I’m closing in on my first real estate deal. Hopefully my offer will be accepted (I’ll find out Tuesday). Things are really rolling. I’m building my team which currently includes a banker, mortgage broker, attorney, title company. The people I’m looking to add are a realtor, CPA, and possibly and appraiser.

I met my title company on Thursday morning and they were really great. They have two really sharp people running the Gardendale office. I’ve got no doubts that they can help me close deals and navigate any title problems. I wish they had access to a title plant, but that’s okay. If I really end up needing access to one, I’m sure I can develop a relationship as needed.

I met an attorney today. He’s an honest man who knows business law, including contracts and litigation. He owns 5 rental properties of his own. After talking with him for a half-hour, I think that we understand each other’s expectations and things wil go from there. He’s going to help me set up an entity for my business as soon as I consult with a CPA. He gave me the name of a good one that he does business with. I should probably meet him early next week.

My mentor is coming in two weeks and I’m trying to get things lined up for him, so I can see some true art in deal making. From what everyone’s told me, this should be a sight to see. It’s going to be akin to watching an Animal Planet in real life. I’m releasing a tiger onto Birmingham for 48 hours. If I’m good and flush out the game, I’ll get to see some real action.

I made a little milestone yesterday. While driving around looking at real estate, I talked to my first homeowner about his situation. The talk went like I was told it would. It was cool. I’ve talked to a homeowner over the phone, but there is a different feeling when you are standing at the door and you’ve just rung the doorbell. You’re listening intently, trying to hear if someone is coming. “Is someone there”, I ask myself, “What am I going to say?”. I review the script in my head and hope I can wing it right. I’ll be doing this a lot, so it was great to get my first one out of the way. Hell, I might even get some work for my mortgage broker now. Then, he might remember that I’m alive.

Mark’s coming soon, must make preparations urgently.

I just read this article and it scared me. Now, the 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled that the military can hold citizens indefinitely as “enemy combatants”. It cites the need for the executive branch to have latitude in the ability to wage war, but have we declared war? This looks like a nice step to doing the same to citizens captured within our borders. After all, what rights should be different for a US citizen whether he is abroad or at home. Just a matter of time if you ask me. Maybe someone will have mercy on us and this will be appealed to the Supreme Court before the people who still love the Constitution retire. Otherwise, it will be Aschcroft lockdown on anyone who the government just wants to hold onto for a while. I think it’s a little funny that the military protects the Constitution but doesn’t grant the rights it guarantees (right to a fair and speedy trial).

Don’t forget the small town of prisoners we have down at Camp X-Ray in Cuba. Most of those guys will probably not see their families and homes for another 5 years at least. Good thing we won’t acknowledge or deny who we have there either.

Hmm… what’s that sound? Oh, just the founding fathers rolling in their graves. You’ll get used to it after a while.

Chris came by to see me yesterday. We dined on some Vietnamese food and talked about our Real Estate goals. We are both doing the Utah Investor mentoring program. We talked about what we want to do and where we want to be.
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Today was a jaw dropping day. Apple released 2 new powerbooks and a whole suite of new and updated software. One of the new powerbooks is a 12″ like my iBook, but it has a better processor and a few more bells and whistles. Major droolage, but I’m still thrilled with my iBook. No regrets about getting it. The 17″ is just a plain desktop replacement. It’s awesome. I’d probably get that over an iMac and it will probably eat the PowerMac’s lunch.

The Keynote software had an incredible presentation. It is basically everything that PowerPoint isn’t and should be. Finally, we can make presentations that don’t require a hot cup of coffee in front of you to stay awake. I’ve been to a seminar on information display and I know that this would definitely help communicate your message. Even Steve Jobs says he uses it!

The iLife stuff was cool too. It integrates the pieces together: audio, video, photo, and delivery. I really hope that the new iPhoto will actually work a little better, my current iPhoto library is a little messed up. It won’t import new photos, since I imported some photos with some bad names.

Hope some more Window users will take a look at the Mac. It’s pretty cool and I’m really happy about my purchase. Also, my favorite quote from the Macworld opening keynote was “Open Source, we think it’s great!”. Cool company.