As 2009 draws to an end, many of us are busy writing goals for the coming the year, reflecting on our accomplishments of the current year, and coming up with an action plan for how we can be more productive in 2010.  Following is a list of four seemingly simple, yet highly effective ideas that you can implement into your daily routine to help you have your most productive year yet.

Restrict Your Time on Social Media- While social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter present fantastic opportunities to grow your business, they can also become a huge distraction if you aren’t careful.  I’ve recently started setting aside 15 minute blocks of time 4 times each day, and restricting my social media/internet activities to those time periods only.  It’s amazing how much networking you can squeeze in when you limit yourself to only 15 minutes at a time!

Eat Frogs- Well, not literally. I actually hijacked that phrase from Brian Tracy’s Book “Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” (aff.). The gist of the book is to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task of the day (the “frog”), and to finish it completely before moving on to other less important tasks (like updating your Facebook status).  If you eat your frog first thing and get it over with- the rest of the day will seem like a cinch!

Don’t Check Email First Thing in the Morning- I recently started implementing this tactic, and it has made a dramatic difference in my productivity. Instead of heading for my inbox first thing in the morning and getting sucked into the rabbit hole that it can sometimes lead me down, I make sure I get started on my most important task first. Once I’ve completed that task (or at least made a decent amount of headway), then I’ll go ahead and check my emails.

Start Your Day The Night Before- Planning out a concise, prioritized to-do list before you catch your Z’s is a great way to get a head start the following morning.  I keep a notebook and pen beside my bed, and have made it a habit to spend the last few minutes of every night constructing a game plan for the following day.  Waking up knowing exactly how you plan to tackle the day is a very empowering feeling and gives you a little burst of momentum right out of the gate!

I hope these tips will be helpful to those of you who are looking to increase your productivity in the coming year.  I know they have done wonders for me.

Happy New Year BiggerPockets- see you in 2010!

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Four Easy Ways to Increase Your Productivity in 2010

With only one week left before the New Year is upon us, these last few days of December are a great time to recharge your batteries, and get yourself ready and motivated for an awesome 2010. To help you get revved up for the coming year, I thought I would post a list of some of my favorite motivational quotes……Enjoy!

• “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.” – Mark Twain

• “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. ” -Jim Rohn

• “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” -Vince Lombardi

• “I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve.” -Anthony Robbins

• “Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win. Let not the man be discouraged who has these.” -James Whitcomb Riley

• “If you are going to be a champion, you must be willing to pay a greater price.” -Bud Wilkinson

• “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” -Brian Tracy

• “The road to success is lined with many tempting parking spaces.” – Unknown Author

• “You have to recognize that every ‘out front’ maneuver you make is going to be lonely, but if you feel entirely comfortable, then you’re not far enough ahead to do any good. That warm sense of everything going well is usually the body temperature at the center of the herd.” -John Masters

• “When you’re playing against a stacked deck- compete even harder. Show the world how much you’ll fight for the winner’s circle. If you do, someday the cellophane will crackle off a fresh pack, one that belongs to you, and the cards will be stacked in your favor”. -Pat Riley

I hope these quotes inspire you as much as they do me!

Have a very Merry Christmas Everyone!

Photo: Robber Esq

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

10 Motivational Quotes to Inspire You for 2010

At a time when banks have been sucking blood dry from homeowners, forcing countless of them into foreclosure, isn’t it nice to know that you can turn the tables and buy a chunk of real estate that banks will not mess with. If they know what’s good for them, anyway.

For a paltry $3.3 million dollars, you can purchase Edward Cullen’s Vancouver estate, used as the residence for the main vampire in Twilight: New Moon.

For the money, you get five coffin rooms (I mean bedrooms); four baths (I didn’t know vampires bathe? Oh, come on. You didn’t, either!); and some really creepy looking wooded surroundings where you can let your little bats fly around at night. Pretty freaking awesome if you ask me.

And, here is the best part. Say you find yourself in a position after a year or two of not being able to afford this little gem anymore. Don’t worry about the bank foreclosing on you. Just pick up the phone and invite the banker over for a friendly midnight snack to…you know…talk things over. Bet you’ll get a real sweet heart deal in no time! Like, maybe you’ll be able to pay the bank off drop by drop by drop by drop!

Photos: King Chimp, soprovich.com

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This Real Estate Story REALLY Sucks; Now YOU Can Buy The Twilight Vampire’s Home!

It’s been a while since we last hosted the Carnival of Real Estate . . . with 29 submissions, this one required a bit more work than last time. That said, I’m puzzled why there aren’t hundreds or even thousands of submissions. With all the people in real estate who are blogging, I can’t imagine why more people aren’t taking the two minutes a week it takes to participate in the carnival.

Here are my pics for this week’s Carnival of Real Estate:

1. Is Buying a Rental Property Worth it? from Alex. This post grabbed me for one reason – it was the tale of someone struggling as a landlord; someone willing to let everyone else in on his problems. He tells of his mass of evictions, vacancies, and more. My advice to Alex is to take some time and start reading the forums, articles, and this blog here on BiggerPockets before he does anything else in real estate. I don’t know much about him, but it sounds like he needs some help and the support of other successful landlords. I’d like to personally invite Alex to join us and I hope the rest of the community will do their best to help him turn his struggling landlording venture around!
2. A great guy and top real estate blogger, Jay Thompson, writes about a frightening trend that is happening in the REO space. Huntington National Bank: Are you freaking kidding me? From deep with the WTF files looks at how one bank is placing crazy things in their addendum s that no home buyer should stand for. They are not alone in doing this, and Jay rightfully rips these guys a new one. More importantly, however, is his warning for anyone buying a property to read EVERYTHING in their closing paperwork. If you learn anything today, PLEASE be sure you do this!
3. Julie Broad presents Rental Ad Scams and Spam, which points our yet another scam for landlords to look out for.
4. My friend, Nick Johnson, gives real estate agents some great advice to help improve their finances with Attention Agents: 5 Tips on how to Stop being BROKE.
5. Kerry Fletcher shares a great post for the do it yourself crowd out there, titled How much paint do I need?
6. Saundra Washington shares How Agents Can Survive in the Free Economy, which gives us a great look at how real estate agents can use some outside the box ideas to get business for free!
7. Here’s one that does what it says, thanks to Ben Roberts: 6 Essential Things Real Estate Contracts Must Have to Be Valid and Enforceable
8. Dan Green presents How To Get The Best Jumbo And Super Jumbo Mortgage Rates Possible, another post that does what it promises.
9. Dave Peniuk shares Real Estate Partners the Profits and Pitfalls, which does an examination of what you need to know about real estate investment partnerships.
10. Øyvind Eriksen presents What to Look for When You Buy Your First Apartment or House, a thorough post worth a look by any first-time home buyer.
11. Patrick Duffy presents Where would affordable housing be without government support? – ’nuff said.

Others worth a mention:

• 8 Tips For First Time Home Buyers Entering This Real Estate Market on The Digerati Life – great tips!
• 10 questions you must ask the real estate developer before you buy – while targeted to real estate in Central America, this post can be relevant for anyone looking at developments across the world.

I have to say that we had a lot of posts that were nothing but a waste of my time. While there were certainly a few others not listed above that were well written and informative, I felt like they would have little interest to anything but a very small, specific audience. We try and share those posts with the most universal appeal, and those that would most interest our extensive readership.

If you took the time to read any of the above posts, be sure to leave your thoughts below. Thanks to all who participated, and hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to host again soon.

Photo Credit: StuSeeger

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BiggerPockets Hosts The Real Estate Blog Carnival #159

I’m not sure where I heard about this site, but I’m very excited to see that it exists, and I hope that it can expand to reach cities across the US. With a headline “Building Safer Communities,” CrimeMapping.com allows its users to view the crime statistics in 23 cities around the country, provided by the local police departments. The great thing about this service is that their data is uploaded every 24 hours and, since it is presented directly on a mapping format, it is extremely easy to navigate. Additionally, according to the FAQ, “The date range for crimes displayed represents the last ninety (90) days of activity.”

Looking to Expand across the USA

I spoke with Vance Stewart, Operations Manager at CrimeMapping.com, to find out why the site is only collecting data from this small pool of police departments. “It takes time to get them to buy off on it” he said, “the goal is to have as many cities around the country to work with.” According to Stewart, it takes somewhere between two months and a year for these departments to make their budgetary allotments, so the actual process of adding new cities is quite time and energy consuming.

Supposedly, they are getting a very good response from the site — apparently some people are so interested in having their city added that the community is asking their local law enforcement agencies to participate.

Quick Look at CrimeMapping.com

Above: Snapshot of recent crime in North Miami Beach

One of the great features that the website offers is a service that allows users to be alerted of crime in their area. If you live in one of the cities serviced by the website, you can choose to get emails when new crimes are reported in your vicinity.

I personally hope this site can continue to grow, as it is a phenomenal tool for everyone in a community, including real estate investors, professionals, homeowners, and renters. Here’s to their success!

BTW – If you know about other fantastic real estate related tools or resources online, please let us know.

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scout out the Crime in Your Neighborhood with CrimeMapping.com

If you haven’t seen this yet, you’ve got to check it out! Its a “rapumentary addressing the wall street bailout,” written and performed by 47 year old stockbroker Gregg Somerville.

Thoughts?

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Bailout Rap . . . Brilliant!

My favorite is the last one . . . that’s a cool pad for the beach, no?

Photo Credit: Jan Tik

Photo Credit: ccarlstead

Photo Credit: Wrote

Photo Credit: foto3116

Photo Credit:kowitz

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5 of The Scariest Wooden Houses You’ve Ever Seen!

Will the banks take up this new technique in dealing with foreclosed homes?

Photo by: Colin McMillen

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

New Foreclosure Technique for 2009?

We created the following video this past spring, but thought it was worth sharing once again, since it has re-emerged into the collective consciousness thanks to our friend Joseph at Sellsius. Enjoy!

Please make sure to share this with all of your friends! Blog about it or just spread the word!

BTW – We’re working on a new video series on real estate and we’ll be sure to let you know about it soon!

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In Case You Missed It: Dick and Rich – A Real Estate Success Story

The BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing for Real News Blog is officially the first media outlet to announce the arrival of a new website dedicated to helping dogs and cats victimized by foreclosure.

Abandoned Animals of Foreclosure: Help Is On The Way

I have been working in the foreclosure market since I began investing in 1999 and I have run into animals affected by foreclosure. Some were going to be dropped off at shelters while others ended up being left behind in the house…Abandoned.

In fact, last year a homeowner told me they were planning to take their puppy to the pound after I left. Needless to say, I didn’t leave alone. I fostered that puppy for two months until I found it a new home. That’s just me. I have known that animals are abandoned at times but, I never thought I could do much to prevent it and certainly not enough to make a big difference.

In mid-August, I got an email from a woman I used to work with. It contained a link to an article published by the Dallas Morning News. It reported on the growing number of pets that are being abandoned by their owners as a result of losing their houses to foreclosure. It said the local animal shelters have seen an increase of foreclosure homeowners dropping their dogs and cats off with the hope that they will be adopted. An official with the Dallas area SPCA said it has been a growing problem and appears to be getting worse.

I read the article several times and I continued thinking about it for several days.

Two weeks ago… It hit me! I hope that I have come up with a way to make a BIG difference by saving thousands of animals. I have been hard at work transforming my idea into a reality. It is a work in progress and will likely be non-stop updating but, I am hoping that my idea will demonstrate how one person is capable of saving thousands of dogs, cats and other household pets that are or will be affected by foreclosure.

Introducing… HelpForeclosurePets.com

I have summarized how HelpForeclosurePets.com will be able to save thousands of foreclosure pets in Dallas – Fort Worth and maybe on a National level as well.

• A flyer will be mailed to homeowner’s currently in foreclosure in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. It will contain information posted on the website Help Foreclosure Pets.com such as, where owners can turn to for help with their pets like City Shelters, “No-Kill” Shelters, Temporary Boarding, Fosters and Adoption options.
• The site’s main feature is the Pet Connection Board. It will connect pet owners with others who may be able to save their pet by fostering, boarding or adopting foreclosure pets in need.
• Pet owners needing help are encouraged to post information about their pet, what type of situation they feel would be best for their pet and their contact information.
• In order for this concept to work, people interested or able to foster, provide boarding or adopt need to post their contact information on the Pet Connection Board, along with how they are able to help.
• The website also includes rescue information for specific breeds and other organizations & clubs that may be able to help.
• The website will be continuously updated with links to other sites that offer a service to needy animals.
• Help Foreclosure Pets needs donations from individual and corporate sponsors, to help save these voiceless animals. Those sponsoring the mailings will be listed on the flyers, envelopes as well as receive free banner advertising on the web site.
• In order to send a flyer to over 3,000 homeowners in foreclosure every month, a complete list is needed and in Dallas the list must be purchased.

I am happy to announce that Help Foreclosure Pets has its first major sponsor! Foreclosure Listing Service of Addison, Texas, will generously donate monthly foreclosure lists covering four Counties in North Texas.

A big “Thank You” to George Roddy Senior, President and owner of Foreclosure Listing Service.

I hope that anyone interested in saving these animals will contact Help Foreclosure Pets or other organizations dedicated to the same.

One of my mottos with DFW Mentor has been, “Investors Helping Investors.”
Help Foreclosure Pets is “My” way of providing a voice for dogs, cats and other innocent family pets needing help.

The motto of Help Foreclosure Pets is… “People Helping…Foreclosure Pets.”

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Dogs & Cats: The Silent Victims of Foreclosure – Introducing Help Foreclosure Pets

The World’s Most Expensive House
London’s paper, The Sun, today shares with us the rumored sale of the Most Expensive House in the World.

The home is located on “Billionaires Row” in London and is set to sell for a WHOPPING £117million or approximately $232 million to Lakshmi Mittal, the steel Tycoon, and one of the world’s richest men, says the Sun.

He is believed to be close to exchanging contracts with owner Noam Gottesman, 47, a US-born financier.

The home in Kensington Palace Gardens, West London, Princess Diana’s former street, is being sold furnished and with an art collection. It works out at an astonishing £8,000 per square foot.

For a picture of the property, visit the link to the article above.

According to the Daily Telegraph:

The detached residence is next door to the Israeli embassy on Palace Green, an extension of Kensington Palace Gardens.

The four-floor house with at least five luxurious suite bedrooms plus extensive servants quarters is described as an institutional neo-Georgian building typical of a type built from the 1920s onwards. It is being sold furnished and with an art collection.

How Do You Buy Such an Expensive Home?
So . . . do these Billionaires pay cash for homes like this, or are they financed?

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Just Imagine the Mortgage Paid by Lakshmi Mittal on the World’s Most Expensive House

March is here and what else can I say about this past week other than — things aren’t looking good for the US. The cost of real goods continues to rise, with the price of everything from gasoline, oil, food, and commodities all continuing to climb at alarming rates.

Gold hit a new high near $980 an ounce, and crude oil set an all-time high of above $103 a barrel – both beating the real-terms peaks reached in 1979-80. Many traders believe that gold at $1,000 an ounce is now well within reach. – The Independent

Additionally, weakness in the dollar has driven the Euro to a record high of $1.5238 on Friday. While tourism and exports have increased, is this buoying the overall economy? It doesn’t look that way.

Lets leave all that behind for a little while and have a look at some of the interesting stories out there from this week:

Cool BiggerPockets Mentions

• NuWire Investor named BiggerPockets to its list of the Top 10 Real Estate Blogs, placing is in the company of some other great sites including Matrix and Business Week’s Hot Property.
• The Go Beyond MLS Blog also listed BiggerPockets in their list of top 10 blogs, and analyzes one of the factors that may influence popularity – frequency of posts.

Other quick reads for the week:

• The Real Estate Windfall Blog tells us 9 ideas on how to get and keep good tenants. Most of these important points have to do with servicing your tenants and treating them the right way. This is a MUST READ for any potential landlord.
• Learn what the difference is between getting pre-qualified and pre-approved for a loan from the Sacramento Real Estate Blog.
• Find out about the nine traits of the middle-class millionaire from My Money Blog.
• Jim Duncan cuts to the chase and tells us how not to sell your house. In the current buyer’s market, his words hold true.

This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Real Estate Wrap-Up – March 2, 2008