Jim has written 39 article(s) for the BiggerPockets Blog.
Commentary by Jim Watkins | February 28, 2008Time to Speak UP! The following information is about what the U.S. Senate is up to. If any of this becomes law, it will have a direct and severe impact on my business. There are very good and honest investors out there and BiggerPockets has been a great place for new & seasoned investors to [...]
Learn Real Estate by Jim Watkins | February 25, 2008In 2004, I held a mini-workshop on the topic of effective mail marketing. At the time, I had already been using my own system for several years but I needed to help the students come up with a letter of their own, otherwise most of the homeowners would have received identical letters and none of [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | February 15, 2008A few years ago, I bought a house that had been infested with black mold but it had been cleaned up by a professional remediation company months before I had bought it. The house had an ARV over $300,000 and I got it for $160,000. Most of the walls did not have drywall and it [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | February 11, 2008This past week I saw a thread on the forum boards where an investor asked if anyone had experienced any type of ghost in any of the properties they have been involved in. There was a fair amount of sarcastic answers which I thought were pretty funny and there were a few answers that were [...]
Mortgages & Lending by Jim Watkins | February 1, 2008[tag]Bankruptcy[/tag], or the “B” word, is one of the few words that [tag]lenders[/tag] fear. It usually means that it will take several months before they will begin to see any money from a homeowner. When a [tag]homeowner[/tag] is in foreclosure and they file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, it effectively freezes the foreclosure and costs continue [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | January 24, 2008This “[tag]Real Estate Storm[/tag]” as I call it, is getting worse. While there are many aspects involved as to what caused the current real estate mess we are in, this article will take a look at the [tag]sub-prime mortgage[/tag] aspect and I will offer my take on the situation. From 2002 until early 2007, lenders [...]
BiggerPockets News by Jim Watkins | January 17, 2008I have been contributing to the [tag]BiggerPockets[/tag] Blog for nearly five months now. I have to admit that it has been a challenge to come up with a new article every week. I don’t like to write “fluff” or make something sound easier than it is. Thankfully, the owner of BiggerPockets (Joshua Dorkin) has made [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | January 10, 2008I sat at a poker table and saw a Straight Flush be beaten by a Royal Flush. One of my friends told me of a convenience store clerk that refused to break a $20 bill without a purchase being made. To comply, my friend bought a lottery ticket and won $100,000. I jumped for joy [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | January 4, 2008Those who knew me before I got into real estate, often comment that I am now, much more skeptical of what people say. Some have said that I am downright pessimistic. All things considered though, I admit that I am definitely more jaded than I used to be. The reason is… I have sat across [...]
Landlord Tenant by Jim Watkins | December 27, 2007When it comes to owning and managing a rental property, I don’t care to spend money for things that are not needed. So a few years ago, when a tenant of mine asked if I would pay to have a fence installed for the back yard, I asked, “Why?” The tenant wanted to get a [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | December 20, 2007(This is the second and final part to the article. Check out Part I) The next afternoon I got a call from the buyers’ agent. She told me that the buyers refused to switch title companies as I had requested (the closing was set to take place four days later). I asked her when she [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | December 16, 2007Last year, I bought a house, rehabbed it and finally sold it. When I got a contract to sell it, the experience I endured was simply gut-wrenching. I got “sand-bagged” just about every way possible until I fought back… And WON! Here is what happened… This house was the first house deal I had done [...]
Foreclosures by Jim Watkins | December 9, 2007I am currently working on a 2-part article about the experience I went through last year while selling a rehab house I had. Since it still is incomplete, I wanted to submit a quick article about something that happened to one of my friends on December 5th. One of my friends is currently in Chapter [...]
Commentary by Jim Watkins | November 29, 2007Note From the Editor: While a bit long, this story is one you’ve got to read. Wow! A Home With Serious Promise In July of 2001, I got a call from a homeowner that got one of my flyers that I left on their door. They were very interested in speaking to me, as I [...]
Real Estate Investing by Jim Watkins | November 24, 2007Some of the articles I have written lately have been on topics of a more serious nature so I thought I would write about an abandoned house that I discovered a few years ago that was so unbelievable…. Well it was unbelievable. I thought I would tell this true story to show the lighter side [...]
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U.S. Senate Plans to Consider "Foreclosure Rescue Scam" Legislation. Its Time to Speak Up, Investors!
by Jim Watkins | February 28, 2008Time to Speak UP! The following information is about what the U.S. Senate is up to. If any of this becomes law, it will have a direct and severe impact on my business. There are very good and honest investors out there and BiggerPockets has been a great place for new & seasoned investors to [...]