I have fallen off the blogging horse for the last year. I haven’t stopped writing but I have stopped posting – no more!
My current real estate project has been a journey filled with setbacks and problems. The first general contractor I used ending up stealing a lot of money from me – what a terrible human being. My agent, along with other victims, are pursing various options to get our money back. A private investigator tracked down this GC’s whereabouts (Oregon) and now law enforcement is building a case. I’m doubtful I’ll ever get my money back and have written this off as a sunk cost.
#schoolofhardknocks
Anyways, I’ve decided to work with a general contractor who is going to pull permits on this project. After much deliberation and research I’ve concluded I want to go the permit route. Adding an additional living space to a property could cause extremely expensive issues should something with the electrical or plumbing go wrong in the future. It’s a risk I’m not comfortable taking.
The permit route will cost more and take a little longer. What’s interesting to me is I’m still quite happy with my life even though I’ve been living in a basement for 1.5 years without a kitchen. Obviously this isn’t how I envisioned this deal going. Yet it does showcase my willingness to fully commit to this investing business, remain resilient, and never give up despite my setbacks and challenges.
I do live for free thanks to my net cash flow from my rental real estate.
On paper I am crushing it financially. However my life style has experience real sacrifice. My faith is truly being tested on a level I was not expecting. My self believe is also being tested.
Why?
Real estate deals are drying up due to high interest rates (6-7% is actually the historical average on mortgages) and high prices. I’m very happy I started investing in real estate 5 years ago but for the next 5 years I’m not certain how I can grow my portfolio in an effective way that increases my monthly cash flow.
Short term rentals may be the solution.