*Repost from December 2016; as we get into the holiday season, childhood family traditions become nostalgic and lead me back to this little story…
“If you can move the house by the end of the month, you can just have the whole thing!”
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As the year is coming to an end, the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas often remind me of those precious childhood memories. Forcing me to reflect and think about love ones who have passed and I hope those great memories stay with me forever. On that note, when thinking about real estate investing, I sometimes think about my Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw. For as long as I can remember my grandparents owned & operated what they referred to as a tenant building – low income, mid-size multi-family rental property that provided them a way of life. I hope to blog about more of those memories one day, but they lived in the house next door to their tenant building and the story on that house acquisition is amazing.
As the story goes, my Paw-Paw was in need of some spare lumber, this was late 1970s, ’78 or ’79 I think. Driving by this house, he noticed the owner was outside and in the process of removing the front porch from this 2 story, 3 bedroom / 1.5 bath, 1900 sq. ft. home. When Paw-Paw asked if he could have some of the lumber being discarded from the front porch removal, the owner simply said, “If you can move the house by the end of the month, you can just have the whole thing!”
And that’s exactly what they did. They acquired a lot a few blocks away near downtown, hired a moving company, and a few weeks later my grandparents were setup in their new home. I cannot tell this story without mentioning the power company. The path of the move required the power company to drop lines on 2 sides of the street – the largest cost of this project which had to be done on a Sunday; when most businesses downtown were closed (late 70s). I believe their all-in cost was around $25k. Simply put, an amazing opportunity.
Paw-Paw (green hat, 2nd from the right)
We created many holiday memories in this home and my parents still own it today. Opportunities are everywhere and through this event, my Paw-Paw has certainly encouraged me to Just Ask.
Merry Christmas!
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