All posts by Nathan Ruffing

All, Travel

Tallahassee to Ohio

21-24 July, Tuesday-Friday: hung out with the Robinsons. Traded my tent to young Knox Robinson after we went camping in the back yard. Searched for duplexes and found some great ones. The Robinsons are in contract on one now.

As I was driving, I was thinking about “get-rich-quick” books. I have recently read several of them, mostly about real estate, and it occurred to me that many of them aren’t scams at all. They appear that way because their titles are usually something like “Multi-Family Millions.” I can verify it personally that the advice in that book is solid. So why don’t people usually take advantage? Really, why not? I think the real barriers are

  1. Social life: People really like having a job because they meet a lot of people through their job. It is their social life. Even people who hate their job feed off of the shared hardship and it deepens their connection with their coworkers.
  2. “Get-rich-quick” is a misnomer: try this: read any get-rich-quick book, but instead of focusing on all the $$$money$$$ the book is talking about that you can make, focus on the work it says you have to do. It really is a lot of work! Plus, you have to compete with others and there is a lot of personal risk. If you aren’t good at what you are doing or make a mistake working for yourself, it will affect everything about your life, not just a promotion. The reality is, they are not “get-rich-quick scams,” but actually “work-for-yourself options.”

23-25 July, Thursday-Saturday: departed in the evening for Memphis, slept in the car along the way and arrived in Memphis mid-day on Friday. Met my goddaughter, Julia and her brothers Shane and Brian the triplets. They were awesome. Went on a bike ride around the neighborhood with my cousin just like old times biking to the gas station for a pack of gum. Departed on Saturday evening for Chicago.

Again I was thinking along the drive, this time about my phone. Our grandparents’ generation said that kids were not to speak unless spoken to. I feel like we are going to say the same thing about phones as we get older. My phone is constantly trying to guess what I want to know instead of waiting for me to ask. It is surprisingly good at guessing, but it is still not worth it to have it “notifying” me all the time about random junk. “30 minutes to home via such-and-such route” “there is a back-up on I-70, such-and-such route will save you 5 minutes.” Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not going home right now and I really don’t care about 5 minutes. Shut up phone. If I want something, I’ll ask!

26-28 July, Saturday-Tuesday: didn’t sleep at all Saturday night because I was driving and listening to the audiobook Unbroken and arrived in Chicago at 4AM on Sunday morning. Got my bike out and went for a ride. I ended up riding more in Chicago than anywhere else. Brittany was a great host despite that she couldn’t ride with me 🙁 We went to Kingston Mines and saw J. W. Williams play the blues. That was the highlight–other than the Chicago Bean of course!

The jagged portion in the south is where I was searching frantically for a bathroom on Sunday morning in the city. McDonald’s came through in the clutch as usual.
Another 25 miles around Chicago.

28-29 July, Tuesday-Wednesday: drove west to the ‘burbs and visited my cousin Rachel and her husband Tony for a day. Tony made dinner, then we went to sleep. In the morning, visited with Rachel, skateboarded their parking garage, then taught her about the phases of the moon and the tides. Drove home to Ohio and arrived on the evening of Wednesday the 29th for a game of Scrabble that I lost!

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Statue of Responsibility

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In January 2015, while on military assignment to Okinawa, Japan, I read the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I had read it once before, but this time when I read in the book Frankl’s suggestion of a Statue of Responsibility on the west coast to compliment the Statue of Liberty on the east coast, it really struck a chord with me. I believe it is a great idea, I believe in the concept, and most of all, I believe in the movement behind it. I have since become involved with the movement. Click here for more information. The following is what it means to me:

As a service member and now as a veteran, when people thank me for my service, I appreciate it, but I want to tell them that while our freedom was won in the past by fighting wars, it is secured now by acting responsibly. If we want to thank our veterans, we can do so by doing our part to keep our country great. Let’s show our ancestors, who fought much more difficult wars than we do, that their sacrifice was for long-term good. I’m not talking about what we say, or who we support, or how we vote. I’m talking about what we do, and about how we live our life, because individuals’ actions affect our country as a whole. What we do as individuals affects who we are as a country and whether we will continue to be great.

In the United States, we have great freedom, wealth, and opportunities. With all this, we are presented with many options. Options are good, but they are simultaneously our downfall. We as individuals have to say “no” to many of the spoils of wealth and freedom that are available to us. We have to say “no” to credit cards and loans that overextend us financially, whether the lender is willing or not. We have to turn off our TVs and allow the resulting uncomfortable silence to motivate us to do something greater with our spare time. We have to say “no” to all the cheap, fatty foods that permeate our restaurants and stores. We have to say “no” to drugs, whether we are allowed to use them legally or not. We have to say “no” to all those things that squander our opportunities.

What can we accomplish as a country right now if we really try? I don’t know. If I ventured to guess, I would probably fall short of what is actually possible. We will only find out if we stop doing all the wasteful things that are holding us back. Free up our time, energy, and resources and fill it in with something productive. Volunteer. Become active in our neighborhoods and churches. Research charity organizations and make a contribution. Take a small leadership position in the community and make decisions for the greater good. I believe we can transform our culture. Let’s find out what is possible!

All, Travel

Mapleton, UT to Tallahassee, FL

9-11 July, Thursday through Saturday: Arrived in Mapleton, UT at Gary and Leesa Price’s house. Gary is a sculptor, Leesa is a retired real estate agent. The visit started by going to the neighborhood women’s meeting where I spoke as an ambassador for the responsibility movement. The next morning, we went to Gary’s foundry and watched an actual bronze pour of four of Gary’s statues followed by a tour of the foundry. Gary made his famous salmon that evening and Woody Woodward and his wife Shea came over for dinner. Saturday morning, departed for Salt Lake City and the Family History Library.
Family History Library, Saturday, the 11th and Monday the 13th: I arrived at the mecca of family history in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon. I brought my family history books that had been made for me by my grandma on my dad’s side and great aunt on my mom’s side. The library is operated by the Mormon Church and they have helpers there doing service hours to show you the system. I figured out the system on Saturday, then decided to stay until Monday to continue working. www.familyhistory.org is their website and a lot of information had already been entered for me by my distant cousins. I was able to find 7/8 great grandparents, 14/16 great great grandparents. I traced most of my lines back into the mid-1800s, and all of them to who immigrated to the new world. My grandmother’s book traces back to the first Ruffing, the great Michael Toussaint born in 1635, who moved to the Alsace-Lorraine region from Rouffin, France.
Great Salt Lake Sunday the 12th: camped on the Great Salt Lake on Antelope Island State Park. Had to go down to the lake and float in it of course. It’s 6-8 times the saltiness of the ocean and sure enough, you float like a cork. Normally I sink, but even when I blew out all my air, I was able to sink only to my chin. Lounged there for a little while with the other people who were doing the exact same thing laying back with our heads, hands and feet above water with no floats, then took a shower. The fruit flies were all gathering at the lake and dying in it. The water was like a soup of dead flies so I didn’t put my head in. The flies were mixed with tiny little red specks that if you looked up close could identify as little shrimp, one of only two organisms that live in the lake.
Strawberry National Forest, 13-15 July: Monday evening, started driving toward the Rockies. Only an hour or so outside Salt Lake City, the sun was setting and I came upon the Strawberry National Forest. At higher altitude, it was nice and cool so I gave in to the camping signs. I was glad I did. On Tuesday, I did a really cool bike ride up a mountain on a gravel path. Departed on Wednesday morning southeast.

Click the picture for the Strava summary of the ride.

15 July, Wednesday: drove from the Strawberry National Forest to Albuquerque, New Mexico and stayed at a friend’s house. I took him and his son out for dinner, had a visit, then left early in the morning.
16 July, Thursday: drove from Albuquerque to San Antonio and stayed with Nate Robinson in his newly-rented apartment near downtown. Visited the river walk at night and biked to the Alamo the next day until departing again in the afternoon.
17 July, Friday: drove from San Antonio to Fort Worth. Traffic! It was terrible from San Antonio all the way through Austin.
17-19 July, Friday-Sunday: Arrived to an amazing Bosnian dinner, then relaxed in Fort Worth with the Matijevic’s through Sunday.
19 July, Sunday: Drove to Plano, Texas to visit my cousin, Mark. He had left the door open knowing I was coming. He was golfing, but I hung out in the pool until he arrived. He took me to a steak dinner, where after several waiters and the manager came by, it was clear that they knew him well. We were treated like kings. That evening, we caught up on Ballers on HBO.
20-21 July, Monday-Tuesday: drove straight from Plano to Tallahassee to Z’s house in Wakulla County, War Eagle Country, stopping only at a rest stop to sleep. Crossing from Texas to Louisiana near the Mississippi River, the humidity goes from dry to muggy. I was dripping sweat because I don’t believe in air conditioning.

All, Travel

Scottsdale, AZ to Mapleton, UT

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Nothing earth-shatteringly profound in here like my last post, just the trip log.

6 July: Monday morning, departed Scottsdale and headed north on I-17. Just past Flagstaff, stopped near Sunset Canyon National Monument and biked the rest of the way to the volcano overlook.

I was there. Click the link to view the ride on Strava.

Continued to Page, AZ, stopped at Horseshoe Bend–amazing view!–continued on and spent Monday night at a campsite called Wahweap on Lake Powell.

7 July, Tuseaday: Woke up early, went to Wal-Mart for supplies. Ate breakfast with a German couple from Bavaria, Thomas and Lisa. We made dinner plans. Biked to Glen Canyon Dam for the tour. Bill from Arizona let me put my bag in his car during the tour because the dam people wouldn’t hold it for me.
At the Glen Canyon Dam.
8 July, Wednesday: drove through the Navajo Nation on AZ-98 to US-160 to US-191 North to Moab, UT. Saw two guys on bikes along 191 clearly on a long trip. I stopped and gave them granola bars, which they devoured, and told me about their trip. They are a father and son. The son, Hannes, is cycling from San Francisco to Memphis and his father is accompanying him for part of the trip. Hannes has a blog, mostly in German, click here for it.
Arrived in Moab, UT in time to secure a campsite and get on the bike again for dinner. Found a restaurant with a great view called Sunset Grill. I had to walk the single-speed up the hill. There is a dedicated bike path that runs from downtown Moab past my campsite to the parks in the area.
I love night rides. I didn’t go into the park until the next day. Click the picture for the Strava profile.
9 July, Thursday: Woke up early, drove to arches and did the Delicate Arch hike. Later in the morning, continuing to Mapleton, UT to visit the Prices today, planning to stay Thursday and Friday night with them.
All, Travel

Scottsdale, Commuter Cyclocross

5 July 2015, Day 14 Without a Job

It’s the day after the 4th of July. I’m here in Scottsdale with Andrew Haines. We rode our bikes to breakfast yesterday and I’ve been inspired to write about something I’ve been meaning to for a while. Scottsdale has some great dedicated bike paths, especially along the canals.

I’m working on an idea–that might already exist–and I’m calling it “commuter cyclocross.” If it does already exist, great, but it is not widespread enough. It should be mainstream. It solves so many problems for so many normal people!

How many working professionals want to bicycle, but say, “I don’t have time,” or “The roads are too dangerous.” A lot of people use these 2 excuses to not ride the expensive bikes that are in their garages with tires that have slowly deflated since they last rode several months ago.

The opposite end of the spectrum is hard-core cyclists who claim to enjoy sitting for hours on a seat made of carbon fiber that’s barely larger than the end of the post it’s attached to. They ride 60+ miles at a time, often in a big circle, and often on two-lane highways ignoring the fact that there are cars and trucks whizzing by at 55+ miles per hour. Let’s not forget the weeny little tires that go flat from gravel or a little broken glass. Last, but not least, the spandex shorts. Really? Wind resistance is a big deal, I understand, I’ve experienced it, but aren’t you trying to get a work-out anyway? You are just alienating regular people who are now in their cars sending text messages, swearing at you, and almost hitting you. Put on some regular shorts and be an ambassador for the activity!

Neither of the above situations appeals to me. I consider myself a “cyclocross commuter.” Cyclocross commuting entails the full end of the spectrum from beginning to end of using your bike as a tool to travel from point A to point B. That is, after all, the purpose of a bike! Your goal as a cyclocross commuter is to replace your automobile as much as possible with your bike. The advantages are many. You simultaneously:

Advantages

  1. Save fuel.
  2. Transform driving, traffic, and road rage–often the most stressful part of a typical office worker’s day–into light aerobic exercise that makes you feel good.
  3. Eliminate the daily trip to the gym goal that is another stress-causing item on your daily checklist.
  4. Learn your area from a totally different perspective than from the confining seat of your car.
  5. There are more. What are they?

There are challenges, but that’s all part of the fun.

Challenges

  1. You show up to work all sweaty. True, but your employer would rather you show up sweaty and happy than out of shape and stressed! Bring a full change of clothes (including your wet, nasty underwear of course) and get yourself a locker at work. You can put on those nasty clothes for your ride home. Who cares what you smell like then.
  2. You’ll have to eat significantly more food. Eating enough can become a challenge. If your workplace is far enough away, you can forget about dieting. Your new problem will be eating enough to keep weight on! You’ll spend more on food, but that’s alright, you saved that money on gas.
  3. It’s dangerous. I agree, it can be. That’s why I go to great lengths to avoid highways, two-lane roads, and especially those BS bike paths made of only paint that just entice cyclists out into dangerous traffic. Are they trying to kill people? Paint is not going to protect me from a car. Oh, but there are signs that tell motorists to watch for cyclists! No thanks. I’m not getting getting someone’s radiator jammed up my rear over a text message. Cities are competing with each other like Pepsi vs. Coke to build dedicated bike paths. Use them!
  4. You have to travel at night. There’s less traffic, it’s cooler, and with all the money you save on your gym membership and gas, you can get some pretty cool lights. You can’t have too many blinky red lights on your back. One on your helmet, one on your shirt, one on your bike and one on your bag. Redundancy!
  5. There are more challenges. What are they?

Cyclocross Commuting, The Checklist

  1. Get a versatile bike. I recommend starting by clicking here for the Ultimate Commuter Bike.
  2. Pick your most common trips of the day / week / month that are under about 15 miles one-way.
  3. Get on Google Earth or Google Maps and make your route. In the comfort of your home, find a way around the most dangerous parts. Where there aren’t dedicated bike paths, learn neighborhood streets. Find good places to stop for food and water.
  4. Pick a day when you have time and can afford to be late when you run into issues along the route. Expect the first ride to be frustrating.
  5. After your first ride, learn from it. Adjust your route. Go shopping for gear that will make it easier. Bags, lights, rain gear, you name it: you aren’t the first person to have the problem and somebody has already made a product to deal with it.
  6. Try again next week. The logistics get easier each time!

Alright, I’ve convinced Andrew to go riding in the July Arizona heat. I don’t want to disappoint! Our mission: grocery shopping, church, and get pictures for this post!

Great cyclocross commuter products:

Expensive shorts, but worth it. Find them on sale somewhere:

Carry your stuff without wearing a back-pack:

All, Ventures Quarterly

Ventures Update June 2015

695 Riverview Drive

I am currently reading the book Multi-Family Millions, and it is transforming the way we look at our property. The author, David Lindahl, has been successful on a larger scale in exactly the type of property that 695 Riverview is. He calls what we are doing—creating value by turning over to higher quality tenants and higher rent—“repositioning.” Important note: Zell did not recommend this book to me. I discovered it, and read it first, and I deserve all the credit for any positive outcome that comes from it! Click the book below to link to it on Amazon.

Reading the book after having owned the property for almost 2 years highlights our successes and mistakes from the past and enables us to make better decisions in the future. For example, the book points out that multi-family commercial properties generally make more money than their smaller residential counterparts. I ran the numbers before we bought and that is exactly why we chose it. The numbers are far better than smaller properties in terms of cash flow. Despite the issues we have had, we have never had fewer than 6 tenants at a time paying rent and that money has been crucial. Bottom line, we bought a great property with a lot of potential and the book reinforces that fact.

Conversely, we made some big mistakes. First, we tried to self-manage the property. It was way too much for one person to properly handle without being fully-committed. The book adamantly advocates hiring a property manager. He is right, and it took us 8 months to learn that the hard way. The book also says to hire a good property manager and lays out exactly what to look for, how to hire, and how to ensure results.

The second mistake that we made was to delay resurfacing the parking lot because it costs a lot of money. The book recommends to start by fixing the exterior in order to change the perception of the building within the local community. It is absolutely worth the money in order to attract better tenants. We have learned that from our 2 worst tenants—who we evicted—and who each cost us a lot of money. We are getting resurfacing estimates as we speak and the job should be done by the end of July.

With the amount we plan to spend on improvements this year, it now appears that we may not be profitable in 2015. A lot of the maintenance that we have completed until now has been backed-up maintenance that was deferred by the previous owner, and we have moved on to improvement projects. The increased value of the property due to the improvements and rent increase is easily making up for the few thousand dollars that we are in the red in terms of actual cash flow.

Gluten-Free Bread

Gluten-free bread from Shiloh’s Five Loaves is now being marketed as “Simple Kneads.” Tristaun and Devaunt in Raleigh are rapidly transitioning from the “stand-up” phase to the “distribution and profitability” phase. The new website speaks for itself. Click on the picture to visit it:

Click the picture for the Simple Kneads Website.
Click the picture for the Simple Kneads Website.

Kineomen

Devaunt and Nick have been busy networking in the Raleigh area and sifting through opportunities to find the next Kineomen investment (Simple Kneads gluten-free bread being Kineomen’s first investment). Devaunt has focused primarily on Simple Kneads, while Nick has taken on some clients as a business consultant. I am still a relatively small investor working to develop ideas that I could take on as my own project.

Coconut Wine (Vino de Coco)

When I originally invested in Vino de Coco, I hoped that I would eventually get a chance to learn more about the business and gain experience from them as a start-up. I finally got a chance to meet Tim Bowles, the Vino de Coco co-founder who was our contact for the investment. His stories are fascinating. I decided to keep my investment with them and consider a future partnership.

Click the picture for the website.
Click the picture for the website.
All, Travel

Day One

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For all the tens of people eagerly awaiting the debut of this site, I didn’t want to disappoint on day one of my travels. Day one was everything I hoped it would be, with 6 miles on the single-speed all the way to the library and back!

San Diego Public Library, Mira Mesa Branch

Starting easy… crawl, walk, run!

That bag on the back is money, by the way. More about that in my next ultimate bike post.

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Book Report: The Bible

This is a work in progress, but that’s the point! Download the template, fill it out for your favorite book of the bible, then let’s discuss and I will post! I started with Judges, so you can use it as an example.

0. Blank Template

7. The Book of Judges by Nathan, Spring 2013

07 Judges Image

 

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. -Romans 15:4

All, Ventures Quarterly

Ventures Update April 2015

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695 Riverview Drive

Summary: 9-unit apartment building near Columbus, Ohio and Ohio State’s  campus that I bought with my brother, Thad in July 2013. As of 1 April 2015, it is managed by North Point Asset Management.

Recent

  • Management: switched property manager from Renting Ohio to North Point Asset Management (NPAM). So far, NPAM is doing well. However, Renting Ohio seemed great in the first several months, so I will reserve my evaluation for now.
  • I left this review on Renting Ohio’s business Facebook page. Look for my name under 2 star reviews. Or download here. I made the review extra negative to get his attention so that he would send documents I needed for my taxes. It is truthful and accurate. He ended up helping with the turnover as much as he was able.
  • Switched from a dumpster in the front yard to much more sightly–and less expensive–bins for trash removal.
2015 04 15 Riverview from Front no Dumpster
April 2015 photo of the building. The dumpster is gone, and there are bins under the archway, but we haven’t yet planted grass where the dumpster was.

2014 Summary, and 2015 Projection

  • 2014 Profit and Loss pdf.
  • Rounded off to the nearest $500, we show a loss of $13,500.
  • Almost $9,000 of expense is depreciation of the building. The accountant currently handles the depreciation schedule. For a rough calculation of cash flow: ($13,500) + $9,000 in depreciation = ($4,500). Bottom line, negative cash flow!
  • There are 3 key items that we expect to be different in 2015, in our favor, that will improve the bottom line:
    • 1. from January 2014 to April 2014, we did not have a professional property manager and basically were not marketing at all. We had 3 empty units. At $500 per month per unit, for 4 months, that is $6,000 worth of vacancy. They were filled within 6 weeks of hiring a manager in April. If just 2 of the three were occupied, that’s a $4,000 improvement for 2015.
    • 2. In January of 2014, we had a pipe freeze and burst in a vacant unit. It wasn’t discovered until the manager (Thad) entered the unit to install a space heater. He was too late; the pipe had burst 30 minutes prior. The water to the building had to be shut off, and the unit had to be gutted carpet to drywall. This cost about $2,000 and was totally preventable.
    • 3. We spent $3,500 in October to an electrician to make the building compliant with its aluminum wiring. This was a one-time cost to improve a problem that existed when we purchased the property. It can be easily prevented in the future by hiring a competent electrician and ensuring that he knows about aluminum wiring and installs appropriate equipment. Aluminum compatible fixtures are only slightly more expensive.
  • A reasonable expectation for 2015 cash flow is: ($4,500) + $4,000 (improved occupancy) + $2,000 (no frozen burst pipe) + $3,500 (no expensive electrician bill) = $5,000 positive cash flow for the year.
  • There are some items I didn’t list that are negative, but they are roughly equal to the unlisted that are positive. The 3 items I listed are by far the largest.

Gluten-Free Bread

2014 09 Shilohs Five Loaves

Shiloh’s Five Loaves is a gluten-free bread company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Devaunt LeClaire of Kineomen is the business brains behind the operation while his brother is the baker.

  • As of early April, Tristaun was busy in the newly-leased building with the newly-installed equipment doing test runs baking bread while Devaunt was out coordinating sales. Busy, and progressing close to on schedule! New picture next time…

Kineomen

I became a Kineomen investor in November 2014. Shiloh’s Five Loaves is Kineomen’s primary investment project currently. Kineomen recently proposed a real estate business in Ohio and I am considering a small project this fall to test the viability and get the ball rolling.

Coconut Wine (Vino de Coco)

Coconut wine based in the Philippines. Click the picture for Vino de Coco's website.
Coconut wine based in the Philippines. Click the picture for Vino de Coco’s website.
  • Click on the picture for Vino de Coco’s website.
  • No real update. Seeking repayment of loan. Plan to make a full attempt at repayment this summer.