Today is August 16, 2016, and my mind is filled with vivid memories from something I experienced yesterday – memories I’ll never forget and corresponding lessons that will last a lifetime. 

By design, I only own a handful of rental properties. As such, I almost never deal with evictions, but yesterday was the first time in 5 years I’ve had to evict someone, and so I figured I’d go with the constable while he cleared the house for my contractor to change the locks. What I experienced not only saddened me, but it illustrated some valuable life lessons I’ve already shared with my son, my staff, and now you. 

Always a lesson to be learned

What was this lesson? Well, when the constable cleared the house, there was still one person at the house – a 12 year old boy, Nick. Keep in mind that by this point, the tenant is behind in rent by about 8 months, because I kept giving him slack because of his (alleged) health issues, and it’s important for you to know that the court-imposed lockout date was originally Aug 1, but I moved it back to the 15th, at the request of the tenant. Back to the 12-year old boy… 

There we were opening bedroom and closet doors making sure no one was in the house, when low and behold, this kid is sleeping in his parent’s bed. (It was the only functional bed in the house.)…at 1:30 p.m. To his credit, the kid followed the constable’s instructions to get dressed and gather whatever things he wanted, and he did this without a fuss. The kid took only 3 things: cell phone, phone charger, and his Play Station.  

Then…the constable LEFT the house with the kid on the sidewalk (alone) and me on the front porch. It was 90 degrees and 80% humidity. Fortunately, the cops happened to drive by, stopped, and then took the kid (Nick) and his dog to the police station to wait for a family member to pick him up. Shortly thereafter, Nick’s older brother did pick him up. 

It freaking made me cry to see that kid standing alone in the heat in the sidewalk…alone…after being kicked out of his house. I kept asking myself WHY? What led this family to arrive at such dire circumstances? Then, I went through the house and noticed all the $60 Ps3 games, about 6 TV’s, countless boxes of shoes, and an inordinate amount of alcohol, and then it hit me-

DECISIONS.  

This family (parents, kids in their teens, and kids in their 20’s) made the CONSIOUS decisions to waste their life and money on alcohol, TV, video games, and tattoos…INSTEAD of paying their rent. Because the family satisfied their need to be entertained, their 12 year old son got woken up and kicked out his house.  

Life Lesson: Every decision matters, especially how you spend your time, what you spend your money on, and the people you surround yourself with. 

This is just ONE reason why I MUCH prefer rehabbing & flipping! 

To YOUR Success,

Jim “Jimmy Z” Zaspel

P.S. — If you want the shortcut to learn how to rehab houses the RIGHT way, check out Jim’s 3-day Freedom with Flipping Summit and Bus Tour. Click HERE for info