Stuck in the mud in Indianapolis - time & motivation struggle...

[Tim Dunlop]

Just looking for some motivation or even ideas that can help me get back into the groove.

Current Situation

I purchased a package of multi family properties about a year ago - 28 units total. At the time 4 were rented out and most were in not really in condition to live in. I was able to work on them myself for awhile and get some renovated but currently have 7 liveable and rented... I took a promotion at my full time job about 3 months ago and am now back to the world of working 70-90 hours a week at this job which does pay very well but is exhausting. I have a “guy” that helps with the properties but also has a full time job that is working him about 70 hours a week. I’m at the point of losing about $1.5k a month with the total package but purchased them right and have a ton of instant equity in them. Really just in one of those moods where I can’t determine the next most logical solution or approach. The goal is to use these properties as a way to get out of the corporate world and full time run my own company. I have almost zero time currently to work on anything with the rentals just stuck in the mud... Ideas? Thoughts? Motivation?

[Greg Scott]

With tough love...

You are treating this like a hobby, not a business.  A year has gone by and you've only gotten 3 of 24 down units back online.  What if you lose your job?  How will you feel a few years from now telling your young child that they have to find a way to pay for college themselves because you blew all your savings "playing" in real estate?   Or, imagine another scenario where you could pay for them to go to college and grad school because you did a good job managing these properties.  You could arrive at either of these extremes based on your actions now.

Personally, I'd get some cash together and hire a GC to get ALL the other units rentable.  There is no reason you can't have all of them ready within one month, two at the latest.  If you need cash, consider selling off a couple of them to put cash in your pocket so you can fix up the other ones.   If time is your most constrained resource, hire a property manager to lease-up the units and manage them day-to-day.

Good luck.