Keeping the wheels moving

Regarding the investor group, there is good news and bad news.  The good news is that we could probably raise enough money to the buy the Empire State Building.  The bad news is that, as far as I know, it’s not for sale.  If you emailed me (JustinSadauskas@gmail.com) or tweeted at me (@JustinSadauskas), and I didn’t respond, you have been added to the list – I just didn’t have time to respond to everyone.  A lot of thanks to Taylor Caby  for the shoutout in his blog at Cardrunners.com.  I’ve always had a lot of respect  for Taylor as well.  He’s one of the most ambitious people I’ve ever met.  Cardrunners aside, just think of how much work there is in between, “Hey, you know what would be cool, sit and go’s for fantasy sports!”  to http://www.draftday.com/. That is a long, long, journey.  I think that’s really cool and I have a lot of admiration for that kind of ambition.

I think the story of how Taylor and I met is actually pretty funny.  A mutual friend introduced us on a random Saturday night at CO’s bar when we were both at University of Illinois under the caveat of, “He plays poker too.”  Pretty much the four worst words you can hear at a bar. I know I did an internal eye roll and readied myself for a half hour of bad beat stories.  And I boy did I get them!!  Ha, just kidding.

At that time, the limit and NL worlds were pretty segregated with almost no crossover. The limit players thought they were the coolest and had the biggest games.  The NL players were usually newer to poker and didn’t care about limit, because it’s like the Buick Regal of Poker.  Plus, the NL players had had it made with a total goldmine, fishfest lol-palooza, the limit world was the last thing on their minds.  Anyway, we had the customary screen name exchange, he told me he was Green Plastic, I told him my name(s), primarily all limit, and I think we both thought, meh, never heard of you (FISH!) and went our separate ways.  We didn’t become friends until well after college.

As for the investor group, I’m not sure what my plan is going to be when we actually get a deal, since we have too much money.   That’s either a good problem to have, or mo money mo problems.  Not sure which cliche applies.  I think I will either do it first come, first serve, or just cap the investment at some low amount so a lot of people can join in on the fun.  Regardless, like I said, if I ask for money it will only be for deals that I consider to be virtual locks – so it’s very possible a deal up to my standards doesn’t present itself – we will have to wait and see.   I get most of my deals from a friend of mine, Will Hadley.  He is my age, 32, very motivated and ambitious, and well connected in the community, the perfect guy to be working with.  If you ever get in to real estate, I highly recommend finding someone like him.  It’s not very easy, but money does open a lot of doors.  I told Will to find us the most expensive house in Detroit for half of what it is worth.  He says he’s on it, and he usually produces.

One deal that recently fell though was for this boat  http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1995-Silverton-37-Convertible-95855221/?ZMC=Oodle&BAC-Oodle=&

It started off as a personal loan.  This guy who runs a non-profit organization wanted $40,000 for his business (reason unknown) and said he would pay me back $45,000 in 30-45 days.  He would put up his boat as collateral, which appraised for 94k in 2010.  The boat was donated as a tax write-off to the non-profit and was in the organizations name.  I don’t like do personal loans unless I know the person and even then not so much.  Also, you need a license to charge anything over 7% in Michigan.  I think the greater than 100% APR qualifies as usury :).

But, I like boats.  So, I  suggested that this guy sell me his boat at a discount, and it would be a win-win situation.  He seemed to seriously consider it for a while.  He even let me go check it out, but just as I was doing that, some overly tan lady carrying a lunchbox came up and asked me why I was on her boat. I told her I was hoping to buy it, and then she said it wasn’t for sale (like she owned it).   I think she ended up boat-blocking my deal. Fucking lunchbox lady. Bad timing.  I guess the old dude was trying to sneak one by her.  I like his motto though, it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.  My plan was to buy it for around 55k and flip it after the summer of using it.  I don’t really know how much I could have sold it for since getting rid of boats isn’t always easy.  Still at 55k, that was a steal.

In other news, I closed on 23802 Elmira, and we are sewing up the land contract part of the deal this week.  Once I get the exact number, I will lay out all the juicy details. It’s gonna be a ridiculous rate of return.

On Champine, I have to redo the foundation on the front wall and re-landscape, and then I will be flipping it right after that.  I have higher confidence now on making money some money, even after buying it for $10,000 more than I thought.  I’m going to really jazz up the curb appeal and stage the hell out of the place.  Nothing sells like a well-stage house.  I think I will devote an entire blog to how important it is to have your house staged (and curb appeal) when selling and how to do it.  On the flip-side, never forget you are only buying four walls and a roof when you buy a house.  I’ve been through a lot of houses and even I get swept up sometimes.

Greater Mack is rented for 1k/month – it costed me like $4,000 to get it rent-ready between appliances, re-glazing the bathroom, repairs and cleaning.  Way more than I was hoping.  It looks great though.  All were first year , one-time expenses, so not that big of a deal (at least in my opinion).  Also, I spent $1500 on cutting down the jungle of trees in the backyard at the Avon house.  Again, something I would consider a one-time expense.  I’d never recommend renting on a really tight budget because things come up that you wouldn’t expect.  Like Spex from 2+2 says, the national average for expenses is around 45% of gross rent.

Right now, I’m at the Harsens Island Lakehouse getting it ready to rent. We have six weeks booked so far at $2200/wk.  The listing is pretty lame so don’t hold it against me.  http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/94605.html?promoType=none

I will probably rent a few more weeks in June.  It’s my personal home (aka I stay there) and I was leery renting it, especially during the prime months, but I love the sound of $2200/wk.

Lastly, I have been helping my friends buy a house and we closed last week .  I received a commission check, so I will get my FIRST official paycheck 1099 or whatever of my life.

If I was a baller, I’d cut it up and send a big F you to the man.  Really stick it to him.  But I’m not, so I’ll cash it.