Doesn't matter.

I haven't posted in a while because it doesn't matter.  This blog doesn't matter, creating a website doesn't matter, maintaining healthy standards of diet, sleep and hygiene does not matter.  The only thing that matters is getting our first deal.  That said - here's a big 'ole brain dump:

We still don't have official pre-approval.  It's getting embarrassing for us and becoming very frustrating.  Because we don't want to put our first deal in our own names, our main obstacle is forming an LLC.  Aside from offering a bit of protection, it will also provide us tax advantages as we hit our profit goals over the next 12 months.  Also we need the LLC to open a business account at our local lending institution, with plans to establish a business line of credit.  Unfortunately our LLC filing has been rejected twice, once for a conflict with an existing business name and then for an improperly filled out portion of the registered agent consent form.  Luckily the State of Texas secretary of state doesn't charge anything if your submission is rejected (whew!)  I just filed again, hopefully by Friday we will be formed.  As they say here in Australia, "third time lucky."

^ I sold my dearly-loved motorbike to raise capital for our first deal.  Walking around Melbourne each day I see bikes that I W-A-N-T.  These bikes become elements of motivation - I will not buy a new bike unless it's with profits from our RE business.  Damn you for this mindset, Kiyosaki.

Deals are passing us by but all we can do is hustle while we wait.  I tried to buy an absentee owners list off ListSource, but for some reason the website didn't give me the option to enter the credit card type.  I emailed them about this and am still waiting for a response.  Not buying this list might be a good thing, however.  I seem to keep coming across articles suggesting that, despite their popularity, absentee owners lists often aren't the best lists for finding deals.  Apparently many investors using absentee owners lists end up getting calls from a lot of tire kickers or non-distressed owners disinterested in selling well below retail.

Perhaps I'll look at getting a list of pre-foreclosures.  It seems logical that while this might result in a smaller list of targets the respondents will be more motivated to sell.  I would appreciate any suggestions, comments or experiences of BP members regarding lists.

My instincts tell me that, in addition to lists, which are passive, our little company must develop an active system for finding deals in our area.  Can we paint our farm neighbourhoods with a broad brush to figure out who actually lives there and how they most often transform into distressed owners?  Is it divorce for these people?  If so, what is the average length of a marriage?  Do they hate the area or love it?  What kinds of jobs do they have and what is the health of those industries?  What does it mean if there's a new Ford F350 in the driveway vs a 95 honda civic?  What does it mean if there are three honda civics?  Etc.  Google knows what you want before you do; we need to know which people in our farm are likely to be(come) distressed before anyone else does.  Perhaps we create a system to identify these potential sellers and then call or knock on the door, or partner with a good sales guy to do so...

One last little note: despite not having our first deal we can taste it on our tongues and have already begun to think bigger - how can we flip 10 houses within 12 months of our first purchase?  Would that put me in a position to go full-on digital nomad?

^ Photo I took yesterday in Melbourne's harbour area.  Sure would be cool to spend a year or so investing remotely while sailing around the world...