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Dear Family and Friends, (by Kevin)
The good news is we did close on our house on the 14th of February. Yes that's right Valentine's Day. The bad news was we only had one week to clear out of the house by the 21st and Mary Jane and I were out of town the 13th through the 16th. The last 4 weeks have largely been a blur, packing and moving stuff. We were largely ready for the movers when they showed up on the morning of the 17th and started loading the trucks. Two days, and four 26 foot truck loads later all of the big stuff and most of the small stuff was out of the house. And we moved 3 20+ foot truck loads with the help of friends and family before the movers showed up.
All this effort reminded me of two things. First, I am way too old for all this box and furniture lifting. Second, where George Carlin, a comedian for those too young to remember, talks about how we collect stuff until we become prisoners of our STUFF. Ain't it the truth?
We spent the next three days, securing the stuff we missed and cleaning. Fortunately we had some help from people in our church or we might not have made the deadline to turn the house over to the buyers. As I stated last month we are living with my son and his family until we decide what our next move will be. We've gone from about 6,000 square feet down to 1,000 it is cozy.
MJ and I have most of our boxes unpacked however our three children that are still living with us are still struggling with what to keep here and what to put in storage. We have four storage units. I think they add up to 10 x 85 feet. Kristina, our oldest still living with us, pretty much has one and we have three. As soon as the weather warms MJ and I will spend time consolidating and repacking the units until we are down to just two units.
Kristina earned herself a spot in a play that may be turned into a movie so we are excited for her. Mary Jane and I passed our 37th wedding anniversary however we really haven't taken time to enjoy it yet. We will get to that next week for sure.
We are refocusing on our goals and objectives for the coming 12 months and our 5 year plan. Life is a wonderful journey full of twists, joys, and yes, challenges. It is the challenges that make us stronger and help determine our character.
Quote of the Month: "Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back." -- Harvey Mackay
I love this thought. We all have the same 24 hours each day. It is how we spend that time that has such a huge impact on our futures. Do you spend your time with "income reducers" or dream building activities?
Kevin and Mary Jane
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The Most Important Leadership Trait
(By Kevin)
This month I am sharing a thought on leadership. We are all leaders of our own lives, or we should be. I think the most important trait a leader can have is honesty, especially honesty with one's self. Until we are honest with ourselves, about who we are, how we operate, and who we are not it will be next to impossible to implement the changes we need to within ourselves to be the best person we need to be.
Over the years there have been numerous opportunities to sit and council with people about this incident or that incident, how life is unfair, or how they haven't been getting what they want out of life. My council has always been consistent. What will they change in their behavior to achieve the outcome they want?
This question is usually met with resistance because it is perceived that another person is at fault, or the situation isn't fair, etc. etc. etc. However the truth is that in all human interactions there is only one piece to the equation that we can control and that is ourselves.
When we understand this one principle, we can more effectively control our behavior and focus on the goal. The situations along the way just become challenges to go over, under, around or through. Most successful people I know have a great sense of self awareness and honesty with themselves. They are not all industry leaders or making tons of money but they are all captains of their own fate.
John Maxwell gives us some perspective on this subject with this Minute with Maxwell discussion on Excuses. http://johnmaxwellteam.com/excuses/
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Industry News
(by Kevin)
Dodd-Frank Act:
Last month I introduced you to the idea that the Dodd-Frank Act could impact real estate investors. Here is a short YouTube Video where an attorney does a pretty good job of summarizing the Dodd-Frank issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBSdQRd_Pu8&feature=youtu.be
Fannie and Freddie:
Eager to make deals on apartment properties, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac program lenders cut their interest rates at the beginning of this year. "We want to compete aggressively for business with top sponsors," says Hilary Provinse, vice president of multifamily at Fannie Mae.
Apartments:
Apartment markets overall remain strong in the United States. Keep in mind that with a resurgence of money flowing into the building of new apartment complexes the sight of building cranes in a market does not mean apartments are a good investment in that market. It is jobs that drive housing markets, watch the job reports.
True Investing In America:
Speaking of jobs I just saw a television commercial that really got me excited. There is a company out there that is going to invest $250 billion dollars to bring manufacturing plants back to the United States. I was truly surprised when at the end of this advertisement I found that the company that is leading this charge is Walmart. See the commercial on YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OQcoDQq3-o .
They can have my business, this is a great move for the country and if you can find out where they are opening/reopening plants, it may be a good place to invest in some housing.
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Projects and Opportunities
- Manufactured Housing Park for Sale: Our 11 unit mobile home park in Virginia up for sale for $190k. It has been very easy to manage and generates between an 8-10% cap rate. If you are interested please let us know and we will provide you the details.
- 16% ROI: We have a 3 bedroom 2 bath manufactured home in one of our parks that needs rehabbing. Total investment to purchase and rehab will be between $10 and $15k. Once sold or rented, this home should generate $200-$300 cash flow per month after paying the lot rent. We will:
- provide free lot rent for 3 months while the home is being rehabbed
- help spec the rehab
- locate contractors to perform the rehab
- verify completion of the work and
- help you get the home occupied
Taking the lowest estimated cash flow of $200 per month or $2,400 per year and dividing that by the highest estimated fix up cost of $15,000 will generate approximately 16% return on the $15,000 invested.
- 10% ROI: We are continuing to locate used mobile homes, set them up in another one of our communities, and sell/rent them. If you want to get a 10% return on your investment and have at least $15,000 to invest then this could be the right opportunity for you. If you prefer a potentially higher rate of return we will help you purchase, fix up, and then sell a home in this same park. We will do all the work outlined above.
If you are not earning at least 10% on your IRA then perhaps you should consider one of the investments above. Did you know that you can invest in real estate from your IRA or other retirement account? You can also use your stock portfolio to invest without ever selling your stock? (Think leverage, leverage, leverage!). These investment secrets aren't well known but they are perfectly legal. Contact us and/or click on this Investment Secret link to learn more.
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Laughs and Interesting Stuff
(Kevin and Mary Jane)
Will Rogers, had a great sense of humor. While he died in a 1935 plane crash, he has left us with some wonderful thoughts on life.
Some of his sayings:
- Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.
- Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
- There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.
- Never miss a good chance to shut up. (It took me a long time to learn this one.)
- Always drink upstream from the herd.
- If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. (It took me an even longer time to learn this one because I hadn't learned #4 yet.)
- The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back into your pocket.
- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
- If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
- Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.
- After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
- There are three kinds of men:
- The ones that learn by reading.
- The few who learn by observation.
- The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. (Yee Ha)
ABOUT GROWING OLDER...
First ~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
Second ~The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. Third ~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me; I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren't paved. Fourth ~ When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra. Fifth ~ You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
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Keep On Smiling!
(so people will wonder what your up to AND its contagious) |
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We are always willing to share information with you so please feel free to contact us
Driscoll Enterprises Inc. 332 West Lee Hwy., Suite 200, Warrenton, VA 20186
703-398-1188 or 800-887-0001 info@DriscollEnterprisesInc.com |
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