Have you ever been in a position where you just can’t believe how you got yourself into such a mess?
You know, things are going wrong, nothing’s working as planned?
Real estate investing produces those kinds of days.
Actually, any business produces those kinds of days, they just seem to pop up with real estate investing on some sort of scheduled, reoccurring pattern.
And the size and scope of the “crappy day” will often increase over time.
I remember, about ten years ago, closing on a property with Nick.
On the actual closing day he was in Europe. In Paris, France … on a tour through Europe. I remember that day vividly because the morning started off with our Mother in a panic.
Nick had called from France to say he landed and was OK but there was a hiccup with his accommodations and he hiked his way into downtown Paris to try and find somewhere to sleep … the trip, the confusion with where he was staying and the hike into town had left him exhausted and hungry. He found a bakery to buy a loaf of bread and headed to a park to lay down and get some rest. But before he did he found a public restroom where he could “freshen up”.
It was one of those restrooms where you have to pay with a few coins to use them. You know the kind, after you pay you have like 5 seconds to enter the thing before the door locks again.
Upon entering his backpack got stuck in one door and somehow another door slammed into his face … hard. He smashed his nose and it began bleeding badly all over his shirt, his pants, his hands and he was now stuck … sandwiched between these two doors because of his large backpack.
Nick’s a big strong dude, so he somehow ripped his way out of the situation and then proceeded to use the shirt he was wearing to stop the bleeding.
After the shock of the event (I still laugh every time I hear it….what else is a brother for?) he lay down on a bench or ledge or something to catch a quick nap. Apparently he tied his backpack to his body somehow so now one would steal it. I’m actually laughing as I type this!
I can only assume he was mentally and physically exhausted.
A short time later he woke up to find himself in the middle of a mob of people … apparently the park was part of the route for the Gay Pride Parade in Paris. And he was right in the middle of it. Backpack, bloody shirt and from what I understand, in no mood to be part of a parade.
So needless to say by the time he called home to let his caring mother know that he landed in Europe safely he had a lot to report.
“Crap had hit the fan” for him that morning in Paris and he was not enjoying it. Looking back it makes for a great story though, doesn’t it?
Our Mom was spooked by it … she was worried for him. I was amused 🙂
Later that day I got a call from our Lawyer to say our rental property had closed. And the literally, an hour later, the tenants we had inherited called to let me know that the grass needed cutting, the microwave was broken and there was some strange bedroom door handle that need fixing ASAP. I was nervous and no idea how to handle any of this … so I just agreed to everything they said.
I guess this was some sort of payback for me enjoying Nick’s pain earlier in the day.
For me, that moment, as small as it seems now, was the crap hitting the fan.
I took apart my own lawn mower and stuffed it into the trunk of my Honda Civic … my brand new Honda Civic.
A friend called at about the same time and I explained what was going on … he mentioned he had won a microwave at a stag or something and that I could have it.
I then packed up my toolbox and headed down to the property.
When I got there I was too scared to even talk to the tenants so I just assembled my mower and began cutting. I didn’t even say hello. It was interesting to watch the tenants peak at me through the windows as I peaked back at them.
LOL, I can’t believe that’s the way it went, but that’s exactly what happened.
I then finished the grass, knocked on the door, and barely said Hi as I walked into their kitchen to plunk down a new microwave on the counter.
Next, I asked where the door handle was that needed fixing and with my limited handy man skills proceeded to patch up some sort of fix for it. The entire time one of the tenants was watching my work over my shoulder. It was horrible. I was sweating … badly.