Issue Date: October 19, 2007

Creative Moneymaking, or is it

By Jody Zink
Licensed Realtor in Ohio & Michigan

The "fix and flip", "no money down" and "rent to own." While not for the timid investor, or those allergic to hard work, people are making money with these "creative" real estate strategies.

I can appreciate creative ways to make money. We all do. Back in college, students in the psychology department at Indiana University were always posting signs around campus recruiting students for studies and experiments. I was all for making a little extra cash, and it mostly consisted of questionaires, puzzles and staring at ink-blots. As long as I wasn't shocked or probed in any way, this guinea pig cheerfully signed up. After several weeks, I received a small stipend, felt good about helping science, and went on my merry way.

A better story, however, takes place in my West Toledo neighborhood. That's where a special family has earned thousands of dollars, sent a kid to college and is working on sending two more. Since 1989, these family members have collected aluminum cans. Not long after moving into my home, I got a note on my doorstep wrapped in a neatly rolled up garbage bag asking me to leave my cans for them one day a week. I was thrilled to help. From that point on, not a single can from my house has gone to the Toledo curb recycling bin, but instead to the special bag just inside my front door specially dedicated for this family's efforts. And since they get more money for uncrushed cans, I leave them as they are. I set them out one day each week. Walk up the sidewalk on can day and it's obvious my drink of choice is Diet Pepsi. Go down the street and I can tell what my neighbors like to drink, too. Door after door, I see bags of aluminum cans. It gives me a good feeling to see that many of my neighbors appear to be on board. We come home at the end of the day, the cans are gone, and another neatly wrapped garbage bag is left behind for the following week.

It's can be easy to forget that making money and being financially independent doesn't mean reinventing the wheel. Consistency and focus got this family pretty far. For 18 years, they've focused on only 12 streets.

I'd be remiss not to mention another group I often see. Perhaps you've seen them, too. Those metal scrappers you see every week just before garbage day? They're consistent. Coverage you can count on. Just try it. Drag an old kitchen appliance to your curb and it will likely be gone in an hour. While you're at it, throw in your old wire, pipes and other scrap metal lying around the house. They'll love you for it. Just hope you don't get stuck behind their truck on I-475 when they hit a pothole.

Whether you're staring at optical illusions for a psych researcher, brokering a million dollar real estate deal, or collecting metal in the neighborhood, the qualities of persistence, commitment and creativity provide the foundation for future success.

Jody Zink is a licensed REALTOR in Ohio and Michigan with the Loss Realty Group. Her column appears every other week in the Toledo Free Press. She can be reached at jody@jodyzinkrealtor.com or 419-725-1881.