Balancing Full time job, rehabbong & family

[ND Investor]

Me, I am 44 and I have already gone the 'reduction in work force' layoffs once.  When you start over it takes it's toll and trust in the traditional organization.   I wish I knew as much about real estate then as I do now.  I do miss the consistant paycheck of the traditional job.

NDI

[gordo2417]

Fair question.  I'm 31 yrs old, spent 6 yrs in the service, and working for a corporation which is run much like the govt.  It sucks.  I'm moving forward, being ultra agressive in my real estate adventures, and building wealth.  

Nate-WI

[aak5454]

Yep, a lot of great comments here.

My wife and I are two peas in a pods when it comes to working deals and figuring out rehabs.  I have to say its been a great for our marriage.  We're both engineers in our mid/late 30's (one child-9 mn old) and been thru the downsizing game, 2% raise eaten by insurance and tiny/no raises while the CEO of the company hauls in a 500k cash bonus for his "hard work".  With that said, I was self empolyed for a couple of years as a technical consultant and its was great experience, but a tough way to make a living.  I have a steady (but not exciting job) that pays the daily bills while build assets at my "hobby"/part-time job (REI).  As someone mentioned, you need to have a shared vision and that's what can really drive success in REI as well as other endeavors.  As I told my wife during one big very time consuming rehab, this is an alternative retirement.  One day's labor is  couple of hundred dollars in the retirment acct.  Sure, the money is good, but with many things in life, if you don't like it, you will only do it for so long and probably not reach your true potential.  I've met a couple of folks that have huge holding of properties that generate crazy income, but yet they are still out looking for deals.  They do it becuase they like it!

As for contractors, I use them sparing.  Like someone stated, contractors can eat up a lot of profit , but more importantly TIME.  I have several occasions of week after week get eaten up waiting for contractors to get out there only to have a long list of excuses and when they do, watch them do medicore work at a snail'ss pace.  I almost exclusively use people by referral now and when i make the first phone call, I state up front " I was referred to you by Joe Smith" so to let them know if they give runaround, bad service, I will put the word out to other past customers.

[youhan]

Amen, on the contractors....I use only ones that I trust and have a relationship with. If I give them a job and with the job comes a time frame and they miss with no good reason..........then they no longer work for me. I am 36 yr. and I love this. I try to share both my good and bad experiences with fellow investors. I think we should always help one another, there is plenty to go around.

[fadi]

I'm 33 year old. I have a good full time job which takes good 12-14 hours of my day and I have to travel a lot. I turned to real estate to establish long term retirement plan.

[DDavis]

I dumped the full-time job two years ago and now just do contract work in my old vocation when I need some extra cash.  I work at home when I do contract work, so I get maximum family time.

 However, there is still an issue balancing time with family.  I've got three kids, ages 6 yrs., 3 yrs. and 10 months.  My wife is wonderful, and supports me 100%.  I couldn't do this work if I wasn't married to such a great person.   At some points during a rehab/new construction, it's very time-intensive for me, and I don't see my family much at all.  At other times, I only need to walk-through a project once or twice a day, and I get to see my family alot.  That's when I'm very happy with my career choice.

As far as contractors go, I've found that the trustworthy, reliable and conscientious contractors also charge good money for their services.  I've yet to see the lowest bidder do decent work in a timely manner.  So you have to pick-and-choose when to pay for excellent service and when to do it yourself-- it just depends on the project.  

[MikeHgl]

This is an issue that impacts all of us.
I feel a little guilty sometimes when I use all my spare time for rehabs. But rehabbing IS my hobby. It's what I like to do in my "spare" time. But be warned: It will consume you if you let it, as many of you know already. I guess the best word I can think of here is balance. Pace yourself, take time off between projects. Make sure when you go back in you are ready to give 100%.
I, too, work the 40 hour grind. It helps that I work 4 - 10 hour days. I sympathize with those of you who are working longer hours and days than that AND doing these projects on the side. That's tough.
But doesn't completion of a house make you feel good? It gives me pride that I cannot get from my ball and chain job.
As far as contractors - I , too, keep it to a absolute minumum. And then try to work within my established set of contacts that you know will do the job right. Especially if you are helping them do it.
Just my two cents on this great thread!

[d_sbrown]

Hey all,

Just a thought on balancing family and work.  I grew up on a farm and my dad worked 80-90 hr weeks much of the year.  Yet I was with him a lot.  I rode with him, fenced with him, painted buildings with him, and just generally helped.  I don't know if it is possible to include your kids in your projects, but I learned a lot about my dad by working next to him and learned things like work ethic, doing a job right, and how to be efficient.  I am farming now and doing the same with my kids as they grow into it.  They love to be along and "helping dad".  Let them help, expect them to do a good job and then reward it.  For me there is no greater pleasure than working with family, wether it is my dad, brothers, or my kids.

Just my thoughts,

DB

[petemfa]

If you want to find some honest guy's to HELP you with your rehab projects head to your local Fire Department.  (Assuming you have a fulltime dept.)   These guys have helped me out on more projects than I can recall.  The Fire service is LOADED with plumbers, electricians, carpenters ect. they all make a steady pay check but usually look for extra work.  They have a schedule, 4 on 4 off that allows them to get to your job.  And remember your using them for HELP not as a full time contractor.  Can't beat'em for small stuff that the full time guy's can't be bothered with, and they show up.  Ask your local Fire Department Captain if you can put up a sign up in the station.  You might get some nit wits but the majority are great guys who know their stuff. And it definitely helps you spend more time at home.

[Roger J]

Great idea, petemfa.

Why hire a contractor anyway, when a good, preferrably referred handyman can usually do 95% of ANY rehab work?  And in my experience, most handymen (or people, I should say) are better at the job than contractors anyway.

Want another way to get good, fast, reliable help?  Go visit your nearest new neighborhood going up and take a peek at the houses in contruction.  If you need a drywaller, when you visit, ask the drywaller if they know of anyone that can help you with your project?  Give them your card and tell them to call you if they do.  Same with plumbers, painters, etc.

What will most likely happen is one or two of those doing the work (the laborers) will call you and say that they can do it for $X dollars if they can come this weekend/tommorrow/etc.  They're looking for fast side money, so they'll show up, you've already seen their work, and you can sit around, drink your beer, and watch them work if you desire!  They'll usually get done in a weekend what it would take the average do-it-yourselfer to would get done in 2 weeks.

And I understand that some people have been soured on several aspects of this business (Mike, Mike, Mike! ), but RE is a risk.  That includes possibly getting some bad help sometimes (I've had a few).

However, time IS money.  There is no way that you can have a fulltime JOB and still do a complete rehab yourself and get it done as good as and as fast as a professional doing it.  And if you're not figuring in your time as a laborer on the job, then you are giving your time up for FREE.  Personally, my time, and my time with my family, is worth something to me.  IF I'm going to be swinging a hammer, it's going to cost.

I invest in RE to make money as an investor.  If I wanted to be a handyman/fixit guy, I could do that without risking my money/credit.

Just my opinion.

Raj

[bighat]

Raj-

That's a great reply!

Bighat

[petemfa]

Roger is right on the money.  I started out working summers on construction sites and I have seen guy's drive up and ask a crew if anyone wanted to make some extra money on a project.  There's always someone who will take that work.  A handyman is definitely a great way to get help,  very reasonable rates and they're skilled at  doing lots of different jobs. Excellent advice.

[phatman5]

I am 23 years old and have been looking to get into minor rehab properties with a lifelong friend of mine who is also 23.

We both have little to tie us down (excluding location). We want to get a property that is liveable and live/rehab there and then rent/sell the property and move on to the next.

We really dont care about our living situation as far as the house goes. We could sleep in the same room on mattresses on the floor for a few months if we had to (I know cause weve done it before when we lived together).

We both have ok jobs and great cashflow. I am saving 1500-2k per month (after bills and other expenses). and would love to put this towards REI.

Does anyone know of any other young guys who straight barekncuckled their way into REI?