Real Estate Building Blocks

First off, my apologies (again) for not keeping up to date with my blog.  The last 3-4 weeks have been a whirlwind for me which includes the following:

1. full scale bathroom reno at my property in Guelph (more details in a later post)
2. landing a new position with an up-and-coming REIT (very excited)
3. aquiring another rental property in the GTA (more details in a later post)
4. moving from my temporary Toronto situation, back to Guelph (also very exciting)

Now I don’t want to complain, because I know that there are many people out there with much more going on (think a wife, four kids, a dog and a cat….plus all 4 points above).  So thankfully I am still young enough to tackle everything now….while I don’t have too much “real life” responsibility.

My original intention for this post was to be about my recent bathroom reno, which I did mostly myself (thank you very much)…, however as I type this I think I need to post something along the lines of “life/work balance”.

So here it goes…

I have always been the type to keep busy.  I’m not really the type to “put things off” or “do it tomorrow”.  That’s not to say that I can’t procrastinate with the best of them….it just bothers me when I do this.

So needless to say, all four of the things I listed above happened at the same time and I most certaintly did not plan it this way.  #2 and #4 are related, however the other items just sort of happened…partial out of coincidence and partially out of my own stupidity.

As I was entering the due diligence phase of #3 (I apparently forgot how time consuming it is to acquire a property), I decided that the next weekend would be a good weekend to start a full scale bathroom reno….because I could “finish it in three days for sure”.  Turns out it took myself and another guy 6 days….with one tiling day going until 3:30am…..up at 6:30 for work = terrible.   And after the 6 days of work, I am still doing finishing touches every night…..a little paint here, some grout there, and all of the accessories that a bathroom seems to need (think vanity, storage cabinet, mirror, towel racks, TP holder, storage shelves for the shower, shower curtains, towels, etc).

At the same time, I was in the process of switching jobs, which meant travel to and from Guelph/Toronto, tough decision making, and having to move my belongings from Toronto to Guelph, which I still have not 100% completed yet.

All of  this has resulted in some serious stress over the past month.  Stress on my physical health (no gym…although working on the bathroom each night helps), stress on my mental health, and stress on my relationship.  Believe me, getting home at 5:30pm, saying “hi hunnie, how was your day?” and then going straight to work until 10:30pm on the bathroom, is not the greatest relationship builder.

So what has all this taught me? 

1. Things ALWAYS take longer than expected……as I mentioned in a previous post….stupid me.
2. Try not to do items #1-#4 all at the same time.  Sometimes unavoidable, but sometimes not.
3. You cannot always predict when an opportunity comes along, but you have to jump at the chance.  “I’m too busy right now” is not a good excuse.
4. Getting ahead, means you have to work…HARD.  And this means sacrifice, so make sure your significant other is on board with your plans.  Thankfully, my girl is the greatest in the world and has been super supportive through the past month. ;-)
5. Although you must work hard, there needs to be some time off, even during these processes.  Setting aside at least one or two nights per week to do nothing, or at least a fun activity, goes a long way in pacing yourself….and not making yourself, and others around you, go crazy.

Anyone else have some stories of crazy busy months?