Full time

[John Henderson]

Have you ever wanted something real bad and then you get it and are like "now what?"  

Let me back up a second with a little history about me.  I have been a 8-5 hourly worker pretty much my whole life.  Always have been good at solving problems and good with my hands which lead to jobs like being a mechanic on various things like cars and bikes and ending with copiers.    

I spent the last several years looking for a way to change my life's outcome. That is when I decided to enhance my financial IQ. Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and it was like a light bulb went off in my head on how to change the future. I then followed the path a lot of us have and read all I could on REI., found BP, and took action.

My first step was to find financing. 

I did this by going to a local small bank that had sent me a postcard advertising they wanted to loan me money on a new car.  My thought process was, if they are sending direct mail that they have extra money to loan and might take a chance on me.  My assumptions were correct. 

 I did my homework and had a property report from a local auction to show real word numbers and a business plan to show the bank,  which I think made their decision to say yes easier for a first timer.

My First buy.

I searched for the perfect flip.  I looked at a bunch of junk, some too expensive, then found one just right.  This was on a national auction site and somehow managed to win the auction.  That was in January.  It then took 5+ months to close and another month to get the title work right and a rehab loan completed.  Without the rehab funds because of the title delays it made for a lot more sweat equity than initially expected. 

Tip: I wished I would've had a set of door locks all rekeyed and ready the day I took possession.  I ended up having an expensive locksmith do the job. 

One of my issues: Tile Guy.

HVAC, Painter, Plumber, all been great. Fabulous even.  Tile Guy not so much.  This is the second go at getting some straight subway tile on the walls.  Filtering through bad CL guys and liars that have good talk but no game has made me a little crazy.

This tile was scheduled to be finished yesterday...

Standing behind the decision to remove the popcorn off the ceilings.

Getting there but my drywall can't go in because I have some electrical work needed in the wall first. 

 Tip #2.  A pair isn't always a good thing.  I found a drywall/tile guy that came with a bonus journey electrician girlfriend.  As expected she left too when I fired him.   

August 1 deadline,  it's a challenge, but I like challenges.