Where I Started
Hands-on in real estate since 1997: investing, managing property, and dealing with tenants, years before I had a license. I became a licensed real estate professional in 2005 and a broker in 2008. Along the way, I’ve been a property owner, landlord, property manager, investor, agent, and broker.
The property that taught me the most was one rental house I owned for almost twenty years.
2008: The Tenant
Right after the 2008 crash, I rented it to a contractor who checked out on paper. For a while the rent came in, and nothing broke, so I stopped driving by. Then the rent stopped. When I got the house back, it was a wreck. The power was off, the carpets were ruined, and the walls reeked of smoke. There were roaches, fleas, and ticks. That one tenant cost me about $16,400 out of pocket, plus about $4,000 in rent I never collected. My wife was done. I kept going anyway, because the market was dead and I didn’t feel I had a choice. It felt like a casino: I’d put money in, and I had to keep playing just to get my money back out.
Years Later: On Vacation
Years later, things were calmer. I had a good tenant who paid on time and took care of the place. Then one day I was on vacation with my family. Rent was due, and part of my mind was back at that house, wondering if it would come in. I told my wife how I felt. Her answer was simple:
Sell it.”
I knew she was right. I still didn’t do it. I didn’t want my burnout to become my tenant’s problem. And honestly, even leaving felt like another job I didn’t have the energy for. I pictured repairs, showings, negotiations, and starting over if a contract fell through.
The Moment
When her circumstances changed and she moved out, I drove over to look at the house. The house next door had been completely renovated, and I hadn’t even noticed. I hadn’t been by my own rental in so long that I’d been blocking it out.
I was a broker who helped other people with their houses, and I’d been putting off my own.”— M. Emanuel Grubbs
The Sale
I ended up selling directly to the investor renovating next door, and we closed in about three weeks. At that moment, speed and simplicity mattered more to me than finding out what the open market would pay. With my background, I knew exactly what I was trading for it. Most owners don’t have that background, and that’s why representation matters.
What I Do Now
That’s the choice I now help owners make with their eyes open. Sometimes a direct sale is the right answer. Sometimes the open market is. Sometimes the right answer is to keep the property and fix what’s wearing you down. What matters is that the decision is yours, and that you know what you’re choosing.