The 30 Second Commute
By Claude W. Diamond

The alarm goes off and it’s time to get up and get ready for work. Instead of getting into my car, driving onto the freeway and enduring the traditional morning aggravation which millions do, I get ready for my 30 second commute. The 30 seconds is just about how long it takes me to grab my first cup of coffee and head upstairs to my Real Estate Investment Home Office Business.

(My company’s dress code is very relaxed to say the least.)

Some years ago I came to the the startling conclusion, as many today have, that an enormous amount of time is wasted driving or commuting to an external office. In my case, I was wasting my time driving around looking at properties, checking prices, going to Escrow Agents, Title Companies, Realtors, etc. A great deal of my day was wasted in the car. I needed a way to work smarter and more efficiently. I discovered that by just setting up a home office with some basic modern technologicaI advances, I not only could work with less distractions, but become more productive and profitable. I had created for myself more time in the day in which to get the job done, which is creating Lease Purchase transactions.

Getting Started
The first step in becoming a modern home office operation was to face the bane of my generation, the computer. My previous experience with this device resulted in what is commonly referred to as Crashes (the complete and utter loss of all previous work ). I would then quietly and humbly, while mumbling some expletive deletives, retreat to my faithful Brothers Typewriter to begin anew.

This time, however, things would be different. I found an expert who trained me in the use of a computer and I bought a system that was much more user friendly. (My daughter, who was 5 at the time, was able to run it!)
So now, every morning I journey upstairs and turn on my faithful assistant, the computer or as we call him, Mac. I use my computer for three very basic funtions that no Real Estate Investor should be without.

1. Checking Real Estate Prices
Mac is tied into a mainframe computer service via an internal Modem that allows me to check real estate prices, or as we say, ‘comps’, 24 hours a day. I can immediately find out anything about any residential or commercial property within the companies 12 state area of operation. I can research the true owners on title, the outstanding loans or financing, the size and quantity of rooms and amenities. I can even find pre-foreclosures, out of state owners, tax delinquencies and a plethora of Potential Rent to Own properties.

Please Note: In the good ‘ol days I had to drive downtown to the records building or the court- house and actually spend hours doing this same research !!! Now, I just flip a switch and I have everything I need within seconds, right on my desk.

This same service is also available on CD Rom in many areas. !!!

This same modem allows me to communicate on BBS or bulletin board systems, online computer systems (Prodigy, America Online, etc.) and many more, like the Internet. I can locate good deals around the United States and do Lease Purchases right from my desk! I also have unlimited resources of information on real estate and the marketing possibilities are fantastic
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2. Receiving and Sending Information: Now we have all used a fax before, but in real estate you can really utilize this marvelous device to expedite deals and obtain information. My fax modem is built internally into my notebook computer and now I always have a fax machine available even when I’m traveling. In the old days, I would have to run back and forth to the local Mail Boxes, Etc. (more driving) and additional cost.

I found that by having a Fax Machine available, I did not have to make any more last minute drives to the post office or send nearly as many expensive overnite deliveries.
In terms of real estate investing it aids me in the following ways:
A. Receive credit reports on any person or business within 60 seconds.
B. Communicate with title companies and receive pertinent property information the same day from their customer service division. Prior to the fax, I sometimes waited for days (for the information to arrive by mail) or I’d have to drive to the title company to pick up the information.
C. Nick of time communications in closings and the ability to make multiple written offers on properties and strike while the iron is hot !

3. Storing Information-Anytime I find a good potential property, I record and save all the information for a future time or use it for a current deal, with my database program. Since I make many offers, I have found it impossible to remember all the parties and terms involved. The database I use is so simple and it allows me to recall names, property locations, notes on deals or previous conversations. I can then cross over all the information in my database to a built in wordprocessor and send out templates (pre-written letters) for use in marketing. I recently sent a letter to an out of state owner who I had not spoken to for over a year. I retrieved the name from my property database and this time the owner was much more motivated to do my kind of deal. He responded to my letter and we put together a win win rent to own. Keeping organized definitely has some positives to it. Storing data on the computer in an orderly fashion, helps my business to run much more smoothly and efficiently.

Extras
Of course there are other benefits, too. When I’m out of town, I can communicate with my office via my computer’s internal modem. With my laptop computer, I always have the ability to work on projects where ever I am. (That includes anywhere in our home, which, you guessed it, drives my wife a bit crazy at times!) On the positive side though, it also means that my daughter and I can be found on the floor playing a game of computer chess.

Having a home office, for me, means time more productively spent on business, which allows me the time, energy and freedom to be with my family. (It sure beats driving around on a Saturday, checking out open houses!)