Closing the Sale

Andy and I breathed a collective sigh of relief the moment we found out Doug′s (the former owner′s) wife had signed her share of the paperwork.

In spite of the pitfalls, things seemed to be moving along fairly smoothly.

Then just as we packed up the moving van and prepared to spend the night on the cold, empty floor of the master bedroom, we got a call from the Realtor®. It seems there would be a problem with the closing date.

Hitting the Wall

It happened so often during the process, you′d think I′d have gotten used to it. But I tend to be a slow learner.

The first Wall Hitting transpired while in the rehabbing phase. An altercation broke out between The Handyman and me. As I wrote check after check, I grew angrier and angrier. We knew he and The Painter were taking advantage of us to some degree but we felt powerless to stop it.

Home Repairs

Prior to putting the house on the market, we consulted the Realtor® we later used as our agent. His initial scrutiny told us it would be wise to have a pre-inspection done. He recommended a someone and we called him to come and take a look at things.

We had ideas about what needed to be fixed. We’d done our best in repairs and remodel, but we were by no means experts. At best we were bumbling novices. Not surprisingly, the inspector found a lot more wrong with the place than we’d anticipated.

When he handed us the final report and we read through it, we saw things we thought he′d nail us on went unnoticed. And stuff we never noticed got big check marks.

In order to get the house in tiptop shape before sticking a sign in the front lawn, we began making the necessary repairs.

The Cost of Inexperience

They say ignorance is bliss. What they fail to tell you is what happens when you stop being ignorant.

For 18 months, we lived blissfully under the illusion that The Investor had told us the truth: The land trust we signed gave us all rights to the property to do with what we willed. We could fix it up, sell it, give it away – whatever – it was okay.

I know … our trust didn′t make any sense. After all, The Investor had given us his word he would hold our hands through the entire rehabbing process. Didn′t happen. He promised he′d be available whenever we needed him. He wasn′t. He insisted we have lots of cell phones minutes because he′d be calling us all the time Uh … not so much.

So why we thought he was right about the land trust is beyond me. Like I said – ignorant.

Skipping Ahead

Ever read a story, article, or book where you just wanted the writer to get on with it. I′ve read a few in recent months. It was a bit like fingernails scraping across the chalkboard. Peddling through the drivel to get to the treasure. One novel I couldn′t even finish.

That′s sort of how I feel about this blog. Like I′m plodding along. Trying to wade through the bog of events to get to the important stuff. So I′ve decided to take a different approach.

Yes there were some interesting moments during the rehabbing process. We had trouble with the crew. Tempers flared. Tools broke. Supplies ran low. I had a meltdown … or two. But I realize now, my heart isn′t in the retelling of these incidents. So detailing them would be boring for both you and me.

That′s not to say they won’t come up. And when and if they do, I hope to expound on them appropriately.

For now, I′d like to concentrate on what happened in April of 2010.

Back to the beginning….

The Wall of Shame

I figured painting would be a piece of cake.

First, I like to paint. I pretty much enjoy the whole process, even the dreaded taping, patching, and sanding. Sure it’s work, but doing it right will produce the desired results. That’s my motto.

Secondly, I’ve done a lot of painting. Even painted professionally, if you consider getting paid for providing a service professional.

And thirdly, I had tips and tricks from a pro. Yeah I paid a high price for the information, but I learned a few things from the Painter and I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

I was prepared.

Planning To Succeed (or How To Recover If All Goes Wrong)

Nothing better on a cool October morning than huddling on the couch with a big mug of freshly brewed coffee and watching house flipping shows on TLC, HGTV, or A&E. I know they’re unrealistic. But even so, I always learn something.

This Saturday morning’s offerings were no exception. One in particular got me all riled up.

What most disturbed me was the “investor’s” insistence on her rightness. She spurned everyone’s advice and thumbed her nose at the law. I watched in awe as she made one uninformed decision after another.

Eggshell from Hell

One piece of advice The Investor did give us was to use good paint, something we’d already decided to do. He mentioned Home Depot had a sale on Behr paint, but we needed to hurry. The sale ended July 5th. (Just to reiterate, we began the flip on July 1st.)

Those first few days of work were brutal, long grueling hours of physical exertion. One evening after I’d showered, I dragged myself to the Home Depot closest to our duplex and did my best to make decisions.

I knew I wanted neutral shades in the same color palette. And I didn’t want to paint every room the same color. For about thirty minutes I studied my options, running to the back of the store to match my choices with the countertop I had picked out, a brown and cream laminate made to look like granite.

Hello Again!

Life has a way throwing you a curve ball or two.  At least that′s my excuse.

I really hate excuses, but I seem to need one for why I suddenly stopped writing on my blog.  All will be revealed in due time.  For now I want to tell my faithful readers how sorry I am.  I will do everything in my power not to let it happen again.

I′ve spent some time trying to figure out how to approach this re-entry into blogdom.  Do I start from the present and work backwards?  Do I work from where I left off and go from there?  I tend to want to write in chronological order, but that′s not always the best solution.  Suggestions are always welcome.

At this point all I can say is:  Expect anything.

I′m glad you′ve decided to join me on this journey.  Hang on.  It should be a fun, but bumpy ride.  I′ll do my best to keep it interesting.

Keep reading and I′ll keep writing.

Happy Transformation,

Shawn

Reflections

A year ago, we signed the papers to take possession of our first real estate investment. Excitement ensued. Disaster followed.

Okay – maybe I exaggerate just a bit. But disaster lurked around every corner of our rehab. One of the main reasons is we didn’t “count the cost.”

We thought we had done our homework. We’d spent multiple hours studying the process: Reading books, watching videos, attending functions. Andy had taken the course with The Investor. And we’d even gone on a couple of “ride-alongs” with him. But without a punch list, we didn’t have the first clue of our expected costs.