Appreciative of the Chance to learn

May 24, 2021

It is a holiday in BC. I have some free time so there is no excuse for not continuing this blog. I have several goals competing for my time.

1) professional Real Estate Work. I continue to work and learn the standard procedures for managing a large portfolio of properties. I have to answer the questions asked by the owners and once in a while, I get a good question that I have never thought about personally for my own properties. I also get to see things that after 25 years are still new. I recently came across a floating laminate flooring that was installed over a sub-flooring. The laminate flooring was installed with say a half inch gap at the edge of the floor and the edge was covered over by a baseboard. It looked perfect when first installed years ago. In this case, the laminate planks were very smooth and had little friction on the underside and on the edges which lead to the planks "sliding." Over time, by using your feet and rubber soled shoes, unintentionally one would make the planks slide so that the hidden gap at the edge appeared in the middle of the flooring."

-------------

#1 continued: I also have a non interesting arbitration case coming up next month. It seems to be an open and shut case in our favor , but we will see.

One of the problems with my province is that it is very heavily " tenant friendly" here. A tenant can object to an eviction with no real reason for the objection (say the owner is selling the unit and the new owner wants vacant possession.) In my province a tenant can have the case brought before the Residential Tenancy Branch and have their case heard, even though they have no case. Because of Covid, the cases can easily be 2+ months off. If the hearing date is after the closing date of the property, it can cause serious legal consequences. (through no fault of his/her own, the seller can be in breach of contract if the unit is not vacant and the deal can fall through)

My hearing is related, but not exactly this case.  

In my +20 years as a landlord, I have yet to personally do an insurance case or an arbitration.   Working as a Strata Manager/property manager, by sheer volume of the properties I manage,  I get the opportunity to do the paperwork and see start to finish what the process is on a regular basis.   I cannot slack off and in these situations, I try to pay extra attention to the technical requirements. It is like reading a BP forum post on your worst case.. but then having to ask and answer my own questions by researching similar cases.  I am genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to see these cases and see how they get resolved.
-------------

#2 My extended family property issue looks to be about 95% done. In particular this is the issue that requires multiple iterations of an email to get the point across, with sufficient factual back up, and with as little emotion as I permit myself to leave in the email. Anger, incredulity , frustration , disappointment all get removed and what is left is the facts and options for the other parties to choose from. What I find that really surprises me is that, in complicated arguments, the other people do not consider that they sometimes end up contradicting their previous stance or opinion. In any case, I have prepared well and am ready to present my case to a Judge or arbitrator. I apologize for the cryptic writing but I cannot give any details since this issue still may end up in a court.

--------------------

#3 I have prepared a new lease for a one of my Warehouse tenants. We assumed the lease and were moving into year 3 of that lease. They wanted to sign a new 3y lease and after a brief negotiation, we agreed on terms. That will likely get signed this week. Property Taxes are higher than expected, but this is a triple net lease and the tenant will end up eventually covering the increase in property tax.

--------------------

#4 On Self improvement: finished reading

Beyond Order, Twelve More Rules For Life Jordan B. Peterson

Greenlights Mathew McConaughey

currently reading Build a Rental Property Empire Mark Furguson

I did get my first vaccine shot.

I have now exercised for 140 days in a row on the treadmill. I do 30 minutes on the treadmill. I have worked my way up from wearing nothing to now carrying a 25 lb. pack every morning while watching the stock market open or either an educational or motivational video.

-----------------

#5 Still looking for that next investment. I expanded my search to Calgary Alberta but found very few apartment buildings for sale. Only one apartment building in Edmonton meets my criteria on paper. I may have to go there and approach this problem from a different angle. I.e. contact owners who have NOT listed their buildings for sale and ask them if they are interested in selling.

--------------

#6 I am about 1/3 of they way through selling equities. I strongly believe there is (as of May, 2021) a large overvaluation of the markets. Going on PE ratios and knowing that virtually everything I own is overvalued, I am in the "be fearful when everyone is greedy" mode. Many of the stocks I own have values based on the potential to earn and not on actual earnings. When interest rates and inflation go up, my remaining investments will be in companies that do well in an inflationary environment. Interest rate changes, inflation and a market correction, may not happen for a while, but I will be ready when it does

-----------

lastly, I am actually surprised to see how many people actually read this blog. Is it really that interesting?

I am just trying to keep my thoughts straight and keep my self on track towards my goal ! Thanks for reading. I hope you are doing well and making progress on your goals too.