The excellent, the normal, and the terrible. Two weeks ago, I saw them all.
I’d like to share the harrowing story. It’s a story of triumph, resilience, and late-night burritos. A story that immersed three days of my life — and is now over, chapter closed, with nothing else needed for at least another year.
It’s the story of three rental units:
- One that’s excellent
- One that’s normal
- One that’s everybody’s worst nightmare
Let’s start with the horror story first.
________________________
Imagine this:
It’s May 31st. Your tenant is moving out of one of your rental properties. Your new tenant moves in tomorrow. You’ve got 24 hours to fix any problems.
And the place is a dump. Like — a stinky, uninhabitable dump.
What do you do?
… You take command of the situation, remind yourself that you’re a badass, and create a TV-worthy total home makeover in 24 hours. Duh.
_____________________
Here’s the backstory:
I’m back in Atlanta, overseeing the turnover of two rental units. (We have property managers for our lower-end units, and self-manage the higher-end units.)
This is my first rental property-related trip to Atlanta in three years. Seeing the properties again, after a three-year separation, fills me with incredible nostalgia. These properties were a huge part of my life. I talk about them all the time, but I haven’t seen them in years. It’s surreal to walk through them again. To step inside. To smell them. It feels strange to reunite.
But I couldn’t revel in nostalgia for too long. There was work to be done.
So it’s May 31st and I’m managing two turnovers on the same day. These are both for properties with long-term tenants. One set of tenants, a group of medical students, had lived in the unit for three years. They moved out because they were starting their residency in various far-flung states. They left the home in normal, ordinary condition. Here are a few photos:
Remember when I said I’d tell you a story of three rental units — one excellent, one normal, and one terrible? This is a normal turnover. This is how our units are usually returned to us. This is expected. This is average. This is boring. This is the norm.
But it’s not the end of the story.
I oversaw another turnover, in a different home, on the same day. This home was occupied by a tenant who had lived in the unit for two years. He had a great credit score and steady income. He paid rent early. He was an accountant.
But he had made a terrible mistake. He allowed someone to sublet the home, without approval. And his subletter trashed the place. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:
Yeah. That happened.
We don’t allow subletting, but our tenant broke the rules. The subletter trashed the place, and the tenant — who is on the lease — is responsible for the damage.
I could tell the tenant felt guilty. He didn’t realize the extent of the subletter’s damage until the morning of move-out. I could hear the stress and pain in his voice. I felt sorry for him. I reassured him that there were no hard feelings; this wasn’t personal.
Now it was time to hustle.
________________
So it’s May 31st, I have new tenants moving in the next day, and the place is an abominable s**thole. The home smelled like a sewage plant had vomited into an abandoned greenhouse. Ugh. And I’m standing there thinking, “Ohhh, this is the “what if” worst-case scenario that scares others from investing!”
Then I sprang into action.
First, I called my contractor, whom I’ve worked with for years.
“Dude, it’s an emergency,” I told him, after texting him a few photos. He showed up immediately with a crew. Together, we triaged the situation. The most important tasks were:
- Patch drywall holes
- Remove/replace stinky carpet and padding
- Paint the whole house
- Clean, clean, clean
Two guys on the crew started drywall patching, sanding, and painting the house, covering everything with a 5-gallon bucket of beige. One other guy started ripping out carpet. The head contractor and I went to Lowe’s to pick up the cheapest carpet and padding they carried.
I brought the crew dinner at around 9 pm. We sat on the bare floor, eating together as a team. We were connected. And we were going to power through.
The crew painted until 1 a.m. When they finished, the walls looked gorgeous. The transformation was stunning. The head contractor drove home, napped for a few hours, then showed up at 7 a.m. to keep working. By noon, he’d finished re-carpeting every bedroom. By 3 pm, he’d finished trash/debris haul-off and cleaning. We were ready to check in the new tenant by 4 pm.
We had done it. We pulled off a paint-and-carpet renovation in 24 hours. BOOM. By the time the new tenants arrived, the place looked amazing.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:
I haven’t received the final invoice from my contractor yet, but I’m guessing this cost around $4,000, rough ballpark. (It would’ve been cheaper if it wasn’t an emergency.) The tenant’s security deposit covers around half the cost, and his early termination fee covers roughly the other half. We may end up out-of-pocket, but only by $1,000-ish or so.
_____________________
That may sound like a long story, but it only occupied 24 hours of my life. Afterwards, though, I started to get nervous. How are my other properties doing?
I decided to initiate a surprise visit.
I sent an email to my property manager, who oversees the lower-end rentals.
“Hey there!,” I wrote to her. “I’m in Atlanta for a few days, and I’d like to do an owner walk-thru of [addresses here]. There’s no specific purpose behind this walk-thru. I just want to see the place once every few years.”
Because I’d given her short notice, she could only arrange a tour of one property. Fortunately, it was the lowest-end property — House #2 — which we purchased for $21,000 and invested $10,000 getting it rent-ready for the first tenant. It’s outside the metro area, in a place that could more accurately be described as “Georgia,” rather than “Atlanta.”
I felt nervous as I drove there. What condition would this property be in?
The answer, it turns out, is AMAZING. Holy moly. The tenants keep this house in fantastic condition. They treat it better than I would. Here, I’ll let the photos tell the story:
“Wow,” I told the property manager, as we left the house. “Keep these tenants forever, please.” She nodded in agreement.
___________________
That’s my tale of three rental units — one that’s enjoying the benefits of excellent tenants, one that was returned in normal condition, and one that experienced the scale of disaster that scares would-be investors away.
And I experienced it all over the span of about three days.
Here’s a YouTube video of myself telling the story:
(Note: You can watch the video at 1.5x or 2x speed. Click on the “settings” icon at the bottom-right corner of the YouTube video to adjust the speed.)
____________________
It feels fitting that I offer three lessons from this TV-worthy escapade:
#1: This graph says it all.
As a rental property investor, the workload is as follows:
We’ve kept the same tenants in these units for two years and three years, respectively. During that time, we’ve barely had to lift a finger.
Eventually, the tenants were ready to move on, so I processed two turnovers on the same day. One turnover was easy, and required only a few minutes of my time. The other demanded a rapid-fire remodeling effort. It was 24 hours of intense work, but it was only 24 hours. And then it was done.⠀
That’s why I love rental properties. I spent years doing almost nothing for this property. Then for 24 hours, I was immersed in it. And now, barring any major calamity, I can relax again for at least another year.⠀
#2: Don’t do anything you don’t want to do.
This experience made me pause and ask myself: “Do I want to manage these units? Or should we hire a property manager?”
We could expand our property manager’s scope of work to all 7 units. During those intense 24 hours, I contemplated that option. But then I decided, “nah.”
As I’ve written many times (and as I’ve repeated on the podcast), I’m a firm believer in analyzing properties as though you’re outsourcing everything. Err on the side of profitability. You’re buying an investment, not a job.
If I change my mind, I’ll hand all 7 units to our amazing property manager. But at the moment, we have enough flexibility and free time to handle the nicer, expensive units ourselves. And, honestly, I enjoy it. It’s sporadic, low-commitment side work with an easy escape hatch. It’s a nice break from clacking on the keyboard of a laptop.
It’s good to get tested, so I could ask myself, “is this what I want?” — and discover that the answer is yes.
#3: Take the long view.
We’ve had rental properties for 7 years, and we currently have 7 units. We’ve experienced many, many turnovers. Most have gone smoothly.
Yet humans have a negativity bias. We can have a dozen great experiences and one sour experience, and we’ll dwell on the sour experience. That’s how our brains are wired.
The key, therefore, is to take the long view. There’ll be a few bad apples in the bunch. That’s a fact of life, and in the bigger picture, it’s okay.
When I was an Airbnb host, I hosted more than 42 guests. Among these, 41 were excellent, and one was terrible.
Don’t let the extreme end of the bell curve paralyze you with fear.
If you play sports, you’ll have a few injuries. If you invest — whether in the stock market or rental properties or starting businesses — you’ll have a few failures. If you have relationships with family and friends, you’ll have a few arguments.
The key isn’t to avoid problems. It’s to manage them well.
____________
That’s my tale of three rentals: excellent, normal, and terrible. And these are three lessons that emerged. If I could distill this into one soundbite, it’s this:
Relax.
You’re resilient. You’re the boss. You can handle it.
Smile. Go forth and invest.
**************
Take action!
- Track your net worth.
- Earn more! Start a blog in 5 minutes.
- Travel the world for free. See my favorite cards for free airfare.
Learn How To Escape the 9-5
Get free updates on building wealth and living to the fullest.
Zero spam.
it’s good to know people with kids (your amazing tenant) can be so meticulous and neat. I have only ever sublet my spare bedroom to single professional women with no pets and don’t smoke… (kinda like your “perfect” accountant tenant). Eye opening that could also go wrong if you don’t keep a close tab on them. thanks for the share. and it’s great to know you have a wonderful team to do amazing turnarounds.
Hi Paula,
I just want to let you know, even your ‘disasters’ are hardly worth worrying about. I just had to spend about 20 grand to get one of my properties back to habitable condition! Had a tenant there for 6 years, house needed to be re-leveled (badly). Company that leveled the house when I bought it refused to honor their guarantee, so cost me $15,000 to hire someone else. Then had to fix all the broken plumbing from the leveling job. This is not the first time house levelers have refused to honor their guarantees and cost me a fortune. Apparently the ground shifts a lot here in TX. I have no idea what I can do about it other than TRY to find a company that will actually honor their guarantee! So far, I’ve gone through 4 of them who did not!
Then I still had to fix leaky roof, then termite damage (when I pay exterminators for yearly checkups where they’re supposed to keep this from happening), then all new flooring. Painting and carpet was the least of my expense! I painted it myself, cost about $1700 for entire house to be redone with new carpet and linoleum in kitchen and bathroom.
Even when I have this sort of disaster, I’m still in favor of investing in rental real estate. I’ve spent my life working hard (offshore) and never been out of work for longer than a month or two. Since the price of oil dropped in 2014, I have not been able to find work. Nothing. My rentals have saved me. Barely able to survive on my savings, and no help from unemployment or anything else. Paid in for over 30 years but “ineligible” because my last job for just over a year was with a foreign company! Just enough income from rentals to pay the bills. They’re still keeping my head above water. It’s been close to 3 years I’ve been out of work now.
My properties are almost all very low end (I do have one beach house on the higher end). I’m curious what differentiates your high and low end properties, from your photos, they all look pretty nice.
“I have not been able to find work. Nothing. My rentals have saved me. ”
Wow. I’m happy to hear that your rentals have saved you — and your statement is a PERFECT example of the power of financial independence and passive income. Once you’re not dependent on a paycheck from an employer, you’re in a rare, valuable, less-stressful, much-stronger position.
There are so many people who are new to this type of thinking who say things like, “What’s the point of passive income? Just to hang out on the beach all day?” — and now I can point to your comment and say, “No. Actually, it might save you if you find yourself unexpectedly out-of-work.”
So thank you for sharing your story!! 🙂
As to the difference between my Class A vs. Class C properties, it’s all about the neighborhood. The Class C property that’s shown in this article, believe it or not, is located in a Section 8 neighborhood. We’ve made it look nice, though, and I think that’s helped us find such a fantastic tenant. 🙂
Hi Jill, the soil in Texas is very loamy. It expands significantly when wet and contracts more so when dry. You need to water your foundation regularly during dry months to keep the foundation from cracking. Grew up in Dallas in a pier and beam house (really, the only types of homes they should build in Dallas area), so we didn’t have to worry about the cracking foundation, but my dad later moved to a cement slab house and had to water the foundation on a regular basis. Sounds ridiculous I know, but it saved the house. best of luck on your rentals!
I wouldn’t be able to fix anything in 24 hours! A week, at least.
Paula, can you hold the tenant liable for the damage, or is the $1k you’re out of pocket just the cost of doing business?
I could go after him for the full amount, but that’s just not worth my time.
I’d rather create an extra podcast episode, or do 1-2 more mentoring/coaching calls, than try to chase him for such a small amount. That would be much more enjoyable effort, for the same amount of money.
Outsource it.
Hand it over to your attorney and or property manager depending on the laws of your state and let them bill their rate for collections.
Heck I am sure someone would split the $1,000 50/50.
If nothing else send your tenant a bill and see if they pay it.
Hard learned lesson for the tenant probably but I love how gracious you handled everything.
Thank you for sharing this story, along with all the pictures. Very useful for aspiring real estate investors.
I have been debating whether to buy rental properties ever since I met you and Will at Camp Mustache 2016. I haven’t taken the leap due to a combination of analysis paralysis, and fear that rental properties are more than I can handle on top of my young daughter and my full-time job.
In the meantime, I continue to invest in index funds.
Thank you again for all the great content and inspiration.
I tried the next day turn over and it was a sh*t show. Never again. I decided I’d rather have a vacancy and lose some income then go through that madness again. I think as long as I continue to adjust how I want to manage, and give a little slack on maximizing ROI, then I’ll be less stressed going forward. Took me awhile to realize we all have different management styles and that I need to do what works for me. Impressive 24hr turnover!
I totally understand that!
I’ve also learned (slowly, over the years) that if you cut yourself slack on maximizing ROI, you can reduce your stress levels by 1000% and still have “great but not perfect” returns. 🙂
Hey great article, thanks for sharing!
Just curious, what ROI rate are you after?
I look for a minimum capitalization rate (cap rate) of at least 8 percent in Class C properties and 6 percent in Class A properties.
Note that’s not the total return, that’s just the cap rate portion of the return (analogous to the dividend).
https://affordanything.com/income-property/
I look for a minimum capitalization rate (cap rate) of 8 percent in Class C properties and 6 percent in Class A properties.
Note that’s not the total return. That’s just the cap rate portion of the return (analogous to the dividend or income stream on a stock.)
Why do you bother with the headache of Class C? Extra 2% worth it? Honestly curious what makes it worth your while.
Haha — that’s an excellent question!
The reason is because I can buy Class C properties in cash, because they’re lower-price (even today, many Class C properties in the Midwest and South sell for around $50,000). And I’d rather buy a property in cash, if possible, than take out another loan.
That said, I’m not opposed to mortgages (and I have several) — but I aim those at Class A / multiunits, and I like to use them sparingly. 🙂
Yeah, we do 7 day turnovers now. Less stress.
Nice recap and hustle, Paula!
I was totally on the bandwagon of buying rental properties when I was starting and it is the best way to get started. Its not much work but if you do the math $300 of cashflow per property you realize that its just not scalable. It is a lot of work to do 30 (I had 11 SFH rentals).
I switched to more of being a limited partner in apartment syndications and although the returns are not as good… completely headache free.
Great read Paula. Definitely goes to show the value of having a great relationship with your contractor.
Dear Paula,
Enjoyed the tale. Have a question. It seems from your description the low income, low rent folks took superb care of your property. The med school students were normal and the high credit score accountant broke the rules and the place was trashed. Seeing the discrepancy between assumed capacity and actual outcome, would you reward the low income folks in some way for taking stunning care of your property? Maybe an upgrade, or a half price month at Christmas?
I ask because I see this often– high credit wealthy trash a place, low income take great care of it. Your thoughts?
Most definitely — I reward ALL good tenants (regardless of income/dwelling) by offering them incentives to stay.
My incentive is to keep them happy for as long as possible, so that they’ll remain in the home. If they’re happy and stay long-term, then I’m happy, and that’s a win-win.
Normal incentives that I offer are:
– upgrades to the home (I ask the tenant to tell me what improvements they’d like, and if it’s reasonable, I’ll make the upgrade)
– “freezing” their rent (I’ll lock-in the same rent for several years, rather than escalating the rent for inflation)
I just did this a few weeks ago, to keep a tenant whose lease was expiring at the end of June/beginning of July. I wanted to give him an incentive to renew, so I asked him to make the first offer. “What would you like to see? What would make this good for you?”
The tenant asked to keep the same rent (no escalation) and additional yard work services. Of course I agreed! That’s a win-win.
____
I respectfully disagree with your statement that “high credit wealthy trash a place.” I have never seen that happen, except for this one isolated incident.
I also think it’s wrong to make generalizations about people based on socioeconomic class, which includes negative comments about the “wealthy” (as well as negative comments about ANY socioeconomic class.)
I live in Atlanta and would love to get some hands-on real estate investing action under my belt, so if you ever need a hand with any of your units here I would love to help!
I wish my bad turnover looked that good and took only 24 hrs to fix. I feel I should send photos of the damage – had to call in the water remediation guys to replace the leaking shower and replace the floors from it going unreported for years. Crayon all over the walls (nearly impossible to paint over). Bath tubs that had to be cleaned with a scrubber attachment for my drill and 4 bottles of cleaner. So many tears. But I took my kids there and used it to explain why we clean our house every weekend and we got to experiment with new stainless steel vanities that ought to be bulletproof. So maybe it was for the best. 😉
Thanks Paula, this is a good reminder for me of how there’s always a solution to a problem, just have to be awesome and find it. My property manager has been sort of a shield from stress. Way worth it. They’re in contact with vendors and contractors if we need them, and all I need to answer is yes or no. Is that how you run your other rentals? I’ve never posted before but I’ve been listening to your podcasts! woohoo
Yes, you described it correctly!
In my other rentals, the property manager is a “shield” from contractors and vendors. The PM deals directly with all contractors, and all I need to do is authorize decisions at the high-level.
Glad you enjoy the podcasts! Welcome to posting on the blog! 🙂
I am just impressed with how you handled this scenario. I love your attitude on this all, and it makes me think maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to get into real estate. Every situation will have its ups and downs, and it is how you handle them that makes a difference. Thanks for being a great example!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Hi Paula-
Loved reading your story today as I am a landlord similar to you (30yrs – 6 units) & you are right on the $ regarding tenants, turnover & the occasional bad apple. Sure, sometimes turnover is a pain but the rewards FAR outway any issues with rentals.
I never made much $ while working a traditional job (in retail) but over the years we bought the rentals and retired at 55 and the rentals now pay all the monthly bills.
Keep up the great work!
-Dave
“the rewards FAR outway any issues”
Exactly! This is the idea that I keep trying to communicate to people when they’re like, “But what if? what if? what if?”
And I’m like, “What if you’re stuck working a low-wage job until you’re 70?! See how rentals can get you out of that situation?!”
Glad you found rentals as a path to early retirement!! 🙂 🙂
I’ve always been terrified of home ownership (sorry Paula!), but I loved how this made a crappy scenario seem not that bad!
Also hadn’t realized that one of your homes was ~$31,000 even after renovations and now the wheels are turning… 😀
You can find CHEAP properties in the Midwest and the South!! It’s one of the best regions in which to own rentals, IMHO. 🙂
The tenants in the low end unit are amazing! Enjoy your podcast and hearing about real estate. I have not embarked on that journey as I live in Denver and I just can’t make the numbers make sense.
Great example of how to be a great out of state landlord. You did well forming a team, without them there many people would have been in trouble in that situation.
Well done!
Thank you!
A great team is critical to running an awesome out-of-state rental property business … it takes some vetting/hiring/firing, but once you find the right people, everything goes MUCH more smoothly.
The good news is that in most major cities/towns, there are LOTS of excellent contractors, property managers, real estate agents, etc., who are skilled at working with out-of-state investors. And once you start asking around, it’s easy to get referrals.
Good article, Paula. You make it look so easy! 🙂 I’m super interested in investing in RE (I believe I’ve been signed up for updates about your RE course for years now), but tat this point, I’m just not sure I’d like to be the captain of the ship, as it were..so I’m considering putting some money into a group effort that pops up in my town every so often (I’d have maybe 0.5-1% skin in the gain, not 100%, as other investors would also contribute). The return would be a lot less but I’d be diversified in to RE in any case.. I don’t know. Do you recommend maybe finding a mentor to hold hands with? I think that might be the only way I make the leap, at all.. What are your thoughts on mentors, and how to potentially find [a good] one? Thanks for your updates about your properties!! <3 <3
The most important thing about any mentor or teacher is that their philosophy / strategy / approach needs to be aligned with yours.
There are countless investment strategies, and if you choose a mentor/teacher whose strategy or philosophy is different than the one that you want to pursue, that person will be unhelpful at best, or will lead you down an ill-fitting path (which will lead to very expensive mistakes) at worst.
Think of this as similar to stock investing …. there are countless investment philosophies, stragegies and products.
On the product side — There’s index funds. There’s day trading. Options. Futures. Leveraged ETFs and ETNs. Bitcoin. And more.
On the strategy side — There’s long-term buy-and-hold. There’s market timing. There are countless hybrid approaches.
If you’re finding a stock investing teacher/mentor, you need someone who’s product knowledge, strategy, approach and philosophy aligns with yours.
Real estate investing is no different. 🙂
Ah, now that you say it, that makes total sense. I’m pretty good with my stock investing, but I didn’t realize that the same could apply to real estate, and that it could swing so many ways as well! (The only landlord I know is my dad, from many years ago, and he’s got nothing good to say about it/is rather bitter about the whole thing, hence my question). Thank you for your thoughtful reply!
And this is why I sold my rental! Good on you, though. Keep the strength.
Are you planning on giving yourself more time on the next turn over, or since you pulled this one off do you plan on doing the same?
I’m sticking w/ 24 hour turnovers, because most tenants need to move on the 1st of the month (that’s when most turnovers happen).
Great read. quick q: do you consider the rental rate of town in your rental property acquisition strategy?
What do you mean by “the rental rate of town”??
Do you mean, do I adjust my expectations based on city location? No. I invest where the returns are.
Love reading these, Thanks!
Hey Paula,
I never regret reading your posts. It’s so easy and fun to read what you write.
It almost felt as I was hearing your podcast voice speaking while I read this.
Not only that, but the content of the post is inspiring.
I haven’t started investing on rental properties yet (still doing Airbnb with the two rooms here in the house, and almost hitting the 200th trip, having had roughly 320 guests) and it felt like it’s slightly less work to manage properties than the Airbnb rooms.
However, I haven’t started rental properties because I haven’t taken the time to find ways of financing a house purchase (I’m trying to finish the university thesis).
Your post inspires me to not give up on the idea of renting properties in the future.
I love doing Airbnb so I suspect I’ll also love rental properties. Out of the almost 200 trips, I only had a few not so good situations. None were ever BAD. Just not-so-good.
The main problems were:
– language barriers: once I had a very old French speaking couple who didn’t understand I was trying to make them speak to my cell phone microphone so Google could translate their audio. I spent the whole week talking to them using gestures because they would simply not speak to the microphone.
– or a guest breaking a little piece of furniture: like the towel hanger after coming home drunk. He paid the cost of a new one.
– or not being so clean: like me finding a piece of candy underneath the bed, or wine stains in the balcony floor, or some cigar ashes at the balcony, or some poop stains in the toilet basin, etc.
– or forgetting the keys at home
– or not communicating well the arrival/departure times.
Still, in all these situations, things were solved peacefully. None were disastrous situations. Those are the perks of living in the Airbnb, where you can stop anything bad, in the beginning, from escalating (like cleaning immediately before bugs come). And the guests usually behave more since I’m around to see everything, rather than if they were alone in the house.
I was wondering, though… You said that the tenant broke the rules by subletting. Since he broke the rules, shouldn’t all the repairing costs be his responsibility? Shouldn’t that be the least he could do to remedy the situation? Or the maximum a tenant must pay after leaving a property is that security deposit of $2000?
Since he was feeling guilty, did he help in those 24 hours of repair?
Is it common for that team of contractors to have these emergencies where they work 24 hours?
If it were done with more time (as in, not in emergency mode), how much do you think they would charge for all of it?
No pressure to answer all the questions, though. I’m just wondering, in case I ever encounter a situation like this in Portugal.
Hugs
“Since he was feeling guilty, did he help in those 24 hours of repair?”
HAHAHAHA of course not!! 🙂 I would be shocked if any tenant stuck around for that!
“Since he broke the rules, shouldn’t all the repairing costs be his responsibility?”
Yes, it should. I could go after him for the full amount if I wanted; I’d be within my legal right to do so. But I’m going to leave it alone. It’s not worth my time.
“If it were done with more time (as in, not in emergency mode), how much do you think they would charge for all of it?”
I won’t speculate on that, since I would just be guessing. Also, my answer won’t even remotely apply to the labor/materials prices in Portugal, where your properties are.
The costs in different cities/regions are different, and in other countries, the costs vary even more.
Hi Paula ! How did you get a replacement tenant moving in within a 24 hour time-frame? Are you able to get someone to sign a lease based on pictures alone, or had they done a walk-through while the other tenant was still there? How does that all work? Thanks!
Hi Paula
I just found out about your podcast from an interview you did on another podcast and just read the first blog post. Your writing is entertaining! It sounds like you have a great contractor contact! Thanks for sharing the good and bad stories! My wife and I just bought our first rental in TN, so its nice to here about all sides and learn from it!
Hey Paula,
I had a question regarding your walk through of your other tenants that you performed after you’d completed your 24 hr renovation. Thankfully you found your property in great condition being cared for by respectful tenants, but what if that was not the case? If the property was in rough condition, what would you have done? Do you reprimand or eventually evict a tenant based on walk-through conditions?
Thanks for all your info. I’m in the research phase and am on the verge of taking the plunge into real estate investment.
Thanks for this article!
Chris from Germany
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad it worked out so well. Any chance you would share the name and contact information of your contractor? I will be in the Atlanta area soon, and will need some reliable help. Thank you for your consideration.
Wow, that is one dedicated contractor!
Whenever I hear stories from people I know who own investment properties, it’s always the horror stories. They scare everyone away. It’s like the inverse of lottery stories.
You only ever hear about the time so-and-so won “like, a thousand bucks!”, not about the $10,000 they spent to get there.
As a contractor myself (electrician, not general) I am always on the lookout for a good investment deal. I haven’t found a good one yet, but when I do I’ll be better prepared for it thanks to you!
Destructive tenant, oh how we have been there! Except it was far worse . Holes in walls, smashed in doors missing stuff and oh the filth Its been a few years since the tenant from hell moved out so I can talk about as a learning experience. They were a problem from day 1 always late and always trouble. Did I tell you about the flood and water damage!
My error: I didnt regularly inspect the place because I didnt like the tenant. The next tenant was a gem.
The Rental until is sold .. the hundred grand we made is covering #2s college. It was hell but in the end well worth it.
Great article! The graph is so right. I love/hate that feeling when it’s time to hustle for a turnover. I’m ready to spring into action and get the place cleaned up but I’m also anticipating the worst when I go to inspect after a move-out. I try to leave a week between move out and move in to coordinate repairs and cleanup. I don’t have my own crew that I call on a moment’s notice in case of a disaster like yours (yet).