Top students share their techniques for massive wealth!

2. Dean Graziosi Presents
The Stories of Success Interviews
Read the Exact Strategies of these “Magnificent Seven”
They are people just like you, who reveal in their own words
what happened when they discovered Dean Graziosi’s books
and other real estate investing information.
Their true, unrehearsed stories - captured and put into black
and white, in their entirety!
Feel free to duplicate what they’ve done, if you like
and reap the rewards as they have done.

3. Special Message From Dean
Thank you for trusting me enough to invest in my book. I’ve done everything I can to make sure I
don’t let you down, and I’m confident you won’t be disappointed!
This is the “special bonus” I promised you during the show. What I didn’t mention was how I made
it even better than I promised you it would be.
What do I mean by that?
Well, not only does this booklet contain the information I promised you, it contains extra bonus
information and step-by-step advice that you didn’t expect to receive.
What you have here is a combination of two very powerful sets of information that will be super
helpful in taking you to a level of financial freedom that you’ve never before experienced.
I have included real life stories of my latest student’s successes. Through live interviews they explain
in their own words what they have done to succeed as new investors. Some of them were deep in
debt when they started, and others were just plain broke! By reading their candid stories, you’ll learn
exactly what they did, you’ll discover what worked, and you will basically be able to duplicate their
actions and create your own success… if you so choose.
I’ve also woven in top notch information from my friend and bestselling author David Bach. His
latest books, "The Automatic Millionaire" and “Start Late Finish Rich” are packed with
practical information on eliminating debt and building wealth. I’ve included many of David’s top
tips and instructions on what you can do immediately to take control of your finances, right
now…even if you’re buried in debt!
Why have I done this?
It’s simple actually, I really am committed to delivering value to you, hopefully more than you
expect. I also want to deliver the absolute best information possible to help you get and enjoy the
kind of life that you not only desire, but one that allows you to enrich the lives of others.
If there is anything else you need, don’t hesitate to contact my office or visit us online at
www.deangraziosi.com. I offer additional information, as well as training through my Academy
Program, (which some have called one of the best real estate investing programs in the country).
Once again, thank you! You can do this, choose to do this, I am behind you all the way!
Best Wishes,
Dean Graziosi

4. The Truth About Money and Life
My friend David Bach writes in his book, Start Late Finish Rich "it may not be politically
correct to say so, but the brutal reality of life is that in almost every case, if you sit down and ask
yourself, you will find that 90% of your problems can be fixed with money."
David also states that if you live in America, you live in one of the most blessed countries in the
world. As a society, America has achieved more financially over the last century than the entire
world has in all previous centuries combined. Our standard of living is higher, our life
expectancy is longer, and our educational and recreational opportunities are greater today than
they've ever been.
So why are so many people living paycheck to paycheck?
There are many reasons. Most of us are not really trained about making, spending, saving or
investing money. However, as a truth, those facts are only responsible for so much, because any
one of us can learn to change any of those four things. Perhaps the truth is as simple as you get
out of life what you choose to go after. As unpleasant as it may sound, most of us are where we
are in life because we've chosen to be there. Either directly or indirectly, your choices have
landed you right where you are. None of us can change our yesterdays, but you can make
different choices today which, although none of us are promised them, can and will ultimately
change your tomorrows.
You have made a choice by ordering my book. By reading it, along with this special bonus
booklet, you will have the ability to make new, powerful choices that will change your life.
Read the following interview with Laura Johnson for an excellent example of how quickly
different choices changed her life.
One last thing before you start. The interviews included in this booklet were done by Tony
Policci. I asked Tony to do these for me in the interest of time, and to ensure that I didn’t
influence the information shared by the people interviewed. Tony is one of my most trusted team
members, he shares my vision of helping people create financial freedom and he loves real estate
too!
Interview with Laura Johnson:
Stories of Success Finalist
At the time of this interview, Laura is in her early 50’s, has been single for 4
years after being married for 31 years. Her kids are grown and she stumbled
upon Dean’s book by accident. Here is her story.

5. Tony:
Hi, this is Tony Policci. Thank you so much for making time to talk with me this
morning. I really appreciate it!
Laura: No problem! Thank you!
Tony:
Dean’s goal here is to help educate his other students. I don’t know how you felt when
you started out, but a lot of times people will look at what Dean’s teaching or what
other people are doing, first they’ll be skeptical.
Then, if they move from the skeptical stage to, “Yeah, I think this works,” oftentimes
they get stuck right there because they feel like, “Yeah, this may work for them and this
may work for so and so, but my situation’s different. It’s not going to work for me.”
As you know Dean is all about encouraging and helping people it’s just a matter of
taking a little bit of action. If you just can take some action and move forward and
persist and do some things, you’ll be amazed what you can achieve.
Laura: Absolutely!
Tony:
So that’s kind of what we’re looking for. I want the truth of your story. I don’t want
you to give me a “rah-rah, go Dean” thing. I just want to hear your story. Tell me what
you did, maybe talk me through a deal or two, tell me about the kind of strategies that
you use if you go after a particular type of property or deal, the processes that you use,
things like that. No detail is insignificant.
Laura: I’ve actually only done one deal since I bought the book in April.
I found a little For Sale by Owner. I was driving around with a realtor, actually, and
saw a little vacant, rundown, For Sale by Owner house, and called on it.
They were in Florida. I went back and forth, and used the mentor hotline, of course,
because I was scared to death to even make the first phone call. They reminded me that
the worst somebody can say is, “No, I don’t like your offer.”
That was a big step for me. I’m like, “yeah, what am I so afraid of? It’s just another
human being, and I’m going to have a conversation about a house they’re selling.” In
my head, it was this big, huge thing. And it’s really not, to speak to another human
being and have a conversation about something.
It’s really not as scary as it seems. Although when you’re inexperienced, it does seem
really scary.
Tony:
Yes, absolutely.
Laura: So I went ahead and I went back and forth with the owner of that house. I got it for a
great price.

6. It was a great success story. It was like a textbook story. Got it, fixed it up, rehabbed it
in 6½ weeks, sold it in a week, and made over $21,000 for 6½ weeks of work. So, it
was a great success story.
Tony:
Very Nice! Laura, can you tell me how you got started as an investor?
Laura: I knew nothing about real estate, Tony. My boyfriend was watching Dean on TV, and I
sat down and I was totally skeptical that anybody could believe that somebody could
become a millionaire by buying a book off TV, and I was one who ordered it
15 minutes later.
Tony:
Good for you!
Laura: Yeah. It came to me and I read it cover to cover. I just started doing what he said.
I started researching locations for where are houses selling. Everything he said in the
book about that, and I talked to numerous real estate agents before I found one that
really wanted to work with me and was excited to work with me and saw my vision.
I really don’t know what else to say. It was just doing what Dean taught me and going
to the forums at www.deangraziosi.com and talking to everybody when I had questions
or insecurities and getting that support.
I turned out to be successful. I know that it’s changed my life, and it’s going to
continue to change my life. It’s what I’m going to be doing a year from now; I’m going
to be doing this full-time. That’s my goal.
Tony:
You said that you read the book cover to cover and then just started doing what he said.
So the first thing that you did, if I heard you correctly, was that you started researching
areas to find out where houses were selling.
Laura: Correct. I chose to target certain areas. Just driving and driving and driving.
Tony:
Tell me about your research. What did that consist of? Was it something very
scientific and formulated, or did you just get out there and start driving around? What
did you do?
Laura: I just got out there, I started driving around and looking for where places were selling.
Of course, I started meeting and speaking with real estate agents because they’re really
the best source, I think, of knowing where the most popular areas are, as far as school
districts and all this and that.
But a lot of it I did on my own through different websites and speaking to people,
starting to talk to people. I did grow up here and I raised my kids here, so I had a good
base. I’m not starting off in an area that is unfamiliar to me.
So, I had a pretty good idea of where I could start looking, and where not to look. I
narrowed those down with the help of my realtor. Then, it was just legwork. I was
constantly driving around, looking for the vacant houses, looking for For Sale By
Owners, looking as MLS’s. It was just a lot of time invested to discover the best
neighborhoods, the best-looking neighborhoods, things like that.

7. Tony:
Right. What did you look for in these neighborhoods? Did you go with Dean’s ugly
house strategy?
Laura: I did. I looked for the ugly house in the nice neighborhood. That’s what I still look for
to this day. I’m diligently, every day, searching for my next deal, which I haven’t yet
found.
Tony:
Okay. That’s what this FSBO was that you found? This For Sale By Owner was one
of those?
Laura: Yes, it was vacant. It was an estate sale. The former owner’s son lived in another state,
and nothing had been done in the house. It’d been empty for over a year.
It was kind of tragic story behind the house, so I guess the son took a long time to even
want to start to deal with it. I was leaving messages and he wouldn’t call back, and the
neighbors all told me the story of what happened and said that so many people were
calling in the neighborhood who were interested in the house, but he never called
anyone back.
So it was, I guess, a matter of timing that I left him several messages. For some reason,
he opted to call me back out of all the people that were calling him. And, 1-2-3, we had
a deal done.
Tony:
What did you say when you left messages? Do you remember the kind of things that
you said on the messages you left?
Laura: The first time I left one, I just said, “Hello, my name is Laura Johnson, and I was
driving in the neighborhood and I saw your sign. And I copied the number and I’m
interested in speaking to you about the house you have for sale.”
That was it. That was basically my first message.
Tony:
Okay. Then nothing happened right.
Laura: Then nothing.
Tony:
How long did you wait before you called the
second time?
Laura: Only like 3 days. Not very long.
Tony:
Okay.
Enrolling in Dean’s Real Estate
Success Academy is one of the best
business decisions you could ever
make, if you truly want to give
yourself every advantage, in your
quest for real estate investing
success. Call 800-315-7782 Ext. 235
Or visit www.deansacademy.com
Laura: So about 3 days later, I called back again and just said, “I was following up to my other
phone call. I wanted to know if the house was still available, and if you were
interested. I would really appreciate a call back.” I left all my numbers, 3 numbers that
I have. Then nothing, again.
Then the third time, I guess I waited about 3 more days and I called back. I said that I
was looking at some other houses, which I was, but I said, “I really do particularly like
your house in your neighborhood, so I was giving you one more shout out to see if you

8. wanted to sell the house and if I could get in and look at it.” He called me back after
that third phone call.
Tony:
That’s great! So the old adage “the third time’s a charm” worked in this case!
Laura: I guess it did! I didn’t even think about it that way, but yeah, I guess it did.
Tony:
Well, you were persistent. Who knows, it might have taken 4 more calls. If other
people had been asking about the house, I’m going to guess that most of them gave up
after a single call. Sometimes it’s action, just that simple, that makes all the difference.
Laura: Yeah, and I wasn’t aggressive; I was just expressing an interest in it. I guess, hindsight,
knowing the circumstances, that perhaps my being persistent with the phone calls just
gave him the push he needed to say, “Okay, let me just be done with this. I don’t want
to think about this anymore.”
Tony:
That may very well be exactly how it happened for you.
So when you finally talked to him, how did that conversation go? Was that when you
found out the tragedy that happened to his parent?
Laura: He never told me the history personally. I knew from the neighbors going into my
conversations with him.
I just asked, “How old is the house and how many bedrooms?” and this and that. He
told me that it was his parents and they passed on, and it needs a lot of work because
his father was a do-it-yourselfer who didn’t really know what he was doing.
He gave me the lock code to get into the house. There was a lockbox on it. So I was
able to go in there with my boyfriend, who happens to be in the home improvement
business, so we’re a good match. (Laughs).
The place was half gutted. It was a real mess. Rooms were half-built onto the garage.
Floors were half-finished; half-tiled and half-not tiled. It’s like he started 1,000
projects and never finished one of them.
So we came up with our rehab numbers. I called him back and we went back and forth
on it a little bit.
When I finally said, “Well, my bottom line offer is $225, 000,” because he was asking
$275,000 for it, I said, “Well, the best I can do with all the work that has to be done is
$225,000.”
He said, “Well how fast can you close?” That was how it went.
Tony:
That’s a good response.
Laura: Yeah, that was a real good response. I was really shocked because I was originally
going to offer $235,000, and I said, “You know what? I’m going to go in just a little bit
lower and see what happens,” for unknowns and all this and that, and being my first

9. deal. So I even went in $10,000 less than I was nervous about doing. He just said,
“How fast can you close?”
Tony:
Good for you!
Laura: That was real exciting. Exciting and scary, all at the same time. It was a real mix of
emotions, because it was a big leap.
I know I hadn’t signed contracts or anything at that time, but I knew I could make it
work. Yet that fear factor side of me, the skeptic side was still in pretty good balance
with my excitement that I can make this happen.
So, it was a mix of really happy and really scared. Actually, the whole process was
that. But the more I got into it and the more I went on the forums and talked to people
about my fears that came up and what if this and what if that, and got past that, the
balance shifted to, “This is really, really happening and it’s really going to work.”
Then I was jumping up and down.
Tony:
It is an awesome feeling! But on the other side of that, we all have an “inner critic” that
comes up and tries to prevent us from pushing through to reach one of our goals. Would
you mind talking a little bit about the kinds of thoughts and things you had to battle
with in your head? The kinds of fears and things that other people might have in
common. What can you recall?
Laura: My biggest fear of course was that I was going to be a failure. “I don’t know anything
about this. I’m going blind off of something I bought off of television, and I’m putting
a lot of time and, of course, my money on the line, my future on the line with this.”
Because really, that’s what it is when you take that big first leap in real estate; because,
in my situation, I wasn’t doing an assignment or anything. I put my own money down
and using a home equity line for all the rehab costs and everything.
But yeah, the biggest fear was just that of being a failure and not making it happen
because of my ignorance about it. But, deep in my heart I knew that it really was
possible, because Dean comes across so genuine and I could tell he has good intentions,
even over the television.
I’ve never met the man, but even over the TV he exuded that his intent is really to help
people and not to just make money off of selling his books.
Now of course, after having been a student and taking advantage of the things Dean
provides us, I know he really wants to help people succeed. From going to the
deangraziosi.com site alone, anyone can see that! The site is what got me through the
fear that I was in this alone. But you know what? This just clicked for me, - - I wasn’t
in this alone.
With the forums and everything, and that site and the wealth of information that people
share there and how we encourage each other, it’s not like you’re in this alone and
you’re going blind. That was the greatest support mechanism.

10. But my fears were just stepping out and doing something, and the fear of losing
everything that I had right now, what I was putting on the line to be successful in this.
And all those, messages “What if I can’t sell it? What if I lose money on it?” There’s
so many things that can keep you up sleepless at night.
Tony:
So the support and the encouragement from others on the forum was really important.
Laura: Major! Absolutely major to me! No doubt. To be able to come home at the end of a
long day of working in that house and be scared that you’re going to go over budget, or
what if it sits empty like some of them?
There are some houses around here that I know people have tried to invest in. I’ve seen
them buy them and fix them up, and they’re still sitting there empty. They go from For
Sale to For Rent. One of my biggest things is that I know it’s because of the location.
So, finding a great deal is one thing, but I learned from Dean to be really careful about
location, because you can have a good deal, but it’s not a good deal unless you can do
something with it in the end.
Tony:
That’s so true.
Laura: Because there’s a neighborhood right around me that, almost sadly, the entire
neighborhood is in foreclosure. You can steal these houses, but the point is that nobody
wants to live there.
So, the people who are losing their houses, I’m not sure where they’re going. But
they’re going from foreclosure to empty to sitting For Rent. I don’t know what the deal
is with that town.
My point is that you just really have to know what you’re getting into and know your
location. Do your homework on that. It’s key, for sure!
Tony:
Did you go through Dean’s Academy or use the hotline and the forum?
Laura: I used the forum and yes, I joined the coaching mentor program, yeah. I never heard it
called the Academy before. But the mentor program, yes. I signed up for that and I
used that. Yeah, that I have that available to me. Besides the book, when I joined the
mentor program, those lessons, those online lessons, those were invaluable, without a
doubt. I forgot to even mention those, because I would sit up for hours at night doing
those online lessons.
They teach you a lot and they go a lot into depth in a lot of different areas. They give
you assignments, so actually it keeps you on track of doing all the things you need to
do.
Tony:
Did you find it hard to do those assignments, or was that easy?
Laura: No. I found it quite easy, actually. I guess because I was so excited about it. I have
stacks of notebooks and town maps and everything.

11. No, really, I love every aspect of doing this. I don’t find any of it to be a chore. I’m
very intrigued listening to all the people who actually go out there and make a buyer’s
list and a seller’s list and do the assignments.
To me, that’s so far out of my comfort zone, but so many people are doing it really well
that that’s the next thing that I’m going to challenge myself with is trying to do that.
Because inadvertently, just through telling people I do real estate, I have my own
buyers list right now, if I can find the right house. I had 2 scooped up right out from
under me from cash buyers. The bank verbally accepted my contract and then cash
buyers came in and scooped them right out from under me.
Tony:
Oh. So you have some competition out there.
Laura: Yeah. There’s a good bit of it. It’s very hard for me. I find it astounding that I even
say that in this market, with what’s going on, but it’s really hard to find the right deal in
this area where I live.
Tony:
Are you thinking about looking in other areas?
Laura: I am. I’ve actually actively started looking in a couple of towns in Pennsylvania.
I was put in contact with a nice realtor out there. I’m going to go out right after
Christmas and meet her personally, and she’s going to start showing me around with
some investment houses.
I want to invest in a couple of houses that I can rent. Like my first flip, that was real
good and real exciting, but I want to generate income with real estate. I want to
combine the income-generating part of it with the flipping part of it.
So, I think that’s the only way you can ever really quit your job and do real estate fulltime. You have to generate some type of income. So that’s my next goal is to get a
house that I can actually rent and generate positive cash flow.
Tony:
Awesome! You told me earlier about interviewing a bunch of different agents. What
was your process like for doing that? What made you choose the one you used?
Laura: My process for that was simply driving around and looking at all my target areas where
I would want to invest, whosever name happened to be on the sign that was hanging out
front, I would contact them and have a conversation with them about getting into see
that particular house.
Then, I would go ahead and go into explaining I was an investor and what I was
looking to do. I would be asking a lot of them. I laid it all out on the line.
Some of them never would call me back again. Some of them would never send me
any listings, so that was an easy clue.
Some I would work with and I would email them back and forth, because it’s pretty
demanding when you’re an investor and you’re looking every single day. You want
action and you want somebody who’s going to answer you right away, “Yeah, let’s go
get in this house this afternoon at 3:00.” That’s the kind of person I’m looking for.

12. I finally found one. Liz. She was actually a previous investor herself, so she knows
exactly where I’m coming from and she knows the type of house I’m looking for. So
she was a gem of a find, and she’s very happy right now.
She did very well in investing. I guess after a while, she didn’t have to do it anymore.
Her and her husband, they did it together, and now they’re both realtors on the other
end of it. But she was a perfect find for me.
Tony:
Is she actively working for you right now, looking for properties?
Laura: Yes, she is. Every day. She calls me every day. We talk every day.
Tony:
Beautiful!
Laura: Sometimes more than once.
Laura: But I found her by the process of elimination, just by taking an agent’s name off of a
For Sale sign and calling them up. It was just random. It was whoever’s name was on
a house in a neighborhood that I was interested in, I called them and found out whether
they were interested in a working relationship or not. It took about 7 or 8 of them, I
think, before I found Liz.
Tony:
Okay. That’s a really smart thing to do, too, because since your focus is looking for the
location, if you can find an agent that is familiar with the area that you want to buy in,
who is also willing to do the things that you need them to do.
Laura: Exactly! Then you have the right combination.
Tony:
That’s one of those things that people might overlook. Never underestimate how
important strategy simplicity is. I don’t know if you went out there with that intention.
Laura: No, I didn’t! It’s just how it happened.
Tony:
Sometimes our intuition is brilliant beyond our own understanding.
Laura: Yeah, thank God for that, right?
Tony:
Amen! Can I take you back to this deal again?
Laura: Yes.
Tony:
Okay. So after the guy accepted your offer, asked you how quickly you could close,
take me back to what you did next. We’ll walk through the whole process.
So he says, “Okay, how quick can you close?” Then what did you do?
Laura: I said, “Well, I’m already preapproved.” I said, “I have X amount to put down. 20%
down and I’m already preapproved for a mortgage.” I said, “So we can do a closing
within 30 days.
So, he was happy about that. Things got a little bit delayed, though, because he wanted
to do it as a For Sale By Owner. But because of the estate, we were sending documents

13. back and forth, and it got a little complicated. So he ended up hiring an attorney and
we ended up using real estate attorneys in doing the closing. That all went pretty
smoothly. We went back and forth and back and forth.
I had and/or assigns put in, even though I didn’t use that. I didn’t really understand, at
the time, what that was really for. I just knew that it was important to put it in there.
Tony:
That gives you the ability to purchase it yourself or hand it off to another buyer.
Laura: Or hand it off to someone else, right. If I was in that position to assign, exactly.
So, we went back and forth. The closing went off really without a hitch.
Man, I got the keys to the house. The day after my closing, I had the dumpster
delivered, and we just dug right in and got started.
Tony:
Was it you and your boyfriend that went in and did the work yourselves?
Laura: Yes. We did all the work ourselves except for the sheet rocking.
Tony:
Was that fun? Was that exciting for you?
Laura: Very, very. I love it! I’m addicted to it!
Tony:
Really?
Laura: I’ve always been pretty handy actually, so I’ve been able to do tiles in the floor. I can
tile the bathroom, tile the kitchen. I learned how to lay a wood floor this time. Do all
the painting, install light fixtures. I do all that kind of stuff. So, we worked together.
He, of course, installs cabinets, does all the molding and plumbing and electric. He
does all that kind of work.
So yeah, between the two of us, we made a really good team. We did the whole thing,
except for the sheet rock job.
Tony:
Now, do you work another job, or are you in a position where you don’t have to work?
Laura: He does it full-time, of course. But a year ago I was working full-time and I had saved
up enough money to go part-time. I tried to make it with my art. I’m an artist, as well.
The starving artist theory is quite true. So, at the end of that year – that’s when I
believe in everything happens just as it’s meant to – I was struggling with the fact that I
was going to have to go back to work to a boring job that I knew I would never be able
to retire from, a $15-an-hour secretary job.
That’s when I saw Dean on television. I ordered the book and I said, “You know what?
I’m going to give this the best shot that I can, because this will change my life, and
going back to work at a full-time desk job is not going to make it for me.” I wasn’t
happy.
There it is. It came into my life.

14. So I had the big drive to make this happen. I was blessed in being part-time, that I had
the time to invest in it, too.
I admire the heck out of these people on the forums who work full-time jobs and they
do this only in the evening and on the weekends and whenever they can, and they’re
making it happen. I look up to them so much because I had 4 days off a week,
2 weekends and 2 days off every week. I put hours and hours and hours into this to
make it happen for me.
So, I can only imagine how much it takes for somebody to fit it into a full-time
schedule. It’s really admirable. I was very, very lucky, in the situation that I was in, to
be able to devote the time.
I think that’s why it happened for me so fast, because I had that time, within a month of
buying the book and reading it, I found a perfect house to flip. I think that had a lot to
do with the fact that I was blessed with the time to put into it.
Tony:
Right. You read the book, and while you were excited and had the desire to go do this,
you started taking action. You didn’t just sit on it and say, “Well, maybe in 3 weeks,
when I have more time.” You started with the time that you had, and you had ample
time to start.
Laura: Right. But it is, it’s a matter of doing and not reading. My boyfriend, well, he’s now
my fiancé, so I guess we worked well together.
Tony:
That’s awesome! Good for you! Congratulations!
Laura: Thanks! He had 2 other programs that he had bought over the years, because being a
home improvement guy he always had the desire to do this, to invest in a house and
make money on his own and fix it up. He never took the action. How funny is it that I
did, and then he’s working for me?
Tony:
What’s the difference there? Is the difference, you just said it, he never took action.
Laura: Action. Exactly! He never took action. Yeah, you have to have that. You have to
have that motivation in your heart to really want to make it happen and change your
life.
Tony:
You said earlier about how you felt about seeing Dean on TV. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve
been a consultant for 15 years. I’ve worked with a lot of people.
Some of these other gurus that you’ve seen on TV I know personally, and Dean is the
real deal. I love working with him, he really cares about delivering value to people, he
really cares about changing people’s lives, and he’s got a good heart.
So, you have not judged him incorrectly. He really is a great guy and he’s got a heart
for helping people make a difference in their lives.
Laura: That’s good to hear from you. But you know, intuition, again. I go on that a lot. I
follow my intuition a lot in making decision in my life.

15. It’s all about trust. I think that has a lot to do with it, because if I didn’t have that
intuitive feeling about Dean and from going on the site and seeing all the people
talking, and that he takes his time to put his blogs on there and to speak to everybody, I
don’t know if I would’ve jumped into it as much as I did, even though his knowledge is
impeccable.
You could read the book and not like the man and not deny that his methods are going
to work. It was the combination of his personality and the people on the forum, and
just the excitement of people getting out there and changing their lives, and that it was
something. When my marriage ended, I found myself back at a desk job, because I
wasn’t out in the working world. I worked for my ex-husband that whole time, since
we were 16. I put him through school, did the whole deal. Then, there I was, out in a
menial job market where the skill requirements far surpassed me with the computers
and the software programs. So, this is really like my lottery ticket, finding Dean and
finding real estate. It’s something that I can do. And as long as I do it smartly and
listen to what I’m being taught, that I can be successful at it and change my life at 53.
That’s a really liberating and very empowering place to be
Tony:
That just sends chills up my spine, hearing you say that. It does, because what I’m
envisioning in my head you went through these life circumstances with your marriage.
It must have been, at some level, very devastating and scary for all that to change and to
find yourself out there and not knowing how or what you’re going to do to make your
way in the world. I’m assuming your kids are grown.
Laura: They’re grown. One in college, one in the Air Force.
Tony:
So you’ve been through that whole stage. Now here you are at this phase in your life
wondering, “What am I going to do?” Now you’ve got something that you know is
yours. You can control your future insomuch as you’re able to control it.
You don’t have to be a slave to a job. You know that you’re competent and capable of
making something happen for yourself.
Laura: Absolutely! I did it the one time, and it is awesome. My kids were skeptical of me
because, I will admit, I’ve tried a few things in the past that, “Oh, I’m going to make a
lot of money off this. It’s going to be great!” And, of course, it didn’t work.
So, that also played in the back of my mind about trying something new, because is it
going to be another scam? Am I going to be a failure at this too?
Of course, with money being involved in all of that and in this market, when you tell
your children and your family that you’ve decided to invest in real estate, they really
think you went off the deep end. So, to have successfully completed this house, the
way that it all went down was one of the greatest, joyous days of my life to be able to
say to everybody when they go, “How’s the going?” I’m like, “Oh, that house? It’s
sold. I’m looking for my next one.”
Tony:
That’s awesome!

16. Laura: It really is! It was one of the best feelings in my life, other than when my kids were
born, I’ve got to tell you. It’s just so empowering. Really, it’s exciting as heck!
Tony:
That’s great!
Laura: I look forward to being successful, to be able to share that with my family as well. I’m
encouraging other people to do this, just like Dean is, because the more you give, the
more you get. That’s what I believe in life.
I’ve always believed in that philosophy. I’m positive that’s why Dean is so successful,
because he really truly does give. So he deserves everything that he gets, every bit of
success.
Tony:
He’s a very generous man.
Laura: I hope that when I’m successful…well, just an example, and this is just a tiny, small
thing. I made $21,000+ on that house. So, did I pay off all my bills right away? No.
But I do have some friends that are living from paycheck to paycheck and are worse off
than me? So, I sent them $1,000 with no questions asked and no expectations of return.
To be able to do that was amazing to me!
Tony:
I agree! Being in a position to give to others in a way that truly helps is deeply
satisfying.
Laura: It was absolutely amazing. It was one of the best feelings that I ever had, to be able to
do that and to just say, “You know what? I’m doing this because I can, and it’s just for
you, and I don’t want anything back.” That’s awesome!
Tony:
To have enough so that if somebody needs something, I can do more than just say,
“Well, God bless you! I hope you get through this.”
Laura: Right. Exactly. You can take action to help them.
Tony:
It’s a tremendous feeling.
Laura: It’s is a tremendous feeling. It’s an absolutely great thing to do, to be able to do and to
be blessed enough to do that.
I live with an attitude of gratitude my whole life. But now, it’s even more so. It’s
multiplied a thousand times that this has come into my life. It’s going to change my
life and the people that I touch. I think it’s just really exciting.
It’s so much more than making money. It really is. Everybody needs money to live,
but when you have money and you can share money and help other people, that’s really
what it’s all about.
Tony:
I could probably go on for another hour, but we’re running out of time here.
I wanted to just ask you a couple more things about this deal, just to wind it up. I know
that you purchased it with your own money. Now, after you finished the rehab, did I
hear you say that a week after you finished the rehab you sold it?

17. Laura: Yes, while I was still working on it people started coming through the house.
Tony:
So what did you do, put a new sign up in the front yard when you started working on it?
Laura: Actually, my intent was, in the end, to do For Sale By Owner myself. But I admit that
the fear got really big and I was a little overwhelmed with the rehab in itself and the
condition of the market, that I didn’t have the self-confidence enough to market it
myself. So, I called my realtor who was driving me around, the good one that I found.
Tony:
Liz. Right.
Laura: Yes. She was driving me around when I spotted this one on my own. So I bought it
without her, and then I ended up calling her to say, “Liz, my house is almost done. Can
you come see?”
Actually, I had it on Craigslist and I had started marketing it. But the fear factor just
kicked in that I couldn’t afford to sit and hold this house. I had to sell it. I had to make
it work.
So, I called her and she came over. She told me, actually, that I was selling it for too
low of a price. She put the word out there. Before I was even done, people were
coming through.
I actually put the last paint on it 3 days before I signed the contract. I was finishing up
the inside.
Tony:
That’s beautiful!
Laura: Yes. And, I still made what I was going to sell it for myself after her commission,
because she told me that she could sell it for more than what I was asking. So, it
basically covered her commission.
Tony:
It doesn’t sound like anything could have gone any better.
Laura: No. The only thing that could’ve gone better was that if a person had walked in and
wanted to buy it and I sold it on my own and saved that commission. But other than
that, she’s invaluable. I was happy for her to get every penny she had, because she had
that buyer pool that just sent people flying through the door.
Tony:
That’s important.
Laura: It was very important. It was really amazing how it all worked out.
Tony:
Well, Laura, that’s a great story. It’s very encouraging
Laura: I don’t know how much in there I have to help other people, but I hope there’s
something in my story to help people because I just wish it for everybody. Success in
whatever you try.
Tony:
Are you kidding me? There’s a ton of wisdom in what you shared today.
Laura: Oh, good.

18. Tony:
One of the strange paradoxes of life, in my experience, is that we oftentimes cannot see
how valuable our own story can be to others. I’ve just had to learn to accept that I
don’t know what I’m going to say or what I’m going to do that is going to be helpful to
another person. We may never know what we can offer that will change another’s life.
Laura: You just never know how far-reaching the smallest thing you do affects people.
Tony:
Your story is going to encourage people. There’s lots of gold in what you shared with
me, I just am so grateful for you taking the time to talk with me today.
Laura: Thank you! It was my pleasure, Tony.
Tony:
I look forward to hearing more from you and I look forward to hearing more of your
success stories.
Laura: Great!
Tony:
Are you going to let us know when you and your fiancé are getting married?
Laura: Sure will!
Tony:
Thanks! Bye now.
Laura: Bye.
End of Interview
Write any thoughts or notes you may have about what you learned from this
interview here:
See a special video message from Dean that reveals a special program that
walks you through your first deal, step by step at www.deansacademy.com

19. Interview with Grady Corbin:
Stories of Success Finalist
Tony:
Nice to speak with you. Where are you guys located?
Grady: We are in the beautiful Ozark Mountain, Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Tony:
Man, is it cold up there today?
Grady: That is right, where are you Tony?
Tony:
I am down in Arizona and if I told you I was cold today it would be true but it would
tell a comparison on what you are experiencing because I think it is about 45 or may be
50 and I talked to Dawn, she is in South Dakota and it was negative 30 there with the
wind chills, so she has got that record for today.
Grady: It is cold here like 15 degrees, sleet snow, and ice and all that sort of stuff.
Tony:
Oh, it is good day to be in on the phone I guess.
Grady: Yes, you bet.
Tony:
Grady, basically what I wanted to do today is I would like to talk to you about, how you
get started investing? What your basic strategies are? And what your favorite things to
do are, if you have a favorite thing, and then you walk me through one of your deals.
Grady: Okay. You bet I will. I am very happy to do this. I will speak in broad terms about
how my wife and I got into this and how it happened.
Tony:
Okay, how did you get started?
Grady: We got started by—we had a couple of rentals, investment properties in addition to our
primary residence that we just got lucky on a few years ago and fixed them up. We did
not know what rehabbing meant. We just knew we could put them in rentable shape
and lease them out. So, we had some success with a couple of properties, but we just
did not really know anything about real estate.
Tony:
Right.
Grady: We had a little bit of positive income but it was one of those experiences that just kind
of left me wondering what to do with myself. I have a good bit of free time. We are
living comfortably. We did not have this idea that, ‘Oh my gosh, we are going to get
into real estate and make a big fortune and that is going to solve all of our problems.’
We did not have any problems. I had a lot of free time and took an early semiretirement from my career and I was really looking for something to do so. I saw the

20. infomercial by Dean early in the wee hours of the morning and just decided to order the
book and go from there. That is when I got really interested. Well, as soon as I finished
the book, I was in touch with Dean’s office, and we got to go into the mentoring
program.
Tony:
Okay.
Grady: We decided, “If we are doing this, let’s go all the way. Let us see how far we can take
this.” So, we paid the money, signed up for Dean’s Academy through PMI, and
accessed the advisory line and all the curriculum. This was about one year ago. I just
committed myself, like in old days of being a student. I set up the computer, did my
research, read, did some investigating and, just poured 30 to 40 hours a week into it,
because I wanted to accelerate my learning. I figured I have signed up for this
Academy course, and they give us the incentive that if we do five deals, after our fifth
deal, we can get back the money we invested in the training. Well, quite honestly, that
was really what drove me. It was like, if I am putting my money into it, I am going to
work this thing.
Grady: We got further than that already, using the concepts and the techniques that we learned
from Dean and his teachings. We just took it to the next level and beyond. Right away,
we started making offers and got in some houses. We sold a couple, rented out a
couple, and kept going. We just closed last week on our seventh deal. So, I guess you
would say we started by osmosis at first, as part of what was going on, and then we got
into real estate investing, very intentionally, by actually sinking money into it and
learning the concepts of investing. That is kind of how we got kicked off to what we
are doing now and, “wow” this has been a fast year.
Tony:
Why?
Grady: This has been a whirlwind year because I have really put my heart and soul into this,
helping out with the rehabs myself because I do the handyman work. I do all the
bookkeeping and the records, the closings, and I arrange for the financing. My life has
been very solid. I do not mean to imply that my wife has not been in it, but she works
full time in a clinic, so I do 80% of the actual work, and all that entails.
Tony:
Are the primary deals that you go after rehabbing houses?
Grady: It has turned out that way, so far. What we did was, of the five houses, a couple of
them needed really serious rehabbing and a couple of them did not need much at all, so
we have gotten some exposure to both. There are some really neat things about getting
a place that needs a lot of work and bringing it to a nice level and then renting it out or
flipping it. Also, there are some really neat things about finding one that we just sweep,
clean, and touch-up some paint, and immediately rent it out.
What we have done so far has all been pretty much the same. We look for a single
family dwelling, two or three bedroom, one or two baths, in one of the smaller cities,

21. either where we live or around here. We live in a rural area and we have three smaller
towns around us. This is an interesting area because of Tyson’s. The Tyson industry
employs a large amount of people here, so there is an influx of employees, almost
continuously, looking for housing. Also, we are right in the neck of the woods where
the Wal-Mart industry is headquartered. So we found that even though the real estate
market was down all around the U.S., in our little area, things were still popping. So we
got into that scene very early.
I felt really fortunate to have learned enough to actually get in and take part and do
well. We have not made gigantic amounts of money, but we have had a solid year. We
feel like this is our foundational year to go forward.
Tony:
Do you think you would have paid attention to the fact that you have ongoing, viable
industries there and that there is a continual need for housing? Do you think you
would’ve paid attention to that without coming across Dean’s materials?
Grady: Honestly Tony, I do not think it would have occurred to me because it just seems like,
you know, people come and people go. But now after being so immersed in this whole
industry, I am fascinated with it. Everywhere I drive now, just as a matter of second
nature, I am looking at houses.
Tony:
And looking for profit?
Grady: Yes. Like the way this house is designed, or that one looks distressed. Then I see one
with a “For Sale” sign, or “For sale by owner” and think, “Maybe I should check it
out.” Things that that make perfect sense to notice and keep an eye out for if you are
interested in making money. It has felt really good to us to form a company, an LLC to
develop a bit of an identity for ourselves as real estate investors, and all of the prior
things that go along with that. I went through the book and the course, just step by step,
I just basically letting Dean do what he does best, which is cheerleading.
I found myself going back, again and again to the DVD’s and the CD’s. I would lose
confidence often, early on. I just did not have the confidence and was fearful to take
the plunge and risk. But I kept hearing Dean’s words echoing “Be a doer, you are a
doer.”
Tony:
Right. That is awesome.
Grady: Dean’s words kept me motivated.
Tony:
It is interesting that you did not have that confidence even though you already had a
couple of properties under your belt that you guys, I am assuming, would still own.
Grady: We actually have three now. One, we are selling using a special technique Dean
teaches, that basically requires two contracts. It is a rental property we have and we
wanted to get rid of it. We developed a rental agreement with a woman who really

22. wanted to buy it, but cannot quite afford it right now. We are in a position to offer her
an opportunity where she could sign a contract, and pay a chunk of earnest money and
then we just extend the time period until she finishes paying for it.
So, people hear me talk about this and they say, “Wow, I never thought about that,” and
I said, “Well, I got the idea from Dean Graziosi”. Because at the end of it, at the end of
her last payment, which is actually just a rent payment, we then do the paperwork and
credit her back and she has paid for her house. That is probably going to be my favorite
technique. I am going to have to say. You truly need to buy a house, flip it and get a
chunk of money and move in the next one because it is exciting. But I enjoy seeing
people and helping people.
My wife and I both come from care giving professions. It is delightful to feel that we
can help someone or do a favor for someone or make them be able to have a place to
live and some sense of pride of ownership and still do okay for profit wise for ourselves
because we are not greedy. And this is just a workable program and it took me awhile
to get going. I wanted so much to believe all things that I was hearing Dean say and
read about and I wanted to believe it but six, seven or eight months ago—now, I have
actually done the deals, I keep kind of pinching myself looking back—“You did this.
You actually did this.” It did happen.
But that is what we are doing now of those rentals. I would never have not known to
do that; I would not have had any idea that I could go ahead and take some down
payment from someone and just rent them my property and make them responsible for
all the upkeep and maintenance which can be a headache for a landlord and took that
out of the picture. And of course, if this person defaults then I get the property back
and they lose all that money. Obviously, we hope that does not happen but we feel
protected because meanwhile our investment is being paid for. And that is probably my
favorite thing to do right now, it is to do a sort of a rent-to-own, but it has got a few
extra little bells and whistles on it that makes it really attractive and safe with living
properties.
Tony:
That seems to be a common theme with Dean’s successive students as they all seem to
care more about doing things that are helpful to people as opposed to doing things that
just make them a lot of money and I think that is because that is what Dean, that is the
kind of energy he gives off.
Grady: It is.
Tony:
Have you had a chance to meet Dean yet?
Grady: No, I hope to get too. No, but my background is in psychology and in human
relationships and that is one other things right off my back, when I first, my first
impressions have been when I got see him on infomercial and all the other things—I
knew right away from all the other people that I had seen, there was something pretty
different about him. And as I got to know more about his personal story and all of the

23. ways, and even hearing from second or third persons who do know him and had met
him, that he is a generous man and I think that always comes back. Be creative, be
enterprising, and still live and let live and I think a person would do just fine. That is a
theme. Thank you for pointing that out—the theme of his programs.
Grady: I do think that Dean stands apart from the masses of people that are out there doing
things that his integrity the honesty and just being such a real person. He just tried out
to convince me through, he does not know me personally, but he does now. I think he
knows me personally because of—but he does not know me as a person but he has
affected me deeply in those areas. I kind of get a feeling sometimes when I am
watching these other people promoting their programs that it is all purely staged and
not that there has not been success and not that there are ways but I just know that some
of that stuff, some of the other people that I hear speaking kind of just make me feel, “I
do not know. I do not know about that.” There is ulterior motive here.
I did not have that feeling in Dean’s materials in his book. I just did not have that
feeling. I felt like, “This is somebody I think I could go with.” Well, I have had the
same reaction. He said- he seems neat. He is lively. He seems honest. And he makes
a lot of money and that has also helped a lot of other people making a lot of money.
And I will tell you another little thing, just as a tip Tony, when I first called in that
number, I think after I got the book or may be just after I ordered the book—that is
what it was. In a timely manner about, I do not know, seven or eight days after, here
comes his phone call and of course it is a recorded an automated message but it had just
it made me feel so good that he would even think to set that up even if that is done in a
mass way, you know, it called lots people, but to have being Dean Graziosi calling up,
his automated recording, calling at my personal home phone and hear his voice and
used my name and say you know, “I know that you are going to do this. You can do it.
You have taken the step, go for it. Do not back up, do not be afraid. There are a lot of
mistakes to be made and I made lots of those mistakes and I can tell you how to avoid
them.”
Tony:
He really does care about not only encouraging people but trying to help them believe
in themselves. One of the things that Dean understands is if he can just get the people
to go out there and try something to take some action, that their odds of success
explode, I mean exponentially increase because it is the fear that that is not going to
work makes them fold in taking that first step and if you do not take the first step then
you are never going to take the second, the third and go do anything. You will be glad
to hear that.
Grady: That is exactly right. That is exactly right and I remember that. I remember in his
materials, he said here are the three reasons why most people do not—90% to 95% of
people who buy the book or enter the program do not ever follow through and they do
nothing with it, and you said the reasons are and he delineates, no number one is this
and number two. Number three, fear whatever and he shows he does an excellent job
in those earlier works of his. And taking each one of those reasons of why a person
would not or might not succeed and dispelling that very thing about, “Okay, if you got

24. fear, here is why you are afraid, it is because you are unfamiliar with it or so on and so
forth” and then he elaborates very convincingly on how you can overcome that.
But I got to tell you, I got to tell you, I was just almost to the point of creeping and
shaking in my boots as well. The very first time, I have not been for the advisory line
and I do not know how they were of immense help to me, to keep talking to the coaches
on a regular basis, but to make that first offer for me was just, “Man, that was like
pulling a tooth,” I knew I was prepared, I have done the research, but I had a lot of
trouble of pulling the trigger, you know, the very first offer to go out and I kept hearing
Dean say “Go drive the neighborhood.”
Tony:
Yes.
Grady: Do this, step one. Step two, do this. It is so systematic that I can follow that so I said
okay, I am going to do step one. And I would do step one and the techniques and then I
would do that and then I would do step two and that is why it worked for me. I just
want to say one other thing about that. I remember hearing Dean Graziosi keep talking
about, “If I can do it, anybody can do it.” I started from this and from that and if these
people can do it, you can do it too.
While that is a valid point in many ways, I do not know in some other ways if that is
really true to say, “If I can do it, you can do it, or anybody can do it.” I do not think I
agree with that wholeheartedly because if I can do something it is because I was able to
overcome an obstacle or two and one of those had to be fear or stop being a slave to my
own ideology and my own beliefs in the past. Thinking that, yes I could do it if I had
extra amount of money or extra amount of support or something along that direction
but I do not have that. I am kind of jumping around here but we try to make this a little
bit more “Okay, I would follow.”
If I set out to do something and I accomplish it and then, so I say to you, “Well if I can
do it, you can do it.” Why do you not jump in because I find myself promoting Deans
program. I go in the store to buy materials and they say, “You sold another house?”
and I say “Yes,” or I go in the bank and do some banking and these tellers all know me
now so well at the title companies. They call me by my first name. I really like that
and I said, “Hey, do you want to buy a house?” Just like I am talking up everywhere I
go. I am in the mindset of being a real estate investor and looking for creative
opportunities to invest, to buy, to sell and to do any sort of technique that I can. But it
is because when I say, “If I did it, you can do it,” that may necessarily be true if you do
not have the same situation around your life that allows you to start up and go and take
those steps.
It was through seeing a lot of other people and hearing their stories that led me to
believe that, “If they did it, then maybe I can do it” and sure enough I turned that into
“Maybe I can” to “I am going to try it” to “I actually can do it.” Now, I am looking
back and saying “I did it.” Tony, it feels so good.

25. Tony:
I’d say awesome.
Grady: It does feel awesome. It is an awesome feeling. I got carried away the other day writing
a little story in response to Meagan who works for Dean and I was responding back to
something and it was late at night I kind of got caught up and I wound up writing a full
page, telling her to thank Dean for us and some of the other benefits that had come
about as a result of this getting in the program, like being able to employ a couple of
people full time who did not have a job and being able to help people get in houses and
helping them get their financing and this kind of old man has just had been so
rewarding. I cannot say anything negative about Dean or his programs; it’s all been
positive Tony.
Tony:
You know, that is so good to hear. It is fantastic. As a result of working with Dean, it
has expanded my own horizons about some of the things that I can do and working
towards—so I really understand. I did one deal myself last year. Before I first got
started getting involved with Dean, I kind of walked my way through it and it turned
out tremendously well, but it was helpful not only to me but for some other people. I
understand how exciting that is and it is rewarding knowing that it is possible.
Grady: Yes sir buddy, it is possible. And I was as much of a skeptic. I examine things
critically. I do not mean it with criticism but with a careful eye and I do not commit the
things very lightly to make decisions or jump into a business or do something. I just do
not do that. I am in my mid 50’s and I have had a couple of real successful careers all
ready in the past 10 or 12 years. I have been able to just, my wife and I will lived
comfortably on our old farm here with our animals and kind of just moving along, but I
have learned that I do not commit easily to things but when I do commit to it, I jump in
with both feet in the same way with when we bought our first property, our primary
residence, when we have started our relationship and our marriage, what we decided to
get into this real estate investing, it was kind of we talk it out and then it was like okay.
If I throw down the money, for me it was like okay, it was not that much but it was
several thousand dollars but I said I am just going to like shut my eyes and pay for it
and just about working like crazy.
It has been exciting and new everyday and I keep getting a little of—every time I go a
closing or I go talk to another home owner or look at another strategy, I fill another
little gap in mind and my knowledge about this. So, there are so many twist and turns
to it and people keep saying, “Oh, so you are studying to be a real estate agent” and I
would say “No, I am not a real estate agent. I do not have a license and I do not want
one.”
Tony:
Right.
Grady: And they say, “How are you doing real estate investing without buying and selling and
investing and without having a license to do it?” and I said, what I have told them,
“Well you know, I entered this course” and that can often lead to discussion about it.
And sure enough, in this little town, I have ran into one other person who said, “You

26. sound like Dean Graziosi” because I was talking about this money back at closing and
what we can do with this and the guy says “I bought the book. I bought the book about
a year or so ago and I read it and I was going to get into it but he said I just never did.”
I said, “Well when I get into to it, I do not get into everything and anything that comes
around down the pipe but when I get into something it becomes kind of an obsession
for me so I have a passion.” My wife says I have serial passions. Because this real
estate investing is the latest one but those are like the other things.
I can tell you what we planned to do Tony, I could tell to what we plan to do is we were
very specific that we want to get into this, use these principles and techniques that we
have learned and they are working for us. We want to do this for another two or three
or may be four years. We are saying three to five years we want to be what we expect
to be at that point. We will learn to work real hard for a short period of time to reach
this goals and I think we will.
Tony:
Walk me through one of your deals? How do you find your properties?
Grady: Okay, well the first one we found was through a friend who was a real estate agent and
fairly new at it. She was not as skilled and experienced as she could have been but was
very helpful and she agreed and we got all excited and said we are going to have you on
our team. We are going to start buying houses and you can be our agent. And she
found us a place, so we looked at a bunch of houses and the first one we found worked
out okay and was mostly rehab. We lined up getting into that, but really, it was not the
most interesting. They get increasingly more interesting, it seems like, but one that I
am probably most proud of is, I was out actually just doing what Dean says to do which
was I made up these letters introducing myself to lead on doors, like a little mail or
except that I would hand deliver them, it could just give me a chance to meet people.
Tony:
Right.
Grady: And I was going and I found the house that looked distressed and I wanted to put this
little mail out or a little flier I developed on the door, based upon the one Dean gives in
his book as an example and I have been doing that in a few houses here and there, and
right next door there is a gentleman out on his porch and I just said hello and he said,
“Nobody lives in that house” and I said, “Okay, I said we buy houses and I was just
looking at this one.” And his eyes kind of lit up and he said “You buy houses?” and I
said “Yes,” so he waves me over and I go over and we introduce ourselves and we start
talking.
He did not even have his house on the market but what he was doing was he was
recovering, very, very serious surgery that had changed the entire quality of his life and
he found and he and his wife found themselves in this position where that they were
just retirement. They really just wanted to get away. They wanted to get rid of the
house. They just started talking about getting in their new camper and going to Oregon
and live out their days with their grandchildren. That sounded pretty neat to me. I have
grandchildren so I could identify.

27. I said, you know what you want for your house or what the terms are and so forth? He
did not really know it but that started a discussion that we had several times and we
built a rapport with them and we did not really know how to do this, he said, “I want all
my money at once,” because we were offering like which you consider financing it.
Would he do partial, a balloon note or some sort of other way, he was not open in any
of that. So, we were trying to keep in mind one of the main principles of Dean’s
teachings which is, do not get emotionally involved because that can work against you.
Tony:
Right.
Grady: Even though my wife and I had now talked with him several times, it must have taken
me a full day, it seems like, to put together an offer based upon doing the research and
the formula that Dean teaches about how to make an offer and how much to make that
offer. So we put it all together and made them the offer, they called us back and said
“No, we will not take that and we do not want to do it” and the offer was basically that
we would pay them partial, a partial amount. He needed money. Through this research
that we had learned to do, I ask him what he needed, how much, get all the details
basically, Tony, is what we were doing. And they said no.
And so we said, okay, we thank you very much and I we gave him a card of our agent,
a real estate agent. We said, “Good luck and we understand if you need to sell the
house for more than we can pay, but we have to buy it for this amount in order for us to
make a profit and that is why we are doing this.”
So, we just kind of let go and moved on. Within about two weeks, our phone rings. He
calls us back and he says my wife and I reconsidered, we do not want to put this house
on the market and we want to sell it to you, you and your wife, and here are some new
terms that we could take and we basically had a meeting of the minds. They came
down and we put our paperwork back together. We did the figures and felt like we
could still make a little money on it.
So, we bought this house on the specific technique of using a contract for deed.
Honestly, I did not fully understand the concept of a contract or deed that well, and I
have a hell of a time trying to explain to these people and still try not to look foolish
about how we were trying to buy their house, but it is essentially is this, we made them
an offer of a cash amount of about $18,000.00. They wanted, I believe, about
$82,000.00, I believe or something like that. We offered them $16,000.00 because, that
is what he needed to pay out this camper. He did not want to have to leave with the
payment.
Tony:
Okay.
Grady: We gave them that figure and then took over his payments. It is all done through a title
company and what a contract or deed was, was I take over the house and he still in the
payment he is still liable for the mortgage. So, it became our property but we made his

28. payments and they moved off to Oregon and it worked out great. We rehabbed the
house, in about six to seven weeks and we spend about $12,000.00 to $13,000.00, I
happen to know a splendid little family that have been doing some work for us. I was
able to help them arrange for themselves, this is what was so rewarding.
They were living in a little rundown trailer that they had been in. This a really neat
family but that is all they would ever had or they ever owned and they got to—I went
with him at their request to get their financing at the local bank and assisted them and
we worked it out and they got their financing and they were able to buy that house and
they appreciated so much how nice it was. I mean we really made a beautiful. We did a
lot of little extra things and I would still stop by and visit with them because we’re
friends I am always amazed at how well they take care of it and how beautiful it is and
what a sense of accomplishment that we had.
We set it up with them to balloon a pay off note in one year so we had a full year. We
got all this done under some funds and of course pay and paid them off and they were
delighted to get their money early, this is not expected and it was just like—I went
around kind of beaming I think, for about three days with a smile on my face and my
wife kept looking at me and saying, “You really feeling yourself here about this,” I said
“Well, I am incredulous a little but at the same time I am saying yes, we did it.”
Tony:
Yes.
Grady: Yes, we took the principles, the techniques; we took the plunge to make the offer. We
built a rapport. We developed a situation and this is the first that did not even have a
house on the market and it was not been even know that this could happen for them.
We did not have to use a real estate agent. So there was commission manner that will
say which allowed us to offer a little less and allowed them to be able, I mean to be able
like—and all that worked out.
When I first reported this success story, it was the best we had. Well, we got a couple
more since then that are, I think, are just as neat.
Tony:
When you paid these people off in three months, so nine months early, they we’re all
excited. I mean, this is really a win because this is a win for you guys, this is a win for
the sellers, and this is a win for this little family that you put in the house.
Grady: Yes, and let me put an addendum or footnote on this story that makes it really even
greater of a story to tell. What happened was, because of what I had learned about
contracts and how that is what everything hinges on, if I had just written a contract in a
standard fashion or if I had just gotten a real estate agent to do up their standard real
estate, we would have lost. We would not have made the full profit that we wanted to
make and here is why. The typical contract states—this deal is based upon the house
appraising for a certain amount of money.

29. Well, that is commonly understood. I wrote a special addendum on the contract that
said “This is our selling price irrespective of what the appraised value comes in”
and the way I explained it to these people by having a personal relationship with
them, I was able to talk them through it and have them understand it that, “Okay,
if this house comes in $10,000.00 more, that is just lucky for you. I will not ask you
for more money. But if this house’s appraises at less than money than my sale price,
you have to come up with a difference or I cannot sell it to you.”
So they understood, they really wanted the place. By now they have looked at it a few
times and they have envisioned themselves in it had chosen who is going to get which
room and all of that and that is always an exciting stuff especially when there is many
people as we had looked at that house.
So, we were lobbying for them to be the ones to get it but low and behold, the appraisal
came in a little low Tony, and so when they went to the bank, they still needed like
$2,800.00 to be able to actually close the deal. We were faced with either losing
$2,800.00 or losing the deal and one of the things I remember learning from Dean and
his program was there is a thing called promissory notes and a private note and that sort
of thing. And so, I developed this little private note between myself and his family just
said, “Okay, you know, we want you to have the house. So you can pay us the other
$2,800.00, over time,” and I worked out the terms for them at no interest for 18 months.
So they are paying us now, with that private note the difference about 170 or 80, not
much. I made sure that they are working class people and in they are frugal, but I did
not want to burden them, they were going to have a new mortgage payment as it was in
the first one.
But we made them a payment that they could handle. It gave us the guarantee that we
would still get the full profit that we needed even though it would be spaced out
overtime and that is okay. Thus, that is like residual income. That is great! They are
very diligent about paying every month right on time. You know, it is very important
for them to do it. They are people of integrity also. So, that is an example of how, I
guess the person in the average business world with these things would come to mind
but I would never thought to have done that. I would have just said either. I have to
just sell the house for the last or whatever but this was a way that allowed us to get our
full profit. Even the last part of it is staggered out of overtime but it worked out great.
Tony:
That is fantastic. A Simple little thing too.
Grady: A simple little thing like that and it could have been a deal breaker and to keep him
losing the deal and then losing the house they said sure, we can afford that amount of
money if you will do it for us for extra amount of time and I said okay. We were glad
to do it. We were not hurt or diminished financially at all by not getting the full amount
at that time. We still made some profit and we were happy with that.

30. Tony:
When you look for properties now and when you do these contracts, have you ever
used a real estate attorney to help you with contracts or how did you learn about that?
Was it through the coaching, how did you learn that?
Grady: I learned about contracts first from Dean’s programs and then of course the coaching
helped us with a special curriculum course on it. And then yes, I have talked to two
different attorneys and we are fortunate not only in the sense that our favorite title
company and there are several here and our favorite title company to use, the gentleman
who heads that up is a licensed attorney of the state and has a special interest in real
estate. And so he always likes to remind me in a joking way that he says, remember
when you keep bringing your business here you always get free legal advice. That has
made me feel great, that has made me feel great, that has been a real good benefit
because I can call him up any time and say “Bob, what about this and that the other,”
and he just gives me the legal scoop on it and then I feel like I can step them to a deal
with some confidence that I have done this legally.
One of the houses that I just sold in one of my rentals and I was telling you about
earlier that I was selling on the rent-to-own thing. I drew up all the paperwork and the
contracts myself. He said just bring them in and let me look at them and he did not
charge me anything. He looked them over and he said this is sound and this is
enforceable and this is a problem here. You might want to change this wording and I
made those changes and then, you know, I got my contract and it was signed and
everything went over. So, I felt great about that.
Tony:
What would you consider to be your secret or your strategy, I mean are you looking for
particular types of properties right now?
Grady: We have been focusing on single family dwellings as opposed to apartments or condos
or duplexes or something but that might change. I think right now we have not looked
at getting any properties anywhere other than in the town areas because we are
thinking, okay families are coming here, families do not have children and children
have to school and want to be close to you things, city related, and so that has been our
focus.
Tony:
Are there price ranges that you are in or how do you determine what you are going to
go after?
Grady: I think what we did was, we wanted to start out kind of conservatively but also
incidentally that was one of Dean’s teachings as well. He says start out with
something—let us just say, under $100,000.00 and that seem safe to me. So the first
house we bought was only $45,000.00. The second one was only in the 80s. We
bought another one that is in the 40s and another one in the 60s, so that just kind of
gives you a picture and that was, again, a calculated way that we were instructed to do
it so we would not be like we were, you know, jump—it seemed less scary to us to do it
that way. So, that is all that happens.

31. Tony:
There is one thing that I really wanted to ask you though when earlier you talked about
how much apprehension, that is not the word that you used, but that is what I perceived
that you had about making that first offer. What was it that you think was the obstacle
that got in the way? What was the fear or concern or the obstacle that you had to
overcome?
Grady: Yes, it was probably just a mental or I should say in this case an emotional thing for
me. I was literally thinking like this Tony, it was like okay, “I want to make this offer
and then what if they accept it and then what.” It was like, “Well okay, I made offer
and they accepted it. Now, I got to follow-up through on this.” I have got to come up
with the financing, follow through on my end of the deal. I am also a person of
integrity and I do not like to tell people things that I cannot follow up on. I would not
want to get started, I am not that way anyway, but I certainly did not want to get started
on this business by telling people or tying-up people’s properties with contracts and not
be serious about it.
Tony:
Sure yes.
Grady: I am serious and I want to be taken seriously. So, the fear of just making the first offer
was, “Okay, if I make it, I can make offers all day,” but if they are ridiculously low and
nobody takes some “Okay, I am getting practice here but I am not getting any deals.”
And so, to make an offer I had to feel almost like I was so psyched up that I would be
ready and what it did was it forced me to get prepared and I already have some idea of
how I was going to do that deal and how I was going to finance it before and I have
learned actually, as we have done more and more that, that is exactly how I get passed
the fear of making the offer. And just like being taught, it gets easier. It got ways. The
second one was a little easier. The last couple we did, I just kind of strode into the deal
and we did the formula and made the offer.
It was just like okay, okay, this is how they do it and this is what he was talking about
here. It becomes a way. You get it to get into the habit. It is a learned skill and you
can do it.
Tony:
If you had to summarize your process, your strategy and everything in just a couple of
sentences, what would your formula be?
Grady: Finding a property, being interested enough in it to go research and find out all the
details that I can about it. Get some sense of what I could make on the deal. If I were
to keep it as a rental or fix it up and sell it, and then making an offer based upon that
and knowing that the offer will be low, a discounted offer, but I am an investor, and I
have to look out for myself. I do not have an agent buying for me or an agent selling
for me. I am an investor and I have to do that myself. So, that is the formula. And if it
is not going to be able to make some money on it or have it turn into a reasonably
beneficial thing which is learning to just pass on and know that there is just dozens of
other properties out there just waiting.

32. Tony:
I think that is the key right there, it is being able to walk away.
Grady: Yes, and that was not easy for me. It was not that easy for me. My wife has helped me
a lot with that. She said remember what he said, you have to be willing to walk away.
Tony:
Especially if it is so hard to get to that point where you make the offer and this and that
and then suddenly the numbers do not look great, but there is emotional and time and
stuff invested in it, then it can be tough.
Grady: That is it, right there, you nailed it. You just said exactly what it is. By the time I get
around and making an offer on the property that I am interested in, I am pretty
emotionally involved with it already, not like in a paralyzing way, but I have already
got my mind thinking in terms of what I can do with this or maybe in some cases
already somebody in mind who is going to want that house.
This last deal we did, people were calling on my advertisements, I always keep a
buyer’s list. Dean taught me to do that. Keep up with these people that call you that
are looking for this house even if they do not want that house and call them once a
month. Or when you get another property and say, “If did not work out for you, how
about this one?”
And so this last house, we just closed on last week was bought by a woman that I had
on my buyer’s list for three months and she have been in California and back a couple
of times and really wanted to live here and I could just go on and on success stories.
Tony:
How do you find your buyers?
Grady: I found buyers so far through three of them through friends talking about saying, “Hey,
I have got this or are you looking or whatever.” Word of mouth, and then we have ran
ads in the local newspaper. It is about the only way, honestly Tony, that we have ever
advertised just local. In a very inexpensive local newspaper ads here and I see that is
really how we found them. Now, we found one also through our agent. We have used
several real estate agents that we had now more or less settle on a particular person, a
woman who is very good and but most importantly willing to work with us and just say
another thing about investors using real estate agents. They can really get a lot of
things done and get those to access to lots of properties.
The same property that I was referring to that we closed on last week. When this place
came available, she calls us first, our real estate agent. She decided to get on board
with us and not do everything in a conventional way that she was taught but to be open
to think outside the box, be creative and that got her on our team and her being on our
team means that she is now making money and she will call us first when she gets a
property list and sometimes even before it hits the books and say, “Hey, here this one
and this is what you want to go look at it,” and we are like, “Sure, let us go look.” You
know, every time we go, she has a chance to make something through if we get a deal.

33. So, that is how we find the buyers, local advertising, word of mouth, and then a real
estate agent. I cannot say, that is the good about them.
Tony:
Grady, you have given us just a ton of great stuff today. I so appreciate you being open
and honest with me about it, both you and your wife Kathleen, is that correct?
Grady: Kathleen.
Tony:
Okay, I just wish you guys continued to success in what you are doing and I have
absolutely no doubt that you will make it happen.
-
End Of Interview
Grady and Kathleen attribute their success in great part to the world
class training they received from “Dean’s Real Estate Success
Academy.” The majority of successful students are Academy Alumni.
But this isn’t a bunch of boring classroom lectures! Dean’s
investment coaches and the Academy curriculum is exciting,
interactive training that you’ll look forward to.
What’s more, after you complete a few deals,. We’ll even refund your
entire tuition if you get out there and use what we’ve taught you to
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time and you can receive your entire tuition back! One or more of our
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To find out, visit http://www.deansacademy.com or call one of our
friendly enrollment team at 800-315-7782 Ext. 235

34. Interview With Lorina “Rina” Krisak:
Stories of Success Finalist
Tony:
Hi Lorina, this is Tony Policci. Am I saying that right? Pronounced low-rhee-nah ...
Lorina: Lorina? Yeah. Or you can call me Rina?
Tony:
Rina? That's your online name right? Rina?
Lorina: Yeah, well that's what everybody actually calls me.
Tony:
Well, I'll just call you that. Okay, so anyway today I want you to basically educate me
about what your experience has been. What you've done and talk about your strategies.
Give me some specifics about what you do. Some of the folks that I've talked to, they
found one or two things that they kind of zeroed in on and they work on those kinds of
deals specifically, that kind of stuff. So to begin with what was the first deal? How did
you get started?
Lorina: We've actually had some rentals for a number of years. So that's always been my
strategy is to buy and hold. And then we've refinanced after a certain amount of time,
but it's been just one here and there you know. And now this year, since I got Dean's
program we've really accelerated. And I want to try the different new strategies that I
learned about. So, I would prefer to buy and keep everything, but at this point it's not
possible to keep everything. So, I did two bird dog deals this year, which has been
really cool. I made some good money doing that and the investor that I worked with is
now going to be one of my cash backers too. And I met him on Dean’s site. So, that's
been something new that I tried that I enjoy it and kind of have perfected now — the
bird dogging — so I can do that and the wholesaling with the and/or assigns — I
haven't been able to get any of those accepted yet. Because I mostly go after the REOs,
and they don't like to take the and/or assigns, so you pretty much have to go with cash
and then, or do it as a bird dog deal. As far as the first one we did in the program, that
— do you want to know like from start to finish the details?
Tony:
Yes please, these stories will be going out to folks just like you, but most who have no
experience. Explaining everything will be of huge benefit to them. So tell me
everything that you did. I mean if you stopped to eat at McDonald's ... want to know
what you had. (laughter).
Lorina: Okay.
Tony:
You know leave nothing to chance. Just give me your whole process.
Lorina: Okay, usually — the one's that I found have come across on my email from my Realtor,
or from researching online and looking at the different Realtor's sites I have found.

35. And then I'll call her and say, “I want to look at these.” But this particular one came
across my email when the price was lowered a little bit. But it actually had been on the
market for many months. And I have seen it in a picture before, but it — the picture
didn't do it justice at all. It wasn't that, you know wonderful house to start with, but in
the picture it looked like a little box. And I hadn't paid attention to where it was.
And it's actually in the best neighborhood in our town, which I hadn't realized. Then
when I took a drive by the rest of the half of block of property that it sits on is also
vacant, and another gentleman was trying to sell those lots. Basically, he was trying to
sell two lots with nothing on them for the same price, as they were asking for these two
lots with the house and the little shed on it. So, I knew it was a good deal already.
And they were asking like 59 — think it had dropped to 57— I don't remember really
where it was at when I offered. But I offered $40,000 and I thought that they would
counter offer half way and they didn't. They took my offer, but in the meantime I had
gone home and looked up the owner, and found out that they had owed some taxes
coming up and that was within a few weeks. And I had cash on hand from refinancing
another property, so I could close quickly. I think that's why they jumped on it, which
was good for both of us.
Tony:
Right.
Lorina: And then we were able to rent it out right away. Actually, there was already a guy
living there. I think he was paying $375 or something like that. But he was going to
be moving within that month, so then I put it on the market for rent for $450 and got
somebody in there within four days. So, that was kind of the fastest with maybe the
best cash flow for what we paid for it this year.
Tony:
And you guys used hard money to buy that outright correct?
Lorina: We — yes, because I had already refinanced another property in order to have cash on
hand to work with. Which really wasn't what I would consider money out of our
pocket. It was equity from another house.
Tony:
Sure.
Lorina: But we used it to buy that. And then we could refinance that, but there really wasn't any
point at the time, because I got a good rate on that other one. And until I need more
cash to work with, if I do, then we can always you know refinance that one.
Tony:
Right. Tell me about the bird dogging strategies. Because if I heard you correctly, it
sounds like that's something you just started doing.
Lorina: Yeah, I'd never heard of it before. So I'm getting to know different people on the
DeanGraziosi.com site.

36. Tony:
Right, right.
Lorina: There were a few that had asked about the deals up here, because everything is really
cheap compared to other parts of the country. And I was kind of putting in some of
them that I had been looking at you know in my journal or in different forums.
Anyway, and then one investor said, “Well, would you possibly want to look for any
for someone else?” And I said, “Sure!” Because I already had two in the works and I
— my husband kind of wants to keep it at a pace that doesn't get out of hand.
Tony:
Right.
Lorina: So, I said, “Sure, I'll look for some for you.” So, within a couple of weeks I lined up —
you know I looked at a lot of houses and I had made an offer on the first one trying to
do an/or sign, but the bank wouldn't take it. So, we did have to go the other route and
do it as a bird dog. But he paid me $1,500 for finding the house. He paid $26,900 for
it. It ended up being — having an extra lot. It's a three bedroom, one bath. With a
newer garage, two stall garage. And we actually just finished rehabbing that one and
I've got renters moving in for him at $750 a month.
Tony:
Nice.
Lorina: Yeah, but he had to put a little bit into that. Because when I walked in, I'm seeing you
know what has to be done. And then my husband went in as the rehabber and he talked
with the investor. He ended up putting a little bit more I think than he would have
originally. But it raised it by — it raised the equity in it by more than the extra that he
put in. I think he ended up putting — I was figuring $20,000. He ended up putting in a
little over $30,000 into it. But I think it raised it from what I would have thought
$80,000 to now $100,000. So, he'll get his money back out of it, plus the rent is good.
Tony:
And so, did you find this deal the same way that you found the one that you purchased?
Lorina: Trying to think. Yes, as soon as it came across my email. Because you know any time
something new comes on the market, I've got her sending them anything under
$150,000. And any time a number drops or something new comes on, it — as soon as
it's on the MLS, it comes across my email. She may not even see it, but it comes
directly to my email. And then I'll jump on it right away, if I know it's a good deal.
And then the second one actually that I did a bird dog on, he made the offer on it. You
know I found it and then he offered really low and they actually took that one too for
cash. So, I'm learning a lot from him, because he's being brave on these and actually
doing stuff that I haven't tried. And then he's also been investing for years and years, so
I'm learning a lot from him too, which is great. Plus, now I have a cash investor that'll
back me on deals too.
Tony:
Now this is the investor that you met on DeanGraziosi.com?

37. Lorina: Yep.
Tony:
And is he — you're not located close to him I'm guessing.
Lorina: No, he's on the west coast actually. So, it's been kind of fun. I've gotten quite good at
this. I'll send him pictures of the properties. Actually, I've looked at many houses for
him and he'll actually pay me to do that too. Well, I haven't insisted on all of them.
And I just take pictures in a certain order and then I'll send him emails and kind of write
— or he'll ask questions and then I — you know we talk on the phone. He and his wife
are pretty awesome.
Tony:
You said that these deals come to you via email. Did you set that up with your real
estate agent, so that they're automatically forwarded to you or something? How does
that work?
Lorina: I'm not exactly sure how it works. But as houses are put in the MLS, she's got criteria
put in that will direct certain listings to my email. And right now I have her — I have it
so that the ones that are directed to my email are anything under $150,000 and singlefamily within my target area, which is Douglas County, Wisconsin. This includes
Superior, the town that I have most of our properties in.
Tony:
Okay. And how did you find your real estate agent?
Lorina: Kind of by accident. I know how I would look for another one, if I needed to. She was
the listing agent on the first house that I looked at last year. And when I met her and
she is just so full of — what do they call that? — vinegar or whatever.
Tony:
That saying “full of Piss and vinegar” from 1938 in John Steinbeck's, The Grapes of
Wrath:
Lorina: Yeah, she's a little spitfire. A tiny lady and she's — I'm not going to guess her age, but
she's a grandma.
Maybe near to being a great grandma. But she and her son have tried being landlords
— tried you know renting things out and they hate it. So, it's a perfect union for me
and her to work together. Because she gets so excited about the deals and making sure
I'm making money and of course, she makes money too. Not a whole lot on the little
dollar amounts, but we have so much fun together. And she's willing to try any of this
new stuff. She hadn't heard of all these things either. You know the things I'm
learning through Dean, but she's willing to try any of them, so it's pretty fun.
Tony:
That is awesome. It's great to have somebody that keeps it exciting. I don't know how
you could do it otherwise.

38. Lorina: No, I don't think — well, I mean you could — but I couldn't do nearly as much on my
own. I've learned a lot from her too, as far as filling out purchase agreements and how
to deal with other Realtors and banks and whatever, so.
Tony:
Can you walk me through your process of how you approach a deal first time you talk
to the seller? Yeah, what do you do?
Lorina: Well, when it's with the banks, I'm not talking to them directly. But I have learned a lot
as far as talking to for sale by owner. Matter of fact, I was just trying to hurry an older
gentleman off the phone, so I could make the call to you. Because I called — actually
this is a guy who — do you want to hear this a little bit?
Tony:
Yeah, of course!
Lorina: Okay. I actually — the second house that my investor purchased, we just got done with
that. Really there wasn't much to put in that, but we were waiting on the levelers to
level the bottom of the house. Anyway, I have renters moving in there now. But this
lady gave this other gentleman as a reference. So, I called him and left a message and I
didn't know if he'd call me back or not. Because he had foreclosed on the house that
she was living in without telling them. And so I didn't know — he hadn't returned any
of their calls either recently, so I just left a message and he called me back today.
Well anyway, so we talked a little about the reference. But it turns out he has a couple
of other places, he just really wants to leave right away to go to Florida. Which it
sounds familiar in a whole bunch of stories that people tell.
Tony:
It does, yeah.
Lorina: Yeah, and so he's describing his houses to me and how much he wants and how much
he's got into them. And then the further into the conversation he said, “But you know I
just want to leave. So, yeah take a look at them and tell me what you want to pay.” So,
I don't know if this is going to be a good you know potential buy or not, but that's what
I'm — I wrote down all the information and I'm going to go by the houses and talk to
him some more, and maybe I'll be getting a good deal out of this. I don't know.
Tony:
Great. When are you going to go look at it?
Lorina: I don't know. I literally just got off the phone with him and that's the first time I ever
talked to the gentleman.
Tony:
Oh, okay.
Lorina: So, we'll have to follow-up and I think I already know the houses he's talked about.
Because one of them is Packer colors which is green and gold, so I think I've driven by
that house a few times. I just got to go check it out and I'll see how far he'll be willing
to come down. Because I don't think he owes really on one of them, and the other one

39. he said he has about $60,000 into it. And it's worth about $150,000 right now. He had
it appraised like a month ago. So, I will see what I can do there.
Tony:
Ah, good luck on that.
Lorina: Yeah.
Tony:
Look forward to hearing about it. How about talking to the banks then? You say that
you've gotten some REOs through the banks ...any secrets or strategies that you found
to be particularly useful in doing the RAOs that you've done?
Lorina: Well, they very much like when people offer cash. So, what I do is offer cash with an
inspection contingency. And cash doesn't have to mean cash, it just means I'll have the
money by the time I buy it.
Tony:
Right.
Lorina: So, I've got to sometimes put the cart before the horse. I'll offer cash and then I go to
my banker and say, “I need some money.” So, but it's always worked out and I think if
you got a good deal, you're going to get the money somewhere.
Tony:
Do you have a standard percentage or amount that you'll ask for reduction for with cash
deal? Like if the bank wants you know $50,000, do you have a figure in mind that you
always go down? I'm going to drop it by 10 percent. I'm going to offer 20 percent less
of what the bank tells me they want for it. Or do you just gauge it per property?
Lorina: I gauge it per property actually. Because if I already know that the property is worth 30
percent more than what they're asking, or you know even more — I'll try to guesstimate
actually with my Realtor how much they might be willing to go. Because sometimes I
think it's — well, I need to try the strategy that Matt Larson and Dean have been talking
about and offer really low on a whole bunch of properties. I really need to do that and
I'm going to be trying that. But so far I've tried to guess what the bottom dollar the
banks will take is, rather than go really low and have them counter offer. I'd rather
have them accept the first time, so I kind of guesstimate on it. And that may not be the
best thing, but I'm still getting a really good deal.
Tony:
Well, hey if it's working then...
Lorina: I don't know.
Tony:
I mean if we're doing a deal and making a profit — well, I think it's human nature once
we get a great deal on something to look back and say, “You know I think I could have
done a little better.”
Lorina: Yeah, I haven't really done that to myself. Because I know if I'm making some money
— if I'm making $10,000 or $15,000, hey that's good to me and I'm going to move onto