The Wealth Steps Blog
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7/29-Proven Strategies for Building Personal Wealth
 The hardest part of building personal wealth could be getting started. There are so many unknowns and things to do, but if you follow these tried and true strategies you will be on the way to wealth and better yet you will be attracting wealth into your life.
Let me explain...When you start building personal wealth you will slowly start getting access to more opportunities to increase your personal wealth. You will have compound interest working for you, you will have access to credit that you can use to build more wealth and, more importantly, you will set off a wealth attraction snowball in your life.
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7/29-Building Wealth: Choosing your Path to Wealth and Happiness (part 2)
 Working on improving your thoughts and mindset will prove to be your most valuable investment when your focus is to build wealth.
There is absolutely nothing more disempowering than having the beliefs in your mind that you cannot do it, that this is something somebody else achieves not you. Unfortunately the problem with this is that you don’t realize these are the thoughts that are keeping you behind.
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7/28-Building Wealth: Choosing your Path to Wealth and Happiness
It is often the case that wealth and happiness are paired together, as if one lead to the other. However, if you think about this for a while you will realize that building wealth and happiness are really only related to the degree that you want to relate them.
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Flip that house question
How did you finance this one? LM Says: Joe this was financed with a line of credit that I use for my real estate business. For future purchases I am working
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Feng Shui Wealth | Building My Wealth | Feng Shui Tips
Feng Shui wealth tips for wealth building and using the ancient practice of Feng Shui to generate wealth in your life.
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7/24-House #5: Flipping Bank Owned Real Estate
 My newest attempt to flip bank owned real estate is House #5. This newest rehab real estate project is located in an area I have been watching for a long time because it is in a good school district, has good highway and entertainment access and is an overall good area.
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7/23-Real Estate Investing Update and More...
Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated 
Its been awhile but it’s all for a good reason. I've been busy with marketing House #4 and purchasing House #5 and #6. The tax credit expiration has brought about an abundance of real estate investing deals but at the same time has reduced the amount of buyers in the market. I also took a much needed vacation to the tropics and just got back to business.
My latest house flipping project, House #4, has been on the market since the end of May. I knew that the end of the tax credit was going to slow down the market but I underestimated by how much! I have not have problems getting people to the house. I credit a very intense internet and marketing campaign for that. But I cannot get them to pull the trigger and make me an offer. I believe pricing is to blame for that, mostly because I am competing with many, many lower priced foreclosures.
I went ahead and lowered the price and then, boom…an offer. But before I got too excited it fell through because the loan officer for the buyer thought this house did not meet the 90 day “seasoning” requirements for FHA loans. Meaning that the last sale for the house (when I bought it) was less than 90 days ago. However once I proved that was not the case he said he could do the loan but by then the buyer backed out for unexplained reasons. I think he just got cold feet  .
In the meantime I got started with the rehab on House #5. I will post the details soon but this one is a pretty easy rehab that I expect to have in the market by mid-August.
Finally, I have House #6 under contract. This one is a good one, it was built in 2004, and has a full basement. In Georgia basements are popular so I am excited about this one. On the flip side (no pun intended) the neighborhood has more foreclosures than I am comfortable with but none of them have a basement or are in the condition that mine will be. We’ll see.
The market here in Atlanta has changed substantially in the last 60 days and I am exploring a change in strategy. Whether it be a change in investment area, maybe moving to more expensive houses or a different exit strategy other than selling to retail buyers. Possibly selling on short term lease options to qualified buyers. All that and more is on the table. I truly believe that house flipping can be done in any market you just got to adopt your flipping to the market.
Oh yeah, I've not forgotten about keeping up with the list at Daily Wealth Habits…lots of goodness to come there.
Making Good Nutrition Important Will Make you Wealthier!
 Making good nutrition important is a basic building block of health. But it is also crucial to sustain performance on all areas of your life. What you eat determines your energy levels, your body weight, performance of your brain, physical fitness and overall health. Since your health is a crucial part of your wealth equation, making good nutrition important should be one of your daily wealth habits.
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Home flipping question - paint color
I noticed you used a single paint color throughout the whole house. What color did you use? LM Says: Absolutely. It's a nice neutral color and it makes
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House #4: Home Flipping Pictures and a Video!
Sorry for the delay between posts but it's been buuuusy the last couple of weeks (good busy).
Anyway here is a delayed update on House #4. Rehab is complete, house is staged and on the market. I also included a video which my little kid saw on Youtube and now he thinks I am going to be famous (chuckle!).
House looks really good take a look at it...
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Reader question: Using a next actions list to organize my life
Do you ever use a next actions list? LM Says: Joe, good question and the answer is I use it everyday to organize my life! That is basically how I plan
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Education in Real Estate Investing - Should You Pay for That Seminar?
I am attending a multi-day real estate investing seminar this week. Although I have now been investing for a couple of years the one thing I know is that I don't know everything about this business.
Learn more about real estate investing or education in real estate investing here.
To my surprise I found myself getting bored because I already knew the answers to almost everything that was being asked and had done what I was being told to do.
If you are considering attending one of these events this is how they work.
They are going to try and sell you something...There, I got that out of the way.
The typical structure is to get you to the event so they can have your attention. Even if they tell you beforehand "this is not going to be a sales fest..." they will try to sell you something. The key is to make sure that somewhere in there they actually teach you something.
The way they sell you is by giving you the basic steps or information to do something but not the whole thing.
For example, they will say "first go here and find the deal” (which is explained in the course they are trying to sell), “then use this spreadsheet to calculate possible profit" (also part of their system) "then use this form and this step by step list..." and so it goes.
Once you buy their system, then they will up sell you to personal coaching or the intensive boot camp or the graduate course or something similar.
And you now what?...This format works because there was people around me buying these "systems" left and right, at $1,000, $2,000 a pop!...in the middle of a recession...on credit cards (crinch!).
Now, don't get me wrong, some of these systems are actually good. But you have to wonder how many of those books are actually going to get open or better yet, how many of those people will actually do a real estate deal?
Anyway, was this worth my time and money?...Absolutely. Let me tell you why.
They provided a lot of good and relevant information on many aspects of real estate investing so I still managed to learn a thing or two. Most importantly I made several contacts with other investors and you never know where those network contacts are going to lead.
Here is a couple of tips if you are considering attending one of these events:
- Ask other people to see if they have attended before and find out the quality of the material presented
- Contact event organizers and ask for an agenda of event, if there are a lot of speakers it might be a sell fest
- Find out if event has a money back guarantee. If they don't that is a red flag
- Evaluate the topic and level being presented to see if this is something you really need
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Reader mail: Beginning real estate investing - How to
I am new to real estate investing. I have to recently set up an LLC to begin my journey in becoming a success. Obviously like most people who start out
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How to Organize Bills
 Why is it important to organize bills? The answer is simple. When it comes to keeping track of your personal finances, organization is key. If you don't have a system to deal with your financial paperwork, you could be dealing with some serious consequences. Payment deadlines could be missed, important documents could be lost and, maybe most importantly, you will waste a lot of your time sifting through piles of paper when you could be spending that time with your family.
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Reader question: Family finance and budgeting
Ok Here's a question, you plan the budget and designate where everything is going, but let's say the family of six in my case has a special event coming
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Top Ten Reasons to Exercise (part 2)
This is the second part of the article posted on 5/28 which had a broken link (sorry).
Benefits of creating a regular exercise program to take care of yourself...
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Take Care of Yourself - Top Ten Reasons to Exercise
Why is exercise important?
Why should people exercise?
Because you are your most important asset!
Taking care of yourself will allow you to live your full wealth potential. These top ten reasons to exercise should make it clear why a regular exercise routine should be part of your daily wealth habits.
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Reader question: Handling Family Finances
I have a question about family finances and how to make a budget, I hope you can help. My husband has always been the main provider, he sets up the budget
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Question on flip this house
I have been investing for a while, and I congratulate you for the numbers on this project. My first one was a big flop, but in spite of that and behind
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House #4: Rehab Real Estate Update
I just wanted to keep you all updated on the progress of our latest rehab real estate project, House #4. Things have been going great and all the remodeling work is now complete. Amongst the major items of repairs was a new roof, hardwood floors, new HVAC, custom tile work in kitchen and bathrooms, new carpet in bedrooms and numerous siding, carpentry and drywall repairs.
This was my first time taking the plunge on a new roof from the start of a rehab. It’s a mighty big expense and the roof that was there was not leaking but I did a mini cost/benefit analysis and made the decision to go for it. At this price point ($130k) I think a new roof could be what sets me apart from the competition…we’ll see.
As far as surprises go we fared pretty good. It is not a question of “if” there will be surprises but “when”. Sure enough the moment we ran water in the bath tubs water started raining down to the first floor! How on earth were the previous owners able to take showers I don’t know…maybe they had a cozy relationship with the neighbors ;-).
Anyway, it seems the rodents chewed up the drain in one of the tubs (huh?) and then a good ol’ case of frozen pipes on the other one. However we turned lemons into lemonade by using this opportunity to put in a new tile surround in the master bathtub that looks preeeety! Much better than the pre-existing 1980’s tile.
Our overall repair budget came in around $28,000 which is about $1,500 higher than what I originally budgeted. But this is after we upgraded to hardwood floors in the living room and the tile work in the bathrooms so I am pretty happy how the numbers worked out.
Another first for us was that we decided to take on full staging ourselves. I’ll provide more details on that later but the short of it was that my wife said she could do it herself, so we set up a budget and she went shopping. The results were pretty impressive and you will soon see that in the final pictures.
We are listing this house for $130,000, which is lower than any other retail sale within a mile with these many improvements. As to how long it will take to sell this house now that the tax credit has expired is anybody’s guess. Stay tuned...
Final pictures coming soon...
Wealth Habit #3: Make a Budget
Budgeting should be one of your wealth habits. You might already know how to make a budget but once you have one, how do you use it?
If you want to figure out how to make a budget work for you, you need to come up with an easy way to keep track of your expenses as the month goes on. You also need to frequently add everything up so you can see how your actual expenses are comparing to your planned expenses.
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Organize Your Daily Life | How to Organize Your Day
Creating a simple system to organize your daily life. How to organize your life to help you achieve your goals and what is important to you.
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Wealth Habit #1: Organize My Life
You might be asking:”Why organize my life and what does organizing have to do with wealth building?”
Being organized by itself will not make you any wealthier. But it will allow you to handle the commitments and take the actions you need to create wealth. It will allow you not just to get things done but to get IMPORTANT things done – big difference.
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Daily Wealth Habits
 What daily wealth habits, practices and actions can you incorporate into your life?
When you study and learn from other wealth builders that are more succesful, wealthier or have achieved more personal wealth than you (and I) have you will discover patterns of conduct and behavior that are responsible for their results – there are no wealth creation secrets. You should then try to incorporate those habits into your life and evaluate the results. This is what I do. I then keep the ones that help me achieve my goals and/or improve my life and toss the ones that don’t.
(I know what you are saying..."finally he learned how to put pictures in the blog feed"...enjoy  )
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House #4: Fix and Flip “Before” Pictures
Here are the “before” rehab pictures of my latest fix and flip project, House #4.
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House #4: New Rehab Real Estate Project
I know, I know...It's been awhile since my last post. That's because I was busy finding this new deal and several non-real estate projects.
Anyway, here is the newest project I am working on. Nice little rehab that I found in my target area...
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House Flip #2: FHA Loans and Inspections
Pulling off a house flip on House #2 is turning out to be a lot harder than I expected. My plans to flip this house were all based on six month maximum holding time…
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House #3: Final Analysis
My third try at flipping real estate property is complete and here are the final numbers...
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House Flip #3: Marketing and Negotiating
House #3 is sold. These are some of the marketing and negotiating tips that made it happen along with the (drumroll)...profits!
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House Flip #2 Under Contract!
After what has felt to me like an eternal listing period we finally got House #2 under contract.
It seems that the marketing and price changes made a difference. We got a lot of traffic through the house once we made those changes. It seems there is a threshold, at least in this area, at the $100k price range. Plus the looming expiration of the tax credit probably helped. I'll keep that in mind for the next house flipping adventure.
I talked to the mortgage lender the buyer will be using to get an idea of the buyers ability to qualify for the loan. The good thing about the contract is that the buyer has strong finances and a high credit score and since they are seeking an FHA loan that will help tremendously.
The contract price was slightly lower than asking price. Although this will make for a disappointing profit, at this point I am grateful there will be a profit. Considering the difficulties I have had with this property, I am just trying to salvage this investment, sell it and move on to the next one...lesson learned.
Keeping fingers crossed that everything works out.
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Property Investment Update: House #2 and #3
Just wanted to give you a property investment update on the status of house #2 and house #3. As you might know I am selling investment property that I have purchased from the banks, have done total renovations on them and I am no trying to sell. Otherwise known as house flipping...
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House #3 Under Contract !
After approximately 25 days on market, House #3 is under contract as of today. I say this with controlled optimism as nothing is final until we close but at the very least is a sign we got things right with this house. We'll see...
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Feng Shui Wealth Tips
Feng Shui wealth tips for wealth building. Using the ancient practice of Feng Shui to generate wealth in your life.
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House Flipping
I am going to start flipping my first house soon. I have a full time job and hopefully with your advice I can profit and eventually leave my full-time
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House #3 is Complete and For Sale!
The final pictures of my latest attempt on how to flip a house in this market.
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Budget Planning
We have many things hitting us at once, we are glad we stumbled upon this 3 weeks ago. Recently married, no children, new mortgage. We want to set
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Tips on Budgeting : The Spending Plan
One of the best tips on budgeting I can give you is to create a spending plan - without a plan, nothing happens. A spending plan is part of your personal finance budgets. In fact my spending plan is part of how I make a budget...
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Share Your Stories, Comments, Questions
Commenting is open for some articles on the site, at the bottom of the page. More to follow.
Ask a question, answer a question, share your story or leave a comment...
Your feedback is important, please join the discussion.
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Personal budgeting question
When you are creating a budget how do you decide how much to allocate to each category and how do you decide the categories you use? My husband and I
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Flipping Homes for Profit | Flipping Houses After Foreclosure
Flipping homes for profit after foreclosure, house #3. Pictures and list of repairs for flipping real estate.
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The Way to Wealth: Planning Your Year
It is that time of the year; when I review the year that just passed and update my annual plan for the upcoming year. The way to wealth has to be planned for and is achieved by setting goals.
I find some time by myself so that I can deeply and honestly review where I have been and where I want to go. Then I use this format to create my annual plan and make sure I stay on track on the way to wealth...
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Investing in HUD Foreclosures
I have seen several questions relating to how HUD foreclosures work and most importantly - if you want to invest in them - how to figure out if they are a good deal.
HUD foreclosures can be very lucrative (I have purchased three already) if you understand how they work, get the timing right (it's an auction) and you have accurate calculation of repairs. This post goes into the details of doing just that...
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Do It Yourself Debt Relief
Solutions to credit card debt. The five crucial steps of do it yourself debt relief that anybody can do. A free credit card debt relief program that really works is within your reach now.
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Credit Card Debt Solutions
Credit card debt solutions services have been made into a profitable and sometimes fraudulent business. As such many people have been duped to believe that solutions to credit card debt can only be done through a credit card debt solutions service...
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The Foreclosure Investor: Budgeting and Scheduling Projects
Of the many skills that one has to develop as a foreclosure investor, when you take on fix and flip projects like I did on House #2, budgeting and scheduling go hand in hand. The following house flipping tips...
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Your Plan for Wealth: Setting Meaningful Wealth Building Goals
Creating a plan for wealth and how to set meaningful wealth goals on the way to wealth.
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Calculating Net Worth – The Quarterly Update
Calculating net worth is a key part of personal finance management. In a previous post I detailed how I calculate net worth. Knowing your tangible net worth is important but the real benefit comes when you track it over time.
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House #2: Security Tip for Your Foreclosure Property Investment
How to deal with a break-in at your foreclosure property investment. Foreclosure investment property is vulnerable to theft and vandalism, as I recently found out, this is how you can protect yourself.
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Importance of Personal Finance | Personal Finance Basics
Why you need to understand the importance of personal finance or risk being broke forever. Personal finance budgets and basics that will help you build wealth.
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