Blog
Rehabs Revealed: Merrillville Part 1 of 4 – Getting Started
December 16, 2014
Week One – Getting Started This house is located in a quaint area of Merrillville, Indiana. The property is a little older and had not been kept very clean over the years. Needless to say, we had our work cutout for us! The house had two bedrooms downstairs and a large, open upstairs that was begging to be converted into a master bedroom. There was only one bathroom and it simply wasn’t cost effective to add another. So, we updated the bath and installed a new glass block window in the tub area to bring in some natural light. We ran into a huge potential “budget breaker” when we realized it needed a new roof. Winter-time in Northwest Indiana is not a good time to open up a roof. But, it had to be done. In the basement, the configuration made it impractical to refinish. We made plans to simply repaint the walls and floor. As we surveyed the living areas, we felt they needed to be opened up but we had major concerns about the location of load-bearing walls. My blog pictures over the next few weeks will really let you see the transformation on this house! ...
read more8 Steps to Sure Success: Step One – Vision
December 16, 2014
“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision!” – Helen Keller Our journey to success has commenced! This week, we begin the “8 Steps to Sure Success” with step number one: VISION. Vision is the “core” to success. I know, I know, I’m sure that fact is obvious to many of you perusing this article! It’s akin to me saying something like, “good diet and exercise are important to maintaining a healthy body.” No kidding! However, it’s still wise to remind us all of the importance of having “vision.” Ask yourself this question, “How clear is my life’s mission to me?”. If you don’t see it, how can you succeed in it? Vision includes seeing it in your mind’s eye, receiving it in your conscious comprehension, believing it to be yours to possess and declaring it to those encompassing you! Do you see yourself succeeding? What is your definition of success? The more detailed, coherent, and thorough your vision and the more mental focus you’ll be able to utilize in order to achieve it. Take a moment and look around you. Everything you see was first a vision in someone else’s mind. The watch on your wrist, those jeans you’re wearing, the coffee cup in your hand, even the computer screen that you’re looking at right now – everything was first a vision in someone’s mind. They conceived it with such clarity that it was just the matter of transferring that mental image in their mind’s eye to the physical object that you’re looking at now! As I mentioned above, vision is the core, the foundation, of success. Where there is no vision, there are no plans or goals for the future – just an empty canvas waiting to be painted with the dreams of the visionary! Do you see that beautiful house sitting on that wooded lot? Can you see the Mercedes in the driveway? The smell of the filet mignon on the BBQ? Can you see your children swimming in the custom pool in the beautifully landscaped backyard? Dream in color, in stereo sound and dream with all of your senses heightened! You need to feel it, touch it, taste it, and experience all of it! Put your mind to work, create your vision. Austin “Jack” DeCoster was 15 years old when his father died suddenly. Upon awakening the next morning, his mother approached him in the kitchen and said, “Son, your father’s 125 chickens still need to be fed and the eggs need to be gathered. They’re your responsibility now.” As a young teenager that had just lost his father, Austin bravely accepted the challenge and became driven with a desire to succeed with his father’s small poultry farm in Turner, Maine. That was over six decades ago. Those 125 chickens evolved into an empire of 22 million chickens that produce over 500 million eggs annually! Austin is the founder of DeCoster Egg Farms/Wright County Eggs and now runs his “empire of eggs” with his sons Peter and Jay. Take an hour this week and dream….create a vision. Write down your goals for this week, this year, five years from now and 20 years from now. The future is in your hands....
read moreCustomizing Your Bathroom (Video)
December 16, 2014
In this video, I spend a little more time showing how to pull a bathroom together with a custom look. Check it out. ...
read moreRehabs Revealed: Richton Park Part 4 of 4 – Entire House Overview
December 16, 2014
Week Four – Whole House Overview We used a “cool” paint color scheme on both the inside and outside. These Ann Lee choices really made the property “show” well! We also partnered with Home Depot’s paint delivery service that delivers our paint directly to our job site. It comes straight from the factory to us, instead of our waiting for it to be mixed at the store. The new KILZ Pro X310 series paint is a terrific interior paint. We also used a new (well, new to us!) hardwood flooring choice from Home Depot and it turned out incredibly well! This flooring even comes with a 50-year warranty! When the total rehab was complete, we received many compliments from people in the neighborhood and almost every inspector who came through the house. Here are some of the SKU’s we used. INTERIOR: Wall and Ceiling Color – White Tail (PXO 951) Trim Color – Chain Link (PXO 953) Door Color – New York (PXO 954) Flooring – Hampton Bay High-Gloss Natural Palm (822-042) Carpet – Suede Full Throttle (327-955) Interior Doors – Jeldwen Continental-Style (729-608) Living Room Light – 13″ Brushed Nickel 2-Light Flush Mount Twin-Pack (701-704) Dining Room Chandelier – 3-Light Brushed Nickel (118-638) Baseboards – Pro-Pack of 7/16″x3″x12′ (143-210) CustomizingEXTERIOR: Base – Marble Quarry (PXO929) Trim – Whitedown (PXO916) Accent – Sea of Midnight (PXO995) Front Door – Raisin the Bar (PXO800) Door Handle – Kwikset (182-071) ...
read moreIntroducing the Andrew Cordle Mobile App for Android and iPhone!
December 16, 2014
I’m really excited and pleased to announce that my new mobile application for Android and iPhone is finally here! The best part about the app is that I’m offering it to you totally free of charge! Let’s be honest, we live in an impatient society. As consumers, we know what we want and we want it now! Mobile applications virtually eliminate the wait-time. Long gone are the days of waiting for the morning newspaper to catch-up on the days news. In 2014, technology is at our finger-tips. Therefor, smartphone applications help connect business owners with their customers. With the modern-day market going mobile, applications help businesses and their customer base keep pace. Mobile apps are much faster than merely browsing the web and allow you to stay in touch with your favorite content, in real-time. Since most of the information is stored within the application, the wait time is virtually eliminated and up-to-the-minute information is almost instantaneous. Mobile applications are becoming so popular, it’s predicted that by 2015 nearly half of all company-issued devices will be mobile! I like to stay ahead of the curve. My developers and I decided to jump ahead of the competition by creating a mobile application for both Android and iPhone users. You’ll find that the app is really user friendly and updated with fresh content (for you!) daily. You may ask, “Andrew, what are the advantages of downloading your app?” Well, here’s a just few: – It’s simply a great resource for real estate investor information – There’s nothing “for sale” inside the app…it’s just great content – Access to my weekly blogs and video-logs – DIY (do-it-yourself) home improvement videos – “Rehab” how-to videos – Event announcements – It’s a “one-stop” real estate investor educational source – Articles focused on real estate investing and written by the best in the business – Updates on my company and what we’re up to – Elevate REIA and local REIA announcements – As well as much, much more! Again, the app is really user-friendly and easy to download onto your Android or iPhone. It’s totally free, so don’t wait! Take a moment to visit your app-store, search for “Andrew Cordle” and download the free AC mobile app. After you’ve spent a little time with it, I’d really love your feedback. To your success, – Andrew ...
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