The $458 Mistake... (And How You Can Avoid It) QUICK TIP!

[Brandon Turner]

Last month, I wrote an article about the big, ugly purple triplex I bought recently.

We've been working the past month to get it rent-ready, with some new paint and various small repairs. Being the holidays, and the market being dead around here, we didn't try too hard to get it rented yet and took our time getting it fixed up.

Today we got our electric bill for the place... $458 for three empty units.

Now, I know I would have needed to pay some charges for electricity, but between the three it shouldn't have been more than a $50 for using the power tools and heat on the few days that I had guys working there.

So here's the lesson: TURN OFF YOUR HEAT WHEN NO ONE IS THERE. The thought never occurred to me to make sure the workers turned the heat off when they left each time. Instead, we had some baseboard heaters running 24-7 for a month. Ouch.

It's a simple thing, but it cost me $458.

Anyone else ever done anything stupid like this? Care to share?