100% occupied, Zero Vacancies

How awesome am I? Hahaha. In 20 days from closing, counting a weekend away, I have three out of three units in the new house rented AND PAID. That's pretty sweet. I love the second floor people (the ones with the restaurant that we and our friends like to go to). The first floor people I'm a little worried about - they're young and I fear that they will be pretty high maintenance if I don't rein them in quick. They just need a little training is all. The last one, the basement, was paid up as of today - he's not moving in until July 1. Works two jobs though, and seems like a good kid. Hopefully we don't have anything weird happen. Two sets of tenants are taking possession on Monday (well, Sunday actually) but the second floor family isn't going to be moving in completely until the next weekend.

NOW it's party time! Yay! We have a bit of a hoedown every time we buy a house, it's fun. Gives us an excuse to entertain. And especially since we don't have a big enough house to have parties here, it's fun for us. We also invite the new tenants (and selected tenants from other houses that we like and deserve an appreciation nod) for a burger and a beer. BBQ and beer and rock band if you're into that - sitting around chatting if you're not. It's a goodwill deal. Plus it makes it tax deductable...shhh...

Rob finally got ahold of someone at the collection agency that we referred my deadbeat ex-tenant to (he owes us about $600) a year ago. They have been incommunicado since then, and I was not exactly happy with their customer service (ie NO service). Well, it turns out that they might be taking him to small claims court? Errr...a phone call about that would have been awesome! So I need to get that sorted out, I'm not paying court costs just so the kid can stiff us some more. Blood from a stone and all that. I just want it on his credit record so if he ever tries to buy a car or house or something he has to settle us up. That will be so satisfying. It's not worth going to the ends of the earth for a lousy 600 bucks, you know? But apparently the collectors will pay the court fees and just add that to the judgement. Heck, if they're up for that, go for it - maybe they'll go after him harder in that case.

One down two to go!

I got the two-bedroom rented! AND paid! Woot! I like this family, although I may be a bit biased. They own a local restaurant that makes a GREAT breakfast AND they have the most adorable Chinese adopted daughter. they're just hardworking honest people.
I think my six o'clock spot is a no-show. Poo. But I have strong potentials for the 1-bed coming this evening so i'm hopeful there. The basement should go quickly if I market it a bit more intensively. I was concentrating on the big units first.

At the new house!

I forgot how pretty it is! I really really like this house. There is NOTHING to be done. Well, ok, I need to install one lockset, that's it.
I have a few people showing up tonight to see the units. I hope it goes well.
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The eve of closing day

Well, our first foray into the 30-day close seems to have gone off without a hitch. We signed all the papers at the lawyers' office today (Vince was surprised and happy to see us only a month after the last time we were in there!) and apparently the keys are already there, just waiting for the transfer of funds tomorrow. Yay! It was nice moving so quickly.

I have the units listed but it's a terrible time for that - nobody ever looks at the end of the month. I'll get better traffic next week. At least I hope so! I have to have people in there paying rent by the end of the month. :) I'm not super worried though, I've never had trouble before. We'll see what happens! I've been cruising the ads and it looks like I'm middle ballpark on similar units, which is exactly where I aim to be.

Rob is incapacitated due to his gaping leg wound (dumbass) so I'm extra glad that this is a no-effort property. Just a few small things to get done and we're good to go. I'll have to see if my mom can help with the carpet cleaner because I can't lift that up and down the stairs. Other than that we'll be fine.

Yay house #4!!! Now we're on to the next project for a little while: parenthood. Yikes. That should be interesting. ;)

Cutting the floor - subdrain installation

Against my better judgement (ie this is just a job for a pro, honestly) and to save $3000, we are installing the subdrain/weeping system/sump pump at Lottridge ourselves.
Part one was demo which involed ripping down drywall and insulation that had gotten wet, and exposing as much of the walls as we needed to - which is most of it.
Today we rented a fancy-schmancy masonry chop saw at home depot. On a side note - do you think it's a problem when the HD tool rental hit recognizes you by name? Haha. Anyway, the saw is working great on the ceramic tile and the thankfully very thin layer of concrete underneath. It is making one hell of a mess though! Which is why I get to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine in case rob cuts an arm off or something. Pregnant landlords are not terribly helpful when you're blowing clouds of pulverized ceramic around!
Ah well - I think this is as much about getting to use the big saw as it is about being cheap. But being cheap is good too!
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Everything is looking good...

Well, even with a new mortgage broker and a new insurance company, everything is going great. Only 13 days until we close on the new house. Wow! This 30-day close thing is pretty cool. The mortgage conditions have all been met, the insurance company is sending over the binder to the lawyer, and I can't think of anything else. Oh, utilities are all switched.

I've been in it 3 times now (first viewing, inspection, and insurance inspection) and the first love bloom is not washing off. This is a really, really great purchase.

It has been a whirlwind of activity around here lately!

So much so that I haven't even had time to blog about it.

We have been looking since March for house #4. It's a good time to buy: inventory is sitting on the market, sellers are a bit panicky, and prices are soft-ish.

However, in the investment market, at least in OUR target area, NOBODY is selling! The only stuff I'm seeing are properties that have to be sold: foreclosures, deferred maintenance, and poorly managed properties (sometimes all in one). When we looked for Lottridge & Sanford, we quickly saw the available inventory and then were out at new listings two or three times a week. This time we'd be lucky to see one worthwhile listing a week. We were seeing duplexes (not our target) and junkpiles and monster huge things, just to keep looking.

Then finally a breakthrough. Last Monday we got a listing for a little duplex with really nice photos and a super low pricetag. We jumped at seeing it since someone had already been in the first day and said they were considering an offer. It turns out, it's NOT a duplex, but a triplex, and it is immaculate. NOTHING needs to be done. It's vacant, beautiful, and ready to go.

We jumped at it. Made a full-price offer, thinking they were shooting for a bidding war. Besides, at full price, it was still a great deal. Why get greedy? It was accepted the next day! ACK!

Turns out, the selling agent was a bit panicky when he set the price. Everyone keeps talking about the terrible market, and it becomes self-fulfilling. Our offer expired at 11pm, he had 6 more showings that evening he could have squeezed in to see if they'd get a bidding war going (not that we were interested in that). He cancelled them all. When they heard there was a strong offer on the table the other people backed off.

So we bought it, first offer, no write-backs. We've switched mortgage brokers and got our approval for a mortgage the very next day (3.95% people. Fixed. For five effing years. That is truly amazing).

The inspection was today and as expected it went amazingly. The place has been loved. The roof is nearing life span, the furnace was ancient, but the wiring and plumbing are great, the basement is dry, the apartments are spic and span.

Wow. We close May 26. Cross your fingers nothing goes wrong!