All Forum Posts by: Shari Posey

I think tiny homes probably work best are in areas where traditional single family homes on regular lots are out of the price range of most people. For example, right now there is a 627 sq. foot house on a 2,000 sq. foot lot in Santa Monica for $729k, which is by far the least expensive home in the city. There's another house in Santa Monica with 540 sq. ft for $1,250,000, which is the third least expensive home in the area. I've been looking for a tiny lot in a prime area that's too small for a traditional home so I can build a tiny house. Personally, I can't really see them as a viable solution to homelessness because around here condos are cheaper than these tiny single family homes.

In southern California you would be surprised at how many tiny homes already exist. Our first house was built in 1924 and is only 510 square feet. It's located in Long Beach, CA in a small neighborhood that was originally railway workers' housing--a tiny street with about 20 tiny detached cottages. Most have not added on to the original structure. We loved living there and now we rent it out for $1250/mo. I have clients who are a family of 4 who live in a darling tiny home of about 480 square feet. There are dozens (probably more than 100) in our city mostly from the 1920s. 

I'm pretty certain the city would not allow this size home to be built today, which is a shame although it is not an issue because there's no vacant land anyway.

Hi Wesley! My tenant is VERY sensitive about poison. She can only have it contained, not in the house, and not sprayed. What would be the best option that will work for mice? Do mice and rats involve the same traps/poisons/bait?

If the quote was $600 I would jump on it. Is it unreasonable to ask them to cut it in half?? I guess it never hurts to try!

Will, does the trap you talk about with the poison work for mice as well as rats? I've got the same problem as the OP and got a quote for $1295 (minus a $100 coupon) for a 1-year warranty. So far, the tenant has caught two mice in the past week but I'm pretty sure there are more lurking. It's a 100-year-old house with many points of entry so I'm not sure the traps alone will work. (We have used steel wool in the entry points we can see but I'm sure there are dozens more in the roof, foundation, etc.)

I've got a tenant that has caught 2 mice in traps in past week and has found lots of droppings, including in her bed and under the couch cushions. I called a pest control company and they quoted me $1295 to seal all the entry points and warranty for a year. The house is tiny--only 600 sq. feet. The quote seems high but the tenant isn't capable of keeping them out. She keeps the house fairly clean, has tried steal wool in obvious holes, peppermint, etc. Is this a rip off quote? 

I'm a Realtor and I was exactly in the point where you are but for me it was 4 years ago. I was SO burned out after working mega hours for about 5 years making a lot of money but I was beginning to hate it, not be able to sleep at night, worried about every deal, working with some clients I didn't like, etc. I talked to my husband (also self-employed) and told him I couldn't take it much longer and I wanted to re-adjust our life (cut expenses!) so we could retire, or at least take off for a whole year.

We spent about 6 months scaling down our lives, sold our property with the mega mortgage and paid cash for a small home (which we later rented out), a fellow agent took care of our rental properties for a small fee, and we bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand, via Fiji. I knew it had to be a clean break because being a Realtor with active clients is impossible to take off for more than 1-2 days at a time. I threw my cellphone away at the airport boarding the plane. The only thing I did was check my email for new business I referred to a fellow agent for 35% referral fees. Along our travels, we met many people, including couples with young kids, doing exactly the same thing.

Being completely out of real estate was so wonderful for several months until I began to miss it. After about 4 months of traveling all over (Asia, Middle East, Europe) I missed making deals, being needed by clients, etc. Our trip ended up being only 5 months but it was enough. Within 1 week of being home I had 2 listings from past clients. Now I only work with clients I like which has cut down my income but improved my enjoyment and free time.

(P.S. Read 4-Hour Work Week)

Jon is right, the street is a killer. No matter how nice it looks there is a large percentage of buyers who will not consider a house on a busy street. So, automatically you have a smaller pool of potential buyers. Secondly, no matter how nice it looks a home on a busy street will sell for quite a bit less than the same exact house that is not on a busy street. Location, location, location. You will only sell that house if buyers consider the trade off having a nice house (or a cheap house) on a busy street worth the sacrifice.

And you wonder why agents were all so off on the price...many agents will take any listing and tell you any price so they get your listing and then they will use your house to get buyers for other properties. Sorry--but that's how a lot of agents work. Your house is bate for other sales.

I agree with Jon. How many properties you need in order to quit your job depends how much money you require to live. My husband and I live in a pretty high-priced area (So. Cal) BUT our needs are very modest and we have no debt except a small mortgage ($50k at 2%) on one of our 5 properties. My husband and I drive average cars (paid for with cash a long time ago), I hate shopping, I don't care about fashion, etc. We try to shop at Goodwill, use Groupons, earn points/miles for free travel (travel is our priority!) etc. Since our expenses are very, very low we could live off our 4 rentals if we had to. I've been self employed for 20 years and my husband has been self employed for 13 years. We have never been spenders but in the past few years we have put a lot of effort into modifying our lives to create a lifestyle that makes us happy.

One book I really love is The 4-Hour Work Week, it totally changed my way thinking about work and that less is more.

I don't know how much money you have to invest but your goal is probably doable if you really, really want it to be. I see it as a two-pronged challenge--to live on less money and purchase enough rentals to cover that cost.

I called her rep at Section 8 but have not gotten a call back yet. The applicant showed me the voucher and her portion is $80 of a $960 rent. Her public assistance almost 3x her portion of the rent. Good point about school loans not being owed while in school. I'll have to inquire. I'm not scared about the Section 8 part but have not dealt with public assistance and how long that lasts. (Somehow she has managed to save a full month's rent security deposit.)

The unit will have no problem passing inspection.

James--How long does the approval take after I send in the packet and lease? Do you sign a lease with the applicant conditional on Section 8 approval? Also, are your tenants also on public assistance for their portion of their rent?

I got an application from a nice young woman with a Section 8 voucher. I haven't done a Section 8 in about 10 years and I inherited that tenant (no problems with him or Section 8.) This woman is also on public assistance which is what she will use pay her portion of the rent plus she has food stamps. Is this normal? She was living with her dad who had the voucher but passed away recently so they let her take over the voucher. She has no job but is going to tech school and already has $14k in school loans with late payments. Am I being stupid even considering her and using my heart over my head?