Well, here goes! My first trial at real estate investing was a huge undertaking. My partner and I bought a gutted row house that was about 2,000 sq ft. After six months and almost every weekend, we had finally finished it. We paid $55,000 for the property and had...

I was driving around a neighborhood and noticed a property that had roof damage from hurricane Wilma. I left a postcard on the front door. The lady called me, and she said that she was interested in selling her house. She told me that the house had a lot of damage. I...

After attending Tony Colella's mobile home boot camp in September 2005 we started looking for properties to expand our Lonnie Deal portfolio. We'd purchased an older, single-wide mobile home that needed a lot of work but was located in our "pet" mobile home park about...

I got a call from a guy yesterday who got my name from the local mobile home parts supplier. They mentioned that I buy used mobile homes, and this guy had just bought a new home and was selling his old one. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't have to pay lot rent on...

Just thought that I would share my success story with everybody, since previous success stories have offered me so much inspiration. I am 24 years old and have FINALLY broken into real estate investing. After several years of busting my hump, trying to sell real...

Our first real "investor deal" was a comedy of errors--that worked! I called a Realtor friend and told her I wanted to get into "flips." She said, as a matter of fact, she knew of a distressed owner who was ready to commit financial suicide with an investor who was...

Owning a mobile home park has many benefits, but one of the best is having a direct line to tenants looking to sell their mobile homes.A difficult tenant recently decided to purchase a mobile home in another city and needed to sell his home fast to generate the down...

I don't know about you guys, but this year has been one amazing year! I started investing in real estate full time around this time two years ago, and I was struggling somewhat until November 2004. I changed my business philosophy and started listening more and more...

So what is the lease option market about? Well, I don't know everything, but I can tell you that it works! I found a seller who was marketing his gorgeous $1.3 million house for $1.2 million. He was not able to sell if after three months and was making payments on a...

My husband and I arrived in America in 1995. We traveled for the first three years and settled down in Pennsylvania seven years ago. At that time we came across an ad for a real estate seminar where a "millionaire guru promises to show you how to make millions in real...

[Editor's note: This is Mike's second Success Story. Read his first one: Real Estate Renovations in New Brunswick, Canada] After renovating and flipping several multi-units, I was wondering what my next step in real estate investing would be. I had never given the...

Like so many others, I was inspired when I read, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki in the spring of 2004. I immediately began to search out more educational materials on real estate investing and came across Creative Real Estate Online. I was hooked! I spent hours...

I've been promising to write my story for a few months. I've been on the message boards as Mike (Seattle WA) for a while, so now it's time to give back more. I started coming to this site just over a year ago. After a week or so of absorbing information, I decided...

After a couple years of half-hearted attempts at real estate investing, I finally closed my first deal! The first year was spent mostly learning: courses, Creative Real Estate Online, and some one-on-one training. The second year I tried a few things: bandit signs...

My neighbors came by to tell me they were getting a divorce. Being a sensitive person, I asked, "What are you going to do with the house?" They said, "Give it to the bank." So I said, "If you are giving it away, give it to me." They said, "Okay." I called my friend...

Just wanted to post a success story. We just completed our fourth mobile home deal in the last eight months. Here's how it went: My wife and I were out riding the speed bumps when we spotted a 14x70, 1986 2-bedroom/1-bath mobile home in our favorite park. It was...

I started visiting CRE Online in November 2004. I read it just about daily. I bought both Lonnie Scruggs books (A real heartfelt thanks to Lonnie for writing them) and started driving the speed humps.I bought Tony Colella's Investing in Mobile Homes with Land. Thank...

Last Fall, I started hearing about using your IRA for real estate investing. In the past, I haven't invested much in retirement accounts because I didn't think there was much flexibility to invest my cash. Once I heard about the possibilities with a Roth IRA and real...

I don't know if this is a typical "success story." If it is, the success is only a result of lessons learned. I just finished my first deal. I bought a rehabbed property from another investor. Prior to the purchase, I had an inspector do a thorough review of the...

I live in Northern California. I started looking at Creative Real Estate Online in 2001. When I began to explore real estate investing, I had closed a business on the east coast and returned to northern California to care for my mother and support other family members...

Well, I finally got my first deal done. I did a lot of things wrong, but I learned a lot, and it ended up "good nuff" (as Lonnie Scruggs would say). I paid too much ($3,500 for a 1983 2/1, 14 x 56), put too much money and work into it ($900), and took too little down...

Just a typical 120% yield "Lonnie" deal.I bought a nice 1995 two-bedroom, two-bathroom 14x70 in our favorite park for $4,500. I closed on it at 10:00am. Before 11:00am, I had it sold for $13,000 to a good buyer. She put $1,500 down and will make 48 payments of $302.84...

When I heard about some apartments for sale in July, I almost walked away from them. For my first deal, I was looking for a two-bedroom/one-bath or a three-bedroom/two-bathroom home, something "easy" for a first-time deal and a novice investor. But I drove by and saw...

I own a quadraplex apartment and was finally remodeling the last unit with my husband. The day was nice so we had the front door open. A young couple pulled up and asked if the apartment was going to be for rent and when. They owned a place and were trying to sell...

The prices of mobile homes in Riverside County, California are ranging from $20,000 on up, so I haven't done any deals in parks lately; instead I've been doing land/home deals. Before Christmas, I was with my daughter buying some equestrian stuff. We had some time,...

Nothing motivates a seller like a property that has been on the market a long time. I'd been watching the ads and saw an old office building that was originally listed for $65,000. The property seemed inexpensive for what it offered, so I created a file and added it...

I attended the Ohio REIA Conference in Fall 2003. I saw Lonnie Scruggs speak about mobile homes. I didn't buy his books at that time, but realized that their was a potential investing in mobile homes. After I got home from the conference. I opened up the newspaper to...

I have successfully completed my first transaction. These folks didn't have good credit. They were one month behind on their land contract and owed around $700 in back taxes. I took my time and did the CMAs and ordered an appraisal of the property. Their payments were...

After writing off $39,000 a couple of years ago, I sold an investment property that I purchased for $70,000 with only $1,000 down. The seller let me write my own contract, so I tied up the home for three months with out giving him any payments. I then proceeded to...

Here's my success story. The story began when I read Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, five years ago, and it ended three weeks ago with my first "easy" deal. (Oh yeah, and dozens of hours pouring over CRE Online Main Real Estate Forum posts.) I am still very...

I began investing in rental properties in the summer of 1996. I was very involved in CRE Online and chat room at that time. I attended the CRE Online Convention back then in Las Vegas. It was wonderful. Since then, I have been through severe financial and health...

I wanted to share my first deal with you to keep you encouraged. I have read the CRE Online Success Stories, read books, and attended meetings and seminars. The techniques that you read about on this website and others work if YOU work them. I am a member of the...

My partner and I formed D & B Assets, LLC to combine our thirty-six years of knowledge of landlording in order to buy distressed houses, fix them, and carry a more hassle-free income stream. Craving more knowledge, we discovered Creative Real Estate Online and...

I just wanted to share my success story with you. I purchased Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs about four months ago. I knew right from the start that this was going to be my kind of business. I started telling everyone I knew about what I was doing and that if they...

I live in Central Tennessee and not in a metropolitan city. In the past six months, my wife and I have helped three different people who were in pre-foreclosure avoid foreclosure, deficiency judgments, garnishments, and bankruptcy. In the process, we have made $20,000...

Just completed my first deal and wanted to share my excitement! I had purchased Lonnie's books [Deals on Wheels and Making Money with Mobile Homes] about a year ago, read them once, rode the speed bumps a couple of times, and then got "too busy" for this. I decided...

I've read so many Success Stories on this site. Thank God for it! I stumbled onto Creative Real Estate Online at least five years ago but never believed I could do those deals. I worked at a major airline for a living. After the terrorist attacks, along with thousands...

I made $6,000 for two hours of work, and I am set to close on $130,000 worth of property so far this month for July! I have been reading and participating in discussions on the Real Estate Main News Group for about four years now. I have had several small successes in...

My husband and I (both in our late 20's) started a woodworking business three years ago and owned our own home when we started. We were always interested in investing in real estate, but didn't have a penny to pinch the first year in business. As we came to the end of...

I just wanted to share my success story with everyone out there because I believe that with the help of Creative Real Estate Online, I am on the way to establishing a financial security that I never would have done without the help I have received from this forum. Two...

Thank you, CRE Online, for providing such a valuable resource. This site is a blessing for those of us who want to learn from others who are so willing to share their insights. Here is how it happened: My stepmom told me about a woman she knew who wanted to sell a...

Now that I've found Creative Real Estate Online, maybe I can get something done! I have had a slow start to my real estate investing career picking up only two properties in eleven months. I had no idea there were so many methods out there. My first deal, from what I...

I just thought I'd share with you the recent success I've had. I started my dreams with buying my first rental in March 2004 with no money down. I took a home equity line of credit and used it for the down payment. I'm leasing my two-unit this week and should clear...

Before I share the details, I just want to point out that sometimes a success story leaves out that which was not successful and leaves you with what appears to be a very straightforward, simplistic view of what went into creating this happy ending. Some examples of...

My wife and I were married in the late 1970s and have moved locally a couple of times since then. Each time we sold our present home, we always seemed to come out very well financially. So I figured that if we could make money on real estate without even trying, we...

I am very excited to submit our very first real estate investing success story. After raising three children and owning a house of our own, we became heavily in debt from our money mismanagement and ignorance of how to achieve financial stability--to say nothing of...

I have purchased several "nothing down" seminars and books, including Robert Allen's, Carleton Sheets' No Down Payment course, and two courses from Joe Kaiser, including The Mechanic's Lien System. None of these worked in my county, Marin County, California. I tried...

I have been doing "Lonnie Deals" now for 4 1/2 months. I remember reading in one of Lonnie Scruggs' books [Deals on Wheels and Making Money with Mobile Homes] about how he and his wife did a deal over Christmas one year. I had a similar experience. I was scheduled to...

After a three-month mentoring program with an experienced investor and asking many questions, I have gotten enough courage to find the following deal: I found a home needing to be rehabbed. The seller was asking $120,000. The repairs needed were approximately $4,000 I...

I did eleven "no money down" deals in January. I have bought just about every course and read almost every Success Story. Finally, I decided to share a little of my success with everyone as well. I would like to remain anonymous however. We'll just call me Happy in...

We did it! After two appraisals and many phone calls, we are set to close on our first real estate investment. We purchased a bank REO (real estate owned) for $15,200 and sold it after a detailed remodel for $42,400. We had the usual bumps and detours with this first...

I was laid off last year from my corporate job of nine years. After a slow start, I found a good mentor program and started getting deals. I was excited to see that I was able to get deals signed up and cash flowing when I'd had so many people telling me this wasn't...

Four years ago, I was renting a small, one-bedroom house for $250 per month. The owners informed me that they were seriously thinking about demolishing the houses and building two large rental cottages. I live in a resort area on the North Carolina coast and $250 was...

Today, I went to the escrow office to pick up the check for my first flip. I got the property under contract for $100,000 and flipped it (double close) to my seller for $123,000. There were a lot moments where I worried a lot about not being able to close the deal....

In June 2004 finally sick of the working class existence and an extended layoff in the construction industry. I wanted to find a way out of the rat race. After a lot of research, reading all the information from Lonnie Scruggs and Ernest Tew I could get my hands on,...

Just wanted to share my success with your readers. I'd always been interested in real estate investing, but never had the guts to try it (or learn it) until a month and a half ago. I was out with some friends, and one of them was telling us he had just made $7,000...

I'd like to share my first mobile home deal with you guys. I had started advertising for rental homes, not even thinking about mobile homes, when I got the first call from my advertising:"Hello?""Do you buy trailers too?""Maybe...depends on the mobile home. How much...

INCREDIBLE! I'm still amazed...I purchased the Carleton Sheets course five years ago, but then got shipped overseas. I just got back to the good ol' USA in September 2002. I finally started my real estate investing on October 13th. On my first property, I got 100%...

I just closed on my first "subject to" deal (my third creative real estate deal) and I now have 30K in equity! The seller found me from one of my bandit signs I placed on a busy road. The seller has a house she bought from HUD. She lived in it for three years, then...

When I hit my forties, I figured my wife and I had better start building a retirement account. I figured I'd start with mobile homes because they are inexpensive and provide fast pay-off. I love the idea of someone else paying for my property, in effect giving it to...

When it comes to real estate investing let me tell you that nobody is a bigger procrastinator than me. I first found Creative Real Estate Online in 1998 while doing a search for "creative real estate investing."We had just moved to Arizona for a higher paying job. I...

Jean Vermillion & Gail Patten are equal partners in VAP, LLC. We started investing in real estate in 2002 by purchasing five single-family homes from one seller all at once with seller financing for the down payment. We went to a bank for a regular loan.It wasn't...

After posting my first real estate success story: $60,500 Profit on a Short Sale Foreclosure, I started working on my first wholesale deal. My partner, Rick, had met with the seller of a piece of property about two miles from my home because I was too sick to go. Well...

I had purchased a course on buying real estate "subject to." I had it for three months before I decided to do something with it. After I stopped procrastinating and decided to take action, I was rejected twice before I found a deal. The home owners were from India and...

My husband and I have studied real estate investing for over five years. We have looked at or owned virtually every real estate investment course known to man. Some were good, some were a waste of money. We have worked with a mentor, and he was quite helpful (and...

Hello, my name is Angel LaBell, and I am a 25-year-old real estate investor in Philadelphia. I love CRE Online, and thank you guys for giving me the information to begin a life of financial freedom. I went to my first CRE Online Convention in March 2002. I loved it,...

I am no longer a teenager, but I did begin investing in my teens. Here is my story:At age 12, I started my first business. I ran it out of the inner pocket of my jacket at my middle school. I would purchase candy for 25 cents and sell for 50 cents. I made about $25...

Although I have many others to tell about, I'd like to tell you about my favorite success story. I found a property that had a county code enforcement lien on it, which was for initiating demolition proceedings. The lien was for a little over $1,000. I sent a letter...

After attending my first Creative Real Estate Online Convention in March 2002, I came home with three programs in hand ready to start my investing career. I read and read for hours on end. Family and friends laughed at me and thought I was crazy to go into such a...

A local real estate agent contacted me recently. He had heard that I could possibly solve his problem. I told him that if I were able to solve his problem he would have to refer me to other clients. He said sure. Here's the deal: He owns multiple rentals and was...

I wanted to give my thanks to Creative Real Estate Online for providing a place for everyone to learn how to do whatever they want in real estate investing. I started doing research when I was in high school. Then I moved out to Florida and kept doing research while I...

Thank you all here for giving me enough support to "get off the fence" and to get out there doing it. I'm just a young guy recently out of school busy playing the rat race. I got into the corporate world working 70 hours per week and traveling around the U.S. making...

I just completed my first mobile home deal. Here is how it went...On May 16th, I found a seller who was willing to take $2,400 even though she had originally been trying to sell the home for $7,000. After about three days of negotiating, we signed the contract, and...

In 1998, I built my own home on ten acres with a mortgage of $84,000 on four of those acres and the home. In 2000, I sold five acres for $13,500, leaving me with a mortgage balance of $70,500.In 2001, I took a cash out loan against the home for $145,000. It paid the...

Dear JP and Terry: I thought I would send you a short note. You are always asking for comments and Success Stories. I have been visiting CRE Online for about a year now. I am an American civilian who has lived and worked in Germany for the last 33 years. I love this...

I started back in July 2002 trying to learn about creative real estate investing, but I did not go out and make any offers until February 2003. It was not until this week that I got my first deal done and under my belt. One evening, about three weeks ago, I was...

Thank you to the many friends I have made on this site. I was lost just trying to make my way in the world with a wife and two small daughters. I have been reading the message boards on the site for almost two years. Finally, I realized what life was about when I woke...

Two years ago, in Spring 2001, I was a first year law student at Fordham Law School in New York City. I really enjoyed law school, but I was beginning to realize there was a decent chance that the 80+ hours per week I would be working when I graduated (if I got a job...

The How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money workshop was the best thing I've ever done. I am a huge skeptic on these types of things and am usually reluctant to pay for them. But something caught my interest, so I called Ed Garcia. After talking with Ed on the...

Ed Garcia and Terry Vaughan, This letter is long overdue. However, it's partly your fault for providing such an excellent workshop on creative financing [How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money]. I've been so busy working on the apartments, I haven't had a...

I finally sold my first mobile home deal last week, and wanted to post a success story, but really this is a story about how important the park managers are to one's success. In late February, I bought a 1984, 3/2 mobile home in a local park. I paid $4,950 for it and...

I already owned eight properties with a partner when I decided that I would like to venture on my own in December 2001. I was finishing my finance degree, working as a server at a Longhorn's Steak House, and in my first year of marriage. I was not pursuing real estate...

I've been reading and learning all I can on this site. After making the decision six months ago to start investing in real estate, I just closed my first deal that netted $13k. I'm thrilled to say the least! CRE Online has been an excellent source of information and...

I purchased a home last year from a very motivated seller for $500. He was losing the house to back taxes in two days, and the home was badly in need of major repairs. I knew very little about real estate investing then, but after paying the $2,600 back taxes and...

In June 2001, I had contracted to buy a duplex in a low-income area of town for $100,000 as one of two replacement properties in a 1031 Starker Exchange. After further personal examination of the property's condition, I consulted with my agent, Jerry, to apprise him...

First of all, let me thank all who are a part of the Creative Real Estate Online community. The success that I have achieved thus far can be directly attributed to the motivation and advice I have obtained since coming to this site a year and a half ago. I attended...

My partners and I have been searching for handyman specials since late August. After looking at about 40 or 50 properties we ran into a junker that was a bank REO. The property had been on the market for two months when we found it. The price of the property was...

Although I have dropped by the CRE Online website every now and then, I have never submitted anything. I am a fence-sitter who has enjoyed some success at real estate investing and also got a little big headed and suffered through a couple of deals that proved to be...

As an avid reader of CRE Online Success Stories, I couldn't wait to post my own! While up late at night with a new baby, I got a chance to see numerous real estate infomercials. I decided to order the Carleton Sheets course and follow the directions on how to get...

I should have written this a long time ago. I have been reading the CRE Online website for a couple years or so. There are several areas of real estate investing I am going to work on, and all of them I learned about from this site. I was at a point where I didn't...

I'm really new at this site, but I do want to share a success story with others. "You never know."Two years ago while an agent was telling me about property that I might like to buy, he told me about a house in a neighboring community that had been vacant and on the...

Just like everyone else it seems, I read Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs and decided to give it a try. This, of course, was after going back and forth with the idea, going to look at some homes, and thinking, "I just can't believe how some people can live." I went...

I have been coming to CRE Online for over two years. I have read books, talked to people, partnered with people, and until this past Friday, I have never done a deal. I was the ultimate procrastinator. Well here it is, and if you think you have seen all the reasons a...

I bought Deals on Wheels back in early part of 2002. I did research by driving the speed bumps in mobile home parks in my area for a couple months. We finally realized we needed to just quit talking and do something. This is when it gets really good! We bought a...

I made an offer on a duplex that was trashed by one of the tenants, and the owners lived 40 miles away. Apparently, they were overwhelmed by the "problems" caused by the tenants.The asking price was $79,000. Five minutes after my wife, myself, and our agent did the...

I wanted to share a recent success story of mine. After reading a few books on creative real estate investing, I made the decision to try and go for my first deal in real estate. I was skeptical because I live in one of the most expensive counties in the U.S. Anyway,...

I've been visiting CRE Online for about a year now, and I can't tell you how motivating it is to me. Last year, we finally decided to take the plunge and buy our first real estate investment. I called on an "investment property" ad and the seller was asking $40,000...

We made our first real estate investment about six months ago. We bought a two-family foreclosure for $5,000. It was a mess: holes in the wall, broken windows, the gas lines running to the house had been cut--you name it. My husband put a few weeks' work and about...

I wanted to thank Creative Real Estate Online for being a extremely good source of information and motivation. We thoroughly enjoy reading through all the information here and learning from it. We finally made it and have our first success story to share. About two...