A handful of people let me know my last few emails were either going to their Spam or Social / Promotions folders.
I'm pretty sure we figured out the problem, but I'd like to ask you to do something to help improve my sender rating.
- If I'm still in your promotions folder, please move me to your main inbox.
- Hit reply and send a response to this email ("hi!" is fine)
- Add me (sunny@sunshak.com) to your address book
- Star this email (if using Gmail)
If you could do just 1 of the 4 items listed above, I'd really appreciate it 🙏 .
☀️
Livin' La Vida Luna y Luca
I have to straddle Luca to properly brush his teeth. He cries every time. Luna consoles him after. She pats him and says, "I know, baby. It's OK. He did that to me too." 😂 ☠️
So much happened this week - it's hard to pick just one story.
Superbowl Sunday
Juan Jennings (#15 on SF 49ers) was the first Wide Receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl in 18(!) years.
The last time it happened was when Antwaan Randle El threw a dime to Heinz Ward during Superbowl XL (Pittsburgh Steelers v. Seattle Seahawks).
That stat hit me like a ton of bricks.
18 years?! We watched that game in JP's basement. How long have we been watching Super Bowls together? Two of us watched Tampa v. Oakland (2003) at my parents' house, and most of us watched New England v. Carolina (2004) at Ross' parents' house.
*A few regulars missing
🥂 Cheers to 20 years of watching Super Bowls together, homies.
🎉 Here's to another 20.
Call me Coach
I took on a 1-1 consulting client.
He started an eCommerce business ~5 years ago that boasts 8-figures in lifetime sales (mainly from 1 product).
I'm helping him set up his personal finance system.
Talking to him reinforces one of my strongly held money beliefs. Being "good" with money requires 3 completely different skill sets: making it, managing it, and growing it.
Learning one is not enough. Two might make you dangerous. Master all three and you're unstoppable.
Closing Time - New Construction Project
After a major setback (getting banned from my lender), we finally closed on Project Hillside.
Our original closing date was scheduled for 2/7/24. We managed to sign on 2/16/24. All things considered, a 9-day delay is not that bad.
We gave the seller an extra $900 for their patience (& to clear my conscience).
Re: the new lender - Our loan terms went from 1 point and 10.5% interest to 1.5 points and 11.75% interest. 🤕
The immediate goal is to have a hole in the ground by the end of February.
The long-term stretch goal is to have a Certificate of Occupancy in hand by the end of the year. 😬
Bonus points if we can line up a buyer by the beginning of the upcoming school year.
There Are No Coincidences
A good friend is down in Florida for all of February.
But he managed to come across a really good lead in my market. So he called me to work through it with him.
The opportunity is a semi-distressed home on a 60 x 200 lot. The sellers were ready to list at $600K, but they agreed to take $625K as their "we won't list it price".
A $625K acquisition for a 12,000sf lot is unheard of in my market. I raced to the house to check it out.
The existing foundation wouldn't support an addition so it would have to be a complete tear-down. The problem? There wasn't a strong new construction comp in the immediate area for more than $1.55M (the property is on the outskirts of town).
We ran the numbers in the car and decided it was too thin of a deal.
I reluctantly passed on that Joint Venture opportunity.
My friend will still buy it alone, do a cosmetic rehab, and turn it around in 90-120 days. It will be a solid win for him.
I walked away from that deal a little deflated.
My first impression was sure it would work. Come to think of it, I was desperate for it to work.
I've been making offers like a madman. Saying "No" to something that fell into my lap was pretty difficult.
But my luck changed on the drive home from that property.
My partner on Project Hillside called me to let me know our offer was finally accepted on a house we walked back in January.
Patience. Persistence. Discipline.
🔥 Hard Work Paying Off 🔥
