Are You a Drip or a Drop?

D-Discouraged

R-Resigned

O-Obstacles

P-Purpose

D-Determined

R-Resolution

I-Intention

P-Purpose

The other morning I was sitting in my bedroom and was immediately inspired by my ceiling of all things. I literally became fascinated with the water-stained spot that was caused by a dripping toilet above my bedroom. It was brown in color, circular in shape, and caused my senses to recollect the irritating feeling of having to shell out money to have this stain investigated. My senses were confirmed when the plumber told me that my toilet was leaking. The leak managed to drip it's way down through the layers of wood, plaster and paint, this drip was determined to show itself creative yet damaging by painting a circular brown stain on my bedroom ceiling.  This drip had faithfully succeeded in getting my attention.  This drip had caused me to take action. 

This reminds me of how we set out to meet our goals in Real Estate.  Just imagine with me for a second.  Picture the shape and size of a drip, it's small, it's opaque in color, it looks harmless,  it has a goal, to cause damage, it has a plan, to slowly and steadily drip until it reached it's destination; my bedroom ceiling. This drip resolved to never give up, despite it's size, despite it's origin, and despite what I thought about drips, this drip was not going to allow my opinion nor any piece of wood, plaster or paint to (the obstacles) hinder it's goal. 

Today I want to change your perception of a drip.  No longer will you look at a drip, and become frustrated; today I want to prove to you that a thousand drips a day can cause your real estate career to reach infinite goals beyond what you can ever imagine.  

There are referrals in a drip, there is an abundance of closings in a drip, some drips create "Millionaire Real Estate Agents". 

I came up with an acronym for DRIP:

A drip is DETERMINED not to become a drop, the sound of the drip has RESOLVED to express it's statement or INTENT; to cause infinite closings and infinite referrals, the PURPOSE of the drip is to go undetected until it can create "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent".

In Real Estate we can drip our way to success or drop our way to failure.  Just like the old saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, well a drip a day keeps the drop away.  Most of us have goals, but we do not always achieve them. We do not achieve them because somewhere along the way we have chosen to become a drop instead of a drip. Look at each action you take as one small drip, and continue to drip your way towards your dreams until you create your very own circular brown stain in your real estate career.

You drip your way by just being DETERMINED to drip (taking action) and not to give up, RESOLVE to be determined just like the drip on my bedroom ceiling, INTEND to not let phone hang ups, deals that fall through, the economy nor fear, stop you from dripping towards your dreams or goals, once you have determined to never stop dripping, then you will have succeeded with your PURPOSE.  Resolve to never become a drop, a drop is the smallest practical unit of liquid measure, it means to pass from one state into a less active one.

Just as the wood, plaster and paint were not an obstacle to the drip, don't allow negative thoughts, doubt, fear, nor procrastination change your drip into a drop.

Acronym for DROP:

Don't be Discouraged by negative people, they are only Obstacle's to Resign your Purpose.

Keep the drip and drop the drop.

By Toi Irvin

Most of us rely on the ability of contractors to judge a building's soundness and to give us an estimate on the cost of rehabbing. Some contractors are talented, good natured, and hardworkers.  Some are not too good at estimating the costs, perhaps because they are optimists and unrealistic. At some point and time, you will have to rely on their honesty to look over a building. The character of your contractor, as well as his knowledge in this field will have a major impact on your financial well being. Once you find that trusty, reliable, and knowledgeable contractor, along with good workmanship, treat them very well.

You can lose money when your contractor has not delivered on what he/she has promised. This can cause lots of frustration and stress, let alone time and money well spent. There are some contractors that work on multiple contracts at one time, therefore putting your building on the back burner for a moment. Some contractors will promise you the world at the beginning of your relationship. So be on the lookout for those fast talkers. You will want to establish up front what it is that they can do for you, and what your expectations are. This way, you can say to yourself, "I know what I am getting into,". Do your homework.

When hiring smaller contractors you may perhaps be able to strike up deals that you may not have been able to with the larger contractors. The best advice though, is to pay more to a larger contractor. If you get a bargain, you may have to run around checking and rechecking their work. Figuring out what is important to you will aid in making that final decision when hiring a contractor. If you want to be able to sleep at night, paying a little extra will make this happen. Hire contractors with their own transportation, along with a good reputation. If you have already worked with a less expensive contractor in the past, then by all means, go with him/her; you've struck gold if you have.

You will usually come into contact with two type of contractors, the handyman who has got the skills, but he/she can't back it up, because they may not have all of the tools and equipment that is necessary to do an efficient job. Then you have the general contractor who looks good with the fancy truck and equipment, but this one may farm out the work to other handymen, this operation is called middleman, rather than a craftsman.

Most general contractors will ask for half the job's estimate up front, this will help pay for the materials needed for the job. Once this is paid upfront the balance of power goes to the contractor. This is where you will see another side of a person. Once you give up your money, the other person has control. Oooh! They stop calling; it's kinda like those new romantic relationships. Hard to reach, unavailable, busy, will get right back with ya. To avoid this shifting of power in this short term relationship, go ahead and ask for seperate estimates for labor and materials. If you agree, go pay for the materials yourself, put them on hold for your contractor; he'll think you are the nicest person he/she has ever met. Now, if we do it this way, you can make payments for the work that has been done. Make sure that you all agree on the payment schedule. Last but not least, offering a little extra to your contractor may motivate him/her to stay on your job and finish quicker. Only offer this if your contractor has stated that they can have the job done in a certain amt. of time.

 Good Luck!