I bought Property 3 in May of 2013, and it’s the first one that has more than 2 units. This 4 unit property cost $60,000, with a $15,000 down-payment. They are all one-bedroom apartments, and there’s only one furnace so I have to pay the electric and heat. None of the tenants will be permanent, as my plan for the place is to eventually throw everyone out, fix the place up, add central air conditioning (which costs much less since it’s only one furnace for 4 apartments), and rent the updated apartments for $600 each. Right now, I’m using it solely for the extra income that’s generated, which I will use to help buy my next property. My hope was to keep all the tenants together, but one tenant gave me problems and I had to evict her.
Chucky (Current Tenant)
There’s the 84-year-old tenant that’s been living there for over 40 years. A bit touchy with attitude but pays his rent on time and doesn't complain. He only pays $435, but I'll bring it up to at least $460 before winter shows up.
Thomas (Current Tenant)
There’s the weird guy who lives by himself. He walks with one of those sticks that hitchhikers have, and sometimes he's barefoot. He pays the rent a week before it’s due, so he can be weird all he wants.
Rory and Brie (Current Tenants)
Then there’s the middle aged couple. The woman collects disability while the man does repairs and mechanic work for people. I was going to use him as a handyman until I discovered through the internet that he was convicted of 2nd degree attempted rape of a minor when I got curious and looked up his history. I debated with myself on whether to keep him, ultimately deciding to keep him there.
Kylie Ray (Evicted Tenant)
This Jurassic trailer-park mammoth of a woman started things off poorly when she owed me money right after I purchased the property. She owed $340 to the old landlord, so that debt got transferred to me. She constantly paid rent late, called me from close to 10 different phone numbers, and I took her to eviction court three times. The first two times she paid what was due with a court ordered payment plan. The third time I stupidly agreed to forego what was owed in return for her leaving. She finally left in November, owing me over $300 that I’ll never see.
Lessons Learned: Never let a tenant off the hook when I have them in court. I could have had the November eviction AND the money owed had I been paying attention. There was also a period of time when she was calling me to pay the owed money, but I ignorantly refused to pick up her calls because I… I was being an asshole. I let my turbulent time with Kylie get to me, and it cost me money. Never make business personal. I really hope this is the last time I have to learn this lesson. Also, when a tenant doesn't have a stable telephone number, it's a sign of money problems. Get ready to either evict them or not renew their lease.
Tanisha and Eugene (Current Tenants)
I moved these guys into Kylie Ray’s old apartment. These are the first African American tenants I’ve had since Odella and her worthless welfare family in Property #1. Despite their late payments (and therefore late fees), they've been decent tenants and they’re making me rethink my earlier stance against renting out to black people. Maybe the problem was that the blacks I rented out to didn’t have jobs and were on some form of assistance. Maybe it’s assistance I should discriminate against and not the skin color and the stigma attached it. Both Taniqua and Eugene work full-time jobs, and I also liked the fact that they painted when they moved in to make the apartment look halfway decent. If they keep up this good tenancy I may be open to another working black tenant, just to test out my theory.
Once I buy Property #4, I’m paying this property off completely. Eventually, I would like to renovate all the apartments and get tenants willing to pay $600 a month in there. The costs for such a job would be huge, which is why I’d rather wait until I have the income from Property #4 to help cushion the financial blow.In three years, I'm hoping to have this place make me $1700 a month after taxes, insurance, and National Grid bills.
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