonus points if you pull out your cell phone and call the number immediately to find out.

I have actually bought the 20 dollar prepaid cellphones with local area codes and asked for rent figures in differnet " dialiects" so I could call appear as a local and not be tracked...lol.

Chris P.

Accountant
Raleigh/Youngsville, NC
No_avatar_forum_avatar

10 posts

When you send your parent to look at a house for you because you are looking at other houses.

Calixto U.

Real Estate Investor
Los Angeles, CA
Desert_landscape_forum_avatar

1463 posts

Tim-

You know your a real estate investor when:

You find properties on you own and not ask you realtor to send you a list of properties that have cat urine

You have access to Title search accounts when you not a broker, real estate agent, or loan officer

When you have enough time to talk all day on a real estate web forum and not have to worry about who is going to pay the bills (if any LOL)

Kathleen C.

Real Estate Investor
Kennesaw, GA
No_avatar_forum_avatar

22 posts

....you are in the off topic section, and still talk about real estate.

...your husband travels out of town, and he knows that a gift of the local real estate magazines from the gas station will make you happy.

Kathy U.


St. Louis, MO
Picture_27_forum_avatar

55 posts

OR HOW ABOUT THIS....

When you get a major bank to get your foreclosure to go POOF LIKE IT NEVER EXSISTED! NO WHERE NODDA...GONE POOF!

When you fax a complaint to a loan modification manager and in less than 24 hrs the foreclosure sale stopped with no notification to the homeowner....And the sale isn't rescheduled for next week...Like they never attempted to try to foreclose...

wonder if it's because my case is so documented...I offered to file suit against

Wachovia
Wells Fargo
Citi
Homeq
Ameriquest
a bankruptcy atty
a bankruptcy trustee...

its a shame...I believed in this business for so long! Alot of you are making money Good Luck in that...I've tried only to be shut down on a deal selling deficiency balance notes of all things at 10m-50m a pop...No deal...Sure let me sell you this house for $25k...Then you sell it for $50k and I want you to give me $5k back... I've never known anything different than when it's sold it's sold...This I couldn't believe! I did hear it from a vp in asset sales last year though...dam banks!

Or to top off the top 10--

How about the case you lost your job over actually leading you to the info you need to file such a complaint against all these banks? READY I AM...
This is what has happened to me...Thank GOD there's a few good consumer protection attorneys even if I can't find one to REPRESENT ME!

One day I'm guaranteed I have the rights to sell notes for Chase the next they never had it in their contract to sell the mortgage notes...Investor SUES U MAKE ZERO NADA ZILCH...SHE'S NOT WORTH LOSING YOUR JOB OVER!

SORRY....THE BANKS HAVE MADE ME BITTER FOR THE MOMENT...

Then to TOP IT OFF....YOU HAVE ACCESS TO FOREX PRINCIPALS IN THE INST BANKING INDUSTRY THAT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO THE CURRENCY CONTRACTS IN EXCESS OF 5 B AND UP...YET THERE'S NO REAL USD PROVIDERS TO BE FOUND TO MAKE YOU BE BETTER THAN A LOTTERY WINNER! CAUSE IF YOU FIND ONE GOOD USD PROVIDER YOU'LL RETIRE IN NO TIME WITH THE PRINCPALS I KNOW!

SAD BUT TRUE!

BAFFLED? I AM

flipper101

Real Estate Investor
San Ramon, California
Motor-_bad_ass_harley_forum_avatar

2810 posts

[size=24]WOW![/size]

Cal me MR. Clarification, because I am always asking for that it seems.

Would you be willing to break that down for me in a manner that I may understand?

Joshua D.

BiggerPockets Founder
Denver, Colorado
Josh_head_profile_preview_forum_avatar

5561 posts

Lets clarify elsewhere, guys . . . this thread is on a roll and I don't want to lost the momentum.
[b]
You know you're a real estate investor when . . . [/b]

Michael S.

Real Estate Investor
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Dscf3587_forum_avatar
Star Moderator

1111 posts

You go to a Borough council meeting and they mention a corner property has an erosion issue that is washing out on to the street and everyone in the room is mad about it. Suddenly it jumps onto your list of " properties to buy"

Grand W.

Real Estate Investor
Louisville, KY
Greedy_20logo_forum_avatar

149 posts

You know you are a real estate investor when your wife falls in love with a new house for you to live with her in and you immediately don't like it because it's not a foreclosure/REO or other deeply discounted property......

P N.


OR
No_avatar_forum_avatar

456 posts

[[[.....BAFFLED? I AM....]]]]

The " victims" always are.

You know you are a real estate invester when you spend a chunk of your vacation, when you are supposed to be unwinding, looking at for sale signs, and picking up flyers---- even when it is far too far away from home to actually buy anything there. But what the heck, you never know... you might find a great bargain and figure out how you are going to manage it.

Jon H.

Real Estate Investor
Denver, Colorado
0926070805-00_forum_avatar
Star Moderator

3983 posts

Originally posted by "PNW"
You know you are a real estate invester when you spend a chunk of your vacation, when you are supposed to be unwinding, looking at for sale signs, and picking up flyers---- even when it is far too far away from home to actually buy anything there. But what the heck, you never know... you might find a great bargain and figure out how you are going to manage it.

And the wife just rolls her eyes and sighs, knowing that a " would you give it a rest" will only generate a " no."

Tim W.

Real Estate Investor
Indiana
Wolf_forum_avatar

1178 posts

You know you're a real estate investor when it's 3 a.m. and you're on Bigger Pockets because you don't have to report to a job tomorrow Grin

Man I need a social life.....

flipper101

Real Estate Investor
San Ramon, California
Motor-_bad_ass_harley_forum_avatar

2810 posts

Tim,
I feel you pain, considering I am the one your " trying" to talk to! LOL
Have another one...

<You know your a Real Estate investor when your up at 12:30 PST, talking to some crazy guy in Chicago for hours, who's been drinking Red Wine all night!>

And it really doesn't matter because there NO BOSS! But, there are employees to deal with, so GOOD NIGHT!

Nc M.

Real Estate Investor
NC
No_avatar_forum_avatar

172 posts

You Know You're a Real Estate Investor When...

... the eviction court judges know you by first name...

... the cops in your low-rent areas know you're just checking your properties and not out cruising for crack or some 'ho...

... you really think you've seen it all, and then you see (fill in the blank)...

... you really think you've learned a thing or two, and then some tenant teaches you something totally unexpected (and always costly)...

... you own fifty or more keys which don't fit anything... not even the couple dozen entry locks you've accumulated over the years...

... you can instantly tell the difference between the sounds of a .22, a .32, a nine, and a .45; and you know if it's ten rounds or more in a row it's a Glock!...

Man, this is a hilarious thread (and all so true...)