Hello! I'm back! Yes, it's been a while. About 6 months since my last post. Surprisingly, I still have active readers that read this blog consistently. Either checking out past articles or listening to the podcast archives. I have some cool things that have been cooking in my brain for The Real Estate Newbie and can't wait to share them with you soon.

In the meantime, let me catch you up. If you need to rewind, I recommend you check out the blog archives and begin at Always a Real Estate Newbie to read my last update.

Here we go..

2011 was a year of true "Action" for me. I truly count it as the year that I went from "Newbie" to "Full Time Active Investor". After a rocky first half of the year that included post partum depression, relaunching my marketing firm with a partner only to see it fizzle 2 months later, then an attempt from a former client to stop me from pursuing my dream of being a real estate investor by sending me threatening letters from his attorneys only to be stopped by my attorney, I was finally able to jump into real estate full time on my own as I had been preparing for the last 2-3 years beforehand.

Here's the breakdown on how it all went down..

June 2011- My mentors, fellow investors, and friends at One Stop REI in the Rio Grande Valley believed in me and handheld me through getting my first contract on my first (non-note) real estate deal. It was through their years of experience and wisdom that I finally got off the bench. It wasn't free, I split my profit with them 50/50, but well worth it to say I had my first deal under my belt.

Mid June 2011 - They connected me with Tim Herriage and George Roddy Jr. at FlipThatContract from Dallas, TX. Through their program, education, and more encouragement I was able to get the ball rolling for more deals to come.

July 2011 - I got paid on my first deal and took a few days off to celebrate :)

August 2011 - Began implementing all the marketing strategies I had done many times before for previous clients but now for my own real estate business Real Estate ATM.

September 2011 - I partnered with a new friend and fellow local investor, David Vargas from Vargas Solutions to create a momentum that cannot be created alone in this business. We worked hard to get even more deals under contract implementing different strategies such as wholesaling, assignments, double closes, subject-to, and mortgage assignments.

September 2011 - I partnered with a private investor to purchase and fix and flip our first rehab.

October 2011 - We began closing our deals from the months of working them before.

November 2011 - My husband, Moses Raadt, received his Realtor's License to help with my business and joined Exit Realty - West Texas.

December 2011 - Had an amazing but really busy Holiday season!

January 2012 - We just sold our first Rehab. Second one is almost done. I have begun mentoring local real estate newbies through their first deals as a form of giving back. We have about 8-10 deals in the pipeline that we're working on in one fashion or another along with the listings and buyers that my husband has from deals that we couldn't work as investors.

Oh, and my first deal as an investor was my husband's first listing as a realtor. Turns out that it was my buyer's first rehab as well. We're really close to selling the same house again!

I couldn't believe it earlier this month when I was putting together all the numbers, but I've been able to make a full time yearly income in only 6 months while making some double digit months along the way. I highly credit those that have stood by me in 2011 but overall it's been the journey as "The Real Estate Newbie" that has helped me get off the bench and into the playing field. All the experts I interviewed, the real estate investors that hired me to manage their marketing and freely gave me their knowledge while we worked together, and just the support of my readers and fellow newbies.

I'm getting ready to head out to REI Expo in Dallas, TX and am looking forward to finally meeting Tim, George, and hopefully seeing my valley friends David and Ramiro. I'm also excited to see a dream come to reality. Back in 2007,when I first met and interviewed DC Cordova of Money and You. (Listen Here), we talked about how one day I would be going to business conferences with my daughter in tow and with a nanny to watch her (my daughter was less than a year old at the time, she's now 4 yrs. old).  I get to do that this weekend. I'm flying a dear friend (and grandmother figure to my girls) to Dallas to meet me there and watch my girls at the hotel while I absorb all the information and network with all my fellow investors at REI Expo. That is awesome.

I have three vision boards in my office. One has images of the lifestyle I desire, the second of those parts that I'm achieving, and the third of those things that I have achieved. It's cool to transfer an image from the first to the second to the third.

I won't tell you it's easy. But I will tell you it can be done and it's worth it! Join me, you can do it too!

Here's to Education, Wealth, and Freedom!

- Flower De Raadt, The Real Estate Newbie, I mean Active Investor :)