Help! HOW Do New Parents Do This?!

Buying & Selling Real Estate

Help! HOW Do New Parents Do This?!

Rohnert Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 7 votes

Ugh, so today was a big challenge that, sadly, made me pause and question how the heck I'm going to do real estate with a new baby. I know I can do it... I'M DETERMINED TO! But I need advice. How do others do it?

What happened today was, it's our anniversary, and we figured we'd take the baby for a drive around his nap-time so he'd be sound asleep in the carseat, and we could go to our favorite restaurant for our anniversary (with baby sound asleep in his carseat at our table). Well... normally a drive would put him to sleep, but not this time. We drove, he cried, he cried harder, he never went to sleep, I got a call while out and couldn't communicate due to the fussing, we never made it to the restaurant, we went home where he was finally relaxed and went to bed.

It got me thinking, if I can't even make it to a restaurant for our anniversary, how will I do real estate with a baby? We have no daycare (nobody trustworthy or able) so...he goes with me everywhere. He's there when I need to be on the phone...when I'm trying to watch a webinar... I cannot attend REIAs because most won't let me bring a baby, even if I sit in the back and promise to step out if he fusses (well, ONE will let me bring him, thanks Steve!) I'm limited to how long I can be at the Office of Records before he fusses, negotiating with a Seller, etc. etc. etc.

So -- HELP! Are there any new parents out there with NO daycare that found a way to make this work? Any advice, anyone? I mean, I know it can be done....if there are people doing virtual wholesaling, and buying rentals while deployed, then I'm sure there's a way for this situation.

Thanks! :)

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Karen MargraveBusiness Member

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Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes

10y

My kids are all grown and two have kids of their own. When my youngest, Michael, that's now 27 was little we ran our construction/real estate development office at our house. I did most of my calls when he was napping. Sometimes I'd do some of the work at night. That's what's great about this business, you can work flexible schedules.

Of course it wasn't always possible to do that, so I made sure the house was all child proof, and had certain rooms where I could set him down and he could roam around without worry. We basically lived in his playhouse. My husband also used to take him a lot onto the jobs. The guys would just pass him around. He got on equipment when he was a toddler, and learned to operate it when he was in grade school.

We also used to take him to business meetings. He learned very young to keep quiet and draw, look at books, etc. He also learned if the phone rang and I put my finger up to my mouth, it meant shhhhh...

As far as restaurants, choose those where noise doesn't matter when you have little kids.

Kids are only little for a flash, then they're having kids of their own, and you're wishing you could have your babies back! If hearing a baby cry is too much for someone, do you really want to do business with them? I always say, if you don't like the sound of kids, go to the graveyard... there's plenty of quiet there!

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OP
Rohnert Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 7 votes
10y
@Sarah Lorenz Our goals were originally to do a minimum of 5 rehab/flips a year, and buy/hold at least 30 rentals at minimum $300/month cashflow each unit (and would increase as rents increased over the years). But after hearing multiple seasoned investors recommend not buying a rental unless you can afford to own it outright, or have major reserves to cover long vacancies and unexpected repairs, we decided to start with wholesaling instead. Not limited to that though, meaning if we encounter a deal we can do, like a subject-to, owner financing, etc., we'll be open to it. My goal is minimum $100k/year with wholesaling, ideally 10 deals at $10k each, or if I take less on some, then I'll have to adjust my goal by increasing the deals that year. I can't wait to be the Buyer and the Client!
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Sarah Lorenz
Specialist · Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2016 · 355 posts · 191 votes
10y
Oh, so you're trying to start up a wholesaling business. That is time intensive, too. Are you trying to do this on your own, or is your husband partnering with you? It is tough to start up a new business with a new baby and no childcare.
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Investor · Paradise Valley, AZ · Member since 2015 · 48 posts · 6 votes
10y
I agree it is very difficult to run a business with an infant and no childcare. My husband and I work on our wholesaling business together, but his end is more part-part time and I'm trying to do it full time with a 9 month old active boy! You have to be focused during nap times and make time to play with your baby. They need that attention now. Business will come - you may need to wake up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later to get some things done. I get up an hour earlier so I can workout, do my devotions and get my head on straight for the day. Does it always workout the way I planned it? Nope. But you do what you can
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OP
Rohnert Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 7 votes
10y
@Sarah Lorenz It's mostly by myself because hubby works, but he is trying to do it part-time in every minute he gets. He does what he can on his lunch breaks, but once he gets home I pass off the baby like a football, lol, and try to eat, get a bath, do some cleaning, do some real estate stuff, then it's bedtime already. :[ Hubby stays up later doing some additional real estate stuff, and tries to share with me in the morning when I'm half asleep before it's time for him to go off to work. It is hard.... I am definitely going to see how we can budget for a paid mommy's helper, or find someone willing to do it for trade-off.
@Account Closed Sounds like we're in a really similar situation! Mine's a 9-month active boy, too, he's discovered the fun of crawling all over, pulling himself up on things, playing with curtains and cabinets, crawling under things, etc.. I'm also the one trying to figure out how to do it full-time, and hubby's doing part-time due to his full-time regular job. But it's actually both of our goals for him to eventually quit his job, and this be BOTH of our full-time job.
How do you get up an hour early without waking the baby? I imagine an alarm would wake mine. I've tried to take calls while he's napping, and half the time it wakes him up.... gosh. I'm experimenting with putting on engaging educational DVDs during calls instead (like Your Baby Can Read, Baby Einstein, and Baby Signing Time) and letting him crawl around the living room floor, but that's still a work in progress until we get a large gate or something because he crawls out of the area at times and I have to grab him while talking. It works for the most part, just not perfect, and my callers can hear it in the background.
I would LOVE to hear how you're doing wholesaling with a baby, please! Especially since you're a wholesaler, in general I'd love to share info on how we're doing it, what we've learned, challenges/successes, etc. Thanks!!
1 Reply
Anna Buffkin
Investor · Pawleys Island, SC · Member since 2015 · 324 posts · 385 votes
10y
I too am a very new mom. I have 7 week old twins born 5 weeks early. I also currently own 3 rentals - 2 an hour and a half away- and brought a fixer upper last July as my personal residence. As I was pregnant with twins I couldn't travel or do much of anything for the last trimester and then my babies spent 12 and 15 days respectively in the NICU. I too don't have family near by and can't leave my babies with anyone right now as my smallest baby is only 5.5 lbs at 7 weeks and his brother has lingering medical issues.
I appreciate reading all the advice given by others.
The following have helped me as a landlord through my pregnancy and my short time as a mother:
1. Make it a team effort. My husband was a huge help stepping in as I usually do most of the management. One of our tenants lease was up the month before the babies came. My husband got the unit cleaned, shown and rerented the week before the babies came.
2. I also have a great maintenance guy for the 2 properties in Columbia that I can count on without having to look over his shoulder which is hard to find and invaluable.
3. Be honest with the tenant. I had the springs replaced in the garage of my local rental a while back. The repair man didn't do a great job and one spring popped off when my boys were about a week old. The tenant called and got my husband who told him the problem. My husband told he what was going on. She was understanding and we got it fixed the following week. She brought the rent in person this month with a baby gift for each baby.
4. My best friend is a mom of 2 who gave me great advice on getting the babies on a schedule and feeding/ sleeping practices that worked for her. Her experience has been invaluable. Having a "mom mentor" has been really helpful.
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Angie Lehnert
Woodburn, OR · Member since 2015 · 9 posts · 3 votes
10y
No real advice here, except to say that you are not the only one! I created my BP profile over a year ago and we're a little closer to being ready to "really" get started but not where we'd like to be. Just do the best you can and that's all you can do! And I try to focus on how blessed we are to have such a beautiful, healthy child when frustration mounts!
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