Caught in One-Dealitis

Found myself caught in one-dealitis of late. That’s the disease where you get focused on one deal to the expense of all others.

We have a property under contract that is sort of dragging along toward closing. That part I’m okay with – more time to plan for the steps following closing. Of course I don’t want it to go too slow. It is getting to that time of year when the air gets crisp & you know winter is looming. If you live in the North, winter is bad news for real estate. Not only does the market slow down, but vacant homes mean heating bills and worse still, heating system breakdowns. However winter can be a great time to buy. But I digress.

Back to the one deal. So I meet with a contractor. I consider what needs fixed, what can wait, what will make it look appealing, and what will make the “bones” better. I tighten up the cost estimates & the scope of work.

I have discussions with a current tenant. What paperwork will I need? Will the rent change? Will this tenant be staying, etc.?

I wade into marketing for the vacant part of the place. I should explain this property is sort of a duplex. It’s not, but that’s the best way I can describe it without getting too off-track.

Working the grapevine I think I may have a tenant-buyer lined up – a rent-to-own involving some work for equity. If you’re thinking this all sounds muddied – you’re right. But the property works for the tenant – location, work involved, etc. At the same time the property works for us, the investors – the numbers work.

Then suddenly this made to order tenant backs out. Slap! Wake up, Jay! There’s a hiccup and I’m shaken back to reality.

Is this a big deal? Well, no, not really. Is this tenant’s actions unthinkable? No, not so much – if you’ve ever dealt with tenants, you know they often act illogically – at times even shooting themselves in the foot.

But it is a wake-up call for me. I’ve allowed myself to become sidetracked. I’m so into thinking this property through that I’m not minding the rest of the store. I’ve let marketing slip, I’ve not been prompt about following up on leads, I’ve even let myself fall behind in basic desk work.

The moral of the story is don’t let yourself get caught up in any one thing to the expense of others. I should know better, but I can be a slow learner. Sometimes a little adversity is a good splash of cold water. This blog, after all, is not about my flawless techniques, but rather about us learning together through real success and real screw-ups – just like this one!