In a recent post, how to purchase a rental property, a frequent contributor, Danielle, reminded me of her father’s experience. The real estate agent pushed him to forgo the home inspection so that he wouldn’t miss the hot deal. He took her advice, bought the house, and found himself over his head with maintenance and structural problems. Some things can be fixed; many things can’t.

Know when an ugly property holds potential.

As you purchase properties, start with easy projects. Buy a property that needs a fresh coat of paint, new flooring, and a bit of scrubbing. I can’t stress this point enough: it’s easy to get yourself into more than you can handle, but you have to start simple. Ever see those property flipping shows? The people who always go over budget and over their estimated time are the people who haven’t been in the game for a while; they’re the people who can only envision the quick buck. Focus more on what you’re capable of doing.

As you purchase more properties, you can become more comfortable with bigger projects’fixing a porch, redoing drywall and roofs, updating the electrical. Sweat equity is the way you make money in this business; hiring subcontractors to do projects for you is a huge expense. The liability and workers’ comp insurance alone are out of most restoration budgets.

But is the expense worth it to hire these guys? I guess that’s something you have to calculate for yourself. We’ve hired subcontractors to dig sewer lines, put gas lines in, and install windows. Of course, we’ve also done all of those same projects ourselves once we gained the experience.

Know when an ugly property means you run.

If your first property has too many projects, you’ll get discouraged. You won’t want to be in the business any longer. Projects as simple as cleaning the bathroom sink take five times as long as they do in your own home… that’s why these properties are so cheap. I spent over eight hours scrubbing a claw bathtub once. If every project in the first house is of that magnitude, your “quick project” will be nothing but speedy. Months will roll by… and roll by… and roll by. You’ll start to wonder when you’ll ever be done. And worse, everyone will always be bitter and quick to yell.

I’d never advise someone to skip the home inspection unless that person has enough skill to be a home inspector himself. If you read plumbing handbooks and electrical code books for fun, then you might be on your way to going without the home inspector. We’ve hired a home inspector who did a very thorough job. But like I mentioned in my last post on real estate investing, you’ve got to crawl through the attic and wiggle through the crawlspace yourself, too. (Or have your partner do it! My next point…) My husband found a bit of mold growing in the depths of our crawlspace. Did the home inspector do a poor job? No’our discovery was above and beyond the requirements of his report. Should you perform your own thorough inspection? Absolutely.

Have a partner

As a girl sponsoring poetry contests, you can guess that I’m not one to slip into a one-foot deep crawlspace. Luckily, I have a partner who will. I’ve got someone to carry my 5 gallon bucket of plaster and open jammed windows. But more than anything, I have someone who equally invests himself in the work that interests me. The support system of having someone working with you in your nasty looking property often makes the difference between wanting to work and not wanting to work. A blasting radio while you paint isn’t enough.

The perfect partner has a different skill set than you. But more importantly, the partner has to be as equally committed. Buy those easy-to-do properties first. Your team will grow together before getting stressed out (or divorced!).

Are you a poet? Do you know it? Would you like to win a prize? You can do it, it’s not lies! Check out our Poetry Contest, going on now!

We are having our first ever poetry contest here at Aridni, but with a little bit of a twist. We want to see poems that relate to entrepreneurs, business, and finance. We want to find out how many Bukowski-Buffets, how many Walt Disney-Whitmans and how many Ralph Walton Emersons are there out there and reading our little site.

We want to see how funny/creative/poetic you can be about money. Any form of poetry is accepted, so if you call it a poem, so do we! We’re looking for creative expressions on money, business, stocks, and just about everything! If we would talk about it on Aridni, then it is fair game.

The contest will go until the end of March, so if you need time to craft a masterpiece, you have a little. However, there is no limit to the number of entries that you can submit. So let your little poetic heart go wild!

PRIZES!
We’re giving (We Gave) away a couple of Amazon gift certificates to the winners.

The winner of the best poem will be given a twenty dollar certificate.
One random entry or trackback will be awarded a ten dollar certificate. Every poem–If you have a website / blog and would like talk about the contest, you’re eligible for the randomly selected price. Make sure to send a trackback to this article.

Rules

• 1. Poems must relate to Aridni topics
• 2. One entry per comment… submit as many times as you wish.
• 3. Contest ends Saturday March 31, 2007.
• 4. Tell others about the contest!

Well, perhaps number 4 isn’t exactly a rule, but depending on the response we’ll be able to host future contests, prizes, and events. We will announce the winners on April 4.

Get out your feathered ink pen and a stack of paper and start crafting some rhymes about making those dimes. Oh wow, I’m off to a good start!

Post your submission in the comments section below. Remember to use a valid e-mail address so we can pass over your prize.

When you think of the people you most admire, you think of successful and happy people. Ever wonder how they became so successful? How did they become so happy in the process of their lives? Bit by bit, I find myself taking these heroes apart–what attributes do these people have that bring them this fulfillment?

I’ve found five traits that all of my role models carry. Five traits we can all work to possess:

1. Listen More. You’ve probably heard this idea a million times. But did you “listen”? It’s easy to start talking about ourselves. The most annoying people I can think of never stop talking about themselves. You can learn more about the world and about people by listening to them.

2. Ask Questions More. The smartest people know how to keep others talking and teaching. By asking questions, people feel appreciated. You’re listening to their ideas. How many times do you start talking at the same time as someone else? In these situations, I’m trying to stop talking. People are more interested in telling you their little stories than hearing yours.

3. Smile More. Think of old men–the one kissing a girl’s hand, winking, and smiling draws your attention more than the grumpy guy with a frown and bad attitude. Ever wonder if each person is destined to mold into one of those two guys, depending upon the choices we make? Question the perspective you have. Sure it’s snowing outside my window right now and the roads will be icy and crowded. But isn’t spring on its way? I’ll get to listen to more of my audiobook on a long car drive. More snow means a longer ski season… see what I’m getting at?

4. Hold the Door More. My boss has a thing about always being the first through the doorway. He won’t stop to let anyone including a woman or his wife go before him. He probably doesn’t notice this trait in himself, though everyone else does. Watch how you act for a moment. Do you cut others off so that you can go first for everything? Will you pick up someone’s pen if he drops it? Going the extra bit adds charm. And even if no one notices this added charm, it’s better than people noting your lack-there-of.

5. Believe in You More. The trend with people online is that we often don’t show great self-esteem to others. We know we’re good at things. Yet we’re so humble. When you tell people what you do, what your $$ strategy is, and what you want to accomplish, you have to be proud. Don’t mumble about being the secretary for a horrible boss. Think of how you can spice your description up more. I think of it as an interview. To get the best job, you have to express the positive experiences you have had in the past. So why not practice that passion right now?