Previously: Part IV: I Become a Landlord Part V: Sold! and the taxman cometh. One of the few good things to come from all this was the bond and friendship we owners developed. My pal, whose name I have somehow shamefully managed to forget, was now the Condo Association president and he kept an eye on… [Continue Reading]
How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was Fashionable, Part IV: I Become a Landlord
It is said some are born to greatness, some seek greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. So, too, with landlording. And I was definitely in category #3. So now the battles have ended and the dust has begun to settle. I’m a home (well, condo) owner! Got my very own personal little slice… [Continue Reading]
How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was Fashionable, Part III: The Battle Is Joined
Major Mistake #3 In the comments section of Part II you may have noticed a couple that celebrated my ultimate success in the completion of my unit. At the time, me too. Things looked pretty good and I was feeling thrill of victory. But I had lost sight of the bigger picture. I had no… [Continue Reading]
How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was Fashionable, Part II: The Limits of the Law
Part I: Impossibly Naive Part II: The Limits of the Law Here’s what YP had been doing. sales office He had acquired the building with bank financing and gutted it. Maybe at this point he really planned a real project. Attractive literature had been prepared showing floor plans and images of the finished units. He… [Continue Reading]
How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was Fashionable, Part I: Impossibly Naive
Up In Smoke Nowadays, everybody has a tale of money lost in real estate. Dreams and cash evaporated. It has become all the rage. Hard perhaps to believe now, but time was not so long ago, real estate was a can’t lose proposition. People said things like, “Buy land. It can only go up. They’re… [Continue Reading]