Week 3 | Confessions of a newlywed

This week was an active week for sure and I don’t think I have the patience now to write about all of it. Here’s a summary of the week so I remember what happened and then my major lesson:

• Met @Kevin Cavanaugh, my first official friend through Bigger Pockets. Thanks, Kevin, for reaching out. We called each other and spoke about our background and tips.  It was great!
• Found the Montclair St. property that would have been a steal except it was about to go to auction. Apparently properties going to auction will not accept any offers.
• Drove around the area where I’m intending on purchasing and was able to view a few other projects happening there.  It was helpful to see the activity happening there. 
• Did not attend any REIA meetings this week but it was suggested to check out reiaclub.com. It was not as awesome as BP, but a wealth of information for sure.

Major Lesson

One thing I really want to remember from this week is one of the most important lessons to learn. So I found another stellar deal. It was a 91K property in an area with prices ranging from 125K to 252K. Obviously the 252K properties were newer properties that weren’t really good comps, but my agent said that 130K is a good estimate for the home. What’s crazy is that there were about six other properties around this one that already had offers made on them. I was sure this was a gem. I acted quickly and spoke with my mentor, agent and lender. There must have been 50 - 60 text messages and emails between us because I was at work at an all-day training. Yay! Make a deal through text! I came to learn that there were over 10 other offers on this property. We were in for the chase on this deal. I used the BP BRRRR calculator to verify my calculations. I actually had to sign up for Pro to do this (I was going to eventually anyway). We were on the move....but everything soon came to a halt.

I found the deal Tuesday, further analyzed and set myself up for an offer on Wednesday, and on Thursday I was having a sobering conversation, regretting the entire process. Why?

Well, it is totally ironic that all the action happening on Wednesday occurred on my wife’s birthday. We had a blast celebrating her birthday.  However, underlying the deal-making process, and my entire Real Estate path for that matter, was a couple who were not on the same page. I received a call from my wife on Wednesday expressing concerns about pursuing the deal. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, my wife is an actress and hardly has an interest or knowledge about real estate. So, I wasn't going to try explaining closing costs, ROI, refinancing, etc. about this deal in one night. We needed to move quickly. I even expressed that we would make $200 per month plus $30,000 in equity, but to her the 1.25% interest on our savings made more sense. She was not yet on board. This is where the sober conversation came in.

Thursday night we had a conference call with a respected couple and RE investors to talk about this deal and the reservations. I was quickly reminded of the spiritual issue at play here. In a marriage where the two become one, everything I do not only affects me, but also my wife. I was reminded of Ephesians 5:21 in the Bible that we are to “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” My wife may not be as versed about real estate as me (or at least hasn't read as many bigger pockets articles.... haha), but it was especially important for me to understand that fact and submit in order to ensure that she was on board with such a major financial decision as buying a house.  This may appear to be wimpy, but doing so out of reverence for Christ is really what mattered. There is a lot more to the almost hour long conversation as I squirmed and argued some of my own points. But, I understood that at the end of the day, I will feel way better doing a deal with her on board.

So at this point, the learning opportunity here is helping my wife understand and have more knowledge about what WE are doing together in Real Estate. Who knows, with her acting career, we just might end up on HGTV. But that will have to wait for now. Anniversary is next week, so I think I’ll take break from real estate for a couple weeks and jump back in the game later this month more rejuvenated.