Trash or Treasure?

You know what they say … one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.  I do occasional checks at all of my Indianapolis rental properties, to ensure that my tenants are taking care of the inside and outside of my properties.

From time to time, I encounter a scene like this one:

Overwhelming!  At first glance, I was appalled.  Obiously, my tenant had a “thing” with watermelons, mobiles and knickknacks in general.  Personally, I don’t like clutter.  My kitchen counter tops are mostly clear of “stuff” and when things stack up, my brain feels cluttered as well.  My design style is sort of minimalist, I guess you’d say.  And this tenant?  Would we call her a MAXimalist?  (Is that a word?  Haha)

Anyway, my first response to this scene was quite negative and I figured I’d be having a corrective interview with her immediately but, upon closer inspection, I discovered that her unit wasn’t dirty.  It was just … well … full.  Cleanliness has absolutely nothing to do with decorating style.

I evict people for being dirty tenants, among other things.  But unless the situation reaches a level where the building is threatened in any way, I’ll never evict someone for filling their apartment with items they love.

This tenant stayed with me for a couple of years and when she moved out, she lovingly packed up every little knickknack.  My rental unit was left spotless.

Eureka!

I have a four-plex in a low-income area, right behind a fast food establishment.  The upstairs one-bedroom unit was available and a woman named Eureka came to apply.  She worked the 4-12 midnight shift at the fast food place.  She was in her mid-fifties, had two grown kids and was on her own.

Eureka took the bus to work every day.  She’d been employed there for over a year … her rental house was on the other side of town, however, and when she got off at midnight, the buses had stopped running.  So for the past year, she’d been walking home … a TWO hour trip on foot.  Wow …

She loved the place and hoped to get it.  I checked with her supervisor and current landlord — both gave good references — and when I called her later to tell her the good news, she burst into tears.

We met at the apartment to sign the lease, etc., before her shift started.  It was 10 degrees that day.  She told me she’d be coming there after work, rolling up her puffy winter coat to use as a pilow, and happily sleeping on her bedroom floor for the night.  No more walking home.

As I reached out to shake her hand and tell her, “Welcome home,” she threw her arms around me and tearfully thanked me again.

And this, my friends, is one of the reasons I love my work.  I didn’t make her day … she made mine. 

Eureka!

Cheap Flooring That Looks Fantastic

Take a look at these pictures … the kitchen and bathroom floors used to have sheet vinyl, and for this project, I had my sub-contractor Adam go right over them with this beautiful product:

So, what would you think it is???  Laminate?  Hardwood?  Wrong on both guesses!  It’s flexible vinyl plank flooring  … peel and stick vinyl, no less!  The pictures don’t really do it justice, but this stuff looks like wood or wood laminate and is very durable and water resistant, too.

It comes in strips that are either 4×36″ or 6×48″, covering 30 or 40 square feet per box, at a cost of $30 and $47.  Soo reasonable!  And very easy to install.  Adam did this work for me but since I’ve laid the 12″ square peel and stick tiles, I could’ve installed these myself, I’m sure.  If you buy a few extra, you’ll have some to replace in case one or two might get damaged down the road.

So, if you’re looking at updating those vinyl floors, you might consider this product.  It comes in a wide variety of colors and is available at all of the big box stores in the area. Come on, DIY people, you can do this!  Happy experimenting ……

The Case For Rentals

I’ve owned and managed low and middle income rentals in Indianapolis for over 17 years now, through the good times and the bad.  My goal was to purchase these rental properties for income and long-term investment.  I’ve flipped a few along the way, but that’s never been my model.  Through the years, I added property management to my list of skills … other people’s homes or rental properties.

Why invest in rentals?  There are a couple reasons:

1)  Housing is a universal need.  Regardless of fluctuations in the economy, people need a roof over their head.  And even when everything in the housing market went to hell through 2008 and beyond, my rentals held strong.  Yes, there was more turnover (people were losing their jobs and/or getting laid off more frequently) but I had no trouble filling my vacancies.

2)  There’s a segment of the population that will never be homeowners … those who earn less than $30,000/year will most likely be renters throughout their lives.  And according to the last census, that segment included about 35% of the population.  Furthermore, since the housing collapse, many people have become more wary of buying homes, and even those who can afford it (and get financing) are choosing to rent instead.

Indianapolis is a wonderful city in which to work and raise a family … it didn’t see the horrible downturn in the housing market that some other areas experienced.  Our rental market is strong and will continue to be strong in the foreseeable future.

We landlords and investors are lovin’ it!  

Before and After …

I run into some pretty nasty cleaning issues but over the years, I’ve stumbled across some fantastic solutions for the worst of the worst!  Here’s a recent example:  prior to evicting my tenant, Kenneth, I reminded him to make sure he left the apartment clean and empty.

Hmmm … evidently, he has a hearing problem!  Haha!  When I come across these situations, I don’t get angry, I get busy.

It doesn’t show up well in the picture, but there was a thick layer of food and grease on the stove top.  And this stove was NEW when he moved in eight months ago.  (Sigh)

I attacked it with my trusty bottle of Krud Kutter spray.  I’ve mentioned it here before but it deserves more accolades … I use it on counter tops, floors, sinks, toilets and appliances.  Spray it on, let it sit for a couple minutes, then scrub it off with a Scotch Brite (dark green) scrub pad or a wet cloth.

Here’s the after picture:

Brand new again, right?

With minimal work on my part, too.  Before my next tenant moves in, I’ll put some foil under the burners to protect the stove top.  It helps.

Also, the apartment checks help too … Kenneth had done well for several months, but then his life seemed to start unraveling.  He got laid off, found another job — less money — got laid off from that one after a couple months, etc.  He was depressed, of course.  And his apartment reflected the havoc that was occuring in his work life.  That’s why, as a landlord, I can’t take things for granted … situations change, people change …

Anyway, my new tenant is excited about this place; we’ll see how it goes.

Update Those Cabinets!

I manage homes for other investors and do some of the work myself.  Here’s a 90s kitchen that got a facelift at a very reasonable price….these cabinets were the standard oak when I started:

They weren’t damaged, they were just dated.  So I cleaned them lightly and bought some Glidden Gripper for the primer. I like it better than Kilz or Zinsser primers because it’s thick, doesn’t have a nasty smell, and my top coat can cover in one coat.  I applied it with a 6-inch roller that had a short nap, and used a 2-inch angled brush where necessary.

I was able to repaint in a few hours with my Valspar satin white paint.  Of course, semi-gloss will also work.   The finished product looked fantastic:

 

So, for the price of a couple of gallons of paint, we had braind new cabinets!  We took it a bit further and got rid of the old counter top too, replacing it with a granite-look formica — $450.  Not bad, huh?

The flooring was a mess … peel and sticks over sheet vinyl.  Quite a job to get that up — but we replaced it with the modern version of peel and sticks, which closely ressembles wood plank flooring.  It’s extremely durable and water resistant, and easy to install.  Definitely worth checking out when you’re looking at flooring options.  I’m going to post close-up pictures of that, and talk about it in another upcoming blog.

Honestly, you really don’t have to spend thousands and thousands if you don’t have the wherewithal to do so.  A little creativity can go a long way … onward and upward!

Hoarder Strikes Again . . .

Well, I’ve just about had it.  This is a duplex I was selling on contract.  I did the deal with Martha back in ’06 and all was good.

Bu slowly, she started to collect “stuff.”  In the back yard, in the house, and now in the front yard and on the porch.  I’ve confronted her about it, and she insists she “needs” all of it.

The Board of Health has sent me two letters about the junk that has piled up at her property.  The last letter was in April of 2011.  At that time, I wrote her a letter and told her that if I got one more letter from the BOH, I was going to foreclose on her. 

And sure enough, the inevitable happened.  I got the letter last week and contacted my attorney.  She’s not going to be happy but it’s not as if I didn’t warn her!  This is crazy stuff.  It’ll take a while to process the court papers — maybe two or three months at the most — but it’ll be worth it to me to get her out. 

I just hope she doesn’t leave me any of her junk!

Onward and upward ….