Welcome to Chez Cliff!

Nearly ten years has passed since I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Debt.  Accumulating this large debt was very easy.  The nightmare which followed was not so easy.  More money was going out than coming in.  That’s never good.

Fortunately I made that debt disappear.  But the memory follows me to this day.  Anyone who has been or IS under a mountain of debt knows this is not a pleasant feeling.

When the people from Debt Consolidation Care (DCC) contacted me for a review admittedly I was skeptical.  I asked them for their mission statement.  Their response:  Help People.

I like that.

Who is DCC?  An online community, boasting nearly 100,000 members.  These members share and participate in all matters of discussion regarding debt. 

What services do they offer?  If your only interest is to get a quick answer to a question, you can do that.  There are many message boards, covering a wide range of topics.  All of which are at your disposal.  To take full advantage of the site, create a profile and enter your debt information.  Their debt
management experts can then assist you by helping put together a real plan.  Members are taught to take control and be responsible for their own situation.

What don’t they do?  Their job is not to negotiate with debt collectors or credit card agencies. 

Who would use this website?  Anyone with debt related questions or problems.  It matters not how much they might have.  DCC is geared towards helping people manage, reduce and eliminate their debt.

How much does it cost?  Free.

Does it make a difference?  Many members are claiming victory.  Some members celebrate their complete liberation from debt; others celebrate successful negotiation with a collector.  When being crushed by debt, all victories are victories no matter what size they may be.

One victory was saving a young lady’s credit.  She had less than $20,000 in student loan debt.  Her low paying job was not enough to cover her living expenses plus her student loan payment.  She felt bankruptcy was her only option.  Everyone quickly informed her student loans survive bankruptcy.  If she had filed, it would have been for naught.

The members saved her credit.  They got her to call the Student Loan lender.  They worked with her to reduce her monthly payment.

In the end, this site gets a solid thumbs up.

Elbow was aching; knee was shot.  Climbing up and down a ladder for nearly 10 days while painting had exhausted some of my joints.  It was Friday, around 6 p.m. when the painting was finished.  Flying solo and covered with paint, I had to get something to eat.

“Sushi”

Hi.  My name is Clifford and I’m a sushi junkie. 

A recovering junkie I am not.  Nor do I wish to be.  If sushi was something which could be boiled down and injected into my paint-infested veins, certainly I would do it.

A new sushi place was spotted where I could drop.  Quaint, locals only kind of place.  Seated at the bar, my old friend Cold Sake-san greeted me. 

It was as if I hadn’t eaten in weeks.  Endorphins flooded my brain, my body.  I was starting to see spots.  Sushi and sashimi; rolls and hand rolls.  The ocean kept coming and coming, slice and served with rice and various sauces.

Okasame!

Completely lubricated on sake, I cried out to the sushi gods "Is that the best you got?!?"

The gods heard my cry.  Speaking through a fellow Gaijin seated next to me, I ordered something I had never tried. 

Quail eggs.  The juxtaposition of the ice cold yolk and the hot rice stunned my taste buds.  Hot and cold at the same time?  Who cares!  It was delicious. 

On the verge of exploding, my stomach cried out for relief.  Knowing some food could be temporarily stored in my esophagus, one more piece was ordered. 

Clifford:  "Do you have monk fish liver?”

Chef:  “Hai”

Clifford:  “Oh glorious day!”

For the uninitiated, monk fish liver is almost like foie gras . . . on rice.  Heaven.  A touch of a sour sauce they put on top, this piece alone could cause loss of consciousness.  If tried, be prepared for your legs to start shaking.

At some point, my first bottle of sake disappeared.

Server:  “Excuse sir, you like more sake?”

The best part of eating at Aki’s Sushi: it’s not even a five minute walk from my house.

Clifford:  “Hai.”

Welcome to the site ChangingMyDirection.com.

My name is Clifford, the author.  Here I document my adventures with investing in real estate.  Also provide commentary on every day life.  Sometimes I rant about anything in general or talk about food.

My journey into the financial world didn’t start off so pretty.  Within two years of graduating college, I had managed to accumulate nearly $40,000 in debt.  Between all of my credit cards, my car, and my student loans a mountain of debt was slowly crushing me.

Payments were made late.  My credit score suffered.  It felt hopeless.  Finally I took some advice and got a consolidation loan.  This helped reduce some of the load.  My biggest sacrifice was getting rid of my really nice car and driving around a cheap grocery getter for almost two years.

In the end, it took nearly 3 years for my debt to disappear.  Suddenly I found myself without debt and a little pile of money which was growing.

My new objective:  Never again be trapped under debt.  The only way I could assure myself of this was to invest my money into assets, not liabilities.  Since reading the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki I decided real estate was the direction I was going to head.

For my real estate, I purchase duplexes and renovate them.  Afterwards I rent them out.  I am practicing the theory that "Real Estate buys Real Estate".  One property buys another.

A brief synopsis of my first two projects has been provided: Project #1 and Project #2.  Of course if you are searching for more details then you are welcome to check out the archives and read from the beginning.

Along the journey you may notice some blog entries have absolutely nothing to do with real estate.  And that’s alright.  I never set out to create a dry, dull, or boring site dedicated solely to real estate.  This is about my journey, my path.  Along the way I decided this needs to be fun. 

Why do anything if you can’t enjoy yourself?

Right out of a television crime drama.  There was a drug raid.  Over 150 marijuana plants were seized.  The tenant in the front part of the duplex was sent to jail.  His partner, in the back unit, fled the scene.  Shortly thereafter, a duplex was put on the market with instructions to "sell it and sell it fast".

May of 2007 brought my second duplex.  It had been nearly five months, since my first duplex was rented and began the search for the second.  Property inventory was quite high: the question remaining:  What was the best deal?

Another craftsmen bungalow, this house was built with a three bedroom one bath layout.  Over the years, a series of tenants who had "drugs" as their main source of income changed the interior to accommodate their business.  The ceiling was nearly destroyed with holes for venting hot air, fumes.  The electrical was re-wired to allow more power to the bedrooms.

It was a mess.

Construction started immediately.  The areas of focus:

• Redo the kitchen
• Refinish the hardwood floors
• Redo the entire ceiling
• Add a second bathroom
• Revamp the electrical and plumbing.

Now the house was a three bedroom, two bath.

Unfortunately the budget was blown on the first house.  Some creative options were found to ensure the house was finished, including a new kitchen.

The back house was a different story.  The wood supporting the floor had completely rotted out underneath.  This required, in essence, redoing the entire floor.  Once completed, the drywall was replaced and the bathroom floor was redone.

Currently the back house is 50% complete.  November 9th is the projected finish date.

The plan: find a tenant for the front house while I live in the back.

Duplex #2

Current Status:  Both units unoccupied.

Glorious day!

This was the house.

This is the house.

BOO YAH!!

The exterior painting on the front side of the house is done done done!!

Progress Photos here.

Kudos goes out to Shaun for kicking my butt into doing this.