2021: Did You Meet Your Goals?

[Karl B.]

With 2021 almost in the past I'm sitting here taking a break from typing out a lease/gathering related paperwork for a property I bought last month (that was part of a small portfolio). This property had been vacant; me and my handyman and his assistant worked hard to get the property ready for rent. 

The occupants will be signing the lease and receiving the keys tomorrow and I'm quite pleased as we're completing the property repairs/clean-up today. 

2021 was great. I added a handful of value-add properties to my rentals and decided to move to my Pennsylvania market and hometown to manage and further add to my properties. 

I hope you all had a great 2021 and accomplished the goals you had set for yourselves and if you hadn't set any goals I hope you achieved a good amount over the course of the year. 

My 2022 goals are to have a successful move back to Pennsylvania and to purchase more properties; which will be much easier since I'll be back full-time in my main market for the first time since entering real estate. 

Did you meet your 2021 goals? And what do you want to accomplish in 2022? 

Happy New Year!

[Nathan Gesner]

I don't set specific goals with investing because I have a business to run and that's my focus. However, I do have a very basic goal of setting aside money for investments, constantly looking for deals, continuing my education, and improving my portfolio.

This year I bought an investment that is also a charity. It includes two single-family homes and then a commercial space. I've donated the use of the commercial space to a local food pantry. They use it for free, so it's about $20,000 in value to the community every year. Unfortunately, there's no tax write-off so it's a true donation.

I bought my first storage facility with 150 storage units and three residential units. It's a C- property but it has amazing cashflow. It's definitely my best investment ever made and I intend to do more storage in the future. 

Finally, I bought a new commercial property that will become my real estate office. It requires some major cash to renovate and turn it into what I want, but it is in an excellent location that I couldn't turn up. I will be the only real estate office on the east side of town and it's on the busiest road in the county between the two towns I serve. It has a 1,500 sq.ft. shop so I can start building my maintenance company to supplement my property management. Unfortunately, it will eat up all the cash I have and some of 2022 cash, so I may not be investing in much else next year.

Goals for 2022? Start a maintenance company with a maintenance coordinator, plumbing, handymen, and cleaners. It's ambitious, but I think we're up for the challenge.