Rookie Landlord

[BigV]

Whoops, wrong button.

I am very grateful for the work my brother, B, has done. Lots of boxing shit up, lots of landscaping, he was the brains behind the repair of the wall in the bathroom. Lots more too. Thanks B!

I've had to spent a lot of time and energy, imperative, really, being a plumber. Fuck. Lots, lots of snaking about, rebuilt the drain under the kitchen sink, new basket, just... God.

Last night I installed the two lights, GFCI outlet, and switch in the bathroom. It worked and nobody died. I did have to turn the switch over so toggle up turned the lights on. Hey, I had a 50 / 50 chance.

Have enlisted BelovedDaughter to come get her stuff, her stuff that reminds her of her mom, and generally help. I'm happy for her help.

SonofV told me he got a job as a dishwasher. Wonderful. But it only paid 11/hr. And was only 4-10 hours per week, and 20 miles away and no car, so, bus ride over the lake. *sigh*

A few days later, he announced he got on with the local supermarket / general merchandise chain, 14/hr.,20 hrs week to start, moving rapidly to 40hrs, and it's a ten minute walk from the house. And as freight clerk, his shift is from 1200 am to 800 am. That is *perfect* for him, he's probably part vampire.

Well, we're docking now, more later.

[BigV]

Minimal plumbing work this weekend, only replaced one valve cartridge and repaired another. I have to make and install a backing surface behind the escutcheons to hide the ugly broken-ass holes behind them.

Much more packing this weekend, and three 700-800 pound trips to the dump using nephew's 1973 F-350. This last week has had record breaking heat. Never before has the Seattle area had two days in a row of 80 degrees or higher, this week we had three or four. And highs nearly 90 degrees.

The day I have to carry trash to the truck--steady rain, except when it was hailing. Thanks.

Anyhow, I have a LOT more yard now, and importantly, more space. Including mental space. Seeing that mountain of trash bags and yard waste and fucking junk really blocked my ability to see beyond it. I'm relieved to be able to *see* the next phase of work.

Which really is getting lined up with a storage unit outfit. I have many many boxes of belongings that B has boxed for me. Those neat-ish stacks have got to go.i

[classicman]

Good Job V. keep at it. By the time you're done - you'll want to keep the place.

[BigV]

Thanks man. I want to keep it now, I just don't want to live in it or pay for it. The last zillow check showed a value of, and I'm glad I was sitting down when I learned this, $597k, and deals in this area commonly turning out multiple cash offers, waiving all contingencies, and the winner paying $100k over asking price. W. T. F.

In other news, yesterday I did find a storage unit I like. $403/month for a 15x15 with probably 9-10 ft ceiling, drive up outdoor access. It's about five miles from the house, and the prospect of continuously processing the stuff in the boxes to reduce the size unit I need, they let me change units for a ten dollar transfer fee, and my rent just gets pro rated for the new unit. I fully expect my storage costs to decline, hopefully to zero.

I need the storage unit NOW because of the impending move in. But I don't think I'll need to keep anything I won't be able to just live with wherever I'm living.

My goal is to have the upstairs of the house three bedrooms, kitchen dining room, living room, bathroom, three, no, six closets EMPTY by this Sunday.

[glatt]

Selling it would be a hell of a lot easier than renting it out.

Great job on the progress.

[BigV]

Thanks glatt. What you say is true, it's a gross understatement. But like I said, I do want to keep it. And both paths still require work, even the shit work of "moving". So, I'm not reducing my immediate workload.

We'll see how this renting deal works out. At the moment, I don't see much profit. No loss, just about break even, not counting the equity gain for me.

Ultimately, I'd like to have it become a income generating going concern. That's not a stretch, lots and lots of examples here and everywhere of doing this successfully. The hardest part, I imagine, is this period. The first time, and the startup. Like I said, I'm a rookie. I'm almost certainly doing things, maybe most things, the hard way.

[Gravdigr]

storage unit...$403/month for a 15x15

[fuckingastounded]JFC!!!!!!!!!!!![/fuckingastounded]

Occasionally, I'm reminded why I'm happy to live where I live.

[BigV]

My credit card agreed with you, then quit. I hope like hell I can coast across this finish line on a cash basis.

I paid the coming month with cash, made two trips to the storage unit after work, finished the night with boxing up more stuff.

SonofV got a call from new gig and was asked if he was willing / interested in coming in a week earlier. He said YES. He's stoked, I'm stoked.

Sister has officially moved out. There's still some dressers, bookcases, chairs, desk, etc still in the room, but it's clean and in good condition. Minor touch up painting needed, have to patch a hole in the wall in the closet used for access to the bathroom tub shower faucet /pipes. I had to cut a hole in the wall years ago when I replaced the faucets.

Still need to find the title to the Cadillac so they'll tow it away. I have a tank of gas and sixteen more rides left on my ferry ticket. Have cancelled trave plans for this weekend (made long before the rental plan, Christmas gift), coworker has volunteered to come over this weekend to help move shit.


I can catch another ten minutes of rest if I start now, so....


Zzzzzzzz

[BigV]

Overslept and missed my ferry today. I'll be about fifteen minutes late to work.

Shit.

[classicman]

How is the house coming along?

[BigV]

Got a message from renters indicating the washer quit working.

Headed over there today to try to isolate the problem. I'm certain I won't be able to fix it today because the appliance parts store I use is closed on Sundays.

I suspect that the belt has broken. The motor makes motor sounds, the machine pumps water out, sporadically. But it won't spin. So, belt or clutch. Each seems pretty easy, but not the same repair, obviously.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by classicman

How is the house coming along?

Renters moved in on 01 June 2016. Each month's rent has been paid in full, right on time. We've agreed to electronic payments and so far that's working out fine.

[BigV]

SonofV and I worked on getting the washer working, we worked for hours. We identified the faulty part but could not free the washtub from the rearmost suspension rods. Impossible access.

Fuck. That. Shit.

OK, Google, find me a used washing machine. Which, it did. $20 later, and a fair bit of grunting and straining, we got it transported across town and installed, tested and working.

We cleaned up our mess, but, unfortunately, it was too late to take the carcass of the old one to the dump. It's in the (fenced) backyard, and we'll come take it to the dump next weekend. I might scavenge the motor before I heave it into the metal recycling bin.

[elSicomoro]

So if I'm reading this thread correctly, V, you have non-relatives now renting your place?

[Snakeadelic]

BigV, I've been in the same apartment for coming up nine years the middle of this October.

If you don't use a property manager to screen tenants, here is my advice:

1. Get and check rental references. If they're youngsters without a solid history, get and check character references as allowed by local landlord-tenant laws.

2. DO NOT allow subletting. Ever. Look up AirBnB horror stories to learn why.

3. Consider pets carefully! A well-behaved dog or cat is no big deal...but if someone has 3 enormous dogs, you can probably kiss any fancy landscaping goodbye. If someone has more than maybe 3 cats, odds are there will be litterbox usage failures (a/k/a the "Say It With Pee" school of communication). Medium and large parrots are extremely loud and can be astonishingly destructive. Even cage/tank pets should be considered carefully; rodents can get loose and wreak havoc on wiring. Fish tanks that aren't properly assembled & maintained can start fires or break and ruin carpets and the flooring under them--I'm allowed to have my small snakes without a pet deposit, but the complex does not allow birds or any size of fish tank at all and requires a pet deposit on rodents last I checked. I could get evicted if I got caught with a betta in a nano-tank on my computer desk!

4. Be especially careful to check references and stories and such during the summer! Families with kids often won't move during a school year. Also, be careful about how many kids vs. how many rooms--many states have laws establishing at what age mixed-gender kids can no longer share a room. When I lived in Seattle-ish years ago, when one kid hit 5 they could no longer share a room with a sibling of the other gender. And kids can be every bit as destructive as pets, but you'll get NO sympathy evicting a family with little kids no matter the damage they do to the property.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.