This past month has been extremely busy. We've added 12 rentals and 8 tenants. That's very exciting, but it has also been quite a lot of work. Therefore, I took the day off today. A little time away from the business did me wonders and I am ready to get back to work tomorrow. However, the long days are over and I will be getting back to my normal schedule of working 3-4 hours per day.
That's what I like about the rental business. FREEDOM! I can work hard when I want to and I can take a day or a week or a month off when I want to. It doesn't get any better than that!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
CLOSED!
I closed on the last 2 houses today. That brings the total number of rentals purchased in the last month to 12! After the closing, I met new tenant number 7 for the month and got her lease signed. Then, I met new tenant number 8 and got a non-refundable deposit from her to rent one of the houses that we just closed on!
That was enough for me for one day and at 1pm, I headed home to take the rest of the day off. I'm planning to take tomorrow off also and then get back to work on Thursday. Things are rapidly returning to normal and I look forward to working my normal 3-4 hours per day. I anticipate that will happen by next week.
I have no plans to buy another property in the next month or two. My plan is to finishing rehabbing the units I have and get them all rented. Of course, if another GREAT deal comes along, I may change my mind.
That was enough for me for one day and at 1pm, I headed home to take the rest of the day off. I'm planning to take tomorrow off also and then get back to work on Thursday. Things are rapidly returning to normal and I look forward to working my normal 3-4 hours per day. I anticipate that will happen by next week.
I have no plans to buy another property in the next month or two. My plan is to finishing rehabbing the units I have and get them all rented. Of course, if another GREAT deal comes along, I may change my mind.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Another One Rented!
Well, it looks like the count for May is going to be 8 lease-ups. That's a record for me! That includes one house that I've just rented and we're not even closing on it until 10 am tomorrow! WOW! The rental market is really hot. Many of the new tenants are homeowners who have been foreclosed upon and are going back to renting. I don't think we've even started the wave of foreclosures that will occur in the next couple of years.
Yesterday, I installed a new electric water heater, new carpet, and a new bathroom cabinet/sink in one of our rentals. Today, I paid some bills and showed some rentals. After the long hours I've been working on the rentals these past few weeks, I took most of the day off today.
Tomorrow, we are closing on the two houses that I just acquired, so I'll be going to the bank in the morning. After that, I'm planning to take the rest of the day off. I'll be ready to get back to the rentals on Wednesday or Thursday. I need to install 2 rooms of carpet and do a little painting before the new tenants can move into one of the 3 bedroom houses that we're closing on tomorrow.
Yesterday, I installed a new electric water heater, new carpet, and a new bathroom cabinet/sink in one of our rentals. Today, I paid some bills and showed some rentals. After the long hours I've been working on the rentals these past few weeks, I took most of the day off today.
Tomorrow, we are closing on the two houses that I just acquired, so I'll be going to the bank in the morning. After that, I'm planning to take the rest of the day off. I'll be ready to get back to the rentals on Wednesday or Thursday. I need to install 2 rooms of carpet and do a little painting before the new tenants can move into one of the 3 bedroom houses that we're closing on tomorrow.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Nothing's Ever Easy!
I started today working on a plumbing problem. One of our new apartments which has not been occupied yet has just been rented and the water turned on for the first time. Unfortunately, there was a BIG water leak in the wall. After a little troubleshooting, I discovered that the leak was coming from the drain line for the sink.
I started out by knocking a small hole in the wall so that I could visualize the drain line. After I found the line and its connection into the main drain, it appeared that the line was in bad condition and was in a very difficult location to access. Therefore, I decided to "T" the sink drain line into the nearby bathtub drain line.
The bathtub is an antique claw foot tub and had a cast iron drain line. After using a Sawsall to cut the line, I attempted to insert the "T" using rubber boots. Unfortunately, I got a little too strong and broke the thin drain line at the tub. So, a job that looked like it would take only a couple hours ended up taking 6 hours. I ended up replacing the entire line from the tub to the sink and into the original line. Although it took longer than expected, at least it's done. I checked it thoroughly and NO LEAKS!!!
Tomorrow, I'm going to install a new electric water heater for this apartment and install one room of new carpet. Then, I'll be going to church in the evening, hopefully riding my motorcycle. I'm hoping things go smoother tomorrow!
I started out by knocking a small hole in the wall so that I could visualize the drain line. After I found the line and its connection into the main drain, it appeared that the line was in bad condition and was in a very difficult location to access. Therefore, I decided to "T" the sink drain line into the nearby bathtub drain line.
The bathtub is an antique claw foot tub and had a cast iron drain line. After using a Sawsall to cut the line, I attempted to insert the "T" using rubber boots. Unfortunately, I got a little too strong and broke the thin drain line at the tub. So, a job that looked like it would take only a couple hours ended up taking 6 hours. I ended up replacing the entire line from the tub to the sink and into the original line. Although it took longer than expected, at least it's done. I checked it thoroughly and NO LEAKS!!!
Tomorrow, I'm going to install a new electric water heater for this apartment and install one room of new carpet. Then, I'll be going to church in the evening, hopefully riding my motorcycle. I'm hoping things go smoother tomorrow!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Record Month!
This last month has been a record breaking month for me. The 12 rental units I acquired was the most I have ever taken over in a single month. Seven move-ins was the most move-ins I have ever had in a single month, eclipsing the old record of five. Needless to say, with 12 new rentals, this is the most rent I have ever collected in a month.
Although not an all time record, this was also the hardest I've worked in the last year. What a busy month and a great month! After another couple weeks of relatively hard work, things should get back to normal.
Although not an all time record, this was also the hardest I've worked in the last year. What a busy month and a great month! After another couple weeks of relatively hard work, things should get back to normal.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Lawsuit, Home Invasion, Drug Bust - BUSY DAY!!!
You never know what's going to happen in the rental business. Take today for example. Who would have predicted that I'd be threatened with a frivilous lawsuit; have a tenant that was the victim of a home invasion; and be standing 25 feet from a major drug raid? Almost unbelievable, but all of this was part of my day.
I started out this morning by going to the post office to pick up the mail. In the rental business, it's never good to receive certified mail. Unfortunately that was exactly what was waiting for me. The letter was from one of those scumbag contingency lawyers (lower than snakes if you ask me) who is representing one of my tenants that is trying to extort money from me. A couple of weeks ago, the tenant claims that she fell into an open water meter hole and was injured. I don't have any idea if that is true or not, but it certainly isn't my fault. This tenant was already totally disabled and is claiming that she re-injured her already existing back injury, which is a typical claim for tenants who are trying to hit the landlord lottery! As we always do, we will aggressively fight this frivilous claim.
As I was working on one of our rentals, I was listening to the radio. The big news locally was about a home invasion that had occurred in our city. A few minutes later, I received a call from one of our better tenants. Last night, he had awakened in the middle of the night and was walking downstairs. Unfortunately, as he was walking down the stairs, a criminal was walking up the stairs. My tenant was the victim of the home invasion that was on the radio! The tenant ran back to his room; grabbed a stun gun; and chased the two criminals out of the house. His wife called the police who then became involved in a foot chase with the criminals. The police reportedly caught one of the criminals. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the tenant will be putting in an alarm system tomorrow.
Later in the day, I was in front of one of my apartment buildings. Suddenly, an all black van pulled in across the street. The back door quickly opened and several swat team members carrying assault rifles jumped out. They went straight to the door of the duplex across the street. One swat member shouted "Police" as another hit the door with a battering ram. Then, a concussion grenade was thrown in the door and there was a large flash. The swat team entered the duplex yelling "Police, get down, get down!" It was just like watching an episode of cops, except up close and personal, instead of on TV.
Enough excitement for one day!
I started out this morning by going to the post office to pick up the mail. In the rental business, it's never good to receive certified mail. Unfortunately that was exactly what was waiting for me. The letter was from one of those scumbag contingency lawyers (lower than snakes if you ask me) who is representing one of my tenants that is trying to extort money from me. A couple of weeks ago, the tenant claims that she fell into an open water meter hole and was injured. I don't have any idea if that is true or not, but it certainly isn't my fault. This tenant was already totally disabled and is claiming that she re-injured her already existing back injury, which is a typical claim for tenants who are trying to hit the landlord lottery! As we always do, we will aggressively fight this frivilous claim.
As I was working on one of our rentals, I was listening to the radio. The big news locally was about a home invasion that had occurred in our city. A few minutes later, I received a call from one of our better tenants. Last night, he had awakened in the middle of the night and was walking downstairs. Unfortunately, as he was walking down the stairs, a criminal was walking up the stairs. My tenant was the victim of the home invasion that was on the radio! The tenant ran back to his room; grabbed a stun gun; and chased the two criminals out of the house. His wife called the police who then became involved in a foot chase with the criminals. The police reportedly caught one of the criminals. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the tenant will be putting in an alarm system tomorrow.
Later in the day, I was in front of one of my apartment buildings. Suddenly, an all black van pulled in across the street. The back door quickly opened and several swat team members carrying assault rifles jumped out. They went straight to the door of the duplex across the street. One swat member shouted "Police" as another hit the door with a battering ram. Then, a concussion grenade was thrown in the door and there was a large flash. The swat team entered the duplex yelling "Police, get down, get down!" It was just like watching an episode of cops, except up close and personal, instead of on TV.
Enough excitement for one day!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Working Like a Dog!
I can honestly say that I haven't worked so hard on my rental property business since I started. In the last month, I have added 12 rentals to my business which is a lot for me. I certainly hadn't planned on adding so many units in such a short period of time, but I don't like to pass up great deals when they present themselves.
At any rate, this has been a LOT of work. Starting a month ago, I had a huge duplex that needed painted so that I could rent it to a Section 8 tenant with young children. That took an entire week. Next, I turned my attention to another duplex which needed a rehab. I finally have that finished.
Things have gone crazy this month with a HUGE demand for rentals. It looks like we're going to have 7 move-ins this month!!! I worked 12 hours yesterday and another 12 hours today. The question is whether all this work is worth the result. So far, I've worked very hard for a month and in all reality, I may have to work a lot during May getting everything rented and stabilized. So, what will I have to show for my two months of hard work? At $100 per month per unit, the twelve units will generate $1,200 per month positive cash flow for the next 20 years and then a LOT more when the mortgages are paid off. In addition to the cash flow, I will do all the management and maintenance myself, which will earn me at least another $1,200 per month. So, for two months of hard work, I have added at least $2,400 per month ($28,800 per year) in additional spendable income. In addition, I've added a bunch of equity; the tenants are paying down the principal on the mortgages; the government is allowing me to depreciate the properties, and I will pick up appreciation over time. Is that worth 2 months of hard work? YOU BET IT IS!
At any rate, this has been a LOT of work. Starting a month ago, I had a huge duplex that needed painted so that I could rent it to a Section 8 tenant with young children. That took an entire week. Next, I turned my attention to another duplex which needed a rehab. I finally have that finished.
Things have gone crazy this month with a HUGE demand for rentals. It looks like we're going to have 7 move-ins this month!!! I worked 12 hours yesterday and another 12 hours today. The question is whether all this work is worth the result. So far, I've worked very hard for a month and in all reality, I may have to work a lot during May getting everything rented and stabilized. So, what will I have to show for my two months of hard work? At $100 per month per unit, the twelve units will generate $1,200 per month positive cash flow for the next 20 years and then a LOT more when the mortgages are paid off. In addition to the cash flow, I will do all the management and maintenance myself, which will earn me at least another $1,200 per month. So, for two months of hard work, I have added at least $2,400 per month ($28,800 per year) in additional spendable income. In addition, I've added a bunch of equity; the tenants are paying down the principal on the mortgages; the government is allowing me to depreciate the properties, and I will pick up appreciation over time. Is that worth 2 months of hard work? YOU BET IT IS!
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