I’m listening
Posted on April 12, 2007 - Filed Under Personal |
Over the past several days, some readers have expressed a common theme "Cliff, you’re going too slow!"
Believe it or nuts, the events I am describing have been boiled down from their original time-line. This post, for example, transpired over a 14 day period yet was reduced to a single entry.
There are two major groups who read this blog: Newbies and Advanced Investors. The Newbies are searching for information. It is for them that I detail events. Between the two groups, I have tried to strike a balance: giving only highlights with some details. This was to keep pace with the Advanced investors.
BUT
I understand we have a relationship, you and I. My adventures are shared; you read and provide feedback. I don’t want to ruin that relationship. Here is what I propose.
We vote.
Democracy in action. You gotta love it.
On the right hand side of your monitor, you will see a little voting widget. It asks a simple question. There are two possible answers.
First is "Give me details". The story I paused for the moment will continue to be unfolded in the manner in which I have intended. This should last until sometime next week.
Second is "Shut up and end it". I am prepared to show the last page of this story on Friday, April 13th. At that time the story will be summed up. Some detail provided, some detail sacrificed. This coming weekend you can relax rather than wondering how this all turned out. Monday morning, I will begin an entirely new subject.
Please take two seconds to vote. It will count. The widget, and only the widget, shall determine the outcome. The polls close Thursday, 6:00 p.m. (PST) April 12th.
And unlike past Presidential elections, I will not discriminate against voters because they’re dead.
Friday morning, when I have awoke from my slumber, the results will be viewed and the path you have chosen will be published.
If you liked that post, then try these...
Changing my Direction has retired on February 18th, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls and the rest of you, today marks the final entry for ChangingmyDirection.
Photo Op on May 19th, 2006
It's photo time!
I grouped my vacation photos by the town or region that I visited.
Comments
11 Responses to “I’m listening”
Leave a Reply
If you were a politician, you’d be trying to please us all at the same time.
If you actually were providing relevant details, I wouldn’t mind the slow pace. But I don’t even think you are providing relevant details. We get full details on what you had for lunch and dinner in Texas but nothing at all about how you came up with the offering prices on the duplex and fourplex - at least not until a commenter asked about it. How does this help newbie investors? Another comment prompted you to talk about historical appreciation rates in the area and you say you’ll get to that later. Again, I think you are doing newbies a disservice. If you want people to understand how investing in real estate works, detail your steps **in the order you did them**. Don’t say “I made this offer” and three days later say “oh yeah, before I made the offer, I did this and this and this.” There are too many things to research and do in REI and if you talk about them out of order, newbies can easily get confused or miss steps.
Mikki, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not trying to be a politician!
Shaun, I guess I am really confused. You want me to pick up the pace yet cry out for more details. You can’t have both. I have re-read all of my entries, regarding this story, and they are chucked full of details. More importantly, it is chronologically correct.
As far as being a disservice to the Newbies, let’s review what I have discussed (in the order I discussed them). Finding a location to invest; finding a realtor; finding a property; extending an offer; finding a lender; getting pre-approved funding; negotiating with the seller; inspecting the property for problems; attempting renegotiating; walking away from the deal.
Now I am onto the second property. The items: flying to Corpus Christi; viewing properties; extending two offers; having offer accepted; having properties inspected. The rest has yet to be discussed but I can assure you it lies along the same lines as before.
Twice now I’m following the same pattern. I’m unsure how this is a disservice or how these details are not relevant.
I guess we approach the “comments” section from two different angles. If I don’t explain something clearly, then I would hope my readers would post a comment asking the question. I don’t mind answering these questions if something I explained was not clear enough.
If you are approaching this blog with “I just want the facts” mentality then you won’t find that here. I am a writer and I love to write. I tell stories. I am attempting to make dull data entertaining and interesting to read with some humor sprinkled in. This is the manner in which I have chosen to tell my story.
And as an FYI: I talk about food and champagne on my blog. Always have. I do this because I want people to understand there is more to life than just having money. I have never claimed that my blog solely focuses on the creation of wealth. I do claim it is about improving one’s life, trying new things, being adventurous enriching oneself.
I want all the details AND I want them now.
Remember, unless the instructions on how to execute a deal are spoon-fed on a silver platter, those of us that went to public school won’t be able to catch on.
If we’re reading this blog, chances are we’ve already absorbed the limited advice that Kiosaki, et al have provided. Now we want to actually learn something.
Keep writing about food and other things if you must, I can always skip over those paragraphs.
I’m commenting to say that I have no comment. Write how you want to write because that flows naturally from your mind. I write as if I’m talking to somebody.
If I had to worry about my grammar and if my readers would like my topic, it would take me forever to do each post and I’d probably stop writing.
I just sit down and write about what happened today or what’s own my mind in my own words.
Ok, after I typed that I figured I’d offer a suggestion as to what I “think” your readers would like to see.
For example, you could say that you found a 4-plex in CC that was asking $140k, rented at $500 a unit, taxes were $3,000, PM $200, expenses $300 and vacancy 7%. Using those numbers you came up with a pro-forma cashflow of $780/mo.
However, because the current rents were under market and it needed a new roof. Based on that you offered $120k, which was a 10% cap.
The seller countered at $135k. You came up to $125k, but then you found out it needed a new roof which was estimated to be $2,500. etc…
I vote for details, this blog is one of the better sources for good real estate information.
Thanks.
Claws out…
Furr Flying…
I appreciate the details and enjoy the read… However, Kenric has a good point of specificity that would be nice, as long as the Newbie understood the acronyms…
Kenric - Bingo! That’s what newbie investors need to see and what Kiyosaki, et al rarely talk about in detail.
I like it as it is. I learn a little bit about real estate and read some stories. You could try some flashback kind of style. That would really mix things up
Thank you all for your comments!