Today's Theraputic Blog

Two summers ago I wasn't expecting hell to break loose. After years of mostly inane drama and stable renters, I wasn't prepared for the damn to burst. Part of it is my own doing, I decided to kick out those who were causing me grief. I wasn't prepared for others, who needed to go, to leave as well.

I have spent some time analyzing the affects on the economy and my rental issues. Birmingham was hit hard and suffered the ill-affects of the economy long before the rest of the country noticed there was a recession going on. Was this what caused my tenant issues? Not really. The tenants were trouble to begin with. I just picked the beginning of an economic downturn to deal with my dead wood.

Last summer wasn't that great either, but nothing compared to 2008. Most of the major drama centered around the two homes Marty Sunshine and I own together without partners. The majority of the homes inflicted didn't affect Mr. Partner, though the homes--and related issues--he owns with us were bigger and badder lulus than anything Marty and I dealt with on our own.

Last December, I decided there was no way I was going to cope three summers in a row. No way. No thank you. My family didn't need my stress. My marriage didn't need my stress. My stress didn't need my stress.

I started looking at making changes. The first being Kirby. My goal was to transition him into taking over my homes as they become vacant. Or at least ones where I had the margin between rent and the mortgage payment to afford him.

It isn't that Kirby is the key to my success, it is that the presence of a property management company seems to add some additional credibility I never expected. In fairness, Carolsue handles a lot more property management for me than Kirby, but she and I work in tandem (with her in charge most of the time, but that is for another blog). If Carolsue was a licensed agent, there would be no Kirby.

I also started looking at ways to refinance some of my variable loans. I am still working on this, as it requires a bit more capital than we have. We have been fortunate that interest rates have been low, easing our financial vulnerabilities.

The plan I put together looked fabulous on paper. But it needed two particular issues to make it work. First, I needed Mr. Partner's buy-in and cooperation. I banked on that. Second, there is no provision in my plan for failure. So, when a tree needed to be chopped down with a moment's notice, when Mrs. C. moved out, when Brandi called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me about the home in Calera being somewhat vacant, my plan imploded.

I fully understand a plan without contingencies isn't really viable. I knew that when I wrote it out. There just wasn't any room for contingencies. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have since revised my plan from six months to two years. I have a bit more wiggle room for contingencies, but would prefer not to go there.

Here, the beginning of June 2010, I am finding reality is things aren't that bad. They just aren't going the way they were supposed to go (and for you snickering about my control issues--and you know who you are--this isn't the time). We are paying our bills. We have a little bit left over to handle the surprises. It isn't perfect, but it isn't death either.

Mr. Partner has been MIA since early May. It is probably for the best. Mr. Partner hasn't noticed I haven't sent him financials for first quarter (usually he is out of his mind if he doesn't have them right away). If I were also to guess, Mr. Partner is dealing with his own stuff right now and doesn't have room for Alabama. I suspect, anything short of a major liability or death and he doesn't want to hear much about it. Nope, that isn't true either. The tree was a major liability.

The reality may be things aren't that bad. But I am holding my breath, praying we don't get a trashed home, praying we don't have a mass exodus this summer, praying that something equally icky that I can't possibly conceive won't happen--and just for the record, I can conceive a lot.

The other reality is that nothing we ever really anticipate happens the way we expect it. We don't really have control. Control is an illusion used to pacify the imagination. I didn't expect two trashed homes last summer, three broken (or stolen) air conditioners, five vacancies and one bankruptcy (and that was the good summer).

I do not want another summer of tenant disaster. I am not anticipating it either. I am hoping some of the changes I have made along the way will stop a chain of dominoes--if it becomes an issue. But, if it does happen, I know it isn't anything I can't deal with.