Chapter 68

A week later, we flew back to Detroit and got the Toyota. We headed east. Doug asked where we were going; I told him I had a stop to make. I still had some time to relax before they finished the financing. Doug was dealing with the loss of his parents and I was going to try to help as much as I could. He'd gone through the shock of finding out his parents were gone. Denial had run its course along with pain and guilt. Being without parents or siblings and then having the business snatched away had brought out feelings of anger and "why me?"

He was now just lonely and depressed. We spent a lot of time driving and I would talk about his parents and memories that I had with them. He would tell me stories and then would zone out to reflect on other memories and emotions. He needed time, and a joke or distraction would just delay the process, so I made sure that he ate and took care of himself. I would take long walks after dinner and make him come with me even if we never said a word to each other. I think it was helping but he needed time by himself and I didn't try to push him too quickly through the time he needed to deal with everything.

I thought back to the time when Darcy found me working through my business plan. I had to work things out in my brain so that I was comfortable with the conclusion. Doug was doing the same thing but working on his own problems. We drove across the top part of Ohio and into Pennsylvania. We went northeast into New York and then Vermont. We crossed over into New Hampshire and then Maine. We had awesome lobster, right out of the water, but the water at the beach was as cold as ice so we didn't venture in. Instead, we went to Boston to see the Red Sox play in Fenway Park.

After the game, we were back at the hotel and Doug hopped into the shower. I turned on the TV and listened to the late news. Doug came out and I went in to get clean. When I came out, Doug was crying. Actually, he was sobbing. The dam had finally broken and here he was, letting loose all the feelings he'd been dealing with over the last month. I sat next to him on the foot of his bed and put my arm around his shoulder. I couldn't think of anything else I could do for Doug, except be there and offer support.

It seemed like hours but it was probably only thirty minutes, when he finally gathered himself. He said, "My dad would have loved to visit Fenway Park. He loved my mom and they would talk about places they wanted to go and things they wanted to do. Taking her to a game and having a hotdog and a beer would have been a fond memory for them. I wish they would have had time to do so many more things."

"We all do. Your parents were great people. I'll never forget them. You're a good person too, Doug. Take the time you need to deal with your loss, and if you need anything you can always ask me."

"I think that crying did me a lot of good. I needed to cry first before I could let them go and now I have to start to figure out what I need to do for my future and me. I'll miss them, but now I have to do what I need to do for me. I'll try to make them proud."

"I'm sure you'll make them very proud, my friend."

As we pointed the car south, Doug started thinking about his future and specifically what his interests might include.

From there we hit Rhode Island and Connecticut. Since New York City was in the way, we decided to visit Times Square and checked into the Marriot.

I called Anne and she was happy to hear from us. She took us out to dinner at a local place and said she was sorry to hear about Doug's parents. Tracy was out-of-town for the week so we didn't get to see her. We spent another day looking around and took a ride out to see Lady Liberty. We crossed over into New Jersey and then went to Atlantic City. Up to this point, Doug had never been to a casino. We went to the sports book and although the Expos were the odds-on favorites, I wanted to bet on the Phillies to win the National League, and then bet the Phillies to win the Series. I also wanted to bet on the Kansas City Royals to win the American league. I asked the pit boss what I needed to do and he asked if I wanted to place three separate bets or one bet, all or nothing. I knew what he was asking but for Doug's sake, I asked what the difference was and he told us the odds were greater in an all or nothing. He said if I bet all three I would get 15 to one on my money if I bet them separate it would come out around 4 to 1. I thanked him and told him we would be back later.

We went to the craps tables and we each lost a couple hundred. I told Doug I wanted to play poker and he was going to watch a baseball game and have some beers. I gave him $500 and told him to take it, just in case he wanted to play. I sat down at the table and played conservatively to get a feel for the competition. I had bought in for $10,000 but played an easy nickel and dime approach. I figured out who the fish were and who the players were. I have played thousands of hands of poker, both live and online, so I understood odds and had patience to wait for the cards. It took about five hours for me to stand up with $50,000 on top of my buy in. I walked over to Doug and said, "Here's your half of our business."

"What are you talking about?"

"Follow and learn, grasshopper."

I went back to the pit boss. He saw me walk up and came over. "I just won some money at the tables. I won $50,000 playing card and I want that 15 to 1 all or nothing on the Phillies to beat the Royals in the World Series."

"You sure? That's a lot of cash."

"It is all found money. If I win, then we can buy fifteen times the hookers and beer than we could tonight."

He said that was a healthy attitude for a young man and took the cash and gave me the ticket.

We left the next morning and crossed through Delaware and into Maryland and then Virginia. We headed west on I-81 and then turned onto I-64 to stop in West Virginia for lunch. I didn't want to have to make a special trip to West Virginia later just to say I had been there. We got back to the Carolinas and stayed on I-95 until we hit I-4 that took us back to Orlando. We'd crashed in Jacksonville and met some girls but just ate and drank with them. We were on a different trip with a different mission, so we weren't sleeping our way across the country, just seeing the sights. It took us just over three weeks to make it back. Doug was driving and I told him to keep going past the Lee Road exit where he would normally get off. I had him drive down town to Lake Eola. We drove around and I was looking at all the old houses that they had built in the 40's and 50's, bungalows with small yards. They were all in the $30 to $50,000 range. We drove down one street and there were three in a row for sale.

It seemed like people now wanted to live in the suburbs and were moving out. I got out and asked a man how much he was asking for his house. He said he had it listed for $30,000 but would walk away if someone were to offer him $25,000. We drove back to my house and started doing laundry.

We sat down and I told Doug I wanted to go into business with him.

"What kind of business?"

"First, I want you to go to school to become a licensed exterminator. I don't think it would take more than a month or so. At the same time, I want to start buying and renovating the old homes around downtown. We will fix them up but not sell them. We will rent them out. I figure we should get around one hundred houses. You'll manage the leases, the renovations and the exterminating."

"I think it is a cool idea, but why not hire an exterminator?"

"If we put it in the contract that we will come by once a month to treat for bugs, then we'll have a reason to walk into our homes at least once a month to make sure they're taking care of the places and stop any bug problems before they start. The rental agreement will also state that they can't have illegal drugs or stuff in the house. This will give us a reason to keep us out of trouble.

"I'll take care of the banks and put up the money to buy the houses. If the average price is $30,000 then we can get ten houses for $60,000 down and closing costs. One hundred houses would be $600,000. If we take the cost of the mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance, including bug treatment, it will be about $250 a month. If we charge $350 then we can make $100 per month each. Every time someone moves out, we can raise the rate by $25 - $50 depending on supply and demand. We want young couples right out of school with good jobs but not a lot in savings. That will net us $10,000 per month in profit. We will invest that all into the debt until we pay it all off. In twenty years, we will have over a hundred well-maintained homes with no debt and $100,000 per month in profit. The homes will be worth about $20 million. Since you won't put up any money, your work will pay your part and we will be 50/50 partners."

Doug was unsure so he asked, "That sounds great, but if all the money is going to the debt and buying new houses, how will I get paid?"

"Well, the exterminator will get $30 per house per month so that's $36,000 a year. The houses need renovating and maintaining and that will average another $30 per house per month. Can you live off $70,000 per year?

"I was making $200 a week or $10,000 a year before we went on our trip."

"We will make this entire transaction legal and on paper. We'll talk to John, and I'll put up a million to get us started, and then start working with the banks to finance the houses. You and I will work with a realtor until you're comfortable to work on your own. We don't have one hundred houses yet, so don't expect to make all of that tomorrow. I saw an old two-story warehouse right by the lake on a big piece of land. I think we should also buy that so we can use the bottom as a warehouse and the top as an apartment for you and maybe me until things take off. What do you think?"

"Let me get my tools and get going. I have a strong feeling that this will all turn out great ... Thanks so much."

By the end of the year, we owned thirty houses. When people found out we were buying to rent them out they thought the prices were going to plunge so we held off on the renovations until the prices bottomed and then bought as many as we could. They were all well-built homes that needed a little help. Doug hired two helpers and they only worked on the insides of the houses. We re-finished all the old wood floors. He refaced cabinets when they needed it and added new fixtures in the bath and kitchens. I told Doug that we would need to keep an eye on things so when we got in the black, we would be able to re-plumb and replace the electric. In all, it took us almost three years to get to the hundred-house mark, and then Doug found another twenty-five over the next ten years. After we had a good number of homes, Doug started on the outside and put in a sprinkler system, grass, shrubs and a picket fence on each and most got a new coat of paint. Since he'd done this stuff for his Dad, he was an old hand at it and knew how to do the work fast and on a budget.