The next mission...

Girls, don't be jealous, but I'm shopping, shopping shopping.... for a place to conduct my real estate business.

It's not an easy choice. Residential consumers prefer to work with the national brokerages, but there is a price to pay for that service. This is especially true given the fact that I will only be working part-time. Given that I will have to work pretty hard to get my business rolling, I will need all of the business that I can get. I'm going to push hard to get people I know to push hard for me. I want to take advantage of referal bonuses. If you know someone and it leads to a sale, I will make sure that I don't forget where the business came from.

I'm an accountant, so I've been trained in conducting business with fairness and integrity. I know a good deal when I see one, but I'm going out to make long-lasting business relationships. I think I needed to mention this because if you can refer someone to me, I want to be a trustworthy realtor that you don't mind giving referals to. I know that your referal is also your reputation on the line if a deal between me and a client goes sour. I promise to respect that trust you will have given me. I think it's the cornerstone of my future business.

I'll likely be making some formal announcements with posters, emails, and phone calls to announce when I am a member of a brokerage. You can stay tuned for that announcement soon.

I passed!!!

I have passed the final real estate exam. There are 3 exams that you need to write before you are able to buy and sell in real estate. I've passed them all. The only thing left to do is to sign up with a brokerage and I have a meeting this afternoon. I am looking for a brokerage that will allow me to have a low desk fee. I want to pay as little as I can to start, so that means I'll have to pay more of my commissions to the brokerage. It's a small price to pay, but since I am going to remain an accountant full-time, I won't be able to do as many deals as other salespeople I know.

I'll likely end up working weekends doing real estate stuff. It should work out for me pretty good, I figure. Most people work during the week, especially those that want to purchase homes, so I think I could develop a nice little network by working some evenings and most weekends. I can at least do research for any potential investment properties.

My advantage

I own three properties. Two of the properties are downtown with one in Stittsville. I think that I want to reconstruct the downtown property in 5 years. I want to do a major overhaul. The biggest issue is that I currently live downtown and have no intentions to ever move into the Stittsville property.

Admittedly, I am pretty much stretched in terms of my borrowing for the next little while. There will be just too much risk to bear any more debt. That being said, I will need to work out something so that I will be able to live in a place that I can call home in the next couple of years. The re-construction of the downtown property will eat into a lot of resources as well. The key, therefore, is the Stittsville property. I will have to dispose of that property when I decide that I want to move out on my own. At the moment, I plan to continue to live with roommates for the next couple of years, at least.

The complicating factor is the fact that if I happen to meet a special someone and we need a place for ourselves. I have a couple of years I figure before I have to worry about that too much. It's basically a moot point, but I thought I would throw it in as an option just in case.

So that leaves me with my plan in the next couple of years for the downtown property. I would like to build a nice little deck in the backyard. It should be relatively cheap to build, but it will add to the enjoyment of the property. In addition, I know that the roof needs some repairs, so that will be another point of improvement. I think those are starting points. If cash flow is good, I will want to try to upgrade the kitchens in both halves of the building. The bathroom on the main floor of 73 Arlington needs to be upgraded as well.

I have some more news tomorrow, so stayed tuned.

Lots of news...

Over the next couple of days, I'm going to try to make a few posts. There has been a lot going on in the last little while and it has been hard for me to update this site. Part of the reason that I have had trouble posting is the fact that I do not have a laptop any more. I had it stolen about a month ago and have not been able to purchase a new one. The reason I have not purchased a new one is going to be another post. Like I said, there is a lot to talk about.

I'll try to save some face and actually tell you some news. I'm not going to beat around the bush and not share any information. I guess the first part is that I purchased my neighbor's house. This is subject to closing, which should be within the week, but nevertheless, it's at a point where we are just going to cross t's and dot i's. I'm excited for this as it has taken awhile to negotiate to a point where I would be content. The biggest reason for doing this deal is that it gives me options. I can continue to rent it out to students, which is working really well for my cash flow, or I can build a new structure that would be in a prime location in the city. Either way, I tend to think that I am coming out ahead because of the deal I got when I purchased the properties.

Tomorrow, I think I might go into more detail about what options exist and my anticipated timelines to have things done. I think I need a clear plan for this property. It will help me achieve my goals.