Читать книгу Why Do Contractors Lie? - J.O.A.Maurice - Страница 14

Some retreats are permanent and fatal. Others can be temporary and designed with the goal of bouncing back up. In this case, when I took a strategic retreat, I buckled down and started learning from scratch. My first lesson was on how to manage contractor hiring and relationships. The years 2008 to 2010 were tough for me and others in real estate. Most of the properties that people bought in the year 2006 were underwater by the time 2008 rolled around. The U.S. economy was experiencing tough times. With property values down, and the lending rules changing, it was hard to refinance or sell rehabs. I, like many people, got stuck with properties. Painful financial reorganization, including surrendering some properties, stared me right in the eye. I did both just to reduce my stock and re-group to a manageable level.

My new strategy was to buy mostly using cash deals, or in case of a mortgage, give a sizeable down payment so I would have a low monthly payment. Excessive debt was the problem from 2008 to 2010 for many investors. My experience was that an investor with excessive debt generally concentrates on debt management at the expense of sound control of his investments. He slowly descends into a survival mode instead of a thriving path. The results are mostly disastrous.