All Forum Posts by: Daniel Dittmeyer

Dustin Upton, Lawton Home Repair is how you can look him up

Dustin Upton is a very good contractor in Lawton, OK. If you're looking for high quality, done-for-you work.

I don't know if I can post his contact info, but will post below in case its not allowed.

The areas to avoid would probably be east of Sheridan, north of Cache. Everything east of Sheridan and South of Lee. 

Hi!

I recently found a home that's being auctioned in a few weeks that has an ARV of ~200k+. I started digging into it after checking it out in person and seeing it was still occupied. The homeowner bought the house in Jan, 1992. They paid 110k for it, and received an LP in November of 2019. The home currently is worth somewhere in the lower 200s. They have at least 170k equity if I'm doing my math right.

I didn't understand how this home could fall into foreclosure, so I decided to try and reach out to the homeowner. I knocked and left a message on their camera doorbell, and then came back the next day and dropped off a handwritten note. I waited two days and came back again and just caught a gentleman who said he was her son outside and had a talk with him. He claimed to not know the house was being auctioned, or perhaps he just thought I was a scammer and didn't believe me. 

As you can imagine there are a lot of investors catching wind of this deal and we expect a lot of people at the auction, which is why I'm trying to get it before it goes. This whole deal has seemed strange, a lot of people seem dumbfounded as to how any of this could have happened in the first place. The son said she had a stroke, and was in the house. There are a couple cars that come by everyday at a schedule, so perhaps she's getting in home healthcare. He also said she would just pay the note, but told me to scoop it up at auction, as well. I thought maybe he was being sarcastic... I'm at a standstill here. 

Is it normal for a foreclosure to take 2 years and the owner not be aware that it is happening? What would happen if it gets sold at auction? Could it be overturned by courts when they try and evict the homeowner? Should I continue trying to reach the homeowner to scoop it before it gets to auction?

Thanks,

Daniel

Sorry if this response has been added already. Why not just wait at the bus stop and offer $100 to a kid getting off the bus to tell you who threw the rocks? Then offer $100 to the kid to stop throwing rocks and then perhaps explain to them the cost of repairs and the repurcissions of their actions if you took it far enough. I was one of those kids, we threw rocks at each other, at cars, at houses. It was just another day and something to do. It wasn't until we actually hit a car when we realized our mistake. We weren't thinking of any consequences, the same as many kids/teenagers. 

Edit: If you're worried about incentivizing the other kids to throw rocks so you'll give them money to stop, I think that's taking it a bit far, but you could ask the kids to make sure nobody else throws rocks as well when you pay them initially. This problem doesn't seem like a difficult one to solve, imo. Good luck!

Abe, 

I see you post a lot. (I have lawton notifications setup). I’m a lawtonian myself and own small businesses here and I’m looking to jump into real estate this year. Would love to connect with ya! 
If you’d be so kind to text me if I could buy ya lunch and chat sometime?

Thanks,

Daniel 

@Richard Damian Hi Richard!

I live here in Lawton and have two small businesses. I recommend Glenn (Code Electric). He's really really busy, but you aren't going to find a more honest guy, which is why he's so busy. His number is 580-280-0375.

On the plumbing side, Ken's plumbing does residential only, and Andy's plumbing does it all. Both are very honest and reputable companies here. 

Best of luck!

I think you're onto something. 

@Jared Viernes There are a ton in Wichita. For a second they had more escape rooms than Kansas City, which was pretty funny. Wichita is not a great market for escape rooms, a lot of them are struggling. They are a lot of fun, though. I'm burnt out on them, however. Yes, we were taught that in SERE. A lot of the guys that had a fb page in the course received special attention. My opinion, but I don't think Green Berets are good at following rules ;) I'll update the photo next time I put on a suit. I'm a t-shirt guy.

@Jimmy Dang I retired from laser tag, haha. I do want to invest in Des Moines, I see our market doing well for the foreseeable future. I like Omaha, Lincoln, Wichita, & KC markets as well. Initially I'll keep everything close, tho. I'll start with sfh. My partners don't want to get involved with real estate. I'll turn them eventually.

Thanks James & Bryan. I sent in for the VA certificate of eligibility. I had a foreclosure in 2009 with them so I'm not sure if I'd qualify still.

Hi BP Nation!

My name is Daniel, I'm 32 living in Des Moines, IA. I am married with 3 boys (4,2,and a newborn). I have been in the shadows for nearly a year now, figured it was time to get my first post out of the way. We currently own no properties, other than the house we live in. It's a small 2bed1bath that we own free and clear. My wife will not allow me to pull equity out of this house or sell it. She thinks I take too many risks and doesn't want to lose the house on any of my business ideas.

I guess I'll start by telling y'all a little about me;

Despite my profile pic, I'm no longer in the military. I was in the Army and did 4.5 years. On my only deployment, I had a lot of down time. I spent most of it reading books. Rich dad poor dad was one and it changed my thinking entirely. That was a decade ago. My father passed while I was deployed and I received $15,000 from his life insurance. I was a great consumer back then and used it to pay off debt and gamble. I grew up with gambling parents and have grown to control it more and more over time. I still love to play poker and wager on football, in moderation. 

A few years ago I took my nephews to play laser tag here in Des Moines and I got hooooooooooked. It wasn't like any laser tag I'd ever played. The guns were realistic and we had to use scopes, the same red dot sights I used in the military. I was good at it, and I ended up spending $250 a week playing. The owner took notice and made a deal with me where I could play unlimited for $500/mo. I told him I had some cash and was interested in starting my own laser tag business. He took me under his wing and agreed on a deal that later fell thru. He had over 10k sqft in his basement that he wanted to convert to produce income. He asked for ideas, and he ended up discovering escape rooms. I didn't like the idea but he brought me to Nashville on his own dollar and we tried it together and I was IN. We opened multiple locations before I decided to do it on my own. I then opened escape rooms in Omaha and Wichita and sold my company last November.

I have been interested in real estate for awhile, but just never take that first step. I guess the biggest reason (excuse) is that I found other ventures that had a faster roi (escape rooms were <30k investment and made it back in months). I wanted to use the money I got from selling my business to start investing in real estate, but then another venture popped up. I will eventually dive in, as this is what I plan to do long term, but meanwhile I will continue to read these forums, listen to the podcast and soak in the vast knowledge all of you bring to the table. I really look forward to being an active part of this community, and hope to make friends, meet partners, and make some money!

Cheers,

Daniel