Mike’s Apartment Blog

It’s a new year, do you have your goals set?  You should.  You don’t want to waste a single moment of time not achieving what you can for this year.  It’s never too early to start.

Last year was a doozy.  The economic difficulties threw a major wrench in most folks plans.  It was all they could do to survive.  Survival instinct kicked in and companies and businesses scattered away from investing.  Loans could not be found, apartments were stuck in receivership with banks unsure what to do.  Despite not being able to close a large transaction this year, I was able to build a solid team of folks in the states we are investing.  Building those business relationships ensures the best for us in 2010.

2009 threw a lot of curve balls this year.  Fortunately, my companies were able to stay on their feet.  This bodes well for us, as many other individuals were unfortunately floored.  While many will spend 2010 getting back on their feet, I plan on pushing heavily forward with my investments.

If you don’t have your goals set, set them quickly.  We have precious little time on this earth and the sooner you achieve your goals, the sooner you can enjoy the results!

In this case, I mean opportunities.

Right now, my company is vetting two opportunities we had previously bid on in the past.  Both opportunities slipped past because we could not get to an agreeable compromise.  Now the opportunities are back, for whatever reason, and we are bidding on them again.

Negotiations can be tense, especially when there are large dollar descrepancies between offer prices and asking prices.  I have found that most investors are reasonable people and a good, sound and logical explanation behind and offer goes a long way to maintaining a relationship.  If a deal cannot be made now, perhaps it can be made again in the future.

And that is exactly the case now.  Unfortunately, for both opporunities, both the seller and buyer situations have changed.  Sellers are coming back asking for same offer as made before, but buyer has modified offers because the investment landscape has changed.

An important thing to keep in mind is to maintain the relationship with both parties.  In both cases, the folks are reasonable and looking to maximize their returns.  At this point it is a matter of matching expectations if possible.  And if not, part with mutual respect. 

Hey, you might have to work with these folks again in the future.

One of my buddies I grew up with back in Colorado Springs came out to visit.  Great guy, super intelligent, into wacky things like me, works on his own as a consultant and does pretty well.

by cobalt123 on Flickr

Today has been a great day.  Woke up early and went out to breakfast at a local diner.  Caught up on all the old times as well as the personal lives of those still back in Colorado.  Most folks seem to be doing pretty well, considering the economy and, of course, the swine flu…

We hiked Camelback Mountain which is just behind our house.  Pretty good little hike and the weather was decent (only 88 degrees).  Ran out of water before we could make it to the top so we settled for stopping at “the saddle”.

We had a lot of time to talk to go back and forth about things we want and are trying to do.  His goal is to work as little as possible – he enjoys free time.  Time to do whatever he wants and live his life the way he wants to.  To accomplish this, he works for 5-6 months a year and then takes 8-18 months off.  He is incredibly good at what he does and so can charge a pretty penny for his services.  He lives very frugle as well, which allows him to live off his savings for a very long time.

My goal is similar, but differs in approach and end result.  I am willing to work massively hard, in one direction.  Load all my effort up front so that I can retire at a relatively young age.  I want to build a system that will continuously put money in my pocket, “passive income”, with no additional time put in.

Apartment investing is how choose to accomplish this.