The 1st Fire - Only Days After Closing!

[Daray Olaleye]

Hi All -

A few of you may recognize my profile as last week my post was the featured Success Story in the BiggerPockets Newsletter. The post can be found here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/44...

Well, if you're up to date on that story then you'll know that I have a brand new 4 plex added to my portfolio of properties. 1 thing you may not know about each accomplishment following my birthday -

Most recent 4-Plex closing - As for the 4-Plex, I was a bit flustered after closing because I was not aware that I would be closing when I did. We were originally set to close May 3rd but closing got pushed back everyday until the end of the month for estranged reasons - I was used to this so after a while I stopped anticipating when I would close so when it finally happened, I was taken back. Since it was at the very end of the month, I knew that I had to meet tenants, gather information and set systems in place with ample time for hiccups since their rent was due so soon (June 1st) due to a late closing. The night before the 1st, I had finally gotten everything set up, set out instructional emails for rent, maintenance and repairs and prepared to meet my tenants the next morning with everything laid out. I went to sleep nervous but excited for the new venture. That next morning, on the 1st, I wake up to a bunch of missed calls and text messages - they were all from my tenants. More specifically, a tenant who was out of town, sent me a screenshot of a snapchat (social media for those of us who aren't familiar with snapchat) of fire trucks and ambulances asking if I was aware of what was going on and that she was fearful that the 4-Plex had caught on fire and burned to the ground. I immediately called her to verify all the details that she knew while simultaneously jumping out of bed and dashing to the property. Her biggest concern was that the property was no longer standing and her concerns were valid. I called all the other tenants my whole way there and no one answered the phone - I was terrified. When I arrived, it (the property) was indeed still there. *whew*. After thorough investigation I found out that a water heater bust caused the fire. The fire was contained and luckily no one was injured. It was a mess to deal with. It cost me my day as I coordinated efforts to get an electrician and then a plumber on scene on a Saturday afternoon! It also cost me a good amount of the money to buy a brand new water heater, materials, and labor even though I had yet to receive for rent. Talk about welcoming gifts right? 

In the end, I view this situation as a lesson learned. Although there was not much I could do by way of prevention, my learned came from the experience and knowledge that I gained from hands on experience. You really can't learn grit and perseverance from a text book. It's these real life everyday experiences that teach us the skills we need to keep moving forward. Are problems are not over once the deal is closed. As much as I went through to lock this deal down, one would expect smooth sailing or at the very least a breather. Well as entrepreneurs, we cannot dictate these things. It is our job to put out fires (no pun) so just put on your hard hat and get to work!

Daray