All Forum Posts by: Gwen Fyfe

Haven't the POS inspections been suspended in Bedford for quite a while? I haven't had to do it on any property.

That's a super fun area, I'm up there all the time. It's near the Coventry and Cedar-Lee neighborhoods, both of which have fun trendy stuff going on. There are also a couple of good colleges right nearby. You'll probably get tenants like me; young professionals in their twenties, maybe starting families, or students. Which sounds like exactly what you're thinking of.

How many bedrooms per unit? I used to rent a 1 bed nearby for $720 a month, for a 2 bed I'd expect maybe $850.

I'm seriously going to be around the corner from Sycamore for coffee this weekend, I can drive by and shoot you some photos if it's helpful.

Oh, it's all in good fun. I'm over on the West side partying with the hippies all the time. ;)

Personally though, I want to keep all of my properties in a very small radius while I'm working a full time job. If it's not on my route between home or work, or next door to a family member I'm visiting frequently, I don't want to make the time to drive out to it.

@Natalie Kolodij Nice! Ohio is a good place to be for it. I know @James Wise loves Parma in particular! (I like it too, but I'm an East side girl...)

Do you want me to send you over my mortgage guy's info in case it's useful?

@Natalie Kolodij My guy at Wells Fargo has told me that they don't have a lower limit for mortgage sizes, for what that's worth. I asked him when I was looking at properties around 30-50k, although I have stuck with nicer properties so far (one at 125k FHA and one at 75k.) He is a real estate investor himself, so he knows what I'm looking for in terms of financing. Just need to find yourself someone like that!

I've just had an offer accepted on a duplex which is in perfectly livable condition but could definitely be improved. I want to bring down some trees that are very close to the foundation, and redo the kitchens, which are set up in a totally ridiculous way. (Stove blocking the cupboards?!) One of the bathrooms could use an overhaul too. Meanwhile I'm also settling in to my own first house (with three rental apartments out back!) which is perfect condition... except it's decorated for the 85 year old man who lived here before.

I'm excited for these projects but really know nothing about design, interior or exterior. I don't have a TV so I haven't picked this stuff up from HGTV, lol!

Can anyone recommend some blogs or books I should start reading so I can avoid picking out terrible paint colors? Or learn how to design a kitchen?

One of the ones that usually falls to the landlord is trash, but it's worth calling up the city you're looking at and asking about this - many of them (including the one I'm in) include trash and recycling service in the property taxes, so there's no need to budget separately for it.

@NaDean Bowles Unfortunately I have nothing but sympathy. I was caught out with the same situation here in Ohio.  I had to 1) convince my belligerent ex to sign the documents and 2) arrange a courier to pick them up from him in Scotland. The one in Europe. Yup. And no one thought to ask me my marital status until we were due to close - they all just assumed I was single because I had moved to Ohio alone.

I will say though that we have a legal separation in place (they're much easier to get in Scotland, to compensate for the divorce process which takes 1 year+ even if not contested) and the title company's lawyer said that wasn't enough, they needed an actual divorce decree. So... even if you can convince your lawyer to do a separation, that may not be enough.

The thing about privilege is that you can benefit from it in some ways and still have a really hard time, like Tracy D.

I have a ton of privilege. I am smart and work hard, but I don't think that all my success is a result of working hard. I'm white and from a relatively well-off family. On the other side of the coin I am already seeing people treat me differently because I am a woman - verbal pats on the head like "What a smart girl you are!" without answering my question, and men explaining really basic things to me that I have already known for a long time. (Just nod, smile, and wait until they're done telling you what an FHA mortgage is and where the light switches are in your own house which you bought on an FHA mortgage.) But then if I was a white guy from a poor background, or a black male, or an Asian woman, or, or, or .... it would be different.

I just nod and smile to the mansplaining because I am so lucky in most ways and it hasn't been a big deal yet. (And then don't call that contractor back.) But for @Derrick Thomas, I'm sure discrimination does play a much bigger part. I hope you can get through it, Derrick.

See you there. :)