Episode 85: The $12,312 HVAC Bill (And Why It Didn't Scare Me)

Last week I shared that I don't think I'm chasing properties anymore—I think I'm chasing freedom.

Then this week I received a text message:

HVAC complete.

Invoice attached.

$12,312.

A year ago, seeing a bill like that would've stressed me out. This time was different.

In this episode, I share the latest update on my Alabama mid-term rental project, how hard money lending and draw requests work, and the mindset shift that's happened as I've gained more experience as an investor.

We also talk about risk, confidence, taking action, and why investing doesn't get easier because you have more money—it gets easier because you understand risk.

If you're a beginner investor, a W-2 employee trying to build freedom, or someone who enjoys following the real numbers, wins, mistakes, and lessons of real estate investing, this episode is for you.

Topics discussed:
• $12,312 HVAC installation
• Hard money lending and draw requests
• Mid-term rental progress update
• Risk vs. confidence
• The mindset shift from beginner to investor
• Why freedom isn't always what we think it is

Follow The Ricky Ricardo Show as I document the journey to financial and time freedom in real time—no gurus, no fluff, just the truth.

🎥 Watch the full video episode on YouTube:
 youtube.com/@therickyricardoshow

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 @rickyricardoshow

About the show:
The Ricky Ricardo Show documents the real journey of building financial freedom through leverage, better decision-making, and real-world lessons — in real time.
Real estate is the current vehicle, but the principles apply far beyond it.

Transcript

0:00

Last week I told you guys I didn't think I was chasing properties anymore. I was chasing freedom. I just received a text message that the HVAC system was installed and completed, and I got an invoice. Twelve thousand three hundred twelve dollars. A year ago, I probably would have panicked and tried to figure out how I'm going to fund this. This year's a little bit different. I got some experience under my belt. Not because I'm a real estate guru, not because I'm anybody special with a bunch of money laying around, but because I've started to understand that spending money and being responsible money is the name of this game. And that's what I want to talk about today. Welcome back to the show. It's your boy Ricky Ricardo. And for those of you that are new, I'm a W-2 employee. I'm trying my best to get some kind of financial and time freedom. I'm showing and being honest and real with you guys about what my journey is and the experiences I'm having up to date, the monies I made, the monies I lost, the expenses, everything. I'm trying to give you details of seeing someone try to dream big and see what can be accomplished in real time. And it's not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. You know, there is some things in this that you have to learn by trial and error. And that's what I'm doing. When I first started, I thought it was going to be super easy and quickly come to realize that is not the case, especially dealing with real estate specifically. I am trying a midterm rental, and that's kind of what I want to talk about today. Not so much that the HVAC system was installed and completed, which is nice. I'm super excited about that. But it's one of those updates to the home that not everybody gets excited for different from the owner, right? Because now I can give that experience, that customer experience to my tenants that when they come into my property, they can, you know, feel cold, they can feel heat depending on the season. And that's huge. And and currently, or I should say previously, there was window units, which can work. I'm not sure if you've ever experienced it, but it's it certainly can, but it's not super efficient and it's not the best system out there. So I am excited. This has been installed. But what I want to talk about is how it was purchased and how it's getting paid for and funded. A lot of people think you need to have deep pockets and a bunch of money. Now, I would be lying to you if I said that you don't need any money to get started. There was a decent down payment I had to do to get the property to get an acquisition loan. But this is part of the scope of work. And I did have issues with the scope of work during my flip, and that was scary because I had to come up with my own money. But if your scope of work is really close to what actually needs to be done, then less money out of your pocket, and you only have to put what you came in with the down payment and then your monthly interest payments because it is a hard money loan. The thing is with this, it's a non-Dutch loan. So I only have to pay interest on the acquisition piece. And then any amounts that I use to renovate the property, for example, in this case, $12,300. I need to pay for this, but that's part of the loan. So I don't have to come out of my own pocket to pay that. But what will start happening is I have to pay interest on that $12,000 in addition to the loan uh home purchase moving forward. And that's completely okay with me. Uh the interest payment, you know, is nothing that I can't afford. I wouldn't jump into this, you know, without being able to afford that. So don't stretch yourself too thin, is all I can say. But there does need to be some money uh and some skin in the game to continue with this from my experience. And so the update is that's done. 12 grand is being added to the loan. I'll be making payments on that. The bathroom demo started happening, started going through some layout decisions, and I think I settled on that. I put on my Instagram, you know, asked for you guys' help, and I got quite a bit of assistance. So thank you guys for your support in that. And we're actually making some progress into hopefully getting some of those contracts I've been talking to you about. So just to remind you, and maybe some of those that are brand new, the mortgage is gonna be less than $1,000 on the property. Uh, I do need to do a refinance into a DSCR loan. And then I'm looking at contracts potentially between $4,000 and $4,500 a month. Um, I will have a property manager, so I will have to pay that fee. But there's some serious cash flow that can put a lot of pressure on whatever it is I want to do. So decisions to work less overtime, do certain things. We'll see where it goes. I don't want to talk about the money. It's not here yet, but it's exciting because we'll see what happens. Uh, definitely gonna play with it, definitely have some time, feel a lot better, uh, in a way better position than I was with the flip in my first hard money lender go around. And my first time that I did a hard money loan and dealt with a contractor that didn't give the best scope of work. Um, but you live, you learn, and we're moving on to the next big deal, which I hope this is it. And and I can repeat this, I can do other stuff. So the old Ricardo would have talked about this, would have not taken action, and just would have been, you know, enjoying the conversation with friends and family about how doing something like this could change your life, could change my life. That's that was the old me. Now I'm an investor. You know, I'm I'm in my fourth property. I have no fear because of the experience I have. Not to say I don't have any fear, uh, but they're calculated risk now, more so than before. I'm sure we'll get better in the real estate game. But before every repair, especially in the flip, was stressful because I was paying a lot of money out of my own pocket. So when I got the invoices, they were a little scary, may have not sounded like it on the episode. I gave thorough updates for the year that I had the property, and I was just keeping it real, giving you raw emotions and all that. But I understand things a little bit better now. Investing doesn't get easier because you have more money. Investing gets easier because you understand risk. And I feel like that's where I'm at now. And that's why I'm smiling and have the confidence to actually give this a real try. And I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this midterm rental, and I hope I can to share with you guys. Hopefully, there's some motivation you take from this, and maybe we all can take advantage of some big monies as far as cash flows go. It's real funny timing how I recorded last week's episode and talked about chasing freedom and what did that look like. Maybe it wasn't contract updates, maybe it wasn't updating you on the new appliances I purchased and all that and whatnot, but we're back at it, you know, because it's part of the journey. I never said it wasn't part of the journey. It is. These stories, these purchases, these lessons you learn, it's all part of it. Freedom is the HVAC bill. Freedom is the bathroom demolition and renovation. But with that, the HVAC is installed and completed, and we're moving on to the bathroom renovations before we can actually take advantage of some of these contracts. I'm excited for. I will be putting in a draw request to get the contractor paid for the work. Again, $12,300, not my money. The bathroom should be getting updated soon. I'll have more information on that as soon as that comes. The project is moving, the bills are showing up, and I'm learning in real time, just like always. We'll see what happens next. And you know I'm going to keep you updated as soon as anything takes place. Do me a favor, if you follow me on Apple and Spotify, head over to YouTube, type in the Ricky Ricardo show. I'll put a link in the description. But I am live on YouTube now. I posted a few episodes, and I will continue to post on all platforms. And so subscribe, like, and show me some love. Follow the podcast if you haven't, click the follow button, and I appreciate your support as always. I will talk to you on the next episode. Take care. Goodbye.