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Read my recent post here.
New post, and I have totally revamped the site. You can find it all here.
I have a new post, which can be found here.
See my latest post here.
The reason I have not posted in so long is that nothing has really changed much. I am not one to really post crap when I have nothing to say, nor do I like being pressured in to having to write every day (or week or..uhhh month)…
I have seen some really interesting resources, and I will continue to post them here. I have gone back on my list of resources and found that it is huge. I tend to just clip sites that seem interesting and put them all in an email that I then send to myself. I looked back on the emails and there were hundreds of links to review! Yes, some sites kept coming up with great info, but a lot of these were the sites I already had on my blog roll (although there are some new ones that I will add later).
The best advice I can think of is to do what I do and use sites that employ user recommendations to find subjects in which you are interested. Go to sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, or Stumbleupon, to search for topics like “Freelance” or “4HWW”, and you will find quality sites that have been vetted by others. This is the direction that online search engines taking – instead of blindly finding every site relating to a subject, good or bad.
While I have pretty much finished work on my rental property, I have not really made any effort to market it or get a tenant into it. I don’t know what is holding me back. Probably fear. I have heard horror stories of tenants from hell and I am afraid that when I do get someone in, the nightmares will begin. Still I faced my fears when I bought the house in the first place, and I still want to try being a landlord to see if it is right for me. I guess I just have to face this fear and ride out whatever adversity that comes my way.
As I mentioned in my last post, the Thirty Day Challenge is back, and I am going to participate in that as well. In July, it will be a year since I first started my effort to leave my current job and become a freelancer. I have learned a lot in that time, but it is a humbling experience, and it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Life has a funny way of coming in and interfering with your plans. Still, I have not given up and I will continue to try different things until I find the solution that feel right for my goals.
As for my next post, you will get it when it is worthy of publishing… 
)
As part of setting up my processes for marketing my rental property and handling prospective tenants, I am setting up a new website. I have registered a really good name, which I will put here when I get the site up and running. I am delving into web design books and getting ideas from friends who are also real estate investors.
I am also toying with the idea of moving this blog over to the new host. The host allows for multiple sites, and even though I don’t have a major following, it will give me the chance to experiment a little more, and eventually try to sell ad space. I am actually considering splitting the blog up into two parts, one continuing on with the 4HWW theme, and the second with my experiences as a real estate investor. This is a ways off, but I am looking forward to it.
On another note…tomorrow, the house will have new garage doors, and the landscaping will be complete. All that is needed is a new oven and a good cleaning and it will be ready to rent. I will then be free to move on to other projects. I want to get back to my goal of forming a virtual company…
In my next post I am going to list some excellent resources that I always turn to for freelance advice and ideas.
Yikes…I looked at the date of my last post and it was three weeks ago!
I apologize to the three or four of you that hang on my every word waiting for my next wacky adventure…
Seriously, I have been swamped…
The major rehab on the house has been complete, now comes the little details that need to be finished so I can get the house ready to rent. Today, I went to a local appliance store to get a stove top for the kitchen (I still need a new wall mounted oven and range hood); I also hung the fire alarms and started cleaning EVERYTHING!
The big to-do is getting the garage doors to work. My contractor could not do it, but gave me the name of someone who might. They have yet to get back to me…
I also have to get my “process” formalized. I know what the Georgia Landlord – Tenant law is, and I have a good lease. I now need to get a voice mail service to handle the calls from prospective renters and a way to run credit checks and criminal checks on any applicants. The devil is always in the details.
Still, I am excited. So far (knock on wood) I have been able to handle any problems that I have encountered. It has been crazy leading a double life, programmer by day, real estate rehab project manager by night, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, that doesn’t mean that life as a landlord isn’t going to cause headaches, but financially, it will ease a lot of pressure having someone else pay the mortgage – assuming I find a tenant. Then comes the next house…
Keeping productive given my situation has been a challenge, and I have been surfing the net for productivity tips. I have found a really good article here. I hope you find it helpful.
The guy who runs Outlaw Design Blog is spending the month of February in Costa Rica. In preparation for the trip, he researched online tools he’s use to help him work remotely.
You can find his list of tools here.
One of the tools he recommended is ZOHO, which I also use and recommend. I find it a lot more robust than Google’s office tools.
I remember reading something somewhere that all of human behavior derives from two basic tendencies: “seek pleasure” and “avoid pain” or on a more basic level, move towards something, move away from something.
Yesterday, I posted a link to Catherine Lawson’s excellent collection of resources for entrepreneurs. She saw it and came to my blog and read my Escape! posting from last week. This prompted her to make the following comment:
“I know that motivating yourself because you want to leave your job seems like a good idea at the time, but it’s a good idea to set yourself a list of goals and motivate yourself towards them. It’s a lot easier that way and you’ll be concentrating on something positive instead of something negative.”
She is, of course, right.
My job has been grinding away at me, eroding my moral, and all I could think of was pain avoidance. I have seen this happen to my coworkers, where they basically can’t take it anymore, jump ship and take the first available job offer that comes along. This inevitably ends up in something similar to a “rebound relationship” that most every one experiences at least once in their lifetime, after breaking up with a significant other. It rarely works out in the end for either party…
I have been focusing on the obstacle, instead of what lies beyond it. I do have a list of goals, but I have not looked at it in a while. Between my day job and getting the house in shape, I have been too preoccupied. So I am setting aside some time tonight to go back over my goals and get myself back on track.
Thanks Catherine…
In keeping with my theme of new beginnings, I am looking for articles and resources to help you go out on your own.
Over at one of my favorite resources, Freelance Switch, there is a great article on kickstarting your Freelancing Career. Check it out here.
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