All Forum Posts by: Sarah Lorenz

In my neighborhood in Ann Arbor, a lot of people are using NextDoor.com, the neighborhood social media site, to both ask about rental opportunities and to post rentals (usually with a link to Zillow or CL). I don't know if NextDoor is being used extensively in the areas you mentioned, but it is a great communication tool if you live in the area. You can only post to a neighborhood near where you live, however. Or if you own the property and the tenant hasn't claimed the address, you could. 

Yes, I think it is moving toward Zillow. However, they just phased out Postlet.com and rebranded it as Zillow Rental Manager. 

Where is it located in Michigan?

 Oh, yes. The busy spring market is over and everyone is leaving on vacation and not thinking about buying a house. Look at what's been sitting on the market for weeks or months, and then come in 50, 75 or even 100,000 lower, depending on when it's been listed for. I had an agent calling me last July practically begging to buy a house in a premium area from a client who really had to sell by the end of summer.

There are at least five duplexes right near downtown for sale right now. June and July are a great time to buy – prices go down on things that have been sitting on the market for a while.

What city was it in? Looks great.

You can also look into a construction loan that may be offered by some banks. Huron Valley Financial in Ann Arbor reportedly has a one-close construction loan so you don't have two sets of closing costs for the end loan. And isn't there another equivalent to the 203K? The Homestyle, or something like that?

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.

Check out your local LeLeche group--there should be meeting lists online. That's a great place to find crunchy mama friends! I'll bet there are tons in California. 

What are your real estate goals? If you are trying to become an agent, that's a big job with a baby and no childcare. I started working on that when I had a toddler and infant, and never finished. But if you are looking to hold or flip, that's another story, because you are the buyer and a client to most of the people you are working with. That puts you in a different category--you can be catered to more and your needs accommodated. 

I was thinking about this issue more after I replied the first time, and I think if I were back in your situation, as I once was, I'd try to set some parameters for having time to cultivate the real estate investing but also protecting my time and sanity and joy in parenting. First of all, I'd find ways to get out and relax with my husband on a regular basis. Then I'd find a chunk of time each week--3 hours?--to work on a project related to real estate--some intensive number-running, probably. I'd find a way to do this for free by swapping time with friends. In addition, I could probably take the baby with me to look at houses when needed, and also listen to one podcast per day and give myself 30 minutes per day of checking the updated listings and sold comps on my targeted niche or reading BP posts. If I don't set limits, it's easy to get into a cycle of endlessly looking at listings or reading forum posts while kids are occupied and then getting super-annoyed when they interrupt me. When I set limits, then I can finish and get back to focusing on the kids and house and the rest of my life--and enjoying it. It's also important to give yourself some down time during naps or in the evening--if I was constantly switching to work mode during those times, I'd end up exhausted and snappy when the kids got up. 

Good luck on figuring out the balance for yourself and your family . . . 

@Account Closed Oh, it is so hard to adjust to working in tiny fragments of time! I remember coming to work, before I had kids, with a massive new proposal that I had created over Christmas break. My co-worker with kids looked at it and said in astonishment, "When did you have time to do this?" I didn't even understand what she meant--I just sat at my desk for twelve hours one day and wrote it! Now, after twelve years of being interrupted every time I go to the bathroom, I understand! I highly recommend reading All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. It made me feel so much better to understand why I was so stressed out, and that parenting today is truly more difficult than even 20 years ago. 

I would agree that the best thing about real estate is that YOU are the boss and can decide when you are going to work. I love that I can take my kids with me to look at houses, or to shop for materials, etc. Not that it is always pleasant, but I'm the buyer, the customer--not the employee--just own it. You really have to adapt to taking advantage of tiny bits of work time--but it's hard to readjust when the baby wakes up unexpectedly or just won't cooperate. That's when I get so frustrated and impatient--when my expectations are ruined. Finding some kind of childcare is important. I'd highly recommend getting connected to some type of moms' group, for your overall sanity. Try a church or a playgroup, use NextDoor to start one in your neighborhood, find a LeLeche group nearby, etc. The social support for you and friend potential for your little one is so important. If you are in your neighborhood for the long haul, it's really great to develop friends close by, so that when your child gets older, he has someone to play with. It's such a sweet relief to have kids able to go play on the fly, instead of having to arrange playdates they have to be driven to. That takes time to develop, so start now if you can. In the meantime, you could find/create a playgroup that has parents interested in doing a co-op type of thing--social time for parents, and then an hour or two of escape time for the adults, while one parent watches the kids. You could even start this with parents interested specifically in real estate--screw the jerks who won't let you bring a baby to a meeting! Sounds like an authoritarian male dominated group to me. I also had success in hiring a neighbor kid who was about 10 or 11 to come play with my little ones while I worked in the house and could listen for trouble. I paid him about $5 an hour, and then he turned into a real babysitter when he got older, because I knew he was so trustworthy. 

It's hard, but you can do it! Hang in there! And like @KarenMargrave said, don't forget to enjoy the baby! He won't be a baby for much longer.