A Bama Day

Let me just begin by saying Birmingham-ites are wimps. They think they have "heavy traffic." They think it is hot. They think they have illegal immigration issues. Stand in line behind us Zonies!

Now that we have that out of the way....

I left the hotel today at 8 a.m. only to find out that my Leeds house was also not where I left it. And, if you want to know the whole truth, Ashville Road--one of the main drags into Leeds--had also taken leave. Thanks to a nice gentleman who gave me directions like, "stay on this road a spell, then turn left at the fourth blue mailbox and then two rights and another left at the second church you see," I was able to successfully find my way back to I-20 in only three tries.

I also inspected four houses today.

Home number one: the tenant told me some seriously personal information that should only be reserved for a therapist. I am not sure how I was supposed to react. I chose to skedaddle. Before all that though, I did get a chance to check everything out. The house was in good condition. She asked if she could paint and would I be willing to fix the rotted wood in the deck. Yes to both. The rotted wood was a bit of a concern to me. How long had she been living under those conditions?  She swore not long.

The next homes Kirby came with me. The first one is my only foray into Section 8 housing. The place was clean, and well cared for. However, this tenant and I had gone back and forth about her dogs, with my answer being no, she could not have them. Her dog wasn't there. But there was evidence he had been there very recently. Good old Kirby can look into that.

Another interesting note about the Section 8 tenant: she drove a Suburban. She also had an Escalade in her garage. She also had nicer furnishings than I, including lots of expensive toys. Her children were in daycare--though she doesn't work.

When I mentioned to Kirby that she sure did live well for someone on Section 8. He pointed out that she doesn't actually own anything. Rent-to-own places call his company all the time trying to track down wayward tenants. It made me slightly sick to see this. I work hard for my money (or lack thereof) and here we have someone living on the tax dollars of someone else. I really do feel like I have compromised my principals on renting to her. At the time, this was the best we could get. I am not sure I want to renew her lease when it comes up.

The second house Kirby and I went to is out in the country. I actually had never been there before And, ironically, Kirby told me the house had moved since he had last been there too, as we drove around on the top of the mountain, through the woods to grandmother's house my rental home. I had seen pictures, and I kinda knew what to expect--two acres, in good shape, cute house with a full front porch that is aching for a swing. But I was pleasantly surprised anyway, It was all of the above and then some. The tenants never want to leave (tenants always say that--and you know what, I don't always agree with them on that particular point). The house was spotless and was it ok if they put up a fence at their own expense?

The last home was my Fultondale property. The family that lives there now grew up in the area. They have six kids and the place was spotless, sans the plumbers who were fixing the leaking master shower. I knew about the master shower and wasn't surprised to see them. I was surprised to see the pit bull-great dane mix that was living in the back yard without a fence. Kirby gets to deal with that too.

The tenants were too chatty for my taste. I find that overly friendly tenants in general like to win me over, but don't have a lot of substance. Kirby agreed. He had noticed that about them too. The wife was a bit miffed and repeatedly let me know it. Apparently the plumbers she requested a couple of weeks ago came out today to fix the shower and what a coincidence that I just happened to come in town too. Again, I wasn't sure what to say, so I said "I'm glad it is getting fixed" and "I'm sorry Mr. Kirby didn't take care of it before this" (Earlier, in his office, Mr. Kirby showed me the work orders, including the number of times his staff called them to set appointments and the tenants didn't call back or postponed the plumbers.). Whatever I said didn't seem to satisfy her. Sorry her shower leaked. It is being fixed. Can we please drop it now?

The tenants asked if they could paint. Sure. Why not--especially if it means we can talk about something other than her broken shower. Then they asked if we would be willing to sell. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The house needs some general maintenance. The tenants like being there. The place cash flows, but I could use the equity elsewhere. We left it with 1: the dog goes and 2: let me check with Marty Sunshine. And if we decide to sell later, than sooner, they can have first rights of refusal.

I rounded out the day with dinner with friends (more on that later) and made it back to the hotel in time to see the Braves annihilate my Diamondbacks.

Off to bed so that I can get ready for my big date with Flip.