CleverWealth.com Investor Blog

11/01/2006 New Retail Store open

2006-11-02T09:13:00.000-06:00

Well, We got everything wrapped up with the remodel and got the new retail store open. Everything is going great with it so far and sales have exceeded expectations. The remodel took way to long and went over budget, but was worthwile after all. The local town constantly comments on how great it looks and how it has helped improve the towns appearance. The property is cashflowing nicely and the remodel has significantly increased the buildings value. In teh next few weeks one of the main tenants will be remodeling their entire section and replacing all of the windows and doors for their area. This remodel has inspired them fixing up their area, which in turn will again increase the value of the building. Now onto the next project, which will be selling off some land I have to raise cash for building a home for resale in a high end neigborhood in Duluth, MN. I will update you as that project gets started. Hopefully my mumblings are of some value to encourage you in your endeavors or the learn from my mistakes.

10/03/06

2006-10-03T07:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I know I haven't posted in a while. We have been busy making progress on the building remodel. It is nearly complete and will be wrapped up this week. We will be opening a new retail store there next week and setting up all product this weekend. It will be a busy 2 weeks. Everything has finally come together nicely. It has taken longer then expected, but has been worth it. We have to most window space of any building in our area, which will be great for displaying retail. The contractors have taken a long time and aren't always that easy to get ahold of, that is what took this project so long. A Professional GCM would have probabbly sped everything up, but I didn't want to spend the additional cost in the beginning. I'm not sure if I made the right decision in that or not. We did of course go over budget and it took longer than planned, perhaps a GCM wouldn't have allowed for that and we would've been open by now. Who knows! Anyhow, we will be opening in the next week and I'll get some completed pictures before and after up here.

Have a good week!

09/10/2006 Project Updates, New Stucco Installed

2006-09-11T07:19:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, we have been busy wrapping up the project remodel at the building. Contractors continue to amaze me as they tell me one time and never show. Money always seems to be the motivator, pay right away and they come right away. We got the stucco installed on the outside of the building to cover up the foam insulation and the electric is in. The heating and cooling system has gone in as well and the bathroom is ready for paint and fixtures. A lot of the project should get wrapped up this week, assuming everyone sticks to the schedule. I have to pickup interior doors and drop ceiling today at Home Depot. Our outdoor lighted sign is up and the place is starting to come together.

Paint should go on the walls this week after they are textured tomorrow. We are hoping to open up the store at the end of the month.

I need to get some more pictures taken to show the progress of the remodel so I can get those online for everyone.

I just got an offer on my fourplex. We are working out the details now and we'll see what transpires. hopefully, we can come to an agreement. Once that sells, I will be looking to do a 1031 into a larger unit.

8/20/2006 Building Updates

2006-08-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Progress continues to happen but not as fast as hoped. The electrician delayed the project for a week by not being able to get in and get the Electric done. We finally have it done and the Inspector just approved it. So tomorrow the rest of the floor will get poured and then the walls will go up.

On another not, the city is completely redoing the road outside out building and tearing up all of the sidewalk right next to all our new windows and walls. It's nerve racking seeing a giant cat 2 feet from the brand new windows. But all is going well so far and this road improvement will really help the area around the building look nice and new.

That's it for now, this is a short post but not much happened this week since the electrician was holding up the project. More to come soon.

8/13/2006 New Windows Installed

2006-08-14T12:26:00.000-05:00

Finally, the floor and windows went in last week. Everything went pretty smotth with the remodel. The guys busted out the existing concrete on Monday and poured the floor on tuesday. The new window frams went in on Wednesday and the new windows went in on Thursday and Friday. Now we are making progress. I had the electrician run the wire for the building under the concrete before they poured, this will save time pulling wires later and will allow for him to get the job done quicker.

We are moving forward. This week a seperator door and wall between the body shop tenant and the retail store will go in. We also decided to redo the bathroom, which wasn't originally planned. However, I decided it really needed it and it will be started this week as well. Hopefully, it won't add to much to the budget.

The windows look great and the outside is being redone next week. Now, we still have to sheetrock the inside, buildout the rooms and paint as well as run electrical.

I did find out that the epoxy we were going to use on the concrete floor can't be used until the floor is 30 days old. So that will delay some of this.

Most of my time has been spent keeping contractors going with the project and my time has been pulled away from other Real Estate projects. I haven't heard back from my Duluth agent for weeks. I need to work on contacting them this week to get some of that moving forward.

I have also had my time being tied up working with my right hand man to hire some new help at our design business. We are looking to hire a new designer and a new account executive. We have had a lot of reponse but haven't found waht we are looking for yet. So we are spending this week spending some more time on the lookout for new help. I was amazed about the response we had from posting the job listings on http://www.craigslist.com. We litterally had dozens of applications in overnight after posting to the site.

I'll get some pictures up of the building before and after online soon so you can see the progress.

Have a great week.

8/01/2006 Project Updates and New Biz

2006-08-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well, the floor guy decided to delay the project a few days. He decided to go to a music festival. What the heck? What happened to businesses telling you a deadline and sticking to it. I would find someone else, but we are so close, I just want to get this wrapped up. He was supposed to show on July 31st to start tearout and pour the new floor. He is not coming until Thursday now. This will delay the windows as well. The windows were supposed to be installed on the 7th and the 8th, but the floor won't be poured until Monday the 7th. This means the windows are going to be delayed a few more days as well.

I met with the electrician today and he is coming in over the weekend to run the new wires. Everything will be on a seperate service, so electric can be billed out to the tenant.

Through all this, we've begun designing remodeling our next storefront, which is located next door to this storefront. That project should begin in September.

We've launched Real Estate Create, the new web design company I mentioned last week. It's been a huge success so far. We are scrambling to find new designers and sales people to continue the rapid growth we are experiencing. I tried posting job requests on craigslist.com and it's worked out pretty good so far. We've had a lot of responses to the job offers. They are also located on voltz.net, which is Real Estate Create's parent company.

There's a ton more going on, but I gotta get working on it, so I'll write more later. Have a great week and email me any thoughts or comments about the blog.

7/23/06 Project Updates and New biz info

2006-07-23T22:44:00.000-05:00

Well, the project is moving along, though I am still waiting on the windows. The rooms inside the building are being built and all of the Menards materials arrived this week. The contractors got to using them right away and started remodeling the inside. I'll need to pick out paint and lighting next week to keep everything moving along. Next week the masonry guys will be in pouring the floor to get ready for the windows. It's making progress, just not as fasst as originally planned. Well, that's how it goes sometimes. I had all of this planned out so well and very detailed, I spent extra time with all contractors working out details and confirming schedules and everything was going great. However, while driving to my Duluth property to prepare to market it, I got a call from one of my guys telling me the windows got delayed. How frustrating!!! Well, in situations like this there are two ways to handle it, get really mad and yell at people, or reasses the situation and figure out how to keep stuff moving along anyhow. Granted, there are good times to yell at people, in order to communicate your frustration with them, however this time was not one of those times. I refigured out a few things, called some contractors and moved stuff around. The inside is getting redone now, while we wait for the windows, rather than the windows being first. This will change the plan a little, but will still help everything to get done near the deadline. We are shooting for a completion date of August 15th, I think we are well on target to hit that.

I acquired an outdoor sign for the retail space this week. It's an old Radio Shack lighted outdoor sign in very good condition. I'm arranging for pickup and delivery of it next week. Then we'll have to arrange a crane to lift it up the the roof and install it. It should be a fun project and will make a big difference for the appearance of the building.

I drove out with my main sales guy this week, to see some of my properties. We looked everything over and are planning to list 2 lots in Hibbing, near Kelly Lake. These are just residential lots that overlook the lake. We'll be listing those by the end of the month.

Some exciting news, we are launching our new venture, Real Estate Create on August 1st. This company is focussed on designing eye appealing websites specifically for real estate agents and brokers. Our team of designers and programmers is unbeatable and we I believe we really have an outstanding product to deliver to agents and brokers. I'll talk more about this whole new biz process on this blog as well, hopefully it will be of some benefit to you readers.

All of this is to help us all learn and grow. I'm starting my 5th business here with Real Estate Create. It fun and keeps me busy, everyone has been a success and has had its ups and downs. I've learned a lot and it keeps me going. Real Estate and Business is what I do for fun, it's what keeps me going, I can't help myself from waking up at 5:00 am and being ready for an exciting day at the office. It drives me! I am currently in the process of rearranging my schedule to dedicate 1 workday per week to each business, that will tie up my week for me and should allow me to keep everything under control.

Well that's all for now, I'll let you know next weekend how this week went.

Happy Investing!

7/16/2006 Remodel Updates

2006-07-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

Well the windows got pur on hold for the retail space remodel. The manufacturers workers went on strike and it has delayed everything 3 weeks. This really sucks, because I just got all the other contractors lined up and organized to get the progect done before August 1st. Now the windows won't be able to be installed until August 6th. I'm going to need to readjust the entire remodel schedule accordingly.

On a good note, the was some concerns about the dip in the concrete floor and a stream being underneath the building, but we busted it up and had an engineer come out and everything is fine. The new floor has been repoured and all is looking good.

This week is a short post, but not much has changed. I will update again as I get new information.

6/19/2006 Building remodel and property updates

2006-06-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

I have finalized lining up the contractors for remodeling a retail store in a commercial building I have. This building is where my office's are located. The contractors will be removing the concrete floor and repouring it. They will also remove the 8 foot tall outdated windows and completely replace them. I've just finished getting all the electrical work contracted out as well. I will try to get some before and after pictures up. The work should begin next week. I have an appointment with the city to finalize the building permit tomorrow.

I haven't heard back from my duluth realtor yet, I was going to call her today, but spent most the day talking with contractors. I'm hoping to give her a call tomorrow for an update on the value of the lester park piece.

My apartment property managers have rented out another apartment in our fourplex. They had to rent it out for a little less than I was hoping, but they made up for it by renting out the garage as well. They are renting out the garages for $40 per month, which helps me create an extra $200 per month. Until recently we were including the garages with the rent, but this is yet another way to create an additional income stream.

Well that's it for now. I'm hoping to add alot more content to the cleverwealth.com site this week. The site keeps getting more traffic, which gets me excited and wanting to add more content. Please drop me an email if you would like to provide some content as well. This site is deisgned to be a resource for all of us. I am hoping to set up a chat system soon so we can chat online in a chatroom at organized times and hopefully help eachother out.

06/11/2006 New Properties

2006-06-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

This week I acquired 2 new properties through government land auctions. One is a nice little piece next to another property I won across the street from Kelly Lake. I am planning on researching developing these properties and throwing up 2 family homes to sell. I have debated doing this before on a 20 acre parcel I own however I never had the time to fully investigate it. I have never done a development yet so it will be interesting to research this proposition. The other piece I purchased is right next door to a private golf course and a river and is a block away from Lake Superior. I think it is a great piece and was highly undervalued. I'm talking to my Duluth Real Estate agent to see what she thinks the property is worth. At that time, I will decide if I will sell the land or consider doing a similar development and building a family home on it for resale. Similar homes around the area go for $300,000 and I think there is room for a good profit.

I have also decided this week to sell off a few lots in Northern Minnesota. I have contacted my Hibbing Real Estate agent and he will be getting back to me next week about the value of the properties and what we should list them for. I am hoping for a quick turnaround to free up some cash for the possible development projects I'm looking at.

I am wrapping up the construction proposals for a commercial property I own and which my technology business rents. I have 4 tenants in this building, I am planning to remodel the main floor and turn it into a retail storefront for our technology business. This will mean we will expand the technology business significantly and create some equity in the commercial building.

In other news, I recently lowered the price on a new fourplex I own. I'm hoping to sell it in the next month in order to again free up some cash for these new properties. I will be contacting contractors this week to get an idea of what some 3 bedroom family homes will cost to build and what the timeframe would be. I am having to learn how to be a general contractor and oversee building operations. In these projects there are a lot of people to organize and make sure stuff gets done in a timely manner. I'm looking for some good project management books especially related to Real Estate. If you know of any, drop me an email or post them on the forums.

I would like to take a quick minute to talk about the forums a little. I setup this site and everything it contains so we can all help eachother out. I'm hoping the forums will be an investors brainstorming and solution solving area. I plan to post a lot of information on it and if we all become a team community, we can really help each other out together. I am looking for some moderators for the different topics so if there is an area you see that you would like to moderate, drop me an email or a pm in the forums.

Until next week, Happy Investing!

6/04/06 First Blog

2006-06-11T20:32:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

My name is Brad Ruoho. I'm a Real Estate investor and Business owner. This blog will go through my weekly events and hopefully help you in your endeavors by learning from my experiences. I have invested in Real Estate since my first commercial building purchase when I was 18. I bought it for $75,000 and sold it 8 months later for $95,000. Once that happened, I decided Real Estate could be a lot of fun and I could make money at it to. Since then, I have acquired various commercial, residential and land properties. This blog will walk you through some of the events that happen in my life as I invest in Real Estate and grow my businesses. I have a few businesses, the first is of course my Real Estate Investment business. The second is a technology business, I currently employ 5 people in this business. The third is a software company focussed on developing Real Estate Software for Investors. The software company currently employ's 2 people. Each week I plan on posting a blog about what happened that week with my investments. As time progresses, I'm sure this blog will grow and change. If you have any questions or comments please drop me an email. You can email my gmail.com email address. My email address is my full name at gmail.com.

Well that is a quick introduction about myself, I will explain more during my next post.