Mike’s Apartment Blog

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.

Things finally came to a head with one of our more thorny tenants.  If you don’t remember, this tenant dug a very deep hole for herself last month.  She basically moved in and never paid rent.  She faked numerous repair and cleanliness issues, complained to the city, and caused a whirlwind of problems for us (and herself).

Our property manager, who attended the eviction hearing, bumped into her at the elevators of the courthouse where she made some very derogatory comments after her scathing loss.  I just don’t get it - in the end, she was evicted, her case was thrown out of court, and she now has a several thousand dollar judgement against her.

The unit she was staying in was nice, she had a good application with no negative marks, and should have worked out.  Now she is going to have a near impossible time getting another place to live.

Who ARE these people?

by Scott Ableman on Flickr

Ain’t nothing like coming inches to the finish line only to be clotheslined out of nowhere by some unassuming fan.  Rough.

Found out today that not only are the legal addresses to our buildings transposed, but the building has been incorrectly zoned.  Luckily, we are grandfathered in, but that means if we do any major work, we may be forced to original zoning.  So no additional units…

We may also be forced to pull permits for the work that was done prior to us moving in on the building.  Ouch… that could prove expensive and time costly.  If nothing else, it pushes back our CO and ability to get tenants moved in.

All part of the allure of investing in real estate.  If things were easy, everyone would do it…

This is absolutely crucial when it comes to investing.

Along the same vein as the necessity for a business plan, when investing, ALWAYS plan with the end in mind.  Not doing so sets you up with uneeded risk. 

It can be akin to deciding to somewhere, hopping in the car, heading out, without a destination in mind.  When you finally realize where you want to go you are likely heading in the wrong direction, perhaps low on gas, perhaps you forgot to bring things necessary for your destination.

I am all for spontaneity, as long as its miles away from investing.  Positive results in investing only come through calculated risks, and you cannot calculate risks without knowing all the variables.  Make sure you do your due diligence and have your end result in mind before putting forth effort/dollars into any endeavour.

It’s the 4th of July, a time when Americans celebrate their declaration of independance from England.  It’s funny that we celebrate our “declaration”.  The declaration didn’t really do anything – it was our steely resolve, focus, and unwaivering determination that brought us freedom.  The declaration was really just words.

That determination during a very dismal and dangerous time is what we have to celebrate.  I bring this up now, because we are in another dismal and dangerous time.  The world wide economy is collapsing around us, multinational corporations and even state governments are going bankrupt, and North Korea is firing “test missiles” at nervous neighbors.  It doesnt get any worse, and its our determination that will get us through.

Never give up.  This awful economy is a precursor to the greatest opportunity for wealth investors will ever see.  Keep focused, stick to you plan, and you will succeed.

Just never give up.