Noah’s ark is a crazy story. God tells Noah, some ordinary guy, that He is heartbroken with how sinful mankind has become and is going to flood the Earth and start again. He tells Noah that he is going to spare him, his family, and all the animals if he builds an ark. Noah takes God at His word and builds the ark, gathers the animals and provisions, and loads the ark up.
Everyone knows it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, but Noah and his crew were safe because they were floating on top of this massive amount of water. The lesser talked about part of this story is that they did not walk out of the ark on Day 41 ready to repopulate the Earth; there was way too much standing water (they were floating above mountains, for goodness sake!). They were actually stuck on the ark for over a year before it was sufficiently dry enough to get out on land and walk around.
The children’s Bible I was reading my son surmised that it wasn’t boring because they had so much to do. They had daily routines to feed and care for all the animals, put out fires (so to speak), and take care of themselves and the ark. Wash, rinse, repeat. If anything was neglected, there were problems. Survival for mankind and the animal kingdom was at stake and duties needed to be carried out diligently or there would be dire consequences. The carrot was that if they kept to the plan, they would be free of the confines of the ark at some point and the whole beautiful world would be waiting for them to enjoy.
It reminded me of real estate investing.
Like the ark, rental homes require constant diligence. They need to be fixed up, repaired, and maintained. Tenants need to be acquired, serviced, and replaced. The mortgage, insurance, and taxes need to be paid. The HOA and government entities need to be catered to. These duties need daily attention; if they are neglected, the financial boat can start taking on water and sinking can become a real possibility.
The carrot of real estate investing is owning the property someday. As it rains (roof needs replacing, tenant evictions, tenants not paying because of a pandemic), it seems like that day is far off. Sometimes it seems like it would be better to abandon the ark and swim without it.
But persevering and waiting for the ark door to finally open to dry land has its benefits. Free cash flow, a higher net worth, and assets that can be liquidated for college tuition or passed on to children are great financial prizes.
But tending the smelly animals is a pain day-after-day (ever try to pick up after 1,000’s of animals?). The lightning is scary. The boat rocks a lot and causes sleepless nights and sea sickness. Some boards on the ark look like they are breaking down. Drowning is a real possibility. Why did I get on this thing to begin with? My friends who stayed behind at least seemed merry before the torrential downpour.
However, amidst the doubts and setbacks… there is belief that one day in the future the sun will come out, the water will recede, and the dove will return with a leaf clenched firmly in its beak. The remaining mortgage payments will be made, the appraised home value will be high, and the financial statement will be solid. Landfall will make it all worth it.
Noah persevered and he and his family were rewarded. Hang in there!
Happy Landlording!
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