All landlords know that you don't receive a lot of calls in the morning (at least til about 10am). Tenants that work day shift are busy working and tenants that don't work (far too many) are busy sleeping. When I got a phone call this morning at about 7:30 am, I knew that probably wasn't a good thing. The caller was a long time Section 8 tenant in one of my low income apartment buildings. She was calling to tell me that someone tried to break into her apartment at about 4am this morning. She said that there was some damage to her door and that the police wanted me to check our security camera video to see if we could identify the culprit. Since this wasn't an emergency, I told her that I would be there around 10 am.
When I arrived a little before 10 am, I went straight to my apartment building next door, where our security camera system is located. This particular security camera system covers both buildings. As I approached the door to the storeroom where the security camera system is located, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. There were scrape marks on the door frame; the door knob was dented; and the plastic trim piece on the padlock was missing. Someone had clearly tried to break into my storeroom also. Upon entering the storeroom, I started to burn a DVD of the camera footage from the night before.
While the DVD was being burned, I went next door to talk to the tenant. The door trim had been taken off the door by the criminal and there were tool marks on the door where the criminal had attempted to gain entry. There was also a shoe print on the door where it had obviously been kicked. I repaired the door and told the tenant that I would contact the police with the camera video after I had a chance to review it.
It's easiest to review the camera video on my laptop, so I grabbed the DVD and prepared to go home to get look at it on my laptop. As I was getting to my truck, I saw a man walking on the sidewalk wearing a badge around his neck (like a detective). I asked him if I could help him find someone and he asked who owned the building with the security cameras. I asked him who he was and he said that he was the investigator with the fire department. The building next door to mine had been the victim of an arson fire last night. I told him that I owned the building with the cameras and that there had been break-in attempts at both of my apartment buildings last night also. That couldn't be a coincidence, crimes at three buildings in a row in an area where there hasn't been any significant crime (at least since I put in the security camera system). I also discovered that 2 bicycles had been stolen from my building last night. I explained to the investigator that I had the camera video on DVD and was going home to look at it. I told him that I would call him with the result.
I went home to watch the video and have an early lunch. What I saw was shocking. A well-known criminal from the area was responsible for this mini-crime spree. I instantly knew the identity of the criminal. I had encountered this loser many times before. However, what was surprising was the extent of this criminal's activities the night before. The video caught him attempting to break into 6 apartments; attempting to break into my storeroom; and walking to the building next door at exactly the time that the fire was set. BUSTED!
I called the fire inspector and told him that I would bring the DVD down during the afternoon and I intended to call the police about getting them the video also.
My intention for the afternoon had originally been to replace an old corroded galvanized water line that was supplying one of the water tanks in the same building that had been broken into. So, one the way back into town, I stopped at the plumbing supply store to get the parts. I dropped off the video at the fire station and went back to the apartment building to start working on the water line. No sooner had I arrived at the building, my phone rang. It was a tenant at my apartment building next door. The criminal that had been on the crime spree the night before was there and in a confrontation with one of my tenants who caught him with her stolen bike. He was threatening my tenant with the same hammer that he used the night before to strike my door knob and pad lock. Needless to say, I immediately called the police, as did some of the tenants. Within a few minutes there were two police cruisers on the scene. The criminal had fled the scene, but I had the opportunity to show the officer the video. The officer said that based on the video, they would attempt to arrest the criminal and they asked me to take a copy of the video to the police station in the next couple of days.
After all the excitement settled down, I went next door and replaced the water line. That was enough for one day and I headed for home.
Tomorrow, my wife and I are going snowboarding!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Not Much Work Today!
The weather in Ohio was very cold and dreary today and I just wasn't motivated to do much. I originally planned to do a little work at about 10 am, but I just couldn't get going. By the time noon came, I had pretty much given up on doing anything significant. About that time, I received a call from a couple that wanted to look at one of my 3 bedroom houses. I went to the bank and post office and then I showed the house to the couple that called. They said that they would have the money on Monday, but I'm not holding my breath. As you may recall, I showed four units to applicants yesterday and I haven't received a single penny from any of them yet, even though all of them wanted the rentals. Needless to say, I won't hold any properties until I have cash in hand!
The only maintenance item I did today was to fix a leaking drain line in the basement of one of my apartment buildings. That was literally a 10 minute fix and then I headed home.
The only maintenance item I did today was to fix a leaking drain line in the basement of one of my apartment buildings. That was literally a 10 minute fix and then I headed home.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Cold Tenants!
My day started with a call from one of the tenants. He reported that his furnace had gone out and that they were "freezing". I made that my first stop this morning and I took a look at the furnace, even though I am not a furnace expert. I checked that all the wires were intact; that the overtemperature switch was working; and everything else I could think to check. I discovered that the furnace motor was not working, although the motor switch seemed to be ok. Therefore, since I wasn't sure exactly what was wrong, I called my HVAC guy and he agreed to meet me at the property later in the morning.
Stop number two was at one of my 2 bedroom apartments - to show it to an applicant. The woman liked the apartment and said she would take it, but I never believe it until I receive the money.
Stop number three was at one of my 2 bedroom houses to show it to an applicant. This woman liked the house and also said that she would take it. I had already screened this woman and her husband about a week ago, but without money, it's far from a done deal.
My fourth stop was at a duplex that had frozen water lines in the basement during the last 5 degree day. I installed those insulating sleeves on all of the water lines and we'll see how it does during the next cold weather this weekend.
Stop number 5 was at one of my 3 bedroom houses to show it to another applicant. This couple liked the house and said they will have the money by Saturday. Again, we'll see!
Stop number 6 was back at the house with the furnace problem. I met the HVAC guy and he quickly diagnosed the problem as a bad furnace motor (which is what I thought). Fortunately, he had one on the truck and within an hour, he had it installed and the furnace was once again working.
On a humerous note, the tenants in the apartment were wearing heavy winter coats and talking about how cold they were. According to the thermostat, the temperature never got below 63 degrees F! When I told them that my wife and I keep our house at 67 degrees all the time, they said that they keep their apartment at 75 to 80 degrees because of their pet lizards! These are Section 8 tenants whose rent is 100% paid by Section 8!
My final stop of the day was back at the 2 bedroom apartment that I showed eariler in the day. Another couple wanted to look at it. They liked it and said they will take it. So, I've got two people that say they will take the same apartment. Personally, I'm just hoping that one of them will follow through!
Stop number two was at one of my 2 bedroom apartments - to show it to an applicant. The woman liked the apartment and said she would take it, but I never believe it until I receive the money.
Stop number three was at one of my 2 bedroom houses to show it to an applicant. This woman liked the house and also said that she would take it. I had already screened this woman and her husband about a week ago, but without money, it's far from a done deal.
My fourth stop was at a duplex that had frozen water lines in the basement during the last 5 degree day. I installed those insulating sleeves on all of the water lines and we'll see how it does during the next cold weather this weekend.
Stop number 5 was at one of my 3 bedroom houses to show it to another applicant. This couple liked the house and said they will have the money by Saturday. Again, we'll see!
Stop number 6 was back at the house with the furnace problem. I met the HVAC guy and he quickly diagnosed the problem as a bad furnace motor (which is what I thought). Fortunately, he had one on the truck and within an hour, he had it installed and the furnace was once again working.
On a humerous note, the tenants in the apartment were wearing heavy winter coats and talking about how cold they were. According to the thermostat, the temperature never got below 63 degrees F! When I told them that my wife and I keep our house at 67 degrees all the time, they said that they keep their apartment at 75 to 80 degrees because of their pet lizards! These are Section 8 tenants whose rent is 100% paid by Section 8!
My final stop of the day was back at the 2 bedroom apartment that I showed eariler in the day. Another couple wanted to look at it. They liked it and said they will take it. So, I've got two people that say they will take the same apartment. Personally, I'm just hoping that one of them will follow through!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Heat is Back On!
After waiting 3 hours at the Ford dealer for a job they said would take 1 hour, my truck is finally fixed. The heat is back on just in time for a resurgence of winter. However, I did discover a problem when I got home today - the mechanic only put enough antifreeze in my truck to protect to +5 degrees F. That would be fine except we ALWAYS have below zero temperatures here in Ohio during the winter. Is it any wonder that I do all the work on my rentals myself? A large percentage of people are just plain incompetent and I can't stand dealing with incompetence!!!
I'll have to drain some water out of the radiator and add some more antifreeze. Fortunately, my distrust of people caused me to check the antifreeze in the radiator before I have a cracked engine block! There are a few benefits to being a landlord - being skeptical is one of them.
After I finally got my truck back, I went to one of my 3 bedroom houses and steam cleaned the carpet. Next, I met a professional plumber at one of my 1 bedroom houses. The main drain line was clogged and there is a very large tree in the yard. My power snake only has a 3/8 inch cable, and is not a heavy enough machine to take care of tree roots. Now, that I know about this problem, I can put copper tree root killer in the drain a couple of times a year to keep it open.
I'll have to drain some water out of the radiator and add some more antifreeze. Fortunately, my distrust of people caused me to check the antifreeze in the radiator before I have a cracked engine block! There are a few benefits to being a landlord - being skeptical is one of them.
After I finally got my truck back, I went to one of my 3 bedroom houses and steam cleaned the carpet. Next, I met a professional plumber at one of my 1 bedroom houses. The main drain line was clogged and there is a very large tree in the yard. My power snake only has a 3/8 inch cable, and is not a heavy enough machine to take care of tree roots. Now, that I know about this problem, I can put copper tree root killer in the drain a couple of times a year to keep it open.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Two Inspections in Two Days
The weather was just plain NASTY this morning. We had freezing rain and the roads rapidly became slippery. My wife needed to be somewhere at 9 am and didn't want to drive on the icy roads. I didn't particularly want to drive on the roads either, but I took her to the appointment anyway (it's always good to pickup a few brownie points when you can).
After that, I went to the bank and post office before meeting with my new tenant to sign the lease. We filled out all the paperwork and signed the lease, and then I went next door to the other half of the same duplex to work on the shower before the Section 8 inspection. I replaced this shower valve just a year ago and the tenant reported that it is only putting out warm water. When I installed the shower valve last year, I also replaced the water lines in the back of the shower with PEX and Sharkbite fittings. That made it easy to remove the lines today and check the water pressure in the lines. The hot water side appeared to have a little less pressure than the cold side, but certainly not to an extent that the water would only be warm. That meant that the problem must be in the valve, which is an anti-scauld valve. I took the valve completely apart and flushed it with water. After re-assembling it and reconnecting the water lines, the shower was putting out water that was much hotter.
Within a short period of time, the Section 8 inspector arrived and the duplex passed with flying colors! This was my second Section 8 inspection in two days and I was happy that both went so smoothly.
I was home by 1pm and that was it for today.
After that, I went to the bank and post office before meeting with my new tenant to sign the lease. We filled out all the paperwork and signed the lease, and then I went next door to the other half of the same duplex to work on the shower before the Section 8 inspection. I replaced this shower valve just a year ago and the tenant reported that it is only putting out warm water. When I installed the shower valve last year, I also replaced the water lines in the back of the shower with PEX and Sharkbite fittings. That made it easy to remove the lines today and check the water pressure in the lines. The hot water side appeared to have a little less pressure than the cold side, but certainly not to an extent that the water would only be warm. That meant that the problem must be in the valve, which is an anti-scauld valve. I took the valve completely apart and flushed it with water. After re-assembling it and reconnecting the water lines, the shower was putting out water that was much hotter.
Within a short period of time, the Section 8 inspector arrived and the duplex passed with flying colors! This was my second Section 8 inspection in two days and I was happy that both went so smoothly.
I was home by 1pm and that was it for today.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Another Section 8 Inspection
Today was a busy day for me. It was supposed to start with a woman moving into one of my 3 bedroom duplexes. I still had a few little things to finish before she moved in, so I started early today (at about 9am). I went to Lowes to pick up a few items and then went to the duplex. One of the items that I needed to do was install a GFCI outlet in the bathroom. The house had the strangest outlet that I have ever seen in this bathroom. It was a normal size outlet, but instead of having two spots to plug in appliances, this one had FOUR spots (obviously without grounds). I check it with a voltmeter and all four spots were hot. Very odd!
My next project was to change three miniblinds, but before I got that done, I received a call from a tenant a few blocks away who had a leak in her kitchen faucet.
I drove over to look at the leak and discovered that there was a small pinhole in the neck of the faucet. I made a quick trip to Lowes and picked up a new faucet and then went back to the unit (another duplex) to change the faucet. About 5 minutes later, I had the faucet changed and checked it for leaks. It was bone dry and I left to go back to the first duplex to change the miniblinds. Before I could even get back, the tenant with the leaky faucet called to say that there was water leaking badly under the sink. She said that she put a pan under the leak and had already had to empty it once (in the 5 minutes since I left). So, back to fix the new leak. Sure enough, the hose going up to the new faucet had developed a leak! What are the odds of that happening? So, I drove about 2 blocks to a nearby plumbing supply store and bought a stainless steel hose. A few minutes later I had the hose changed and was once again on my way to the apartment to change the miniblinds.
I changed the miniblinds; changed a couple of lightbulbs; and vacuumed a couple of drawers. That finished up the duplex.
My next stop was at one of my apartment buildings to show an apartment to a victim of domestic violence. Unfortunately, after talking with her, there was no way that she could afford the rent. Next, I walked to another apartment building to pick up the rent from a tenant who receives his money from a government payee. His rent is always paid on the 5th, because of the government payee, which is a day after my normal rent period. As I was doing that, I received a call from the tenant who was supposed to move in today and she rescheduled for tomorrow morning.
I could really tell that the holidays are over by the number of phone calls I received today. I received more phone calls just today than I've been receiving in an entire week during December.
My next stop was at one of my three bedroom houses for a Section 8 inspection. This is a very nice house and it easily passed the inspection.
Next was a trip to my local Ford dealer to have my truck looked at. My truck has been leaking antifreeze when the heater is turned on for the past few days. I looked for the leak and thought it might be coming from the top of the water pump, although the water pump isn't making any noise. I had planned on taking the truck in for service around the middle of the week, but the leak got very bad over the weekend and it obviously needed to be fixed ASAP. After about an hour in the shop, they discovered that the leak was coming from a small pipe just above the water pump. This pipe is just a simple tube with a flange, but it had to be ordered by the dealer. That little pipe is $233! OUCH! They'll have the pipe on Wednesday morning and I'll finally have it fixed.
My final stop of the day was at a duplex that will have a Section 8 inspection tomorrow. Everything looks good, except the tenant reported that the water coming from the shower isn't very hot. I took a look at that and determined that the hot water seems to be restricted to the shower only. I don't know if there is dirt and rust particles clogging the line or if the shower valve is misbehaving (it's about 6 months old). I'll look at it again tomorrow before the inspection, although that won't keep the unit from passing.
That was it for today!
My next project was to change three miniblinds, but before I got that done, I received a call from a tenant a few blocks away who had a leak in her kitchen faucet.
I drove over to look at the leak and discovered that there was a small pinhole in the neck of the faucet. I made a quick trip to Lowes and picked up a new faucet and then went back to the unit (another duplex) to change the faucet. About 5 minutes later, I had the faucet changed and checked it for leaks. It was bone dry and I left to go back to the first duplex to change the miniblinds. Before I could even get back, the tenant with the leaky faucet called to say that there was water leaking badly under the sink. She said that she put a pan under the leak and had already had to empty it once (in the 5 minutes since I left). So, back to fix the new leak. Sure enough, the hose going up to the new faucet had developed a leak! What are the odds of that happening? So, I drove about 2 blocks to a nearby plumbing supply store and bought a stainless steel hose. A few minutes later I had the hose changed and was once again on my way to the apartment to change the miniblinds.
I changed the miniblinds; changed a couple of lightbulbs; and vacuumed a couple of drawers. That finished up the duplex.
My next stop was at one of my apartment buildings to show an apartment to a victim of domestic violence. Unfortunately, after talking with her, there was no way that she could afford the rent. Next, I walked to another apartment building to pick up the rent from a tenant who receives his money from a government payee. His rent is always paid on the 5th, because of the government payee, which is a day after my normal rent period. As I was doing that, I received a call from the tenant who was supposed to move in today and she rescheduled for tomorrow morning.
I could really tell that the holidays are over by the number of phone calls I received today. I received more phone calls just today than I've been receiving in an entire week during December.
My next stop was at one of my three bedroom houses for a Section 8 inspection. This is a very nice house and it easily passed the inspection.
Next was a trip to my local Ford dealer to have my truck looked at. My truck has been leaking antifreeze when the heater is turned on for the past few days. I looked for the leak and thought it might be coming from the top of the water pump, although the water pump isn't making any noise. I had planned on taking the truck in for service around the middle of the week, but the leak got very bad over the weekend and it obviously needed to be fixed ASAP. After about an hour in the shop, they discovered that the leak was coming from a small pipe just above the water pump. This pipe is just a simple tube with a flange, but it had to be ordered by the dealer. That little pipe is $233! OUCH! They'll have the pipe on Wednesday morning and I'll finally have it fixed.
My final stop of the day was at a duplex that will have a Section 8 inspection tomorrow. Everything looks good, except the tenant reported that the water coming from the shower isn't very hot. I took a look at that and determined that the hot water seems to be restricted to the shower only. I don't know if there is dirt and rust particles clogging the line or if the shower valve is misbehaving (it's about 6 months old). I'll look at it again tomorrow before the inspection, although that won't keep the unit from passing.
That was it for today!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Back to Business - FINALLY!
Now that the holidays are over, we can finally get back to business! As I've said before, the rental business (and many other businesses) just absolutely die during the holidays (from Thanksgiving until after New Years). People are thinking about Christmas; buying presents; traveling to Grandma's house; parties; and other things not related to working. It's a nice time of the year from a social standpoint, but a very dull time from a business standpoint. Fortunately, that will end beginning Monday (January 5th) as people return to their normal routines.
Needless to say, I'm not immune to the Christmas holiday season. My wife and I attended several parties; bought Christmas presents; had a two day Christmas celebration; participated in the Christmas Cantada at church (no, I didn't sing); and even hosted a New Year's Eve party. We had a good time with family and friends, but now it's time to get back to business.
Since New Year's Day was the 1st, rent collections this month will be concentrated during a 3 day period (the 2nd through the 4th). For that reason, I will collect more rents on those days than is normally true. I collected a bunch of rents yesterday and also fixed a wobbly toilet and touched up the paint in a vacant 2 bedroom house. Today, I'm planning to take a deposit to the bank; collect more rents; and do a little preparation at one of my 3 bedroom houses for Monday's annual Section 8 inspection.
I've been slacking off during the holidays and haven't been posting my blog regularly. Now that the holidays are over, I'm planning to get back to posting on a regular basis.
I hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year!
Needless to say, I'm not immune to the Christmas holiday season. My wife and I attended several parties; bought Christmas presents; had a two day Christmas celebration; participated in the Christmas Cantada at church (no, I didn't sing); and even hosted a New Year's Eve party. We had a good time with family and friends, but now it's time to get back to business.
Since New Year's Day was the 1st, rent collections this month will be concentrated during a 3 day period (the 2nd through the 4th). For that reason, I will collect more rents on those days than is normally true. I collected a bunch of rents yesterday and also fixed a wobbly toilet and touched up the paint in a vacant 2 bedroom house. Today, I'm planning to take a deposit to the bank; collect more rents; and do a little preparation at one of my 3 bedroom houses for Monday's annual Section 8 inspection.
I've been slacking off during the holidays and haven't been posting my blog regularly. Now that the holidays are over, I'm planning to get back to posting on a regular basis.
I hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year!
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