Feeling discouraged...

[Joshua Feit]

Hello BP!

Here's a quick post just to say that I'm feeling discouraged. This is probably very common, which is why I want to hear from you! Let me know if/when you feel discouraged, how do you push through?

This past year, after a ton of research and BP podcast listening, I bought a triplex, and two single family homes. Everything has been going pretty well, but a few realities have started to set it:

1) The calculators aren't always right: The numbers on my places looked great -- should have a net cash flow of about $1800 on all five units. (Used the BP calculators, and I'm pretty sure I didn't leave anything out...)  Well, I don't. I've just about broken even on these properties. I haven't lost any money, but I haven't made any either. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong, but I can't tell where I went wrong.

2) Finding reliable contractors has been ridiculous: I just got through with a rehab on the latest property, and the contractor screwed EVERYTHING up. I had to come back behind him and do all the work myself. Yikes. And now that a tenant is in there, we realized he totally screwed up the wiring. Tenant is without power, and we're scrambling to rework the mistakes.

3) Vacancies are expensive: On one of my units, I had the tenant vacate two months ago. I decided to fix up the place -- new carpet, new kitchen, new paint, and try to raise the rent. Now that I've sunk around $3500 into the unit, I can't seem to attract a tenant at the new rental rate (only $50 more than the old rate, which hasn't been raised in 10 years).

I realize there are so many variables, and that investing is for the long haul. I guess I got started with a lot of excitement, and now I am left wondering how anyone turns a profit in this business.

Rant over. Thanks for listening. And I'd love any advice you want to send my way!