Opportunity During the Real Estate Recession

[Ankesh]

Read this article:
Can't sell your house? Bury a St. Joseph statue
http://publicityhound.net/wanted-dir...oseph-statues/

Action Summary:

* Start selling St. Joseph statues to realtors.

* Write a few op-ed pieces and get free publicity.

As the recession deepens, I see a lot of lucky charms and faith based products selling well.

They actually sell those little statues at the local R.E. Board here in Phoenix. You could certainly undercut the price though - everything you get directly from the Association Stores are pretty expensive.

Dear Ankesh,

Thanks.

Good one.

Here's another.

Here's a mortgage broker type who started a part time business painting DEAD grass green for home owners trying to sell.

He's done 20 jobs already - just word of mouth.

Here's the article...

Glenn

http://www.jacksonville.com/business...ore_than_walls

Dear Ankesh,

Thanks.

I'm always on the look-out for entrepreneurs making munny in Unusual ways. Because I might find something I want to Imitate or adapt.

Here's a successful powerseller on Ebay.

In addition to a 44K backhoe and other machinery.

This crafty rascal tells a short story about a "MAGIC Lucky ROCK."

A - A lucky store owner

B - The store was packed with customers

C - The store owner passed his "LUCKY Rock" on to him. The next person.

Cute.

Did his story work?

YUP.

He's got 10 bids on his "Magic Rock will attract Riches" auction.

Glenn

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAGIC-ROCK-THAT-...3A1%7C294%3A50

No I'm talking about real estate.

Butt,

No this is not a late night real estate guru pitch but I do want you to take something out of your wallet.

It's not cash I want.

Instead I want your driver's license.

If you have one then chances are you are eligible for legal employment.

Now some of you right about now are saying so what.
And you see that just may be the problem.

If you're a rehabber then you'll soon or already may have to deal with day laborers to help you finish a project on time.

So let me ask you, those guys hanging out on the sidewalk selling themselves as your solution to finding cheap and easy day labor, are you going to hire them?

Some will. Some won't.

You know the problem or you know the problem most rehabbers ignore.

Probably 99% percent of these guys (some girls too) are illegal.

If you do then you're exposing yourself to committing a crime.

On the other hand who is going to know?

My own opinion is generally to say why bother.

If it's a short term project then possibly having to pay higher labor costs when you use legal workers should not squeeze your wallet too much.

Plus if you've bought your house at the right price anyway short term labor costs shouldn't bust your budget.

Don't get so cheap that you cheapen your real estate investing.

If you are in a bind for short term labor use a temp agencies or get referrals from construction workers looking for a weekend gig to pick up extra work.

There's a number of ways to do it that'll get you the same results with less risk.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule.

If for some reason these street laborers were referred to you by a trusted source then you may be less inclined not to say no to it.

For example I've heard of one person who has used an illegal on a number of jobs.

Their worker was loyal and hard working and probably underpaid to some extent never the less each entered into the deal with open arms and are generally satisfied.

By the way speaking of rehabbing a recent construction study hints at two types of rehabbing projects where the value of the completed project outstripps the costs to complete the project.

Of course you have to read these reports with a bit of skeptiscism because if you've bought the house right then just about any rehabbing you do on the house will add value but it's valuable to keep track of these things.

One of the projects was one I completely expected
while the other one was not.

If you'd like to know more then shoot me some email and I'll give you more details.

The person you refer to as using an illegal occasionally (knowingly) is leaving themselves open to endless hassles, expenses and possible loss of his operations as they exist. That, in turn, risks all the legal folks who work for that person and their source of income to support themselves and their families. Perhaps if he looked at the bigger picture, he might not be so inclined? I would hope so.

Hiring illegals, no matter how good they are on the job, only encourages more illegals to come here and undermine our laws and endanger folks who ARE obeying the law and working legally here. Better they stay in their own home country and learn the ropes there to build a future for themselves where they are, IMHO.

Sandi Bowman