So, the biggest and best real estate investment that I’ve made so far was the 1998 purchase of a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, beautiful home built in 1907 with a studio apartment downstairs that generated $850 per month income, about 200 feet from the Variety Playhouse. My wife at the time found us a great buy we were looking at Intown property for a year, ready to get out of Duluth. Intown living began for me when we mortgaged about $300,000.00 or so for the purchase of that property in 1998.

So, I got the article from the astute forecaster Mr. Laing in April 2002. I got it. I was a true believer. I tried to get the point across to my ex-wife, who agreed to divorce in 2002 in the month of May. The biggest asset that we shared was the piece of real property at 1059 Euclid Avenue (some of you may remember this house as the one with the motorcycle cop in the window “ if you don’t, then you had to be there.

In the divorce agreement, I agreed to let her be the real estate agent. I was not a practicing agent at the time, and if you believed my ex-wife at the time, then you would think that I was one of the worst human beings on the face of the earth.

I’m not, for the record.

A year went by while we were priced at $565,000.00. The house that we owned for 6 years with no value adds worth mentioning, was grossly overpriced and deplorably under-marketed. She let the listing expire in August 2002, and refused to renew it. Don’t ask me about the autumn of 2002, the Winter of 2002 and the early Spring of 2003 unless you want to hear about the details of a so-called civil agreement.

I do not disclose any details, for the record. Need to know basis only. Moving on…

By May 2003, with my awareness levels way up, the divorce attornies got an amended agreement with the ex to allow my 100% control of the real estate sale, via a Quit Claim Deed. With the law on my side, the real estate broker that I hired got the house under contract in less than 30 days for $495,000.00. We had a terrific Buyer’s agent, but I fired my Listing Agent mid course for complete lack of self control and responsibility. His broker, the remarkable Tripp Anderson and a terrific new Listing Agent named Bo Kersey handled the remaining sale that needed closing! We massaged the contingent contract for 8 months, and we closed in January 2004 for $495,000.00. $195,000 in 6 years, with very few improvements to the original purchase. Not bad.

With my awareness levels way up on the day of closing, I supervised the removal of all of the “personal properties” from the premises, and left the “real property” clean and free of debris. I have photos of what that looked like, if you want to see ‘em.

I have remarkable before and after photos. Most of you will never see ‘em. Moving on…

Divorce means to cut yourself off from all other possibilities, so on that day in January 2004, I cut myself off from all other possibilities.

And, my awareness level was way up! Way up! Way, way, way up!

I can thank Mr. Laing for some of that raised awareness level, and I can thank the end of a 12 year marriage for most of the rest. Since April 2004, when I started The Rootdown Group, I have tried to keep my awareness level way, way, way up.

When I found the 5 year old article in the archives at Rootdown World Headquarters, I thought that it was worth sharing with Intown Insider readers. I trust that reading about my experience here will help you raise your awareness level as you approach your real estate goals. If you wanna copy, call me and I’ll make one for you.

Mr. Laing’s April 15, 2002 parting words will bring Part 2 of 2 to an end:

In the mythology of The American Way of Life, homeownership has long been deemed the sine qua non for producing better citizens. An owner has a bigger stake in society than a mere renter. A home is an essential piece of the American dream. One can only hope that in the months ahead, falling home prices and disappearing home equity don’t end up making homeownership part of a new American nightmare.

But, the Intown Insider gets the last word – in 2008, we have a Buyer’s market with low interest rates, a lot of inventory to choose from and low unemployment rates. Buyers, get your real estate on! Sellers, get your real estate on too, and remember what I said some time ago, “supply and demand is a bitch, and shall continue to be a bitch for the foreseeable future.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 7:16 am and is filed under Divorce Issues, Inman Park, Market Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.