Weeks 40 and 41 of Self Employment:

Houlton Storage Garages LLC finally has the security camera system pretty well installed. While installing the system the contractor didn't quickly install their underground conduit and pull wires. They came and they went and then they came and went again. By doing so, we ran into a few freeze-thaw cycles which inevitably filled up the conduit with water and then ice. We can argue all day long about what should have been done or not done but at the end of the day, we're in the same predicament, open trenching with conduit in most, if not all of it with the inability to get through a section of 25' under our driveway that will have to wait until spring. We've literally tried everything from pouring salt and windshield washer fluid into it, tried drilling it out with really long drill bits (15' long), to putting a heat gun on one end for an extended period of time. All efforts were futile (most of which were my idea, btw) and really didn't get us anywhere. Our solution was to put a temporary camera in a tree that would cover, albeit from a bit farther away, the area we couldn't get two cameras to. The camera on Building 4 would also have to wait until spring. The good news is that most of that area is currently covered by the cameras on Building 3 that we were able to connect. In the end I'm satisfied with our coverage but wish the process went a little faster. After all, our original quote mentioned that the entire project would take 3-4 days. 2.5 months later, we have something to get us through the winter. The open trench is another story. I worry that snowmelt will destroy our ditches in the spring. A big part of the problem was that the trenches were run in the ditch bottoms rather than on the top of the berms as I requested, and therefore when we got a warmup, all water runs to the ditches and therefore the trenching. No bueno. I just hope all parties learned from the experience. Maybe, maybe not. I learned that I need to be more vigilant with my contractors otherwise they just do what they feel is reasonable. Nothing up until now has been malicious, but preplanning has been a little suspect at times.

Storage Garages of Hudson: Still working on renting up our Building 3. We have seen a lot more interest since Jan 1st but not much in the way of actually renters. Mostly people looking for mini-storage which we really aren't. We have big units, for lots o' stuff. We're cheap based on the size of our space but we're expense if you're looking to store a few boxes and a sofa. Lotsa boxes and sofas? We got you covered!

Border Properties: Prescott is still going strong as far as we can tell.

Other angles: One of my 2 goals for 2019 is to do a deal with a partner. I want my friends and/or family to also reap the benefits of a good investment real estate. There are a ton of benefits of real estate investing that I may get into in a future post but my favorite two are: 1.) You can be as active or passive as you want to be - you can bring the expertise to a project, you can bring money to a project, or you can bring any combination of both. 2.) Real estate is the most tax-favored investment asset on the planet. If you make $100k at your normal job, expect to pay approximately 40% in state and federal taxes (not including sales tax on all the goods and services you buy). So you bring home $60k. With RE if you make $100k, you have the benefit of depreciation and write-offs. You're tax bill is likely to be in the 20% range. That's the equivalent of a 33% raise at work (from $60k take home to $80k take home). The objective is to keep as much of the dough at the end of the day, right? That's why 401Ks are good. They keep all your profits in the deal compounding more and more of your money. The bad news is that you can't take it out until 59.5 years old. What if you wanted to retire at 55? You better have some savings or income to live off of from 55 to 59.5 yo. Something to think about/consider. With income producing real estate you get to make money, pay reduced taxes on the income, and spend it when you need it....now. Whereas you HAVE to wait to spend your 401K or incur penalties (also known as taxes).

Other opportunities:
So I've been putting myself (and family) out there for 41 weeks now. I realize that I'm plenty annoying but I've also been getting some amazing responses regarding investing. Some friends are looking to put money to work, some people have properties that they want my assistance developing, some people have questions about self storage, and some people are looking to sell properties. Putting myself out there has been good for networking purposes and I see it as easy to avoid if you don't want to read this. Hey, I completely understand. But I also want to say that everyone should put themselves out there to a certain degree so others can know what your hopes and wants are. You never know who might be reading.

Various opportunities that I've been chasing:
Outdoor boat storage facility
3 - Mini Storage facilities
Low income apartment building
Assisting others with the development of a garage condo facility
Taking over a storage facility development

My second goal for 2019 is to add 2 facilities to our bag of tricks this year. This goal goes hand in hand with my first goal. We don't have the resources to take down two facilities by ourselves and therefore if we reach the second goal, goal #1 will also get checked off the list. Come hell or high water, we're going to accomplish both goals this year. We'll have to figure out the management side of thing but we keep saying that the next facility will afford us the ability to hire additional help for Angie. Although there will be work up front, hopefully this means that Angie can slowly unwind the big day-to-day responsibilities. Wait, is that a 3rd goal? I think it is!