2007 Goals

I scribbled a lot of these down before the holiday season, but have not had the time to sit down and think really hard about my financial goals for 2007, so some of these may not happen and others not listed may happen. I tried to be as realistic as possible given my current position with family, work, and things I know will occur this year both within and outside of my hands.

Write a book - I actually have an idea for two books, but I know my time alloted for penmanship will be as rare as hen's teeth. I've scribbled notes down for one of the books on various peices of paper, so I'll try to gather those notes and add some more substance to create a book. I don't think it will be a full-fledged book like many you see at B&N - in fact, it will probably be an eBook distributed electronically.

Sell House #1 and House #2 - I think these were foregone conclusions, but thought I'd add them anyway. I have excellent credit 750+, but my debt-to-income (DTI) ratio stinks. Selling both homes will bring my DTI to something much more attractive. It will hurt seeing both houses gone in more ways than one, but in the long run, I think it will be for the best. This way I will be able to qualify for better loan rates on future homes purchased conventionally.

Buy-n-Hold 2 Homes - Now that I have a firmer grasp on HUD foreclosures, I'll be more savvy in my buying strategy. This will narrow down my already narrow criteria, so I doubt I'll buy more than two HUD homes. If I manage to get three (or more) - all the better. But I want to be realistic in my goals.

Buy-n-Sell 2 Homes - In order to reduce my out-of-pocket expenses buying conventionally (both with closing costs and down payments), I want to buy and sell at least two homes for pure cash reserves. I'm not sure exactly how these homes will be purchased yet, but I want to set a goal for buying and selling at least two for at least $20,000 net profit (total). At this point I want to get more into note holding (see below), so perhaps one or all of these types of sales will be seller financed deals.

Learn more about Land Trusts - I've always been intrigued by land trusts, and want to talk to a competent RE attorney more about them to see if they would be worth doing.

Learn more about Note Buying/Selling - As mentioned earlier, I want to get more involved in paper assets - specifically, the buying and selling of RE notes. I believe there is good cash flow to be made in holding and selling notes - both from my own acquisitions and from just note buying/selling itself. I understand there may be some restrictions without being licensed, so I'll need to talk with people who do this.

Create a Functional Buy/Sell System - My marketing initiative in the middle of last year flopped big time. At the time, I just decided to trash the idea indefinately, which ended up being the rest of the year. Looking back, I now see where I could have made a lot of improvements to the marketing. I've almost completed my new marketing plan, which I hope will get my phone ringing a lot more this year with motivated sellers. Instead of just sending bland postcards out to select individuals and mentioning my phone number and web site name, I'll add much more pizazz to the marketing and make it more persistent. I've included a monthly budget, which I hope I can maintain. If I start getting solid leads, I may have to revise some of my other goals. :-)

Network More - I need to branch out and get my name out there to people - not just motivated sellers, but other investors and professionals in the business (i.e., agents, brokers, attornies). One way I plan to do this is to join both my local REI clubs. I may not go to every meeting, but hopefully I can go enough times to become a noticeable to other people. Already, I plan to meet with two RE brokers this month.

Get my RE License? - I'm really debating this one. The one hurdle I had was getting confirmation that I can still buy HUD foreclosures being an agent. I received an email from my HUD processor before the holidays that said it was possible, so that cleared the way. Now, I'm just wondering how I'll fit the study time in my already overbooked schedule. More importantly, I need to really see how advantageous getting my license will be. For now, I can see absolutely no downfall.

And, finally ...

Create at least One Business - I talked briefly with my CPA last week about this. She said she would have to review my goals, financial position, etc., and see what business model would work for each of my situations. She said an LLC would probably work for buy-n-holds, but would need more info regarding my note buying/selling, property management, and other ventures. I guess as the need arises, I'll be talking with her a lot more about it. I'm not going to go hog-wild and say I'll create three businesses, if I really don't need them. However, given my uneasiness about holding properties in my name, I will definately create at least one LLC to hold the two properties I plan to keep as rentals this year.