Busted!

Busted!

Foreclosure Specialist · Pleasant Grove, UT · Member since 2008 · 41 posts · 2 votes

Got an "encouraging" email today from my boss at work that I've been making too many personal calls. Of course, these are for working real-estate deals. Usually, I'm pretty subtle, and when I have to be more specific, I go out into the hallway with my cell phone. As does everybody else at my work. Its not unusual around my workplace for 3-5 people to be out in the hallway during any 1 hour time period doing their personal calls. Granted, I'm probably the only one doing real-estate deal making calls. *chuckle* Real real-estate is done during business hours, so its kinda hard to do this stuff part-time after work, thus, I have to make calls during the workday. I try and be discrete about it, but it was bound to be figured out eventually. I haven't gotten questioned about all the time I spend on Bigger Pockets, and other similar places, but I could see that coming up somewhere down the road.
Anyways, anybody else trying to do real-estate investing while being clocked in from 9-5? Share your on-the-clock stories.

( P.S. Anybody spew any of that Kiyosaki crap about J.O.B., I will hate you and call you an idiot, so just don't. I don't wanna hear it. :nono: )

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Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
17y
Originally posted by Stephen Leblanc:
Originally posted by Tim Wieneke:
What are you doing that requires so many phone calls? You could probably 80/20 that down and increase your phone efficiency while making your boss happy.



Most of the calls I get between 9-5 are tenants calling with their problems. Not stuff I can avoid. When purchasing new properties, I can get most of that done on lunch breaks.



Examine your own words. Tenants are calling you with their problems. They are requesting an interruption of your day for their problems. You need to prioritize this in respect to your time.

Send a letter out to your tenants instructing them to call only between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. Then change your voicemail to reflect this. Finally, if they call outside those hours, don't answer. If the house is burning down, 911 has been dialed and there's nothing that you as the landlord can do about it. If the pipes have burst and the house is flooding it's already an insurance claim and there's nothing you as a landlord can do about it. That's why you have insurance. If you must give them a means of emergency contact, tell them to text you. You're a landlord, key word "lord'. You're not a 24/7 on call employee to them.

I've had tenants call me 8 a.m. sunday morning. Guess what happens when I get those calls? Nothing until Monday. If it's a disaster you can't stop it and insurance will get you back into shape. Learn to let some "bad" things happen.

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  • Manhattan, NY · Member since 2008 · 801 posts · 61 votes
    17y

    Dean,

    Like you I held a career for many, many years while still investing in real estate. It is a balancing act but with a little planning you can get most of what you need to do done with little impact on your employer.

    The primary thing is your employer needs to know they have your undivided attention devoted to doing the job you were hired to do when you are supposed to be doing it. You have breaks, down time, lunches and time before and after work. Those are going to be more than enough if you do a little planning.

  • Real Estate Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2008 · 566 posts · 356 votes
    17y

    True what Taz says. But, what comes next for Dean, right or wrong, is the boss thinking every time he's sick, gone to the dentist, or whatever, that he's really gone to a closing, meeting with a contractor, etc.

  • Commercial Real Estate Agent · Encino - Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 123 posts · 11 votes
    17y

    get a job in real estate.

    I work commercial real estate. i get introuble if i'm not talking real estate all day every day.

  • Foreclosure Specialist · Lafayette, LA · Member since 2009 · 68 posts · 31 votes
    17y

    While at your JOB, do the honorable thing and don't work on your real estate business during those hours. You have plenty of time after 5 PM and on the weekends to build your business.

    You don't want to get fired and lose that money you have coming in to pay your bills.

  • Real Estate Consultant · Monrovia, CA · Member since 2009 · 73 posts · 20 votes
    17y

    I'm surprised no one has told you to get a friend, family member, or spouse that you trust and that has the time and/or freedom during work hours to handle your daytime business. They can be your assistant or make up some creative title that makes them feel important. Then you compensate them when a deal closes like $500 or a percentage or ...you get the idea.

    They can give you daily updates via text messaging or after work for more in depth reports. If they don't know the business you can train them after work or on the weekends.

    Maybe print out sheets to track work and make it easier. This way it gives people you are dealing with someone they can call during the day and talk to.

    Its good to have a team anyway and your business will start to grow then you can quit your job and become a CEO! Just make sure that person that helps you gets to be VP or something!

  • Lender · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2009 · 825 posts · 486 votes
    17y

    If you hired a plumber, electricial or other tradesperson to work on your property and that person made lots of phone calls talking to people about some juice that made them feel good, ... more energy etc. And then invited the people on the other end of the line to a meeting that night, would you feel that the tradesperson was not devoting the time the job required to be completed?

    Either work on RE outside of your other work commitment or work out an arrangement with your supervisor that you will be doing both during the working hours and your supervisor with evaluate you on work completed NOT on hours on the clock.

  • OR · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 845 votes
    17y

    if you were my employee and you were out in the hall making personal calls and spending time on the computer on your personal business, I'd fire your butt.

    Unless you are working completely on commission and not receiving any salary at all, what you are doing is stealing from your boss. He's paying for your time for you to be working on his business. He's not paying for your time for you to work on your business.

    This is a tough job market. This is not a good time to be fired for incompetance, theft, and just generally not doing your job.

    A lot of real estate can be done on weekends. Many sellers and buyers both have jobs, so they want to do their business on the weekends.

    You can call escrow companies and banks while on your coffee breaks and lunch hour.

    If you think your business is a lot more interesting than your job, keep in mind that nobody is going to pay you to have fun. You always have the option of resigning your job and using your own time during the week to work on your real estate.

  • Banker · sydney, Nova Scotia · Member since 2008 · 100 posts · 8 votes
    17y

    As I reply to this from my 9-5 desk, I have also run into this problem. What I have done with my boss is arranged to come to work early to supplement the time away from my job. I usually come to work for 8, nothing official, but just between me and the boss. Some weeks I have no real estate stuff on the go. Other times it keeps me quite busy. I think this arrangement works out for both of us.

    Steve

  • Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y

    What are you doing that requires so many phone calls? You could probably 80/20 that down and increase your phone efficiency while making your boss happy.

    And don't believe the J.O.B. crowd. You want to know what a full time real estate investor is? Glamorously unemployed.

  • Banker · sydney, Nova Scotia · Member since 2008 · 100 posts · 8 votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Tim Wieneke:
    What are you doing that requires so many phone calls? You could probably 80/20 that down and increase your phone efficiency while making your boss happy.

    Most of the calls I get between 9-5 are tenants calling with their problems. Not stuff I can avoid. When purchasing new properties, I can get most of that done on lunch breaks.

  • Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    17y
    Originally posted by Stephen Leblanc:
    Originally posted by Tim Wieneke:
    What are you doing that requires so many phone calls? You could probably 80/20 that down and increase your phone efficiency while making your boss happy.



    Most of the calls I get between 9-5 are tenants calling with their problems. Not stuff I can avoid. When purchasing new properties, I can get most of that done on lunch breaks.



    Examine your own words. Tenants are calling you with their problems. They are requesting an interruption of your day for their problems. You need to prioritize this in respect to your time.

    Send a letter out to your tenants instructing them to call only between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. Then change your voicemail to reflect this. Finally, if they call outside those hours, don't answer. If the house is burning down, 911 has been dialed and there's nothing that you as the landlord can do about it. If the pipes have burst and the house is flooding it's already an insurance claim and there's nothing you as a landlord can do about it. That's why you have insurance. If you must give them a means of emergency contact, tell them to text you. You're a landlord, key word "lord'. You're not a 24/7 on call employee to them.

    I've had tenants call me 8 a.m. sunday morning. Guess what happens when I get those calls? Nothing until Monday. If it's a disaster you can't stop it and insurance will get you back into shape. Learn to let some "bad" things happen.

  • Investor · Chino Hills, CA · Member since 2009 · 95 posts · 12 votes
    17y

    that was good Tim

    also Get a PM i have 3 homes with PM and i don't get phone calls they don't even know my phone # and I don't know there's

  • Hard Money Lender · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2009 · 181 posts · 29 votes
    17y

    The work ethic is alive and well in America today.

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