All Forum Posts by: Pyrrha Rivers

@Anna Watkins Thank you for the tip on how to get the information. I've just set up my alerts. Can you share how you set up the folder you use to filter the alerts? I think that would be useful since it gets to be too many at times.

Thanks again,

@Micah Redden I look forward to attending in July when I'm in town. 

Any updated posts on My SmartMove?

Everything I've been able to find is quite dated and there seemed to be some issues and problems. I was looking forward to using this program to screen my next tenant. I'm getting ready to market a property and want to have the screening tools ready for when the applications come in.

What are you currently using to screen your tenant applicants?

Thank you for your input.

I'm not a Realtor, nor do I know what motivates them, but @Jazz Wilsonasks why they would be interested and I think one reason would be because of frequency of sales. If they understand that although the price an investor is willing to pay may not be as high as retail, their retail customer is likely to buy one "pretty" house and they would have to wait at least 5 years for them to come back for another if the Realtor is lucky. An investor will buy more houses, probably many more in that period of time and the houses don't have to be "pretty". What the retail customer doesn't want, the investor wants because the investor wants to add value and the retail customer wants to find the house already painted the color they like. 

I believe your name is catchy and memorable. It does send out the expectation of fast transactions, so that should be a focus. Other than that, I'm in the name it what you want camp as long as it is available in your state and you follow the rules as suggested by @Bryan O.

@Troy SheetsWhat an inspiration! Reading your account and seeing the dramatic difference you made on that house, makes me just imagine the difference your generosity will make for that family and others who one way or another come in contact with them or your resolve to help.

Thank you!

@Johann JellsBeautiful! What size granite tiles do you use? The reflection from the backs plash is making it hard for me to see.  Is that flooring a tile job?

I'm in the Formica camp as well. It is versatile enough that you can use it in low and medium rentals. I ordered some counter tops from Wilsonart, was surprised by the cost not being higher than at the box store and was able to order a special edging that gave me a custom look. 

I've even seen it refinished with paint in an apartment complex where a friend lives. Looks very good and apparently is part of the turn over process like painting walls and cleaning carpets. Not a high end rental where I believe the trend is solid stone of some kind. 

@Jay HinrichsCurry laced granite made me laugh out loud as well. That's a good one!

I watched an episode of This Old House where they were refinishing some cabinets with this new product and of course I went looking for the name of it and is spiraled into a whole YouTube watching session. Here's what I found.

How To Refinish Your Countertops Using RECLAIM

How To Refinish Your Kitchen Cabinets Using RECLAIM

https://youtu.be/9iOIBhC5hXA

How to refinish countertops CHEAP!

https://youtu.be/mdMiQPfFWxs

DIY faux granite kitchen countertops
https://youtu.be/00MZILROPec
Spreadstone Countertop Finishing Kit https://youtu.be/K8SIbb77b_E

I have seen painted counter tops in a friend's rental but she is very neat ad careful, so I don't know how that option will stand up to tenant abuse. She lives in an apartment complex and that finish is in most, if not all of their units, so it makes me think it must be cost effective even if it requires painting after every tenant. (It would be like painting walls.)  

As far as your kitchen, I agree with the advise that less is more. You want to make it nice based on your living standards but at  the same time, remember that tenants aren't stellar for taking care of things. How about painting the counter tops, staining or painting the cabinets, painting or replacing the hardware, investing in nice durable tile flooring, adding a tiled back splash? That can give your kitchen a nice sprucing up and gets you through at least the first tenant and you can set funds aside from their rent to change your counter tops as part of your turn over. I had counter tops made by Wilsonart in my area. They were rather inexpensive and the ability to order the edging I wanted gave my project a custom look. Again, you have a bit of wait time, so buying what's in stock at the big box stores is often most practical.

If you absolutely feel compelled to replace the cabinets, I found a company called CabinetsToGo http://cabinetstogo.com The cabinets are wood, not particle board and look very nice. They are rather inexpensive for the quality. The cons are that you must assemble them and it takes time to get them shipped as they don't keep stock but ship when you order.

I just had tile replaced in a new rental. I went with my signature look of wood plank ceramic tile in the entire lower level except for the guest bathroom, which received a beige tile on sale at Floor & Decor. I like the wood plank ceramic because it has the look of wood but it is tile, so I put it throughout the entire area. Just use a different tile in the bathroom to break up the monotony of the wood look. Upstairs I went with laminate for the bedrooms and hallway using the same beige tile in the bathrooms and laundry closet. I think I will try this vinyl plank that you are discussing. I dislike the look and feel of vinyl but this may be a winner and for tenant proofing, carpet is out! I have my PM sell the concept of easier to clean, and so much better because a carpet-less home goes a long way to a hypoallergenic home. That ties in very well with our efforts to be greener with low-flow fixtures and fluorescent light bulbs throughout the property.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your pictures. (This is before and after and of the tile I'm using in all my downstairs though this one was not yet cleaned.)

@Kris Haskins CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Yes, that was me yelling out for you. LOL How wonderful! Now I want to share the strategy I used to achieve the paid in full status on my personal home. Not to highjack your post but because people have asked how you did it and there are many ways you can do it if you just decide that is what you want to do.

I started by making an extra $25 "Principal only payment" (It is important that you specify that to your lender) for about 4 months, just  to see if I could manage without the $25. Once it became clear I could do it, I set it up as an automatic payment each month but a couple of days after the regular payment. I did this for two reasons. I didn't want them to lump it up with the regular payment which got dispersed between principal and interest. (I wanted to attack the principal only). I also wanted to be sure I could pull that $25 back if I had a need. I never did, so I increased it to $50 and then $100. It was so powerfully reducing the loan balance that I started pouring everything I could into that principal. A couple income tax checks went entirely into that principal. Once I got the cancellation of debt letter I had a mortgage burning party. My friends came with food because they said I used all of my money to pay the house off. LOL It was fun.

Now I have a small HELOC on that property. I used it to buy my first rental. After 1 year I refinanced the rental, paid back the HELOC and took it again to buy rental #2. Now I have 2 properties free and clear and one with a mortgage that the rent covers quite well. I plan to put a mortgage on the second rental and start making extra principal payments on rental #1 using its cash flow while making just the required payment on rental #2 so I can put the cash flow from it into my reserves. The beauty about making additional principal payments is that you dramatically reduce the time and the total amount of interest. If things get tight one month, you simply stop that extra principal payment and resume once things settle back down. My HELOC is again repaid so I'm getting ready for you guessed it Rental #3.

Thank you Kris for sharing that wonderful picture! Your joy comes through the screen!