Rental Market Improving!

Today was another good day in the rental business. I rented the unit of the duplex that I have been rehabbing, starting May 1st. Of course, now I've got to get it finished. So far, I've trashed out the unit; painted the entire interior; replaced a broken window pane; repaired the wood floor in the kitchen; removed old carpeting; carpeted the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom; repaired the kitchen ceiling; replaced the toilet seat; painted the stairs; cleaned up the yard; repaired holes in the walls; installed new miniblinds on all windows; rebuilt two interior walls that had been removed by the previous tenant; painted the exterior door and an exterior window; and replaced the kitchen faucet. Still to do: install a new electric water heater; install new electric baseboard heat throughout the unit; install bathroom cabinet, sink, and faucet, install new electric plug for a dryer, and drain line for washer.

With this duplex rented, I'm out of 3-bedroom rentals again (which is a good problem to have). Therefore, I contacted the seller of the two houses that I'm buying and arranged with her to allow me to show them. I already have an appointment to show one of the houses tomorrow. It will be a great plus if I can get both of these houses rented before I even buy them!

I also spoke with the banker this morning. Unfortunately, the lending standards have tightened since I did my last loan. At this point, the bank will only loan 80% of the purchase price. If I want to pay cash and then refinance, I will have to wait 6 months to refi. Ugh! Therefore, I have decided to bite the bullet and go with the 80% financing, although I don't like it.

Finally, I've got an update on my recent blog describing a friend who had an eviction that got out of control. To make a long story short, the tenant got a legal aid lawyer to represent him and made my friend's eviction a nightmare. The legal aid lawyer countersued for damages and requested a JURY TRIAL! I didn't even know that a tenant had a right to a jury trial for an eviction. Anyway, the tenant had to post a bond for the jury trial to proceed and that didn't happen. My friend got a lawyer of her own, who put pressure on the legal aid lawyer. Today, the case was settled with the tenant agreeing in a court hearing to be out by the May 15th and the tenant to pay damages. A clear victory for the landlord after a lot of unnecessary stress.