The neat thing is they were actually from that exact house (although the street numbers were different back then).James: putting folded cardstock or cardboard behind door hinges is an old school repair for adjusting doors that aren't swinging properly.

I start with a warm up, getting to know the people, talk about their car, their garden, the golf clubs you see, anything really.

Problem with that however, is that once the market (inevitably) goes back down, those who didn't take the time to build on the knowledge (whether it's required or not) and establish a system to make money in up and down swings will indeed sink, imo.

I’m content with solid singles and doubles, but the bidding lately seems more like swing and a miss to me.

It is a 3 year old 4/2/2 in a master planned community within two blocks of the golf course...and it's one of the least expensive houses in the community.

My days are filled with golf every morning, followed by swimming and Jacuzzi, then breakfast, then Pickleball, followed by afternoon Poker, then another round of golf and Poker in the evening.

When you factor in the extra hold time for going slower and the fact you spent time doing physical labor rather than other more important aspects, you realize you made less going down that road.That said, that very same real world lesson is crucial so I often invite new investors to try going the hire each sub version even though it is more time intensive and even doing things yourself as you learn how much it should cost to “swing the hammer” and how long it should take to do the same.

Broker started in 1967 so has been through a few market swings.

Given their obvious financial situation, it makes the negotiation process quite a bit easier, because it's not hard to call their bluff.When I buy properties with delinquent taxes, I always factor the cost of their tax bill into the offer and I pay off the taxes as part of the closing - I just write this into the terms of the purchase agreement (and keep in mind, my offer is usually just a fraction of the property's full market value - so it's not hard to do this).When I don't want to buy the property myself (but I still know it's a great deal), I'll try to give the purchase agreement a term of 90 days (maybe even 180 days if I can swing it) and then assign the contract to another buyer (I can do this because my contract has an assignment clause in it).

That is a big swing on such a small deal.