All Forum Posts by: CJ M.

@Nathan G.

Great reminde! I had my first tenant pass away in October. Are there any resources you would recommend to folks on how to plan for these unfortunate situations?

@Jake Arnold

How many tenants do you have? If only a couple, I could understand trying to keep them happy. Personally, I just send handwritten cards. I think that keeps the relationship professional AND...they won't "expect" it every year (e.g. jelly of the month club 😁)

@Dave Poeppelmeier

Awesome, congratulations on your journey!

P.S. I'm sorry to hear about those new lead testing laws folks in Toledo have to deal with now!

@Jorge Vazquez

Some of my first...and best deals were from realtors

@Avery Heilbron

Thanks for the detailed explanation Avery. Very helpful!

@Justin Reader

$50/mo per pet plus $250 non-refundable pet fee due at lease signing

I can try my best, but it will be hard to keep my story short...hopefully it helps someone out there though

I always had a job and worked hard since a kid. So after graduating college I spent 15 years climbing the corporate ladder up to an Executive position. At one point, I even gave everything up and moved back to my hometown where I had to start all over again at an entry-level position (I eventually worked my way back up to VP positions). I knew nothing about REI during those 15 years and I thought that to be successful, I needed to work hard for someone else! Then 2017/2018 came and changed my life…

Fall/Winter of 2017, I was getting ready to list a small home for sale that I owned/lived in after college (my brother was previously living there and paying my mortgage). I was also looking for another book to read (I had already read everything under the sun about leadership, but nothing about entrepreneurship or REI). I decided to give "Rich Dad Poor Dad" a try. Boy did that book change me! Honestly, I was angry at myself that at 39 years old I had never thought about money and "the rat race." This is also around the time when I purchased a condo and relocated for my job. Ironically, I purchased it from a successful REI. We ended up becoming friends through the purchase…I was intrigued by what a nice person they were, and how they lived and the nice things they owned. I would hear this person talk about BIG goals, and money, hard money, points, private money, lenders, investments, etc. It was all so Greek to me back then and the conversations made me feel very uncomfortable…but strangely in a good way! So, I started listening to "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller to try and understand the industry more. That book at made me decide to keep my old house and rent it!

Then came January 2018… I was sitting in my office and my owner and his son walked in very quickly and shut the door. 60 seconds later, I was laid off and packing up my things.

The first thoughts that went through my head were:

• - “How is this even possible? I did everything I was asked and more!”
• - “Are they “”””ing with me?”
• - “My sales numbers are nearly double what my goal was.”
• - "I asked my boss a couple months ago if I was making the right move by buying a house and relocating…he said yes!” I even confirmed with him that my position with the company was 'safe' the day before I closed on my condo!" (this thought bothered me the most)

I went home and called my best friend who was an hour away. He was completely shocked too. I’ll never forget, he drove through a blizzard that evening to hang out with me because he was worried. He knew how hard I had worked to get where I was (if that doesn’t show an example of a true friend, I don’t know what does). I also remember the look on his face when he arrived and saw a brand-new bottle of MacCallan 18 and a couple of cigars on my counter! I said, “this f****** sucks, but you know what, I get to choose how I react. And I choose to celebrate the fact that I’ll be starting the next phase of my life.” We had a blast that evening!

Over the next couple weeks, a business colleague offered me a 1099 position for the next 3-6 months but couldn’t promise anything permanent. That’s when I started looking on Zillow, and Redfin, and other sites just to start familiarizing myself with my “new market.” Well, I quickly saw a listing for a ‘Zombie House’ in a great school district. I figured it couldn’t hurt to just talk to the realtor. I asked him, if the house was really going to sell for $21,000? He said “not a chance. Best offers are due by end of day!” I thought, what the heck, might as well try, so I offered about $26,000 without even seeing it in person (I figured I’d never hear anything back anyway). The next day, I’m sitting at work, and I get a short text simply saying, “congrats you got the property.” I thought “ohhhhh shi*, what did I just do?!”

I knew nothing about running numbers, or BRRRR'ing, or anything. I just knew it was a good deal, it needed rehabbed, and I had to move forward. With the support of my friends and other REI's who gave me some very valuable advice that I'm so grateful for, I got it done. That property took all of my cash savings and reserves (when I only had a temporary job at that time), and some credit card spending to make it work. When it was done, it appraised for $100,000 exactly, and I ended up getting more than my initial investment back.

Immediately after that, my friend (the REI) offered to sell me a duplex for cash. I thought “Geez, I just got through that BRRRR and can finally sleep again because I have my money back lol." Anyway, I still took on the risk and bought it because I knew getting laid off could happen...again. I refinanced the property and had some cash again! A couple months after that, I was watching a Browns game and saw another property on Zillow. By the end of the game, I had negotiated a deal via text message with the only contingency being a walk-thru the following day. I BRRRR'd that one with cash and a temporary loan from my Roth IRA (I learned that on the BP forums). After that, another property was offered to me for cash. I took the deal, and the story basically repeats through now!...and get this, I'm still at the same job, but now as a W2 employee.

While I consider my success very very modest compared to others on here, I do contribute it to:

1. - Getting out of my comfort zone and taking the first step!
2. - Taking advantage of opportunities “quickly” when they presented them self
3. - Luck
4. - Faith, prayer and God (prior to buying my condo, I started tithing more, and even had difficult conversations with God pleading for him to just “show me my path.” Ironically, my path was that I needed to be laid off 😊)
5. - Ongoing education - BP podcasts (#197 was one of the first that got me hooked), REIA meetings, networking, reading everything I can on entrepreneurship and successful businessmen/women, watching property sales, etc.)

I’ll end with a quote from Richard Branson, “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” I feel like I did that with many opportunities that others might have passed on.

P.S. Thanks for the question…I enjoyed recalling these memories...and actually writing them down for the first time! Best of luck with your journey

I seem to be encountering more discussions re: cities either proposing new lead abatement laws on rentals, or who have already passed lead abatement laws.

My question is directed to investors (mainly those with robust portfolios) who have had to deal with these unexpected laws. What was your experience? What were your average costs? Were there grants to cover abatement? Time period to comply? Any other feedback you might have that could help other investors who experience this...and possibly help them stay afloat.

Of course the answers to some of those questions could vary drastically between cities. I'm just trying to understand the impact these types of laws have had on investors? Especially those with hundreds of properties with the majority being pre-1978 builds.

@Kenneth Hynes

If they cannot be refinished, you can always paint them. I know some successful investors who have used Behr DeckOver paint on their wood floors. It is super, super durable!

@Erik Stewart

I lost my W2 position with a company I just relocated for, and right after being told I was part of the long term team (worked there 7 years). I took my entire savings, and bought my 1st BRRRR project sight unseen. Fast forward 2 years, and I have 25 doors.