Shit. I just realized something. Today is my last day in Smalltown for 2013. I probably won’t have time to write a blog post. I may not even have internet access. This means that today is my last chance to write a Year in Review post. And it’s gotta be quick because I still have stuff to do after work before I leave. I’ll split 2013’s Year in Review into two parts: Before and After the purchase of property Charlie.
When I started this year, I had very specific goals in mind. I wanted to buy property Charlie, distance myself from Sha, have 30K by the end of the year, get back in shape, and learn Yoruba. Well I definitely distanced myself from Sha, as we’ve only hung out 9 times this year. This doesn’t mean, by the way, that I don’t like the guy. I simply felt that I needed to keep the focus on myself and lessen the chance of outside complications. It worked out very well, as I feel this is a safe distance for me to maintain ties with him while doing my own thing. I wanted to buy property Charlie and I did. The work involved wasn’t as difficult as I expected thanks to Empower, but having Ferret Real Estate brokering the deal did not make things easier.
The process of buying a property, especially one so close to being labeled as a commercial property, can be difficult. I tried CFB Mortgage because I felt no normal bank would give me a loan with my credit score the way it was. They denied me, and I had to try Empower. Empower had an online application process that made the initial stages very easy. It also helped that, when Petey Tim needed information from me, I had all my documents scanned and was ready to send them at a moment’s notice. Ferret Real Estate made the process so annoying with their forgetfulness and lack of professionalism. They didn’t have the documents they should’ve had, always forgot to have me sign something or other, and gave me an agent in Prius, one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met. It must be far too easy to become a real estate agent because she’s definitely at the bottom of the barrel in terms of humanity.
But I had help. One of my other goals for the year was to utilize my lawyer Marvin Wassle and my accountant Ross much more. I noticed how not using them hurt me the last two years, and I didn’t want a repeat of the same mistakes. I leaned on their advice and they helped me through everything. In order for someone to succeed at anything, it’s almost essential that one surrounds his/herself with competent people. I did that and it worked out great. I was able to buy property Charlie and that was that. However, I didn’t get the profits I was hoping for. Thanks to the 15 year mortgage from Empower, my monthly payment for a 59k property is $790. Add in the utilities that I have to pay for since there’s only one furnace for all four apartments, and I end up paying an average of $1150 per month. With the rent roll producing only $2100 (at best), I’m looking at profits of $950 a month. It’s a start, but definitely lower than I’d expected. This next year, I have to try and raise the rents for each tenant. If I can get my rent roll to $2200 or $2250, that would make life much easier. An interesting note is that, had I been approved by CFB Mortgage, my monthly payment for their 30 year mortgage would have been only $601... making it $1150 of profit every month. See why I was so pissed when Kirsten and CFB Mortgage declined me?
I was hoping for more money but I’m happy with the results. I can make this work. The celebration I had after the purchase was the highlight of the year, and definitely a night I won’t forget. 2014 will have new learning experiences for me, especially if I find a property Delta and do my very first commercial property. Any property that can make me between $1500 and $3000 will definitely be on my radar. Whatever happens, I know I have the support of Marvin Wassle, Ross, and my own common sense to get me through any purchase.
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