Live & Flip

First Lead Follow Up Call

I called the first lead back with information on what she can do with the property still inside the house. There are several options available and a combination of those options. First, some companies buy household goods in bulk. I opted out searching for those just yet. They are usually smaller and I want to have a referral from someone I trust before I recommend anyone. Second, I informed her about estate auctions. Essentially a company will auction off your goods and take anywhere from...

Probate progress

In the past few weeks, I have gotten quite a bit done. -I figured out mail merge for envelopes and letters saving me countless hours down the road. -Spruced up my letter a bit with the help of my fiance.  She sends out letters quite often and has to polish them up. -Contacted my buyers agent and setup a deal for submitting offers on properties.  I should also be able to tap into his very large buyers list. -Sent out 8 letters so far.  I know its not many, but its a great start. Lo...

Thank you burgular

This post is a shout out to the crooks in my neighborhood.  Thank you for breaking my backdoor window.  Had it not been for you I would have never even thought to replace it.  In my quest to fix the broken window and every window replacement company quoting me close to $200 for a 19 inch by 15 inch double pane window, I started searching Lowes.  I happened across the same exact door that I have.  Only this door had a full window with mini blinds in it.  Noticing it was an insert, I promtly order...

No Third Rental Yet

I was unable to refi on my third rental.  I needed another 13k in liquid assets in order to make this happen.  To be honest, I'm not entirely disapointed.  What started out as a good deal has really turned into a sour one.  Mostly due to the amount I would have to bring to closing.  Originally it was just closing costs.  Then fannie mae dropped refi from 80% to 75% and during the long delay to refi the house dropped 10k in value.  Mostly due to investor interest and flippers in my rental area.  ...

Lots going on

I'm failing a bit at my goal for one blog post a week.  I really just need to set time aside each week.  Lately my time management has not been great.  SO I have to resort to an  update again.My rental is still vacant, but I have a section 8 tenant that is approved and nearly ready to move in.  This is a little property and my new property manager handles plenty of sec 8 tenants.Speaking of property manager, they have taken quite a headache and time sink off my shoulders already.  I estimate I s...

Snowstorms and Property Management

This is just a quick update on what is happening. On my rental that had the water leak, I had another issue.  A 30+ year old Russian olive tree couldn't take the weight off a recent very wet snow storm.  The whole tree fell over.  It appeared to be rotted near the center of the trunk.  I have spent my evenings doing tree removal.  It has taken 3 trips so far and I have removed about 2/3 of the tree.  I went out and bought an electric chainsaw.  Don't laugh, that little 3 Hp bugger has gone th...

Finally Out

I finally got the non-paying tenants out of one of my houses.  I poorly managed this one and let the tenants slide way to long.  I should have had the eviction papers on them by the 15th of march.  Instead I listed to their excuses.  First time landlord mistake that I have been warned about 100 times.  I guess I just had to learn the hard way. Apparently the tenants decided it was my fault they didn't pay and left a few surprises for me when I went back into the house the following day.  Two ...

Progress Report 4/2

I thought now would be a good time to check up on what I have accomplished and take a look at where I am headed. My own home. -I contacted a buyers agent.  Found a house (3/1) in an older neighborhood.  I picked up the house for 90k with a VA loan.  Current market value is 125k.  -Minor repairs throughout.  Replaced the locks.  Bringing the lawn back to life.  It looks pretty good actually. -Security system. -Replaced the original furnace circa 1954. -New gate.  Slightl...

Newsflash Genius, your a Landlord

This month really hasn't gone great as far as my rentals go.  I have one non paying tenant that I will be evicting.  I have the deposit at least, but still chaps my hide I haven't received one payment from them.  The gentleman I talked to last time ended up being thrown in jail himself.  Hard to make money for rent behind bars. On my other property there was a water leak from the water heater in the basement.  It caused a decent amount of water damage.  I take partial blame for this one.  My ...

Spoke to soon

My last post I mentioned all is going well with the rentals.  Well, I finally ran into my first SNAFU.  To be honest its not a big deal yet, but since its my first major issue (other then repairs) its kinda of a big deal for me. I have not received payment for rent on my 2nd rental.  Since there was a bit of confusion as I transfer responsibility to me from the last owner, I had to be sure rent was not sent to him first.  Rent certainly wasn't sent there.  Little hard to send rent while sitti...