Where in the World is Michael?

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have been wondering where I've been. If you've watched one too many infomercials, you might imagine that I was out sailing on my yacht! (I don't have a yacht) However, the truth is that I've been working my butt off trying to get two rentals ready for the Section 8 inspections that occurred Tuesday. One of the rentals was a 3-4 bedroom house that needed a significant rehab. This was a property that I purchased in January and the holdover tenants finally left. The place was a disaster, which I knew when I bought it ($25,000 for a LARGE 3-4 bedroom house). The rehab wasn't very expensive (with me doing the work), but there was a bunch of it. Every inch of the house needed painting and I even hired a painting crew to help, as I discussed in my previous post. The floor in the bathroom was rotten and I had to replace it. One wall had some rotten studs that had to be replaced. There were a BUNCH of holes that needed patched. One window was broken. I could go on and on and on and on.

So, instead or working my usual 3 to 4 hours per day, I've been working 11 or 12 hours per day over the past few days. The good news is that after all this work, BOTH rentals passed the Section 8 inspection on Tuesday and I will begin receiving rent for these rentals on June 1st. As a side benefit, I have two more rentals completely rehabbed, which is helping with my goal of getting my business stabilized this year.

Yesterday also ended up being a VERY LONG DAY! I met with three new tenants to sign leases and had several conversations with Section 8 about new Section 8 tenants I am accepting. My actual work goal for yesterday was to replace 2 ceiling lights and install a shower ring and new shower faucet above a clawfoot tub for a 2 bedroom apartment that I have rented. I wanted to complete the work yesterday because I am leaving today to go camping!!!! Installing the lights only took a few minutes. Installing the shower, however, become a REAL CHALLENGE! Things started out very smoothly as I installed the shower ring. Next, I needed to replace the faucet with a new one that had the shower fitting. That's where the "fun" began. The nuts on the faucet were rusted onto the tub. I tried and tried to free them - all to no avail. Finally, I got out my sawsall and cut them off - UGH! I probably wasted an hour just removing that faucet. Then, I discovered that the tub drain was broken and I had to make a trip to Lowes for parts (my 3rd trip of the day). Finally, at about 8pm last night, I was finished.

So, now the agenda turns to several days camping, bicycle riding, riding my motorcycle - FUN! Several members of our small group from church will be joining us tomorrow after they get off work.

When I get back from out little adventure, I should be back to my normal 3 to 4 hour per day routine.

Section 8 Vouchers

Section 8 just handed out a bunch of vouchers to new Section 8 tenants. Therefore, I've been very busy trying to get the tenants placed in my remaining rentals and doing all the associated paperwork. All of my 3 bedroom rentals are now filled. I have two 2-bedroom rentals and one 1 bedroom rental left.

The only problem is that I still have one Section 8 rental to rehab and another that needs a little attention before the Section 8 inspections on Tuesday. I normally do all the work myself, but I simply don't have enough time to get everything done comfortably before next Tuesday. So, I called a painter that I have used on occassion to get a little help with painting the interior of the house. He will bring his crew over tomorrow to help me knock out the painting on the house. I hate to hire someone else for something I can do myself, but I want to pass the inspections on Tuesday. Passing the inspections will mean that I will start receiving rent on those rentals June 1st. Failing the inspections could mean a delay in receiving the rent.

Paperwork

I've gotten a lot done the last couple of days, including many paperwork type things. It all began yesterday morning, when I called my attorney to arrange for the title search on the house I'm buying. Next, I worked on balancing the checkbook for one of my companies and then did a little work on my taxes. Today, I tracked down a late payment from a local goverment agency who had committed to paying the security deposit for one of my tenants. They claimed that they sent out the payment more than a month ago. It must have gotten lost in the mail. After several phone calls, they agreed to cut me a new check and I drove over to their office to pick it up in person. It was only a few hundred bucks, but every dollar counts!

In addition to all the paperwork, I got a significant amount of painting done on the pink elephant yesterday. Normally, I only work about 3-4 hours each day, but yesterday was one of only a few sunny days we've had in the last month, so I spent several hours painting. The building is starting to look a LOT better. It's just amazing how much different one coat of paint can make on a building that hasn't been painted in many decades!

Today, I spent the entire day working on my nicest 3 bedroom house. I've already got it rented for next month and was working on cleaning and repairing a few things in preparation for the new tenant. I cleaned the stove and refrigerator; fixed a broken window; did a little painting; patched a couple of holes; cleaned drawers and cabinets; installed a fire extinguisher; replaced a door closure cylinder; replaced 2 missing closet door handles; etc.

More work tomorrow!

Addicted!

I had been vowing to not buy any more properties. I already have several dozen rentals and have exceeded my goals for the business. My intention is to just get the business stabilized and then remain semi-retired, working 3-4 hours per day, 3-4 days per week.

Then it happened! On Friday evening, I received a call from a lady who was wanting to sell her house. This is the second call that I received from this same lady. When she called a couple of months ago, I told her that I wasn't interested in buying anything and that I simply wasn't interested. Obviously, this woman was DESPERATE to sell this property and was persistent enough to make a second call to me. Persistence is a trait that I admire.

At any rate, she caught me in a weak moment and I asked her how many bedrooms/baths the property had and how much she wanted for it. She gave me the location; told me that it had 2 bedrooms/1bath/a 1 car garage/a storage building and that she wanted $22,000 for the property. I didn't say anything for a few seconds and then she said that she could go as low as $20,000! From my knowledge of property values, I knew that this property in good condition should be worth about $52,000. I arranged with her to meet at the property at 10 am on Saturday.

The story on this property is that it had been her father's house. He died about 2 years ago and she desperately wanted to get rid of it. She has had the utilities on for 2 years; has been paying taxes; has been paying insurance; and she was tired of worrying that someone might vandalize the property.

I met the owner at 10 am Saturday, as scheduled. I spent about 10 minutes looking at the property. It is ready for a tenant to move in right now. The only real repairs needed are a few pieces of siding that need to be replaced and one broken storm window that need to be fixed (about $200 in total). I told the owner that I would take it for $20,000 Cash and we spent a few minutes signing the contracts. I intend to close on it by the end of the week, after a title search, so that I can get it rented for June.

The conclusion of all this is that I've done some deep soul searching. After literally SECONDS of deep introspection, I've decided that I'm addicted to buying real estate! First thing Monday I'll be in search of a 12-step program for real estate addicts. With a lot of work and many therapy sessions, maybe the next time that someone wants me to buy their property at 38% of market value, I'll be able to say NO! I know the odds are against me!

Tier II Sex Offender

We have had an absolute onslaught of applications the last couple of days. Many have been qualified and I've been deciding who is the most qualified tenant for each rental.

I always pre-screen each applicant by asking them about their criminal history. One applicant told me that he had a felony about 12 years ago and NOTHING else on his record. When I ran his screening, I found out that he was telling the truth, he only had one criminal offense on his record but that got him listed as a Tier II Sex Offender. My initial inclination was to just deny his application, but because he was the only approved applicant for this particular duplex, I decided to dig a little deeper.

About that time, his wife called to see if their application had been approved. I told her that I was investigating the Sex Offender issue and I wanted her husband's side of the story. She was quite upset that she might not get the rental and said that this issue had been dogging them for 12 years. She put him on the phone. His story was that about 12 years ago, when he was young and foolish, he was out partying with friends. He bought beer and one of the people in the car with them was under 18 (which he claims he didn't know at the time). The way many girls dress these days, I could believe that. He claims that he didn't have any sexual contact with the 14 year old girl! He also claims that he passed out and that he didn't know if anyone else had sex with the girl.

Of course, I'm always suspicious - very suspicious. After getting his story, I called our local sheriff's department and talked to the deputy who is in charge of sex offenders, who are required to register and check in with them. To my surprise, she basically affirmed his story. She said that his conviction of "corruption of a minor" meant that he did not have sex with the girl against her will. The deputy didn't have the exact details of the incident in her file but she said that he was not a predator and basically thought that the new law classifying him as a Tier II Sex Offender was unjust.

Therefore, with him not being a danger to the public and recognizing that he had absolutely no other criminal record, I decided to accept this family, even though the man is classified as a Level II Sex Offender.

Best Setout Ever!

As usual, my eviction went right down to the last second. We had the court portion of the case a few days ago and this morning at 10 am was the setout. I met the court baliff at the property at 10 am and to my surprise the tenant was gone and the property was clean. He had even swept the floors. I guess that there's a first for everything!

I had an applicant that wanted to see this apartment when it was empty, so I invited the applicant over to look at the apartment. I had already screened this applicant and she immediately said that she would take the apartment. More importantly, she had the CASH in her pocket (now it's in my pocket)! Whenever I can fill an apartment the same day it goes empty, I'm a happy, happy landlord!

After I finished the paperwork with this new tenant, I moved on to my next job which was to seal the metal roof on one of my single family houses. I already had the sealant, but didn't have a brush. Therefore, I had to run to Lowes for a brush to spread the sealant. Sealing the roof took about an hour. Then, I had 3 families scheduled to look at another rental. Two of the three filled out applications for this rental and the third filled out an application for one of my other rentals. It was a very good day!

Floor Day!

I try to be as efficient as I can. If fact, I MUST be efficient if I'm to live my semi-retired life of managing and maintaining several dozen rentals while only working 3-4 hours per day and having a lot of 3-4 day weekends. To that end, I try to arrange the maintenance and rehabbing so that I do one task per day, but often on multiple properties.

For example, today was Floor day, meaning that all my projects today focused on floors. I started the day by replacing a stair tread at the Pink Elephant that was in bad condition. Next, I painted the floor (with high gloss floor paint) at my vacant 2 bedroom house. From there, I moved to a 2 bedroom apartment that just became vacant and painted the floor in one room.

Tomorrow will be day 2 of floor day as I need to finish the floors in the apartment that I started today and then move to a second apartment to do the floors there.

Next week, I'll have Roof Day. I've got three roofs that need attention.

The only call from a tenant that I received today was from a tenant that was paying the rent late (along with her $50 late fee). Gotta love those late fees!

Circus Comes to Town!

I had a very interesting morning at the courthouse. I had an eviction scheduled for 10:15 this morning. My attorney and I both arrived a little early and we went into the courtroom to sit down. As it turned out, there were two other cases before mine and so we sat and watched.

The first case, an eviction, was a couple who had attempted to do a lease option. It became obvious in about the first 30 seconds that they were newbies and really didn't have a clue what they were doing. Instead of collecting the rent from the tenant, they were having the tenant directly make their mortgage payment and then paying them for the difference. What was really funny is that the owners were making the utility payments (probably because their deadbeat tenant had previous unpaid utility bills and couldn't get the utilites put in his name). Oops, that was a BIG (EXPENSIVE) mistake.

The tenant apparently stopped paying the owners in February. He claimed to be paying the mortgage payment, but the owners claimed that the mortgage payments were not being paid. No one had any proof - one way or the other. What a bunch of clowns!!! The owners told the judge (magistrate) that they were worried about being able to make their May mortgage payment if the tenant didn't pay them. The tenant said that he had already arranged another rental to move into, but it was under renovation and he couldn't say when it would be done. The judge seemed confused by the whole thing. This went on and on (and on and on and on) and finally the judge offered to grant the eviction but grant a stay until June. Both parties agreed. So, the tenant will get to live rent free for another month and the owner will not only need to find a way to make their May mortgage payment, but will also have to pay the utilities for that month. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A LANDLORD DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING! UGH!

Next, appearing in the center ring, was another clueless landlord who hadn't received rent since LAST AUGUST! (YES, that's AUGUST 2007) Even more interesting is that the tenant being sued in this case was the son of the tenant I was evicting! How strange!

So, the story of this second court case, a suit for monetary damages, was that the tenant stopped paying rent last August. The landlord finally got tired of providing free housing for the deadbeat and went to court to evict him in November. The eviction was granted, but the tenant promised to pay and she never filed for the setout. The guy finally left just recently and he owed her about $9,000 in rent, utilities, and damages. WOW! The landlord was granted a judgement, but will never collect! You can't get blood from a turnip.

After seeing the show, it was my turn at an eviction. The tenant lied on the stand about why he didn't pay the rent, claiming that his government check was delayed after he moved (as if that mattered). The truth is that his son (that was involved in the above case) had been arrested and he used the rent money to bail him out.

At any rate, after he gave all the usual excuses, my eviction was granted and I immediately filed for the setout. By law, the bailiff MUST set the tenant out within 10 days!

I did not receive any calls from tenants today, so all is well on that front.

In a little bit of good news, I did sign the lease with a new tenant on one of my two bedroom apartments today. It's always good to fill another rental!

Rent Collections Complete - Well Almost!

Rent collections are over for this month - well almost! I don't know if it's those high fuel prices or something else, but I have four tenants paying late, during the 3-day eviction notice period. These are all relatively long term tenants, so I am confident they will pay and I will get an extra $50 late fee from each!

I spent my 3 hours of work today doing some general maintenance work. I started out by changing the living room carpet in an apartment. Next, I did about an hour's worth of painting on the Pink Elephant! Finally, I mowed one yard, at a vacant rental.

Tomorrow, I have an eviction in the morning and then I will do a little more mowing at some of the apartment buildings. I'm also supposed to have a move-in tomorrow. We'll see.

More of the Same

Day two of rent collections (today) was very quiet (as it usually is). I picked up a bunch of rents yesterday, including all of the Section 8 rent checks. Collecting rent doesn't have to be boring, so I put on my motorcycle gear and rode my motorcycle around to pick up the rents. I had a great time and in the midst of collecting rents, I rode my V-Star to our local "National Day of Prayer Event", which included some singing and of course some praying. There were several pastors each representing a group praying for a specific need - such as a group praying for our national leaders. That's a good thing - our leaders really need it!!!

Today, I only collected one rent, which is normal for day two of my four day rent collection period. A lot of people pay on the first day and a lot of people pay on the last day. Not many pay during the middle two days.

I also painted another section of wall on the pink elephant today. Of course, I've still got an incredible amount of painting to do on this HUGE building, but I'm making progress. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Since I was gone last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I'm planning to do a little work again tomorrow, weather and attitude permitting.