Glad that didn't happen

Whew! Sometimes we want something to happen so bad that we are willing to do anything to get it. We dream, beg, pray to God, anything to get what we want. We know it is exactly what will rock our world, make us happy, be the Thing that we always wanted. Then, it does not come to pass. Thank God for miracles.

If everything we wished for came true, we would be more screwed up than we already are. A friend of mine recently wanted a job opportunity to come to him. It did. They offered and he contemplated. He really wanted this job. It was the ticket. It was his dream. Travel, good income, status and fame. But there was one thing that stood in his way so he decided to decline. He hated that. He did not want to, but he had to say no. Three weeks later the company went down the drain. Out of business. Whew! Glad that didn't happen. He is so thankful that what he thought he wanted did not happen.

As I prepare to make some big changes and expand our business, I pray that God will guide me and make smart decisions that benefit all of our customers and clients, and my staff. I love having that burning desire to take a risk and make that dream come true. But I have to be cautious, prepared, and think smart. Thank goodness for a wonderful wife and insightful friends to guide me along the way. Together, this new venture will be a great journey. I will keep you up to date.

New Again!

Finally, the smoke smell is gone. After many months of long hard work, it is so nice to see the home that was gutted fire and the remaining fragments torn down, back up in even a better state than before. I know it is just a house, but when you have put so much effort and planning into a neighborhood and one of your babies has been destroyed, it hurts.

But now, she's back. Shiny and new; perfect. I still remember that panicked phone call at 4 in the morning, running over there to see the destruction. Just a memory. Just a house. Still our baby.

With the new tenants ready to move in, one can hope that all of us have a learned something from this experience; there really are heroes out there who care about people http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frtX7Shj6kg , fire can kill, and never ever disable a smoke detector.

Now we go on, looking to the future, but never forgetting.

Can't get away!

Sometimes it is great to get away from the daily stress of our ever so busy lives. I know, I know, I am busy because I choose to be. Nevertheless, I packed one duffel bag, grabbed the wife and off we went to Punta Cana, D.R. for the weekend. A long weekend on a sun drenched beach lined with palm trees. I love palm trees. The reality is, in this business one never gets truly away from it. While laying on the beach, I couldn't help reading lots of magazines about Web 2.0 and constantly making notes of what I was going to do when I got back. Although I did not have a phone that worked, nor a computer, I did resort to the old fashioned way. I just couldn't help it.

Now don't get me wrong, it was really nice making notes on the beach and I can't wait to do it again, but when you get right down to it, I was ready to come back and dig in. There are many challenges in front of me this year; bring it on.

So I can't really get away completely, but then again, I really don't want to. I love what I do, and the people around me. Sometimes, you just have to get away to see it.

Thanks to all who made it possible, my wife, my great friends, my staff, and my son who I think I owe a father/son outing one day soon.

Do I exist?

I just came across a site and thought, this might be interesting. This site will tell you how many people have the same name as you in the U.S. "Well that would be weird for someone to have my name since it is so different," I thought. Little did I know that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, I don't even exist. But I can assure you, according to the IRS I do.

How many people have your name?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

My Very First Rental Property

It's pretty exciting when you become a multiple homeowner for the first time. It can also be really scary too for first time investors that are investing in rental property. I remember when I bought my first rental home in Bartlesville, OK over 20 years ago. My wife and I were scared of how we were going to supplement the rent if it sat vacant, or what if we had a major repair?? How would we ever deal with that??

Well, I'm here to tell you that these feelings are all very common. I can be your coach, I can be your guide in this real estate jungle and I can also be your voice of reason if you are considering purchasing rental property. I have been investing in properties myself for the last 20+ years, and I also manage over 160 units, owned by other investors, here in Springfield. I can talk you thru the process and let you know what you can expect, I can help you with financing and most of all, I can be your REALTOR to purchase that home. Just contact me and we can chat about it or visit my web site at www.getpaul.com for more information.

By the way...it's not as scary as you think. :)

I'm tired of Ice!

I love those hot summer days when I am sitting outside enjoying the warm air, the smell of the steak sizzling on the grill and that cold drink with lots of ice in my right hand; lots of ice please! But too much of a good thing can be a catastrophe.

As you have probably seen by now in our video podcast, we are in an ice storm. Everywhere you look there is ice. It is actually pretty to see it as the shrubs and trees take new shapes and the ice shimmers with many colors kind of like a prism. But that is only if you look closely, because if you look at what it has done to our area, it is devastating. It looks like a bomb has gone off right in the heart of the city.

When the storm hit, ice blanketed everything. It was interesting to watch at first, then as it started to accumulate the damage started to begin. The ice stuck to every kind of plant, shrub, and tree; oh the trees! Those beautiful wonderful trees just could not handle all of the weight and branches began to drop, one, two, then thousands upon thousands came crashing down. The sky continued to have blue flashes everywhere as the power transformers began to explode. All of the sudden, it was dark.

Thousands of people, around 70,000 in Springfield alone were without power. No power, no heat. It will back come on I know it will, it always does! But this time, 8 days later and still thousands upon thousands are still sitting in the dark, cold, wary, and very irritable.

We are coming, I keep telling everyone; and we are as fast as my body will allow. I will not give up, I will not quit, and I will continue to take care of my owners and tenants alike. However, the tenant with the bedroom door that won't close just right is going to have to wait. Somehow I just don't think it is that big of a priority.

FIRE!

Well it finally happened. After 20 years of managing real estate investments, we had a fire. Not some little fire mind you, a real flame coming out of the roof kind of fire. One so hot that the heat from it melted the two cars in the driveway.

On January 5th about 5:30 am I get the emergency call all property managers fear. "Sir we have a fire." I immediately jumped out of bed, got dressed and out the door I ran. I called my office manager who also hurried to get to the home. Not knowing what to expect, it was an eerie site. As I approached the neighborhood, one could see the lights from the emergency vehicles at least a half mile away. There were 10 fire trucks, 2 ambulances, police cars, Fire Marshall, and 31 firemen. They were prepared. Truly a sight to see.

We are very blessed that no one was killed. Yes, killed. Within 90 seconds, that's right 1 1/2 minutes or less from having fatalities. If it was not for our hero of the day, Mike, this whole thing would be much different. You see, we always think of the damage the fire does, but often forget about the carbon monoxide that is emitted from the fire. Sometimes, people just don't wake up.

The home had smoke detectors, 4 of them actually, but the tenants took them apart rather than have to deal with that annoying beeping noise that tells us to change the battery. That little annoyance, almost cost these tenants there lives.

This experience teaches me how fragile life can be and to look for and appreciate every detail of my life, including the little things. Some times little annoyances can be big blessings in disguise, and I hope I never overlook them.