Fearless Innovator

Today, you will meet Nicci Perone. Nicci is another Fearless Innovator she will share her journey from owning a business for 20 years, being a single mom and how that morphed into becoming a real estate investor.

She clearly didn't take the easy way out. After 20 years in her own business, she became injured and had to shut down her business and her life just to heal.

It's what she did afterwards that makes this story even more compelling. She didn't give up; she dug in and changed the trajectory of her life.

Learn what she's doing today after the collapse of her business in this episode.

I am looking to interview others that may have a compelling story to share about your journey into real estate investing. If you're interested reach out to me at www.fearlessinnovator.com.  

4 reasons newbie real estate investors like yourself can be successful. Why didn't I label this the 4 reasons newbie investors fail? Well, it's because I'm going to share with you the mistakes, I made so that you won't make them!

This last weekend, I went and looked at a house built in 1970, it's 1200 sq ft. a 3/1 bath on .35 acres overlooking this beautiful bass fishing lake in a prime location here in Florida. It had a dilapidated front porch, the kitchen had been updated, the house was spacious, nice sized yard, and the dock getting to the gazebo on the water was a little treacherous. Septic and well included. The house itself was made of wood, the back room had been added on and the subflooring was not level with the main house. Roof and siding needs replaced. The asking price is $399,000. We won't discuss the smell because all rehab houses whether you know this or not smell the same! I haven't quite figured out how that happens, so just trust me on this one!

The first question I always ask myself, what am I going to do with this house? I already know the type of investor that I am. I like rehab projects but I'm not a flipper. I love buy-n-holds but I'm not a long-term landlord. I love Short Term Rentals. As I'm walking through this house, I imagine this house as a vacation rental. I can see how my guests would love this little cottage on the lake where they could scoot around the lake on a kayak. Now that I've defined how I intend to use this house, the hard part begins!

1– Define and evaluate the risks – Just with my brief description of the property, I'm confident that you defined several risks yourself. To name a few, the price first off is way off basis – I realize this is in a prime location with an awesome view – but let's get real. The only person who would buy this property would be someone that would want to live and fix it up as they went, or an investor like me. Also keep in mind, what you pay for a property makes or breaks the deal. If you don't purchase at the right price this could become the Flip that Flopped like in Episode 7. The structure of this house was unstable and made of wood – that could mean termites! Adding a new front porch, new roof and new dock are no big deal. There were definite issues with the subflooring and who knows the status on the well and septic. What's the best way to mitigate risks? Bring your contractor to walk thru the property to help you define the risks and then you pay for an inspection. That inspection albeit may not be perfect, but you may discover issues you didn't know you had – like electric, water or AC.

2 – Underestimate repairs – This is a common mistake that even well-seasoned investors make. I have created a Property Inspection Summary Sheet that defines all areas that you'll need to look at. As far as determining the costs for repairs your contractor should be able to give you cost breakdowns, however, keep in mind that pricing on everything these days has skyrocketed, and costs are forever changing. Be sure to lock in pricing for repairs. 

3 – Time Management - Here's another helpful hint and another mistake a lot of people make, time IS money – you've heard that before. Don't do the work yourself – get out of your own way and make sure you hit your timeline. Hire the professionals to get it done within your timeline. Typically, on a rehab it shouldn't take more than 3 months to complete your project! If you're worried about the costs – then negotiate! Getting this property online where it's making you money is worth more than patting yourself on the back for self-satisfaction! Ask yourself do you want a J.O.B. or do you want your money working for you?

4 – Where do I get the money? Now, unless you are independently wealthy, which most people are not. You'll need to get creative on where the money comes from. Most people who start to invest have a 9 to 5 J.O.B., so that means you have money coming in each month and you quite possibly have a nice little nest egg with let's say $100K or less that's either in savings, an IRA, or a 401k. You have several options, and I can't hit on every scenario here so we will just discuss a couple of options. 

Let's say this deal was negotiated as a purchase price of $150,000 but you need another $100,000 in repairs. You'll need $250,000. If you have the $250,000, put it under contract and let the work begin. 

If you don't have all the money, perhaps take ½ of your $100K and use it for the down payment and then borrow the rest with a traditional mortgage. Take the remaining $50K and use it on another property for the deposit. Now you control 2 properties instead of using all your cash on one house. Now, you just need to qualify for a mortgage. 

Remember this is not your primary residence, this is now a rental property where you'll be earning passive income. Mortgage company's or lenders treat this type of mortgage differently. I'm not saying it can't happen, they just have other stipulations for qualifying for this type of mortgage. Another stipulation is after you have 3 – 4 traditional mortgages under your belt the banks will cut you off and you will no longer be able to qualify for a loan. Validate what the exact number of loans are with your lender when you start your real estate investing adventure. What if your goal is to have 10 rental properties – now what do you do, when you know, the banks are going to cut you off at 3-4? 1 – you can negotiate directly with the seller. If the seller owns the property out right, they can become our bank! 

2 – Look for OPM. What's OPM? Other People's Money. That's right, other people you know with money sitting around can become your bank. It works just like getting a loan from a bank – it's all done legally through a real estate attorney, it's less paperwork, less hassle and you've just created a win-win solution for yourself and your investor. You get the house, and the investor earns interest or whatever deal you negotiated with them.

One day when you become a full-time investor, using OPM is one of the best ways to become financially independent or if you're in the other camp where this real estate investing seems like too much work, I just might know a girl that's done her homework and is always looking for OPM.  There's a lot more to learn here and if you have any questions or would like a copy of my Property Inspection Summary Sheet you can reach out to me at my email address:  [email protected] – it's in the show notes!

As far as this 3/1 opportunity on the lake, I'm evaluating the rehab costs, vs. just tearing it down and placing a tiny home on the property. You'll have to wait for a future episode to see how it turns out!

I'm looking for guests for my show. If you or someone you know has a compelling story about how they quit their J.O.B to become a real estate investor, I'd be interested in interviewing them for my show. 

The Fearless Innovator Podcast is now on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube!

In my first in person interview, you will meet Andrea Bryant.  Andrea will take you on her fearless journey from a 2nd Grade teacher to real estate investor.

She will go into detail about her failures and her successes.  She will also share that sometimes you really have to dig in and endure some of the painful losses in investing.  Overall, because of her persistence and perseverance and optimistic outlook on life and the fact that she surrounds herself with those that support her, she will share where she is today and what path she has chosen.

Is Andrea's future looking bright?  She thinks so and has now hired a coach to help her make the necessary moves to get her to her next level.

I hope this interview inspires you to know that you too, can change direction in life and create a new identity for yourself.

I am looking to interview others that may have a compelling story to share about your journey into real estate investing.  If you're interested reach out to me at www.fearlessinnovator.com.  

My 3-month adventure has ended, and the real estate market is starting to turn.  I've found some cash flowing opportunities, when I seal the deal, I'll be looking for partners to share in the rewards. If you want to know more, reach out to me at www.fearlessinnovator.com or you can now listen to me on the Fearless Innovator Podcast.  I can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube!

How many of you say, "oh, I'm going to do that someday" and you never do it and you're bucket list just keeps growing and how many of you actually do it?  What's stopping you?  I know what's stopping you, it's you and your attitude!

You only live once, you know (YOLO) is the old saying well, what if you thought about it like this – you only die once! Let's call it YoDo!  Don't you think that would inspire you to live more of your life?   Just the mere thought that if I die tomorrow inspires me enough to go out and do the things I want to do with my life.

5 months before my dad died, he told me that he had done everything in his life he wanted to do, that he was happy, and he had no regrets.  He was 64 years old!   As luck would have it, dad died of the widow maker.  I was grateful it was an instant death, and he didn't suffer BUT he was 64 years young, and you know the worst part?  What he died from his hereditary, so guess what?  I got scanned!  YES, my carotid artery is blocked 65% with the same silent killer!  Now I'm 57 years young and encroaching on that ever so fearful age of 64.  

What did my dad do before that fateful day on July 5, 2007?

At the age of 55, my dad started living life and scaling back his "work" life. I like to think that dad somehow knew he was going to die young, so he prepared early to start enjoying his life.  He made countless trips to Alaska, AR and FL.  Mom didn't much care for Alaska so he'd go there by himself, but he and mom would go to AR to see Melissa and Florida to see me.  He restored several 1961 Impala's and one BelAir and did numerous other things.

I also spent a lot of time with my dad in Alaska.  I've been to the Iditarod 4 times and volunteered at the start in Anchorage and the finish in Nome.  Dad and I went on a 7 day/night adventure down the Grand Canyon white water rafting. We've driven our motorcycles on the Pig Trail in AR where we met a guy that gave us each a penny that he had carved out a cross in it.  We hung them on our bike key chains.  We've ridden our motorcycles in Daytona and we've been to several Daytona 500's!  Our next adventure was to drive a professional Nascar but that would never happen.  To say the least my dad was an adventurist and never turned down an opportunity to do something fun.  My dad had figured out how to retire without retiring, he just kind of slid out of working and right into enjoying life.  

The point is this, You Only Die Once – so get out there and LIVE like it's your last day! I believe we can all slide right into enjoying life before we have to call it "retirement" at age 67.  After all, I'm NOT counting on the money being in my retirement account when and if I turn 67 – I'm going to enjoy my life NOW!

Two years ago, I had planned on driving dad's Freightliner and my RV to Iowa and stay for about a month to go see my mom, who's in a nursing home now and then go to AR to see my sister, Melissa.  Well, that damn VIRUS shut me down.  So fast forward to 2021, I put the plan in place to make it happen this year.  I put my real estate on autopilot – which means I was earning income while I took off for my home state of Iowa.  In other words, my real estate was working – BUT I wasn't!

To say I didn't work while I was in Iowa would be false – I absolutely did work while I was in Iowa.  I can do real estate anywhere, so I set up my office in the back of my toy hauler and setoff to learn everything I could about the real estate market in Des Moines and Ames.  I attended local real estate and financial independence meetings and I even have one deal in the works today. I've met amazing people in the area and have setup a network of people that when needed I can count on to either help put deals together or help other investors find what they are looking for. 

But what I want to share with you are the amazing people and adventures I had while in Iowa for 3 months.  Keep in mind, I've been away from Iowa for almost 40 years, but I would frequently come home yearly to see my mom and dad.

First and foremost, I got to spend as much time as I wanted to see my mom.  Unfortunately, my mom has dementia and is in a nursing home.  The blessing here is that she is healthy, she knows who I am, and we laughed a lot!  I was extremely fortunate that during my 3-month stay the nursing home was not shut down with the virus. My heart goes out to all the nursing staff and administration for all their hard work and time they put in!  I know the nursing staff is tired but for that, I'm very thankful for everything they do!

Let's start with the amazing Timberline Campground in Waukee Iowa!  Only that fasted growing city in our nation!  You all know that I want to own an RV park, right?  Well, Marta was a blessing, and I don't even think she knows it.  She and her staff were so attentive, friendly, and helpful.  I can't tell you how many questions I pelted at Marta about owning an RV park but boy was she knowledgeable and always pointed me in the right direction.  The WIFI rocked at her place! I vote her place as the Best Place to Workplace!  She truly felt like family at the end, and I was very sad to leave her place.  Marta, I will be back, is all can say!  By the way, I loved all the gun fire next door!

While in Iowa we made the best of our time.  Yes, I said we.  I'm no longer an I.   While I was in Iowa, I was joined with my boyfriend Kurt.  

Here are several things we did in the amazing state of Iowa!  The websites to all places can be found in my notes. 

Did you know that Iowa has a Whiskey Distillery?

Templeton Distillery - Templeton Rye & Templeton Distillery - Whiskey for the Strong Spirited

We did a tour of the Templeton Distillery and learned how they crafted Templeton Rye during prohibition and now you can find it in stores across the US.

Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad – History of the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad – Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & James H. Andrew Railroad Museum (bsvrr.com)

Kurt and I took an evening dinner train ride and learned about the history of the train and took a scenic ride and talked with the conductor and ate dinner in our private quarters.

The Freedom Rocks - Artist: Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II - The Freedom Rock®

I bet you haven't heard of this one!  There was a huge bolder sitting along highway 25 near my home in Iowa that sat on private property but in the 70's, 80's and 90's succumbed to graffiti, in 1999 Bubba Sorensen painted a "Thank you" to veterans on the boulder and each year right before Memorial Day he would paint a new scene.  It is now an annual tourist attraction to honor our service men and women. However, there are now 99 Freedom Rocks in Iowa – one in each county.  While I was in Iowa and with the help of my boyfriend Kurt, my cousins Steve and Kelly and a friend Bryan we have now visited 61 of the 99 rocks!  We rode over 3000 miles on our bikes to see these rocks!  750 miles and 15 rocks in one weekend!  I have pictures of every rock on my personal FB page, but I'll be sure to post some on my public page.  At this point, I no longer have a favorite rock – they were all amazing in their own way.  We even met a veteran who lived in Nebraska and was on his 60th wedding anniversary and had seen 50 rocks!

Largest Popcorn Ball  World's Largest Popcorn Ball – Sac Economic & Tourism Development (saccountyiowa.com)

Who knew that the largest popcorn ball was in Iowa – it tips the scale at 9,370 pounds and is a Guinness World Record!

American Legion Steak Fry in Dexter– Off the chart Steak fry and who knew I'd run into family members I never knew.  They invited me to the Kopaska family reunion.  I didn't know a soul, but I'm thankful I went!  I now know Colleen, Carolyn, Jacque, Cherie and several others!

Rusty Duck in Dexter- who knew such a small town would have a killer black salmon recipe.

Iowa State Fair – we attended the Styx Concert and OH the food!

Car shows – Good Guys car show and Stuarts's Scoop the Loop. Kurt won a trophy!

Field of Dreams – now, I can say I've been there and stood in the corn field!

Kayaking with Kurt's sister Julia and husband Travis.

Iowa Cubs game with Kurt's sister Colleen and her husband Dave – That knows every restaurant inside and outside of Iowa – I swear!  Call Dave if you're looking for fantastic food!

Melissa came up from AR for a week and we got to spend more quality time together and visiting with our mom.

Kurt's extended family - wow, he's got a big family and was blessed to meet a lot of them!

What will I miss most?

The sweet corn – nothing like sweet corn right out of the field!

The Waukee Ice Cream Shop – we went every night because we knew they would soon close for the season!

Not the portion sizes – I think I've gained 10 pounds!  OMG the food was amazing!

I've saved the best two for last and not in any order.

Dad I'm sorry, I didn't get the chance to do this with you, but I can now say that I've driven Greg Biffle's number 16 car at the Iowa Speedway at the Rusty Wallace Driving Experience.  It was everything I had hoped it would be and I even said a prayer for you on one of my laps and dedicated it to you.  I hope you heard that, and I hope you're proud that I completed the run without wrecking and I went as fast as I could without fear!

Finally – Kurt and I attended a 38 Special Concert in Omaha.  This concert was beyond special.  To make a very long story short, it was during the Caught Up in You, song (My favorite song of all time) – where they sing, "you've got me down on my knees" that Kurt got down on his knee and proposed to me and of course, I accepted his proposal.  So now, I'm engaged!  God works in mysterious ways and this story is much longer and deserves its own podcast episode.

I'm thankful for the Kopaska get-togethers and reuniting with all the Kopaska's.  It was refreshing to renew the sense of community. I think I miss that!  Not much of that in the land of Florida.

I'm thankful to all the friends I got to see, even if it was brief!  

I'm thankful to my uncle Steve for fixing my dad's carburetor for the 61 BelAir – car shows here I come!

I'm thankful for my cousin Stevie who fixed one of the 3 AC's units on my RV and to all those RV Repair facilities that said it couldn't be done – you're just a rip off!

I ask myself, if this is retirement, why would I want to stop?  I think my dad was on to something when he quit working around 55.  I've now done it and I think you can too! You Only Die Once – YoDo!

My 3-month adventure has ended, and the real estate market is starting to turn.  I've found some cash flowing opportunities, when I seal the deal, I'll be looking for partners to share in the rewards. If you want to know more, reach out to me at www.fearlessinnovator.com or you can now listen to me on the Fearless Innovator Podcast.  I can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube!

Today's episode – Contractors are NOT created equally!

At the time I went to build my second home, I had never worked directly with a contractor nor had I any experience on the steps from the initial dirt work to the final inspection.  My first house was a cookie cutter, and I was not involved with the contractor only the Project Manager.  Essentially, the project manager just reviewed the progress with me and made sure my color selections were met. What I did have was common sense and logic.

The contractor I selected was based on a referral from a friend.  I met with him, and he could do all the work from the Design to Build to the Final inspection.  I met with one other contractor but wasn't impressed with his work.  I chose the first guy, and I validated his license and he had pictures of his prior builds that I could review.  He did nice work!

During the Design phase – the only thing I told my Contractor on the design were these four things 1) 4 bedrooms with 3 baths. 2). the office needed to point towards the driveway – that way I could see who was coming down my driveway as I spend most of my day in my office, 3) I wanted a fireplace 4). I wanted a pool, but I wanted to manage the pool construction.  After all, I can use my project management skills anywhere!  I was not going to be picky about walls, closet sizes or where or how many electrical outlets there needed to be because I was going to build this house and flip it and cash in!

Build phase - My first onsite meeting with the contractor was to review the placement of the house.  We discovered that I wanted my house to face the west, but he informed me that I would have to file a variance because all houses in this area had to face towards the street or due north.  This would cause a minor delay, but he thought it would be approved.  The second thing I let him know that there was an existing septic tank in the front yard and to please be sure to rope that area off so that I knew no one would drive over it and break it.  Within a few weeks, I came home from work and noticed that the dirt work had begun, and something didn't feel right, so I walked over to the project with my flashlight in hand and noticed a big gaping hole in the front yard.  Yup! Day 1 – the front-end loader fell in the shitter!

I called my contractor and asked him if anyone from the project site called with any issues today and he said "no".  I said that's funny because the front-end loader fell through the shitter.  He said, no, that did not happen.  I said Well, I can clearly see the front-end loader tire tracks and it matches the tread on the front-end loader sitting on my property and if you'd like for me to grab some of this poo and put it in a Ziplock baggie and deliver it to you, I'll gladly do that!  Then he said, ok, I believe you.  Then I said and perhaps now you understand the value in marking the shitter off, like I requested?  This project lasted 2 years and he did not replace that shitter lid until the end of the project – keep in mind it was an active tank!  But wait there's more!

I happened to walk by the fireplace after it was installed and I saw the product number on it, so I took that number and compared it to the number I had personally selected in the store.  Yup, you guessed it!  This was NOT the fireplace I picked out?  Again, went back to the contractor and stated my findings, he had nothing to say!  Why did he do it?  He did it because the one he purchased for the job was cheaper than the one I had picked out.  But here's the catch – he gave me a budget and I stayed within my budget when I selected it.  It was too late to uninstall the fireplace although I could have made him rip it out instead, I had him place the leftover money back into my budget.

Then the electrician pulled me aside one day and said, he your "super" isn't doing you any favors.  I said, how so?  He took me into the master bath and showed me that the jetted tub I had picked out needed a 220 wire, but the super had only supplied a 110 wire.  He then said the 220 wire is, so the heater works but the jets still worked.  So, I said the contractor is banking on the fact that I "won't figure it out, right?"  He said yes, but don't get me in trouble.  I said, Oh I won't get you in trouble.  So, the next time the contractor was onsite I asked him if he could show me how the jetted tub works.  He said sure and proceeded to show me.  Then he said, so if the water gets too cool, you just turn the hot water back on.   I said, OH, OK!  Now he's lying to me.

Now if you've ever owned a jetted tub with a heater there's no button for the heater, just the button for the jets so you really don't even know there's a heater on there. The heater just works automatically.  I clearly played dumb!

There were numerous issues on this project including him hiding another $5k inside the budget.  Towards the end, I'd had enough, and I fired him!  He never finished the mantel over the fireplace and odds and ends around the kitchen.  It was nothing I couldn't handle.

This next story is one for the record books and I pray you never fall victim to this type of cowardice thief.

I had a short-term rental in the Gatlinburg, TN area in 2016.  On Nov 28th that year there was a huge fire killing 14 people, injuring 190 more and burned 2460 structures including cabins and burned 17,136 acres. I was one of the fortunate ones and my cabin escaped the fire.  However, my friend Darleen and her husband were not so fortunate.  Her husband barely made it out of their cabin before it succumbed to the fire.  Everything was gone!  The heat was so hot it melted the Skyline metal braces used to hold up the Skyline ride in Gatlinburg.  Just the mere impact of losing their vacation home was enough to devastate anyone but they were thankful they were not hurt.  After considering the tax ramifications of not rebuilding versus rebuilding, they decided to rebuild.  Much research was done into log cabin companies and a log cabin company was selected.  They also spent the time and effort to custom design and tweak the cabin package to be exactly what they wanted for overnight rental purposes as well as a retirement home.  When it came time to select a builder, they used the very high recommendation of the log cabin manufacturer who assured them their recommended contractor was reputable and decided to enter into a contract with that builder.  Because the log cabin company assured them, they the contractor had been vetted, my friends did little research of their own.

During the time they were meeting with the contractor and doing various other tasks associated with the destruction of their original cabin, they needed a place to stay so I offered my cabin to them several times as they lived 5 hours away.  I was thankful they stayed there it was a win-win for both of us.  I was in fear that if no one was going to be vacationing in the area that my cabin could be vandalized but if someone was in the cabin then it wouldn't look as appealing to a looter.  

Everything seemed to be ok in the beginning and the log cabin package was purchased and initial checks were issued to the contractor.  They even met with the contractors' granite supplier to select counter tops, tile flooring, etc.  The idea was to build rapidly and get the cabin on the market before others so that rentals would build up nicely.  (In Gatlinburg, people tend to rent the same cabins over and over if they like them so getting back to market early seemed the smart thing to do.)

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before things began to go south.  Very little was being accomplished and they began to feel they were getting the run-around, so they started doing a lot of research of their own.  

What they found was the heart-breaking truth that this contractor was a complete sham and con man.  Once they began to reach out to others, they found he regularly took money from people and either never did the work or hired someone so bad and cheap the work was very shoddy and had to be ripped out and done over.  On jobs that were priced at materials +, he would often use the same invoices on more than one job.  He moved from state to state to stay ahead of those he stole from and concocted the most elaborate lies to cover it all.

In their case, he had paid a sub-contractor to clear the property of the debris and had the septic system inspected but completed absolutely nothing else and yet had collected into six figures.   In the end it was discovered, he didn't get permits for the work that was done and even the lot clearing had to be done again as it wasn't done correctly.

Further the TN contractor's license he presented didn't even belong to him.  It was another individual with the same name in the company name.  He altered the license to appear it was just his name.  This was discovered when they double-checked what he had presented to them.

In the long rung after $20+k in attorney bills, a court judgement was obtained.  Since the transaction was clearly of a fraudulent nature, the damages were tripled, and they obtain a judgement for three times the amount of money he stole from them.  However, since he IS a con man, he has perfected ways of hiding any assets he has and as of today they have been unable to collect anything.

One thing they learned, and they now apply to EVERYTHING…. Never trust the recommendation of someone you trust… DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!

Thank you for listening, I hope you were inspired, entertained or you learned something new!

My 3-month adventure in my RV is coming to close and I'll be headed back to Florida soon and it sounds like the real estate marketing is starting to turn.  I've found some cash flowing opportunities, when I seal the deal, I'll be looking for partners to share in the rewards. If you want to know more about, reach out to me at www.fearlessinnovator.com or you can now listen to me on the Fearless Innovator Podcast.  I can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube!

Today's I'm going to review several ways you can invest in real estate but first.  I want you to know that investing in real estate is NOT a get rich quick scheme.  It takes loads of time and financial education and constant learning to stay on top of all the changes and all the pivoting going on in the market.

I will cover Note Buying, Private Lending, Rentals, Flipping, Short Term Rentals 

Here are a couple of other things to consider.

What's your age?  I've had several retirement aged people ask me this very question.  Hey, I'm getting ready to retire and I want to invest in real estate.  What should I do?  Of course, I'd have to dig into their specific situation but on the surface, starting to invest in real estate at retirement, right after you've quit your job or closed down your business and you intend on living off of social security – this would be a disaster situation.  However, I'm sure there may be some who have built up nest eggs, in that case it may be plausible for someone to invest in real estate especially if they do not intend on living off of their nest egg while it works for you.  If you fall into this category, then perhaps you invest in something like Note buying or private lending if with a return on your money and you can sit back and watch it grow.  If you have money sitting in an old IRA that's not doing well, you may consider moving it into a self-directed IRA and putting it to work by buying real estate or partnering with an investor that would offer you a decent return on your money?

There are qualified note buyers in the market – just do your homework before partnering or your homework if you seek to do this on your own.

Private Lending is also a viable option.  This is where you can lend your money to another investor to partner on a short term (less than 1 year) or a long-term deal that may have higher yields.  You can do this inside a Self-Directed IRA or money that you have in a underperforming savings account at less than 1%.  The interest rates will vary based on the real estate transaction.  There are always people looking to find individuals that have money sitting around doing nothing but gaining 1% on their money. 

*Another warning – there are risks involved in both of these so be sure to use a seasoned real estate attorney to secure your position. 

That leads me to Risk Tolerance!

What's your risk tolerance?  If you have a high-risk tolerance and you want to be involved in the process, in other words you want a J.O.B, perhaps flipping is a good mechanism for you?    Why is flipping high risk?  Several reasons – 

1) The purchase of the home is where you make your money.  If you buy this home too high you've already lost the game.  How you purchase a home at the right price is another episode, but typically a great deal can be made when negotiating with the seller directly.  

2). Budget – determine what your budget for the rehab is before you purchase the home.  It's best to bring your contractor to the home prior to purchase to determine all costs – there is such a thing as scope creep – a Project Management term which means you budgeted for the 6ft panel door but decided you liked the look of the new sliding barn doors because you think the house will sell for much more.  Not so much!

3). Timeline – If you just borrowed hard money with 4 points at 10% interest you are now paying a lot of money on a monthly basis to borrow this money.  The name of this game is get in, get it done and get out in the least amount of time as possible!  Why?  You're now paying a high monthly mortgage payment; you're paying Insurance costs and property taxes all considered as holding costs.  People forget about these costs!   OH, and let's not forget how fluid the real estate market can be.  Let's say you entered into this flip the market was moving along great, but then 4 months later the market starts to soften and now you thought you were going to sell at $185,000 just became $165,000 – there goes your profit!

Passive Income

Do you want to earn passive income while you're still working? Passive income is income that requires minimal labor to earn and maintain, this can equate to rental properties.  There are other options but this one most can relate to.

Why do you want passive income?  1).  Your renter pays off the good debt(mortgage) for you.  2) You're taxed at a lower rate on income taxes.  3) Depending on your lifestyle, you could determine how many rentals it would take to get you out of the rat race – which means you could quit your J.O.B.

Another passive income idea is Short Term Rentals – The income you receive monthly is considered passive.  Perhaps, you have an extra room to rent.  Great – there is a little work required to get the room furnished and then setup on your choice of Short-Term Rental platforms and if you use a service, there's little to no work on your part, but collecting a paycheck.  You can even have a Short-Term Rental out of state.  I did this in Gatlinburg, TN from Florida. I did have a few hiccups in the beginning but then I got them all ironed out.

How much money would you be willing to invest?   

*Warning – do not use your nest egg to begin investing.

I had a small amount of money sitting in my Self-Directed IRA and I thought for sure, I'd have a hard time finding anyone that was willing to take such a small amount. I was wrong, I found a guy in my network that's using the money towards expenses on a flip and he's giving me a great return on my money, even better he's going to continue to use my money for 5 more years.  When it's due he puts my initial investment plus the interest back into my retirement account.  I'm 57 now, so in 5 years I'm closer to retirement, and maybe then I'll take it out and use it but for now it's baking!

I've just covered the surface on ways to invest in real estate.  It's clearly up to you how much work you want to put into it, how much you have to invest and what your risk tolerances are.  In the end, you weigh your options and then dive in!

While I'm on my 3-month adventure in my RV, I'm out riding around my home state of Iowa looking at Freedom Rocks, but my real estate business is on auto pilot and I'm producing income If you want to know how, reach me at www.fearlessinnovator.com or you can now listen to me on the Fearless Innovator Podcast.  I can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube!

While I was out traveling around in my RV this summer, I stopped off at local Financial Independence Retire Early Meetup group in Des Moines IA. I went because I love learning new ideas and I thought perhaps I could learn something new outside of Florida and what others are doing. I quickly learned that I could add value to the content for their meeting and I asked the leader if he wouldn't mind me speaking at his next event. I felt I had relevant content considering I had just written a book on Why my J.O.B. Quit Me, jumpstart your Firing.  I decided to share with you the content for my speaking engagement. 

Let's define Financial Independence – This does not mean that you have millions of dollars in the bank.  This is a mindset change.  It also means that MONEY is not your focus.  Financial independence to me means I have the time to do what I want when I want.  And you are sitting here looking at me and calling me crazy…. why?  Because you're focused on the money… and I'm not.... let that sink in.

Here are the real facts:

2000 – Started investing in real estate

2017 - Quit my J.O.B

2020 – hit financial freedom

*It took me 17 years to get out of the rat race and another 3 years to get out of the rat race. My goal is to inspire you to get out of the rat race much quicker than I did!

Robert Kiyosaki defines J.O.B as Just Over Broke! - Did you know 97% of Americans are stuck in the Rat Race?  To understand more about the Rat Race – Please read Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor dad.   I read this book in 2000 and it completely started to change my mindset.

Let's say you're an employee making 

Gross Salary $100,000

Net Salary $ 50,000 – left for mortgage, car payment and all expenses. (Student loan debt, credit card debt, childcare, etc.) Did you know that you work from January to May just to pay for the $50k in taxes and you take home the rest from June to December?

Roughly $4,000 a month – That $4000 just became your targeted get out of jail free card - is your Goal is to replace the $4000 a month.

How do I make $4000 a month without a J.O.B?

Buy 4 single family homes where the rent is at least $1,000 a month.

1). Your rental income becomes Passive Income – which is taxed at a lower rate and only on the income earned that year.  You're taxed on 12,000 income minus all your expenses.  

2). This opens you up for Tax write-offs and deductions you do not get as an employee, lowering your taxable income.  This trip to Iowa for me is a write-off. Why?  Because I am conducting business and looking for real estate to buy.

3). Your tax liability becomes less, and the tax rate is much lower than what you pay as an employee.

4).  Your rental house is now an asset not a liability because this debt is considered good debt because you have a tenant paying for house as it appreciates in value and the debit is getting paid down. 

Tax Rates:  

Investors earn income through Passive Income and Capital Gains– Passive income requires minimal labor to earn and maintain.

Capital Gains are earned when you sell a property.  There are 2 types:  short and long term

Capital Gains currently is 15% to 20% on assets held 1 year or more.

Single Employee making $100,000 ordinary income is 24% - Taken from the IRS website.

Married filing jointly $100,000 is 22%

How many of you FEAR quitting or losing your J.O.B.?  

I'm sure you think about this in the back of your mind every day. I know, because I used to do it, but then I realized why am I fearing losing my JOB when I have skills that I can take anywhere? I also realized that my JOB was the one imposing the fear upon me, I just accepted it!   You know the review process you go through and the potential you have at "getting a raise" – that's your JOB dangling a carrot over your head.  OH, bad review = no raise.  Once I figured that out, it was clear in my mind that I wanted out!

How many fear losing your identity?  Here are 2 examples – You go to school to become an airline pilot – When you take off your pilot hat – you're just like everyone else.  If you can't pilot a plane, who are you?

I was a Project Manager in IT – that's all I knew.  Who was I when I took off that hat? I couldn't write code or develop a mobile app – I was just a girl.  What do you do?  You change your identity!

What strategy did I use to get out of the rat race?  

1).  Over time I built up my real estate inventory to 8 units.  7 rental homes and 1 short term rental in Gatlinburg.

2).  I started working part time so I could focus on my real estate business. I was changing my identity

3).  When I quit my J.O.B. – I immediately sat down for weeks and cut all my expenses in half 

4). I quit buying Doo Dads, sold things I didn't need and paid off everything I owned except mortgage debt which Robert calls GOOD debt and the debt on my primary residence – which is a Liability not an asset like your bank will tell you.

5). I took a Robert Kiyosaki class for 6 months and worked directly with a mentor.  Once the class was over, I went on the hunt to buy more properties with the knowledge I had just learned.  I applied that knowledge and bought my first flip and an 8-unit apartment complex.

In summary:

• I determined the amount of money I needed to live on
• Purchased passive income producing real estate to match the amount of money I needed to live on
• Started to gradually change my identity from Project Manager to Real Estate Investor
• Reduced my hours from full time to part time
• Quit buying doodads – no more bad debt.
• Sold things I didn't need
• Quit my JOB
• Took an online course
• Surrounded myself with mentors and people way smarter than I am.
• Today, I continue to buy real estate

Robert Kiyosaki quote – It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep and how hard it works for you & how many generations you keep it.

While I'm on my 3-month adventure in my RV my real estate business is on auto pilot and I'm producing income If you want to know how, reach me at www.fearlessinnovator.com or you can now listen to me on the Fearless Innovator Podcast.  I can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube!

Today's episode – No, is my favorite word!

I know you've been told no before!  It all starts when we were kids.  As a form of protection your parents and mine have all said – NO! Don't touch that hot stove! You'll burn yourself!  NO! Don't run out into the street – you'll get hit by a car. No! you can't have another cookie; it will spoil your dinner.

Do you realize how many Nos we heard before we could actually start making our own decisions?  Do you know it only takes repeating something 21 times to become a habit?  By the age of 5, all we know is NO.

Decision making in my household started very young.  We had to be up early to do cow chores, trapping in the winter and then off to school.  After school, more chores, dinner, homework and go to bed – rinse and repeat.  This rinse and repeat process created discipline.

I remember the first time I was told no by someone other than my parents. I was a junior in high school when DeVry Institute of Technology came to my school and did a presentation.  The presentation just drew me in, it was something about technology that just got me to thinking I wanted to learn more about this school and what I could learn.  I went home and gave my mom and dad the spiel about this school along with the literature they gave me, and I told them, that I was really interested in this school.

Here's the cool thing about my mom and dad – they never discouraged or encouraged any of us to do anything.  They allowed us to pick our own paths in life.  There's only time, I remember calling home in Junior High and asking my mom if I could be a cheerleader and she told me no.  She was right – I wasn't cut out to be a cheerleader, I became a very physical basketball player in high school.  I was thankful years later for her decision.

The next steps were to go talk with our school guidance counselor. I made the appointment and met with Gary.  Now, I was a Junior in high school and meeting anyone of the teachers or admin was always intimidating, this meeting was no different.

I explained to Gary that I would like to know more about DeVry Institute of Technology as I really enjoyed the presentation.  I remember the meeting going something like this.  "Mechiel, I don't think you're cut out for a school like that."  Now, I have to assume that because this was a technical school – The bachelor's program was a Bachelor of Science degree or in layman's terms – I would become a developer or write code - he didn't feel that the classes I had already taken would lead me down this path.  It was a 2 year and 8-month Bachelor program carrying 21 credits a trimester and no summer's off.  I didn't have to take the non-essential business classes that the 4-year colleges made you take.

In my mind, I was like so?  It just meant to me I'd graduate much earlier than the 4-year colleges and I'd be in the workforce much earlier.  I was an A student with some B's mixed in.  I didn't understand why he wouldn't support it.  I walked out of his office very disappointed.  I went home and told mom and dad that Gary wouldn't support me going to DeVry but that's where I wanted to go!

Several days went by when mom and dad told me that a guy from DeVry was coming by the house and that I needed to be ready for him.  I didn't know what that meant, but we sat at the kitchen table with this guy for 3 hours as he explained in more detail about the school and how it worked.  He then made me read 3 paragraphs to him out loud.  Then he started asking me questions about the 3 paragraphs, like he never heard a word I said. I became frustrated and I said to him, "Did you not hear anything I just read to you?"  He started laughing out loud.  Well, I wasn't laughing, and I rolled my eyes!  He then explained that I had passed his test.  He said, he stays 3 hours on purpose to test my patience and then he tested my comprehension by asking questions about the story I read to him.  He told me, it's on purpose because over ¾ of the kids that sign up for this school will quit and they had tied it back to comprehension, so they try to weed them out before they even start school.

So evidently, mom or dad – not sure which had done a little damage control with Gary and scheduled this appointment with DeVry.  Now Gary was making more sense to me, but I was still determined that I wanted to go to DeVry.  Back then it wasn't as glamorous as going to the University of Iowa – but I wanted to go to school to learn not party!

In the fall of 1982 – dad hauled me to Kansas City in a horse trailer and 2.8 years later I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems.  I would tell you that it was NOT fun, it was a lot of hard work and at the 2.4-year mark I was ready to call it quits at the Associates degree – I even called home crying and mom and dad both said NO, you're not quitting and you're not coming home!  The guy from DeVry was right we started with over 1000 kids and only 250 or so graduated.

I went back to Gary' desk years later and slapped him with my degree and of course, back then it was posted in the local paper for EVERYONE to see.  

This degree ultimately led me into the world of IT where I was a Project Manager for 25 years.  Just think, if I'd let Gary tell me no and I just curled up in a corner?  Where would I be today?

I had a boss several years out of college tell me that I was a computer whiz, but I didn't know math.  I went and took a college algebra class and slapped an A on Bud's desk.

I learned quickly that there are big differences between the No's your parents tell you (that's for safety usually) and the No's peers, bosses and even friends will tell you.  Those No's mean to me, that they are protecting only themselves and potentially holding you back.  What are they hiding?  Why do they want the ability to control my actions?

Do you realize if you listen to all the no's, someone else is controlling your destiny?  It always leads back to fear.  They are trying to instill fear into you, so you don't do it.  I say, pay close attention to the No's you are hearing and react accordingly.  I can almost guarantee you; you'll end up with a positive result – if you can just find the initiative to tackle it!

Thank you for listening, I hope you were inspired, entertained or you learned something new!

Hey! I'm on the road to the Laconia Bikefest!  Look for The Insane Wanderers and ask for Mechiel!

While I'm gone to Laconia my real estate business is on auto pilot and   I'm producing income while I'm out riding around the countryside!  If you want to know how, reach me at www.fearlessinnovator.com!

Today's episode. Are you facing foreclosure?        

If there is one thing, I'm great at its vision.  I have the tendency to envision how something may look in the end.  I don't want you to mistake this for creative ability because I clearly can't even draw stick people.  I'm confident this skill was developed because of the brains I hung around as a kid, which were my dad and my grandpa.  Both of them were visionaries.  I also believe that because I'm this way, I have the ability to weigh risk differently or even overlook risks that others may consider to be too risky.  It's kind of like jumping into the future and seeing the finished product without looking at the steps it takes to get there and just reacting and making it happen.  There is of course, a downside to this way of thinking, things can come crashing down which creates new issues that perhaps you don't think about.

This very thing happened to me but it's how we react to the change or difficult time that matters.

After the closing on what I would now call my primary residence, if you recall I lived with the sellers for 6 months, so my plan to move forward with my vision was on hold.  When we finally settled and they moved on, I was free to make my plan happen.

I had purchased 1.65 acres that had a double-wide trailer and a 2-story stick-built house.  The upstairs of the 2 story was a 1200 sq ft house and downstairs was a 6-car garage.  I lived in the upstairs unit.  My goal was to sell off the double-wide and build a custom 4-bedroom home with a pool on a construction loan and then flip the property and sell it off and make huge profits! Then move on to another property and do the same thing!  I was just living up to the nickname Nomad that my parents had always called me because I loved moving!  I know I'm not your typical kind of person – I do love to move because I like getting rid of stuff

Shortly after the completion of the custom home – which took 2 years and 30 pounds later to build, the market crashed, and the real estate market tanked!  I was able to refinance the home out of the construction loan but clearly, I wasn't moving anywhere!  My house was already worth way less than I had even paid for it, but I had steady employment and I was able to maintain my household.

Then the unexpected happened – My J.O.B. decided to Quit Me – hence the name of my book, Why my J.O.B Quit Me…jumpstart your Firing got its name.  Not only did my J.O.B quit me, I learned that I was in menopause, and I was still suffering with the passing of my father and one day after My J.O.B Quit Me, my best friend died of colon cancer and the relationship I was in would soon end. 

 I took the next two weeks off to go be with my best friends' family and to gather my thoughts.  I knew that while I was gone, I would not focus on the issues that were mounting back home.  When I returned home, I knew I needed to begin to seek new employment opportunities because I knew I would not be able to make my mortgage payment.  And then I made it even tougher on myself and decided to start my own consulting business – which also meant that I did not have a steady stream of income coming in like that of an employee.

I decided to reach out to the mortgage holder and explain my situation well in advance of the doomsday that would occur in about 3 months. I reached out to them, and they had me send a written letter to the foreclosure dept. I did as they told me to do and in 4 weeks, I received a written response back and it basically said – no, we won't help you and you'll be in default, and we will begin the foreclosure process.  I had attempted to do the right thing by telling them in advance, but I quickly learned that banks or lending institutions really don't care about you, they just want your money, so they can lend it to someone else.  No personal touch you're just a number to them.

Well, this scared me to death because I didn't want my house going into foreclosure and I knew my credit score would take a hit!   I started reaching out to people that were way smarter than me.  I talked with my CPA, my real estate mentor Jim and my lawyer and do you know what they all told me?  I was completely floored!  They all told me to quit paying my mortgage – because the only way you could get the banks attention was to quit paying them!  To me, this was the riskiest thing I had ever done!!!  I've always paid my bills on time and my credit score was always in the mid 700's.  I didn't want to ruin my credit, are you kidding me???

I continued to seek out anyone else that would offer different advice, I found nothing!

I gave in and the very next month, I preserved what money I had and quit paying my mortgage.  Within 1 month, I got the nasty graham which was the threat to foreclose on me.   They were right, now I had their attention, so I called the foreclosure department to figure out what the next steps were – they offered again no advice – didn't give a shit about me.  Their updates mainly consisted of the steps they were taking and the timeline in which it would happen. No help at all.

It was during this time that my mentor Jim suggested that I call the Modification team.  He mentioned that in rare cases he had seen only a select few people ever get a modification even using a lawyer, but it would be worth it for me to give it a shot as a last resort.  A modification is basically restructuring the loan to make it more affordable and, in this case, would enable me to keep my house.  I had never heard of this; it was the blind leading the blind.  I called the Modification team and started the application process.  About 3-4 months, later I finally heard from them, and they accepted my application!  I was thrilled, but I still had no idea what this meant. I was then assigned to a modification processor, and she became my point of contact for the next 6 months.  This process was daunting, exhausting, redundant and seemed like they had me chasing my tail and it felt like I was just checking off boxes and there was no end in sight.  I was constantly delivering documentation and on phone conferences.  At the same, time I would get updates from the foreclosure team.  They too were getting super close to foreclosing on me, and it was then that I realized the Modification team and the Foreclosure teams were not on the same page about my current status.  Turns out these 2 teams don't even talk to each other….  Now, I had to mitigate and negotiate between their own two teams!  I attempted to hurry the modification team so they would finish before the Foreclosure team.  Finally, I had a final checklist of items that I needed to complete, once I completed it, all I needed one was internal signature and it would be done.

The final step was for me to go and take a "budgeting class" to teach me how to budget.  I made the appointment with Fred, and I proactively sent him my monthly budget that I've used for years, thinking he would review it and offer me new advice.

I arrived at his office, he called me back to his desk and started to explain that the budgeting class would start in about 15 minutes but then said I received your budget Ms. Mechiel and I'm not sure I even understand why you are here.  I said, me either, but you already know how to budget, I said yes, sir.  I said sir, I just need you sign off on this line right here and I'll be on my way!  He signed my paper, and the modification was complete shortly after that!  I had saved my house!

The moral of the story – there are always solutions to issues, you just have to be willing to seek out the answers!

These same principles more than likely aren't' available today but the fact remains that banks really don't want to help you, if you're facing foreclosure, reach out to me at fearlessinnovator.com there is more than one way to skin a cat!

Hey! I'm on the road to the Laconia Bikefest!  Look for The Insane Wanderers and ask for Mechiel!

While I'm gone to Laconia my real estate business is on auto pilot and   I'm producing income while I'm out riding around the countryside!  If you want to know how, reach me at www.fearlessinnovator.com!

Today's episode is entitled… I have you by the balls…

Ladies, you may want to listen to this story because you're going to learn how sometimes as women we get taken advantage of but more importantly, I'll give you some tips on what I did to make sure this won't happen to you!

I was very fortunate to have grown up with a dad that taught me things that most girls didn't get to learn.  By that I mean, I was treated like I was a boy.  It makes sense today, but it didn't back when I was growing up.    You already know that by the age of 9 I was riding a motorcycle, by 14 I was in a grain truck and hauling corn to the elevator.  Somewhere sprinkled throughout those years, dad taught me how to jack up a car, change tires, change the oil in my car and I know all the parts under the hood.  I never tore apart an engine or anything like that, but I knew the mechanics of how things worked.  Shoot, I even remember my car breaking down when I was in college, and I called dad and we did phone support before that was even a mainstream word – he walked me through rigging the gear linkage until I could get home and he could fix it!

I remember dad saying to me one day, "Shell, I want you to be able to stand on your own two feet and not need the support of man in your life".  Well, I must have listened because he accomplished his goal!

So fast forward to the day, I decided to buy my first truck.  I was buying a truck because I was tired of seeing little cars and dead people as I trekked over the Howard Franklin bridge every day for work.  And then one day it happened to me!  I was in my Nissan 240 SX and the guy in front of me rubber necked, and I slammed into the back of his car.  That was it!  The next day, I went on the hunt for my first truck.  In 1997 when women in trucks were not cool, I landed at the Dodge Ram dealership.

Richard and I looked at several trucks that day.  I wasn't looking for anything fancy, just something where when I'm driving, I could see over all those little cars – it was my own sense of false security.

As Richard and I searched for my perfect vehicle, I told him cloth seats were good.  He asked if I needed a towing package, I told him no.  I have nothing to tow and don't foresee me towing anything.  He went back inside to check his inventory and then came out with 3 sets of keys.  One by one we looked through each of the vehicles.  I was partial to the black one and spent more time looking over this truck.  Richard did point out that all trucks on the lot did come with the towing package and I said, that's ok.  No problem.

He said how about this, let me go get a license plate and we'll go for test ride?   I said, Ok and while he was gone, I continued pressing buttons and looking around the inside of truck.  He returned and off we went.  We probably drove like 3 miles; it was a nice ride, for a truck. I liked it and began asking more questions.  Can I add a different stereo, add tinting and a bug deflector?  He said of course he would just need a couple of days.  I said, well I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks to Alaska so when I get back, I'd like to pick it up then.  Is that, ok?  He said, Absolutely, we will have everything done for you. I said Perfect.  We then went inside for the daunting 4-hour haggle struggle with the ever so important "sales manager". I said to myself, I really hate this process, they really need to make it much more pleasant for their customers!

Anyway, I survived and left with my paperwork and went to Alaska with my dad for 2 weeks.

As soon as I got back, I went right to the dealership to pick up my truck.  Richard had everything lined up, he reviewed all the upgrades with me and out the door I went.  I was a new proud owner of a Dodge Ram.

Weeks later back at the office, my friend Eric wanted to see my truck because I had told everyone that I was buying a new truck.

We go out into the parking lot and he's walking around my truck admiring it and asking me questions.  He then stopped and said, Mechiel didn't you tell me that this truck had the towing package even though you didn't want it?  I said, yeah, why?  Eric said, well I don't see the towing package.  I said what?  I went to the back of the truck, and he was right no ball, no hitch and no sleeve.  I said, well let me look in the glove box, there's supposed to be a lighting package in there.  I got to the box, no lighting package.

My heart went from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds, and I immediately felt defeated.

But then I remembered something!!!  I remembered that when Richard went to get the license plate, I had written down the VIN number!  Now I'm frantically searching through my purse, and it seemed like forever, but there it was on a crumbled-up piece of paper.  Eric and I quickly compared my VIN number to MY truck.  Guess what?  NOT MY TRUCK!  Now, I was pissed but I was locked and loaded with the information I needed!

I called up Richard, I said, Richard, you have an issue.  What issue is that Mechiel?  I said Richard, this isn't MY truck.  He said, well sure it is!  Richard what you don't know is that I wrote down the VIN number that day and this is NOT my Truck.  Dead silence on the other end of phone.  Richard, I have you by the balls!  And I want my truck.   More silence and finally he said, Mechiel I'll call you back in a few minutes.

A few minutes later he called me back and explained that MY truck was no longer there and wanted to know what they could do to make this right.

I said lucky for you I'm not a sue happy person because my best friend Cindy's – dad is a lawyer, and he is chomping at the bit to sue you!

I'm bringing this truck back to you and you all are going to add an aftermarket towing package to my truck.  I took the truck back and they added the towing and lighting package – after all I had paid for it the first time!

Now months go by and it's time to change the oil and rotate the tires.  Since I had never owned a truck before I called home and asked dad to explain how the tires should be rotated.  He told me to get out the truck operators manual and look it up to see what Dodge recommended.  I found it and I understood that the front left wheel would go to the back right, the right front wheel would go the back left and the two rear wheels would just move forward.

When I went to Firestone that day, I explained that my wheels needed to be rotated a specific way according to the operator's manual.  She had me draw a picture of exactly how I wanted it done.  She said, ok, I'll call you when it's finished.

Several hours later, I came by to pick up my truck.  I paid and then went to get in my truck – first thing I did was inspect the wheels and tires.  Hmm, oh, they did not!  They were not rotated as I had asked them to do so I carried my happy ass back into the store and told her that my wheels were not rotated the way I asked you to do.  She hollered at the guy that did the work and he was trying every trick in the book to get me to believe it was done correctly.  I said, get your manager and come with me.  So now the dude is walking through the parking lot, smoking a cigarette and his manager is in tow.

They get to my truck, and I said, I want to show you something.  You see these numbers on my wheels and my tires?  (I had numbered each tire and wheel with the numbers 1 thru 4, starting at the left front 1, right front 2, left back 3, right back 4.     This #1 should be in the right back and that #4 should be in the right front, clearly you did NOT rotate my wheels correctly.  You should have seen their faces when they realized what had just happened!  Priceless!

OH, and let me show you this…. I opened up my front door and there was a cigarette burn on the inside of my door.  I don't smoke and then I glanced over at the dude smoking….

The manager was less than happy and told the guy to go rotate the tires the right way and then he walked me back inside and he apologized to me and gave me my money back.  Nothing could be done with a cigarette burn – but hopefully he wasn't allowed to smoke in another person's vehicle!

Now, I'm not sure if this truck just had some bad ju ju or what but things like this happen all the time!  My dad taught me growing up that people will take advantage of you; you just need to be one step in front of them. 

Hey! My bike has been serviced and it's ready for Laconia – now, I just need to pack!  If you happen to go to Laconia look for our T-shirts, we call ourselves The Insane Wanderers!

While I'm gone to Laconia my real estate business is on auto pilot and   I'm producing income while I'm out riding around the countryside!  If you want to know how, reach me at www.fearlessinnovator.com!