Day 6,789 of self isolation - kidding, obviously! It just really feels like this has gone on forever.
We know that this is a unique time for everyone in the world. A global pandemic? A government mandated lock down? We never would have ever imagined a virus causing major global panic in the midst of growing our real estate business.
For the past 4-5 months we have been working with a business coach (Stefan Aarnio) and life coach (Jan LaFerriere) to propel our business to the next level. We learned about setting goals, and crushing them. We made this business our life and we were pushing forward with great success.
Then the virus hit Canada.
Suddenly private lenders and JV partners were scared, and who could blame them? We were feeling scared too. How can we flip houses (our goal was 12 for this year) without knowing if the market was even going to be stable in 5-6 months when it came time to sell? This was a risk that even we weren't willing to take, especially not with other people's money.
So on to Plan B.
Coming up with Plan B while we were so excited and motivated to execute Plan A was a real challenge for us. We were mourning the business/life/goals we felt were no longer attainable. Despite the reasons being entirely out of our control, we still felt like we were failing.
We came up with a solid Plan B, but it just didn't feel right for us. It was a great business plan, and one that works for a lot of successful real estate investors, but something was missing.
Plan C
Jake and I have always been passionate about infill developments. We like coming up with exciting designs/floor plans that aren't over the top yet look and function as luxury. We are constantly looking for severable pieces of land or houses that would make excellent tear down candidates. We love the idea of making a new house fit into an existing neighbourhood. We want people to drive by and question whether it's brand new, or a really well done renovation. It's a game we play often.
But was buying land and building a new house just as risky right now? How do we know that the house will in fact be worth what we're anticipating in 6-8 months down the road? We know that life is far from predictable, but in recent years, real estate in London, Ontario had been fairly predictable. I think the only unpredictable thing was just how high prices could climb! But they were always climbing. Key word there is were. So far we haven't seen prices fall, which is good! But the market has definitely cooled.
Plan D
If we've learned anything over the past month and a bit it's that when things don't work out the way you had planned, change your plan and keep going. "Pivot!" We've come up with our Plan D. It's exciting. It's us and we can't wait to release it to the market! We've got our heads down. We're researching, we're planning, we're networking with potential investors. Plan D is scalable, it has unlimited potential and it's something that we will need more and more of as time goes on. Intrigued yet?
Today I am thankful for Covid-19 (what?!). Yes, really. Without Covid-19 I'm not sure if we would have found our niche in 2020. Without Covid-19 I'm not sure if our Plan D would appeal to the masses the way it will now. We are more driven than ever, we can't work fast or hard enough to roll this out. Stay tuned!
*If you're interested in discussing our Plan D as an investor, reach out. We are currently looking for 2-3 JV partners. Must provide a 20% down payment and hold a mortgage on a $400,000 - $500,000 home. This is a long term investment of 2+ years with excellent monthly cash flow ($700+). Email us!