It is no surprise that for the past several Octobers I have managed to get mind-blowingly sick. I wasn't shocked when it happened this October. Instead I was annoyed beyond belief. I still am annoyed (and still under the weather, for that matter).
However, this year, as I have been laying around, wishing I could run, knit and sleep I was reveling in the fact that All Things Alabama were more or less under control. Yes, Ms. Kathy's former home is vacant. I expected that, though if I was going to have the money for the mortgage has been nagging at me. But this year, with the help of good tenants, two property managers and Carolsue on the ground, I haven't really needed anything and have been able to focus on getting well because all other minor pesky issues could wait for better health.
So, imagine my astonishment when I woke up today to find out that one of my tenants hadn't paid rent! It is one of Kirby's properties. I had gotten a seven-day notice on them earlier in the month--right before I had taken ill. I had been in continued correspondence with Kirby since then, but nobody on his team had the presence of mind to tell him, or for that matter me, that rent is now 26 days late.
The house in question is not in Mr. Partner's LLC, it is one Marty and I own solely. So, there are different challenges with this.
I have contacted Kirby, explaining my ultimate displeasure with his person who dropped the ball and didn't keep me posted. I also asked for an update by the end of today, explaining that nobody wants to deal with me if I have to play "what if" over the weekend.
Nobody.
If there is some sort of silver lining on this one, the tenant in question tends to come through. Hopefully they will do so this time. If not, I am not sure I have a plan B right now.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Give'n Take
For the most part, Kirby and I have a reasonable relationship as long as we aren't talking on the phone. Which we never do because Kirby is totally incabable of returning my calls.
But, we do e-mail, with me fully understanding that e-mails at the month-end are not going to be answered in a reasonable amount of time. Kirby manages 200 homes. I know he is busy. Month-end is even busier.
In the past few weeks I have e-mailed Kirby a lot of questions: did the tenant on Fultondale sign another year lease? How far along is the repairs for the home in Moody? And speaking of which, how is the whole rental ordeal going for the home in Moody? Has the new wing on the home in Pinson been added? And I have a modest proposal for the tenants living in the home in Leeds. What do the tenants think of my idea?
All of these have been met by an empty e-mail in box. And, then all of the sudden Kirby wanted money for the home on Moody. I was happy to send what I owed, but it came with a small price. I wrote him, telling him I sent the check, and in return I would like an answer or three.
That doesn't strike me as too much to ask.
But, we do e-mail, with me fully understanding that e-mails at the month-end are not going to be answered in a reasonable amount of time. Kirby manages 200 homes. I know he is busy. Month-end is even busier.
In the past few weeks I have e-mailed Kirby a lot of questions: did the tenant on Fultondale sign another year lease? How far along is the repairs for the home in Moody? And speaking of which, how is the whole rental ordeal going for the home in Moody? Has the new wing on the home in Pinson been added? And I have a modest proposal for the tenants living in the home in Leeds. What do the tenants think of my idea?
All of these have been met by an empty e-mail in box. And, then all of the sudden Kirby wanted money for the home on Moody. I was happy to send what I owed, but it came with a small price. I wrote him, telling him I sent the check, and in return I would like an answer or three.
That doesn't strike me as too much to ask.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Today's Safety Tip
If you are a landlord, might I suggest getting a PO Box where rents and general correspondence will be sent to? This way your tenants don't know where you live if things go South. I am not saying anything will happen, but safety first. K?
Oh yes, even if wish to counter this post by proclaiming how you have some sort of fabulous direct deposit system in place, I still recommend not giving out your address to future former tenants. Just saying...
Oh yes, even if wish to counter this post by proclaiming how you have some sort of fabulous direct deposit system in place, I still recommend not giving out your address to future former tenants. Just saying...
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Empty Tank Of Gas and No Patience Left
So, this week two random people found me and wanted me to help them rent homes.
In case you are unaware of how much I hate using my real estate license for leasing homes... Never mind. It is close to the Holidays. I have a gaping hole where a dishwasher might someday again go (I really miss my dishwasher) and I can sure use the money--even if it works out to less per hour than I pay Buckaroo and Polly to wash the dishes (which is nothing).
Sam and Diane were an interesting couple. I spoke with Sam on the phone and he told me what he was looking for. The good news is he wanted Mesa. The bad news is the only places one can find homes in his price range are in neighborhoods I don't normally frequent in the daylight. And, in the event you think I am exaggerating, our first rental home was a block away from the house he and Diane fell in love with.
This ordeal bled into Friday morning at 7:45 a.m., when I met Diane at the bank parking lot near my home to exchange her application and credit check money for my smile. She and Sam had dutifully filled out the the entire application and all of the various questions such as, "is there anything that would keep us from renting to you such as a felony or eviction?" They had put "no" on both.
The other couple, Dan and Sandy, also called me about the same time this past week. They were moving here from out of state and Sandy was going to be in town for precisely 18 hours to find a home. They wanted anywhere but Mesa (they had heard how bad some of the neighborhoods are). The catch: they wanted a three month lease.
There is an expense involved with a tenant moving out. No matter how clean they may leave the home, there is turnover cost for landlords. Also, there is the cost of marketing the home and having it vacant once again. No sane landlord ever takes three month leases. And if they are desperate to do so, it is for a serious premium.
So, Friday afternoon, Sandy shows up with her mother--bless her heart. I am sure her mother is a lovely person. Her mother has never lived in Arizona, also just flew in for this excursion, is a self-professed negotiating maven and doesn't really have any interest in social graces. Momma was careful to let me know how things would be going down with her daughter's home hunting adventure--completely bypassing the me and reality of the East Valley rental market.
Given that I found precisely four landlords in a metropolitan area of two million who were desperate enough to buy my sales pitch about three month leases ("This way you will have a tenant through the Holidays!"), I didn't think there was much hope in securing a home for Sandy. Plus, three of these homes were in Arizona's second (or third, depending upon who you ask) largest city: Mesa.
It was the third home Sandy fell in love with. It was in the Mesa. It was cute. There was no negotiating price or terms. Sandy filled out the application, we sent it to Dan back at home for him to sign and we waited.
Meanwhile, back to Sam and Diane... Sadly, their credit check did not agree with them, there was an eviction reported. And, when I called them Friday afternoon to tell them there seems to be a bump in the road, and perhaps we could get to the bottom of this whole eviction thing, as it was certainly an error? Sam's answer was to fly off the handle, jump in his car and let the poor leasing agent at the apartment he used to live at hear how they have messed with his life by falsely filing an eviction against him.
Of course, I only heard snippets--all from Sam, who was very proud of his actions. The challenge was, he needed these folks at his former apartment to fix this error, and they weren't inclined to jump through any major hoops at 4:17 p.m. on a Friday after he had just read them the riot act. Go figure?
At the same time I was fielding calls from the property management company handling Sam and Diane, I was also politely chatting with Sandy and trying to stay on Momma's good side, while waiting for Dan to return the lease application. At one point, I just looked Sandy in the eye and said, "You've never had an eviction, right?" Sandy seemed somewhat shocked anyone would think such a thing.
The long and the short of this is Sandy and Dan were approved in mere hours. It was the easiest $1.28 per hour I ever made. Sam and Diane are enraged and don't know what to do. Hopefully they can channel their energies to stay out of jail long enough to find a home. At this time they are out of people to abuse, as it is the weekend and the property manager who has their application won't be available until Monday to field their calls.
I know what to do: get busy enough selling homes to fix our undercapitalized issues so that I can finally retire from rentals. I'm thinking these tenants are crazy.
Anyway, I had nothing but time and a full tank of gas this past week as I agreed to show homes.
Sam and Diane were an interesting couple. I spoke with Sam on the phone and he told me what he was looking for. The good news is he wanted Mesa. The bad news is the only places one can find homes in his price range are in neighborhoods I don't normally frequent in the daylight. And, in the event you think I am exaggerating, our first rental home was a block away from the house he and Diane fell in love with.
This ordeal bled into Friday morning at 7:45 a.m., when I met Diane at the bank parking lot near my home to exchange her application and credit check money for my smile. She and Sam had dutifully filled out the the entire application and all of the various questions such as, "is there anything that would keep us from renting to you such as a felony or eviction?" They had put "no" on both.
The other couple, Dan and Sandy, also called me about the same time this past week. They were moving here from out of state and Sandy was going to be in town for precisely 18 hours to find a home. They wanted anywhere but Mesa (they had heard how bad some of the neighborhoods are). The catch: they wanted a three month lease.
There is an expense involved with a tenant moving out. No matter how clean they may leave the home, there is turnover cost for landlords. Also, there is the cost of marketing the home and having it vacant once again. No sane landlord ever takes three month leases. And if they are desperate to do so, it is for a serious premium.
So, Friday afternoon, Sandy shows up with her mother--bless her heart. I am sure her mother is a lovely person. Her mother has never lived in Arizona, also just flew in for this excursion, is a self-professed negotiating maven and doesn't really have any interest in social graces. Momma was careful to let me know how things would be going down with her daughter's home hunting adventure--completely bypassing the me and reality of the East Valley rental market.
Given that I found precisely four landlords in a metropolitan area of two million who were desperate enough to buy my sales pitch about three month leases ("This way you will have a tenant through the Holidays!"), I didn't think there was much hope in securing a home for Sandy. Plus, three of these homes were in Arizona's second (or third, depending upon who you ask) largest city: Mesa.
It was the third home Sandy fell in love with. It was in the Mesa. It was cute. There was no negotiating price or terms. Sandy filled out the application, we sent it to Dan back at home for him to sign and we waited.
Meanwhile, back to Sam and Diane... Sadly, their credit check did not agree with them, there was an eviction reported. And, when I called them Friday afternoon to tell them there seems to be a bump in the road, and perhaps we could get to the bottom of this whole eviction thing, as it was certainly an error? Sam's answer was to fly off the handle, jump in his car and let the poor leasing agent at the apartment he used to live at hear how they have messed with his life by falsely filing an eviction against him.
Of course, I only heard snippets--all from Sam, who was very proud of his actions. The challenge was, he needed these folks at his former apartment to fix this error, and they weren't inclined to jump through any major hoops at 4:17 p.m. on a Friday after he had just read them the riot act. Go figure?
At the same time I was fielding calls from the property management company handling Sam and Diane, I was also politely chatting with Sandy and trying to stay on Momma's good side, while waiting for Dan to return the lease application. At one point, I just looked Sandy in the eye and said, "You've never had an eviction, right?" Sandy seemed somewhat shocked anyone would think such a thing.
The long and the short of this is Sandy and Dan were approved in mere hours. It was the easiest $1.28 per hour I ever made. Sam and Diane are enraged and don't know what to do. Hopefully they can channel their energies to stay out of jail long enough to find a home. At this time they are out of people to abuse, as it is the weekend and the property manager who has their application won't be available until Monday to field their calls.
I know what to do: get busy enough selling homes to fix our undercapitalized issues so that I can finally retire from rentals. I'm thinking these tenants are crazy.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Random Spam--Head in the Sand Edition
Oh, you know you've made it big in the blogosphere when you get random spam comments that aren't about body parts or the medications they are supposed to support.
Here's my latest. It sure beats telling you about the humongous bill Kirby sent me to get my home in Moody cleaned up. I dare Ms. Kathy to call me. I double dare her.
"Your furnishings, utilize a little bit of duct tape to elevate and eliminate these. It is really tough to picture that."
"I really fondness for the matter you shared. Thank you pro rearrangement."
Here's my latest. It sure beats telling you about the humongous bill Kirby sent me to get my home in Moody cleaned up. I dare Ms. Kathy to call me. I double dare her.
"Your furnishings, utilize a little bit of duct tape to elevate and eliminate these. It is really tough to picture that."
"I really fondness for the matter you shared. Thank you pro rearrangement."
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
A Small Kindness
Attorney Flip sweetly sent me a newspaper article about the Late Attorney Jon's family. It is an old story, written several years ago, but it shed some light on the Late Attorney Jon's life. Just when I thought I was putting Jon's death behind me, this stirred up new emotions.
I am sure the Late Attorney Jon would not have defined our relationship as "friends." We were friendly and I would go as far as to say there was a fondness between us. He did non-legal counsel things like setting up up introductions to the likes of Jack--who is now my business partner--and Legal Eagle. Back when we had a very different economy, the Late Attorney Jon helped me get in front of a big-time SEC lawyer and he was crucial in assisting me in fine-tuning the business plan we were promoting. So, though we weren't friends, per se, the Late Attorney Jon went out of his way to make me feel welcome in the South.
For that, I will always be grateful.
However, I have struggled with my right to grieve about Attorney Jon's death. I doubt he would have felt this way about my death if the situation were reversed. But, I do grieve. I think when one leaves this life the way Jon did, there are always unanswered questions for those who are left behind. I think of Mrs. Late Attorney Jon and their daughters and hope they find a way to be whole again. I think of Jack, the Late Attorney Jon's friend of 30+ years and hope he and the very dear Mrs. Jack are coping.
When I was in Birmingham this summer, Jack and Mrs. Jack talked with me about the Late Attorney Jon. At the time, I didn't want to share. I was specifically in Birmingham to take care of some business Jon didn't finish and I found it to be a slippery slope to discuss such things with Jack, as there was no way to do so without suggesting Attorney Jon had dropped the ball on me--big time (and I prefer not to think about the fact that the Late Attorney Jon was remiss with my files).
When I met with Flip last summer, I pointed out that the rest of those in Birmingham who knew Jon had already been given a chance to grieve together. For almost a year, they were able to share stories, smile and cry all in Jon's name. I was all by myself in Arizona. There was nobody for me to share stories, smile and cry with (Though they spoke on the phone once or twice, Marty Sunshine never physically met the Late Attorney Jon.).
In many ways, my trip last summer was to help me deal with my grief. It wasn't intended to be that way, it just happened. One of the more bizarre events that occurred was that I accidentally found Jon's final resting place while I was driving around Birmingham. As I was flying back to Phoenix after that trip, I got a lump in my throat and shed a few tears, probably for the first time in Jon's honor. And though I must have been quite a sight on the plane, I didn't care. The wave of emotions were released.
The article Flip kindly sent me was insightful. It gave me some idea of what kinds of challenges Jon had as a young adult. And in some ways, just the fact that Flip sent it to me, made me feel like I am not grieving alone any more.
I am sure the Late Attorney Jon would not have defined our relationship as "friends." We were friendly and I would go as far as to say there was a fondness between us. He did non-legal counsel things like setting up up introductions to the likes of Jack--who is now my business partner--and Legal Eagle. Back when we had a very different economy, the Late Attorney Jon helped me get in front of a big-time SEC lawyer and he was crucial in assisting me in fine-tuning the business plan we were promoting. So, though we weren't friends, per se, the Late Attorney Jon went out of his way to make me feel welcome in the South.
For that, I will always be grateful.
However, I have struggled with my right to grieve about Attorney Jon's death. I doubt he would have felt this way about my death if the situation were reversed. But, I do grieve. I think when one leaves this life the way Jon did, there are always unanswered questions for those who are left behind. I think of Mrs. Late Attorney Jon and their daughters and hope they find a way to be whole again. I think of Jack, the Late Attorney Jon's friend of 30+ years and hope he and the very dear Mrs. Jack are coping.
When I was in Birmingham this summer, Jack and Mrs. Jack talked with me about the Late Attorney Jon. At the time, I didn't want to share. I was specifically in Birmingham to take care of some business Jon didn't finish and I found it to be a slippery slope to discuss such things with Jack, as there was no way to do so without suggesting Attorney Jon had dropped the ball on me--big time (and I prefer not to think about the fact that the Late Attorney Jon was remiss with my files).
When I met with Flip last summer, I pointed out that the rest of those in Birmingham who knew Jon had already been given a chance to grieve together. For almost a year, they were able to share stories, smile and cry all in Jon's name. I was all by myself in Arizona. There was nobody for me to share stories, smile and cry with (Though they spoke on the phone once or twice, Marty Sunshine never physically met the Late Attorney Jon.).
In many ways, my trip last summer was to help me deal with my grief. It wasn't intended to be that way, it just happened. One of the more bizarre events that occurred was that I accidentally found Jon's final resting place while I was driving around Birmingham. As I was flying back to Phoenix after that trip, I got a lump in my throat and shed a few tears, probably for the first time in Jon's honor. And though I must have been quite a sight on the plane, I didn't care. The wave of emotions were released.
The article Flip kindly sent me was insightful. It gave me some idea of what kinds of challenges Jon had as a young adult. And in some ways, just the fact that Flip sent it to me, made me feel like I am not grieving alone any more.
Monday, October 01, 2012
The Guard Dog
Ms. Kathy frantically called me yesterday. She wanted to tell me someone was breaking into my home--she could see it all the way from her sister's house next door.
And what should she do?
Of course, when she called, I saw it was her and let her message go to voice mail. So, after I heard what she had to say I instantly called back and asked her to call the police if someone was breaking in.
When I pressed further, I found out that the home probably wasn't really being broken into. What was really happening was presumably that some real estate agent was showing the home and Ms. Kathy (or her sister) didn't like the looks of the man, mentioning several times to me the man in question didn't "speak English." Ms. Kathy made some sort of comment about how her sister didn't want undesirable people living next door to her and one can never be too careful.
Ain't that the truth! Who would want paying, law abiding citizens living next door, keeping up the property and paying the rent on time?! Speaking of which, Ms. Kathy also mentioned she hadn't "gotten around" to mowing the lawn before she left. I guess the two and a half months of living there for free was too taxing for her.
But the real reason for Ms. Kathy's call was to tell me Carolsue wasn't very nice to her last week. I am not sure what I am supposed to do with this knowledge. When Carolsue talked to Ms. Kathy last week, she was a heck of a lot more charitable than I was at that particular moment. And, more to the point, Carolsue is a lot scarier and Ms. Kathy took her seriously. Ms. Kathy certainly wasn't taking me seriously. However, I didn't share all this with Ms. Kathy. Instead, I gave her a dull "uh-huh," as there wasn't much else to say. Carolsue was effective; Ms. Kathy moved out. (Thank you Carolsue.)
Which brings me to Part B of Ms. Kathy's agenda, she innocently asked why exactly she had to move last weekend if I haven't rented out the home just yet?
I truly did not want to go into great details about how Ms. Kathy is stealing from me by living in my home for free. Instead, I changed the subject, mentioning the apartment complex called asking for a reference, and would she be moving this week to her new home? I never did get a straight answer from Ms. Kathy on that one. She said something about the apartment complex needing more "documentation" and left it at that. I'm guessing there is much more to that story--but I may never find out.
In the mean-time, I need to play nice with Ms. Kathy. She lives next door, and apparently is planning on defending my honor by driving off anyone she doesn't feel looks desirable.
And what should she do?
Of course, when she called, I saw it was her and let her message go to voice mail. So, after I heard what she had to say I instantly called back and asked her to call the police if someone was breaking in.
When I pressed further, I found out that the home probably wasn't really being broken into. What was really happening was presumably that some real estate agent was showing the home and Ms. Kathy (or her sister) didn't like the looks of the man, mentioning several times to me the man in question didn't "speak English." Ms. Kathy made some sort of comment about how her sister didn't want undesirable people living next door to her and one can never be too careful.
Ain't that the truth! Who would want paying, law abiding citizens living next door, keeping up the property and paying the rent on time?! Speaking of which, Ms. Kathy also mentioned she hadn't "gotten around" to mowing the lawn before she left. I guess the two and a half months of living there for free was too taxing for her.
But the real reason for Ms. Kathy's call was to tell me Carolsue wasn't very nice to her last week. I am not sure what I am supposed to do with this knowledge. When Carolsue talked to Ms. Kathy last week, she was a heck of a lot more charitable than I was at that particular moment. And, more to the point, Carolsue is a lot scarier and Ms. Kathy took her seriously. Ms. Kathy certainly wasn't taking me seriously. However, I didn't share all this with Ms. Kathy. Instead, I gave her a dull "uh-huh," as there wasn't much else to say. Carolsue was effective; Ms. Kathy moved out. (Thank you Carolsue.)
Which brings me to Part B of Ms. Kathy's agenda, she innocently asked why exactly she had to move last weekend if I haven't rented out the home just yet?
I truly did not want to go into great details about how Ms. Kathy is stealing from me by living in my home for free. Instead, I changed the subject, mentioning the apartment complex called asking for a reference, and would she be moving this week to her new home? I never did get a straight answer from Ms. Kathy on that one. She said something about the apartment complex needing more "documentation" and left it at that. I'm guessing there is much more to that story--but I may never find out.
In the mean-time, I need to play nice with Ms. Kathy. She lives next door, and apparently is planning on defending my honor by driving off anyone she doesn't feel looks desirable.
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