All Forum Posts by: Eric Wilkinson

@John Underwood. The grass was my first thought. I have it cut every 2 weeks, but given all the rain it hasn’t taken long to grow.

Supposedly they were claiming I was doing unpermited work like installing A/C (the house doesn’t have AC).

I am a newbie and I am about a week away from having the leased signed on our first property. We did a good amount of work to get the property looking nice and hopefully problem free when the tenant moves in.

This weekend I went to the property to get some final items completed and mow the grass only to find a notice from the township. Apparently someone called and complained which had the township come out to inspect. I have straightened it out with the township and they were very easy to deal with.

While it could be a nosy neighbor, I suspect it might be a disgruntled applicant given the timing. Do I chalk this up to cost of doing business or are there strategies/techniques to avoid or mitigate this type of nuisance?

@Thomas Yourkiewicz

Thanks for the advice.

I have come across a house that has the incoming electrical service line lying on top of the roof of the detached garage. I don’t know what happened most recently whether the cable was lowered at the power pole or the garage was built underneath it. Where it connects to the house is at a normal height.

The cable has a yellow insulator over it where it makes contact with the garage roof.

Has anyone come across something like this before? Is it acceptable or would the service line have to be raised?

If you have a $/hr figure for what you think your time is worth, you have to ask yourself is there someone willing to pay you that every day and during the off hours if you have a day job?

Is that time analyzing deals or gaining knowledge really an opportunity cost of $x/hr? Or would you have spent that time watching TV or doing something else that is not going to lead to income now or in the future?

Just like you don’t want your money lying around not working its hardest for you, I would say you make the most of your time establish and maintain the investments that will set up your future.

All that being said, I think you have to be careful not to accept weaker deals because you assume you will do all the work. For example you may manage your own property, but it would still seem to be good advice to include property management fees in your analysis. If the deal works, then you can decide if your time is best spent managing tenants or finding more deals.

@Scott H. I realize your post was from a year ago, but I am dealing with a similar situation and liked your solution. Did the small window that you placed in middle of glass block allow you to meet the requirement for ventilation without having to add a fan?

The rental I have has a masonry exterior which is leading me to use glass block, but I was trying to avoid any more expense with a fan. Your solution looks great and gives you the option to get fresh air in there.

@Craig Herring

Thanks for the advice. I have been listening to a lot of the archived podcasts and have found them very helpful.

I will look into the Lansing area. I have been expanding my search outward and have run some analyses on some properties along I-96. I have not had an opportunity to do a lot of first hand research yet.

@William Powers

I live in Chelsea so I am focusing on areas that are close (<1 hr drive) which equates to the I94 corridor between Jackson and Ypsi.

The challenge I have is finding properties that will cash flow well. The property taxes and current prices make it tough. I have not set a good lead system yet for off market properties so I been focusing on listed properties in the meantime to at least get a better idea of the different neighborhoods.

I am new to real estate investing and I am looking for a SFR or small multi family here in SE Michigan. I have found this website and the experience shared on this forum to be extremely useful.

I have been looking for several months and had one of those moments yesterday when looking at a multi family yesterday that helped to define what kind of investor I want to be, or more specifically the kind I don’t want to be.  As I went through the second unit and listened to the current tenant tell me about how the current property manager hasn’t put a dime in the place, I opened the door leading to the basement and was struck by the unmistakeable smell of sewage.  Sure enough there was a sizeable pool of sewage in the corner.  As I come up the stairs the tenant tells me she has been telling the manager about the smell for days, but they told her they would get to it soon.  From the looks of the rest of the place, I don’t get the impression that responsiveness is their strong suit.  

I want to own and manage properties that I would not be ashamed of.  I don’t want to be a slumlord.  Good news is that I had a duplex in the same town I went to see next which is a good fit and I made an offer on, so I will see how that turns out.

PS- I realize I may get the questions on why look at a property if it doesn’t meet your requirements.  Basically, there was limited info on its condition (Ie. no interior pictures) and a previous drive by did not see anything disqualifying.  It was nearby my prime target, so I took the opportunity to go see it with my realtor while we were in the area.  Regardless, it was a great lesson that helped make another deposit in the experience bank.

If you have to ask the question, your behavior probably falls into the shady category.

A true shady landlady would never think to ask the question.

Whether it is legal or not is a different question.