Real Estate Reality: One Eviction at a Time

I made a commitment recently to spruce up on my writing again, and now, with this new blog, I have no choice but to re-start a lifelong passion. You see for 18 years I worked in media, mostly as a freelance journalist, so writing has been a part of both my professional and personal life.

Well that changed four years ago, when I aggressively began to invest in real estate; at first, it was just a way to supplement my income. Then, I realized that real estate was not just adding in extra dollars, but it was transforming my life financially.

It began with one apartment building in a bit of a rough part in Los Angeles: I took out an equity line of credit on my house. Soon the portfolio grew into nine properties in five states -- all within just a few short years.

It sounds impressive, but really I'm still such a baby in this field. Now, I'm interacting with the big boys, the ones who have portfolios that make mine look like a speckle of beach sand on the front porch.

I always try and learn as much as I can from them. As a trained reporter, I had the privilege of learning one of the most important secrets in life early on: SHUT UP!

You see, most people talk way too much. If they would just sit back, relax, shut up, and smile, the whole world could be theirs... : - )

I had an average day today... Let me share: One of my tenants is getting evicted for non-payment. She's a single mother with two kids living in one of my units in Arizona. Evictions are always tough to swallow, but welcome to the REAL WORLD of real estate investing. At least I have a great property manager, HUNTER JACK (http://www.jaxn.net). He hunts down my checks every month!

Other than me saying a prayer for the lady for her to get back on her feet, what can I do? I'm glad it's not December, I wouldn't be able to evict anyone before X-Mass. Others would, I can't.

You're probably thinking: what a wimp. Well, hold on there! You try evicting two former gang members with tattoos from head to toe. Because that's exactly what I had to do a few years ago. My life was threatened verbally...yada, yada, yada.

I was luckily smart enough to hire a property manager to act as a mediator; he helped me evict them. But did I sleep peacefully at night? Hello, has anyone ever heard of a drive by? I did not sleep deeply for a few MONTHS! And yes, I did want to throw in the towel and never, I mean, NEVER buy another building again. Luckily, my insanity didn't last long.

That same building has now appreciated 50 percent since I purchased it only a few years ago, and it now has wonderful, peaceful tenants; ones who always pay on time.

Some may think that being a real estate investor is an easy-breezy job. Well, now you know better.

Welcome to the reality of real estate investing. A game like no other, where fortunes are made... sometimes one eviction at a time.

Linda
www.CashFlowCows.com
Do you have a real estate topic that you would like me to tackle?
E-mail me your questions, suggestions or critiques: pliagas@msn.com