UPDATE:

It has been a crazy month or two.  We have hit progress stalls due to delayed permits in Durham.  We have waited with baited breath for the and in Sanford to come off of the buy-back option we granted the seller.  And we have made some hard decisions about the State Street property.  In addition, we have had some personal items pop up on the Box Bend team that have robbed us of concentration where it counts -on the business.  And then there is that whole tax issue.


Don't misunderstand; we are not against paying taxes.  (Even though we could have an extremely long discussion on how our tax dollars are being utilized.)  Rather, we, as a company, as Box Bend, need to get over this hump of building up our portfolio and then taking down part of it during the tax season to cover tax obligations.  We think we have part of the solution now, but it has been a real consideration with the business.  


Remember; this website is for those who want to follow along as we renovate homes and move into other related areas.  The idea for this blog was that others may want to do what we are doing, so we decided to create a site where people could look over our shoulders -this site.  


So, if you are getting into this game, we would like to point out the obvious and tell you right now and here that you are going to hit roadblocks.  The choice will be to soldier on and come up with solutions, or to lay back.  Actually, we advocate both approaches.  Lay back and THINK about what needs to be done and what makes the most sense.  Consult your trusted partners -realtors, contractors, lawyers, spouse, etc, and work out the best solution for the problem.  THEN, and only then, soldier on.  Marshall your strength and resolve and keep going.  


In the case of the taxes, we are taking X percentage (currently about 30%) off of the top and putting it in an account specifically for taxes.  Once this account grows to a certain amount, we will look at short term, extremely safe, and liquid plays for the money -in between tax obligations.  (Might as well get that money employed and out of the basement as soon as possible, as well.)


In the case of delays and direction issues, use the delays to keep up on the opportunities in the market, to understand what is going on in your market (where are you in the almost inevitable cycle of boom to bust), and what each cycle condition means for your business, and to make your flexible plans for the future.  One of the big mistakes out there is to jump without knowing where you are going to land.  This is a novice mistake in our humble opinion.  It is akin to bidding up a property at auction due to ego, or worse, wanting to get into the game.  These are all mistakes that we have made.  And this brings up a final point: take down time and use it to access performance.  What have you done right?  What are you doing wrong?  What do you need to know that you don't know currently?  What do you know that you can use as a lever for gains in the future?  


In short, keep a notebook or a journal.  Or a blog.  Or both.  We always tell ourselves (and others) that this life is not a dress rehearsal.  So, if it is not a dress rehearsal, what are you going to do with your limited time on stage?


Have a great day and stay tuned.


PS Rushing out the door this morning, so advance apologies for typos, fragments (which we actually dig), and other gaffs in our writing.