Surging Forward

I can't emphasize how important goal-setting has been in my life.  Frankly I am surprised how anyone can live without a "compass" directing you on where you should be headed.  Once again I find myself on the brink of achieving one of my 2012 goals (posted here).

For more than a year I've considered buying a house in the Tampa Bay area, and it looks like it's going to happen... finally.  Last week I put in an offer for a small 3 bedroom, 1 bath home in Clearwater.  There were five offers on the house, but my all cash offer with no contingencies for financing, sale of current residence or inspection finally won over the other, sometimes higher bids.  If all goes as planned the paperwork will be finalized July 27th.

If that weren't enough, I'm buying another property here in Alabama.  I haven't written about this because it was such a long shot.  The property is a townhouse next door to one I already own.  The one I already own was purchased as a foreclosure for about $43,000.  This one is not a foreclosure, but the aging landlord is tired of dealing with it and has agreed to sell it to me for $27,000.  I was lucky on this deal, as the current owner never even listed the house on the MLS.  It's practically move-in ready save for a bit of cleaning and likely replacement of a couple kitchen appliances.

I feel like I'm getting in over my head, which is exactly where I want to be.  I always work best under extreme pressure:  give me more than I can handle and I will achieve way more than I would if life were simple and easy.  What do I mean?  Well, not only am I simultaneously purchasing two properties, I am also dealing with 1) a tenant moving out on July 31st, 2) converting my own home to a rental property, 3) a stubborn tenant who I just may have to evict (though not for unpaid rent, so hopefully I can work things out on this one), and 4) a tenant who emailed earlier this week to say she has to move and may not be paying her July rent.

Needless to say, I've got to scale down the mystery shopping.  I've already made a number of commitments through this month for dozens of shops, so my July income shouldn't really be affected.  However, in August I've got to turn my focus to the bread and butter, which are my rental properties.