Hey man: "Everything You Touch Turns to Gold"

At an investor meeting a couple of weeks ago, the person across from me said, from his perspective, “everything I touched turned to gold.” I laughed it off and politely shook his hand after we finished the conversation, but the comment shook me.

Internally, I flashed back to all the sleepless nights, the tearful decisions, design compromises, bloodied sweat equity, and all the unexpected issues that accompanied our real estate investments.

I remember hitting ledge unexpectedly on our very first construction project, costing us an extra $19,500 that we didn’t plan for (or have). I remember learning that the ceiling in our first duplex wasn’t insulated, and taking out unplanned credit at Home Depot, along with the cold shower after a long day fighting with fiberglass insulation. I remember foregoing date night for leftovers and taking on more clients at my day job to pay it back.  I remember an unexpected snow storm dumping two feet of snow on our unfinished roof, which quickly melted and froze again.  I remember my hands frozen and wet during a sideways rainstorm when there was no other option to save the current work but to delicately chip through it. I remember getting an exterior siding quote for $6,250, and then getting a bill for $18,000. I remember massaging my wife’s cramp-locked hands and feet after a two-week painting binge to keep us within budget and over the finish line. I remember sitting in a half-finished basement listening to Ed Mylett podcasts, covered in sawdust and eating pizza from Megunticook Market at 11:00PM on a Tuesday.  I remembered my first tenant: a sixty-something year old, single, “retired DOJ employee.”  No credit checks, no background checks, and no security deposit because she was a “sweet lady.”  The same “sweet retired DOJ employee” immediately bought two untrained terriers, chained-smoked, bounced checks, broke into our neighbor’s home, and heated her space by turning her oven to 550 degrees and opening the door, thereby melting the knobs on the range.

I imagine most entrepreneurs have similar memories.  Each setback was an opportunity for growth and a pointed hole in our business systems.  With every real estate investment on your balance sheet, or investment highlight on your Bigger Pockets profile, there is a story and hopefully a lesson.  Sure, the numbers and cash flow may seem impressive on a cursory click through, but the investments didn’t “turn to gold;” they were forged with sweat, tears, blood, long nights, hard decisions, and time.