Midnight Investment Group LLC

08/24/2021

Well, it's been a while since my last post.
The NC property is finally rented for a short time. I lost $9000 last year because the tenant refused to pay and refused to leave. I left the property vacant from Jan to July so no one would take advantage of me like that during the pandemic rules.
One result of leaving the property vacant was that a few things broke down from non use like the hvac. That cost $2500 to fix.
Things are looking better so far this year.

06/28/2020

10/07/2017

I am planning a trip to North Carolina next weekend to scout the area for investment homes. The area seems good for flips and rentals. Lots of movement on the MLS.

09/14/2017

I haven't posted in a while, and so this will be a long post...

It is time to get rid of my one remaining Baltimore City rental. I have listed it with an auction company. It will be gone in about 30 days.

It has been low on my priority list for quite a while. No rent = no motivation and racial tensions = low motivation to go in the city after dark to take care of what needs to be taken care of. Sounds crappy, but it is what it is.

There are some decent people in the inner city and most I have rented to were hardworking and capable in the beginning. But as I have witnessed many times, things often change for the worse.

This last property is the classic example. Things we're peachy for the first 6 months. Then the excuses started...

Overall, The tenants didn't pay the rent and they didn't pay for the water they used. As a result, my property was sold at the tax lien sale in May 2017. I'm not going to say how much the water bill was, because I'm a little embarrassed. That responsibility rests squarely on my shoulders. The back rent is the same.

The people that lived there are typical Baltimore residents. They are not responsible enough to take the initiative to pay their rent and then act stupid when you chase them and ask for what is due. All kind of excuses, but they all have a tv and cell phone and expensive clothes and shoes... And many have a vehicle nicer than mine! (It is weird to see a newer model Jaguar picking someone up or dropping someone off in these low income neighborhoods)

And forget about the utilities. I am not responsible for the gas and electric, but when they get behind and don't pay these either, who gets paid the fastest and who doesn't get squat when the lights go off!!!

Yeah, if I was more proactive I probably would have got my rent. But then I will be spending all my time chasing the tenants and have zero time to myself. Guess who wins?

And if you think I win because I get the rent, well, guess again. Since I spend all my time chasing the tenants and collecting the rent, they stop paying anyway and I spend more time and expense evicting and fixing the place up to rent again and do the whole process over!

Overall, I lose money and have a poor quality of life.

I am finished with Baltimore and the crappy attitude of the tenants here. I have plans on establishing a small empire in another suburban area where the quality of the tenants is much better.

The best thing I take away from this experience is that I have to be VERY strict, yet fair, with tenants. If I set a narrow boundary and act quickly on any violations, then I will be much more successful and respected. The biggest issue why I did not act quick enough is because of time and distant to the resources I needed.

Working in DC and living in Baltimore is difficult as it is, spending at least 3 hours per day commuting. By the time I get home, it is almost dark and if I have not yet eaten, well... It ain't happening that day.

And so, this chapter of my real estate business is coming to an end in Baltimore.

03/03/2017

I am still on the lookout for eligible self storage properties that I can become involved with. That is the ultimate goal.

03/03/2017

I have also signed up for the Amazon business that I saw advertised here on FB. Let's see how that goes...

03/03/2017

I sold 2 of my residential properties for a GIANT loss. I owed $44K on Belnord and it sold for $10K. UGH... I owed $65K on Keyworth and it also sold for $10K. UGH again. I basically lost my butt on these properties. BUT it is a 2 edged sword. On one hand, the tenant situation in Baltimore really sucks and I was always chasing them for the rent and making repairs to the properties.

On the positive side, I don't have the headache anymore. I do owe the bank a little money since they took a big loss as well, but this is best for everyone.

I have one more property to deal with and it will be a different situation since it is paid off. I will not sell it at a loss. At the worst, I will board it up and keep the tax write off... I will just have to keep an eye on it once in a while because it WILL be broken into. I am going to try to go back to it being a managed property. That will work best if I can find a reliable property manager. They are all not very good at managing properties since they want to charge everyone an arm and leg for any and all services they provide and then not do the repairs...

07/05/2016

In an interesting twist of fate about 2 weeks ago, I bumped into an old acquaintance with whom I first got involved with Real Estate. He is much more networked and connected in the business than I am. I got to talking about the deal and why it died. His reaction was "You should have called me! I know lots of people with money to lend!"

I was a little dumbfounded because it never dawned on me to reach out because I hadn't see or talked to him in a long time.

The point is, if you have a deal, talk to EVERYONE! You never know what might turn up.

07/05/2016

I haven't posted here for some time. After my last deal went south, I decided to take a break for a while.

The reason the deal went south was because of money. It has been said that if the deal is there, money will come. Not entirely true. One needs an effective marketing plan to go along with the deal. Also I didn't reach out to as many people as I could have.

It's ok. I learned alot from putting this package together. One definitely needs a team to help out with other areas to spread the work evenly so no one person gets bogged down and becomes a bottleneck.

12/13/2015

I was looking for a logo for my business. I signed up on fiverr.com to get something interesting based on my current profile pic. The person tried to rip me off by offering me the same pic with my company name next to it! LOL! I told the person I could do that and the result is my new cover photo!!! I did it with PowerPoint and the snipping tool! SHEESH!

I hope I get offered something else because I am going to request my money back if I can make a better logo than they can!

12/13/2015

I finally received the contract for the property. I have to review it before I send it along to the seller.

11/24/2015

I am working on the next deal just down the street. This property is a bit older, but it has the client base and is advertised at 96% occupancy. I am meeting with a lawyer Wednesday to facilitate the contract. I am also meeting with the broker at the property Sunday afternoon to go over some due diligence and walk the property. I will take some pics so I can put together a prospectus for investors.