10/23/2020
For a few years, I had been sharing with my wife Roni about my dream of owning rental properties. I began researching the area we lived in, familiarizing myself with the values and locations of properties. As I became familiar with the area, one day I came upon a condo that seemed to be a good value. It was the cheapest available property in the city of Colleyville. It is located in the only community in Colleyville where you can purchase a condo… and apartments are not allowed in the city. My immediate thought was “What do we have to lose?” As I discussed with my wife Roni, I told her that we couldn’t go wrong. We did have to get loans against our vehicles and also personal loans to purchase and fix up the place, but I assured her that we could sell the condo, pay back the loans, and at least break even. She told me that night that if it were up to her, she wouldn’t do it because it was too risky. BUT… because I have done the research and have minimized the risk, she will agree to do it. We learned an important lesson in our marriage that evening. When we make decisions, we ALWAYS have to be in agreement! Then neither of us can ever say “I told you so!” (Which happened, by the way, and we were reminded that we made this decision TOGETHER IN AGREEMENT.)
The renovation took 2 weeks of nights and weekends to clean and fix it up. I immediately listed it By Owner and got a contract for purchase. About a week before closing, we were hanging out with some friends. I was telling my friend about the return we were about to get on our investment, and he wasn’t impressed. He asked me why I wasn’t renting it out. He explained to me about long term investing, collecting rent and the opportunity to watch the value increase. I immediately regretted signing the contract to sell the condo.
One day before closing, I found out that the buyer wanted to purchase the condo for a cheaper price than we agreed upon, because it didn’t appraise for the selling price. We didn’t budge, because we really didn’t want to sell it anymore! She backed out and we celebrated!
We immediately listed it for rent, and prayed for the right family to move into it. This was the first, and is still how we approach all of our properties. We want to be a blessing to the individual or family, whether they are renting, or they are purchasing.
About 6 months after we rented the condo, we were about to walk into a church gathering. Before we headed in, Roni told me that she was so proud of me and it was the best financial decision we have ever made in our marriage. Immediately, my chest bulged out and I felt like Clark Kent about to bust out of my suit and reveal the “S” on my chest! What a great feeling to get that kind of encouragement from my wife!
