All Forum Posts by: Bettina F.

This reply is going to be explicitly religious.  If that sort of thing offends you, you should probably skip reading this.

In the mid 1990s, my husband and I adopted a little boy from a third world orphanage.  While we fell in love with this child from the beginning, it quickly became apparent that he had severe emotional, developmental and behavioral problems,  He was the kind of kid who got expelled from kindergarten.  I had a nice administrative nursing job at the time, but every time my pager would beep, it was more likely his school or his daycare telling us to come get him.

I ended up having to quit my job to stay home with my son as we could not keep him in school or daycare.  My days became a constant cycle of worry,  IEP meetings, doctor and therapy appointments for my son, loneliness and financial strain due to our income suddenly cut in half.  We were that family with the "weird kid" in the neighborhood -- so I did not even have to solace or understanding of the other SAHMs in our neighborhood..  

I turned to prayer -- specially Proverbs 31.   It helped me get up in the mornings and get what I needed to do done to help my family survive.  I read Proverbs 31 every day-- every single day.  I did this for years.

My son grew  He cycled through pysch hospitalizations and residential therapy placements and special schools.  I look back on that time and only know we only survived through the grace of God.  I revised my goals downward so often I ended up with goals of 1) my marriage surviving and 2) avoiding bankruptcy.  I am happy to say we met those goals. I no longer read Proverbs 31 each morning.

I am now in a different season in my life.  My son is an adult and living independently.  But when it came time to plan for our retirement,  verse 16 popped into my head "She goes out to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard".  I have never the felt the indecision investing that many describe.  More than a little drone, slaving away for her family, Proverbs 31 describes a smart, entrepreneurial woman who takes measured risks and makes them work. (and yes, although my vineyard is small,  I do have a few grape plants and my husband now holds elected local office!)

I guess this is a long way of saying find your own spiritual inspiration.  Internalize this inspiration.  Have your priorities straight.  Be right with God, things will fall into place, and nothing will seem scary.

Hubby and I are currently doing this very thing.   We bought a small farm near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The farm came with a 2 bedroom apartment in the shop.  This is very common in this area -- people buy property and build a shop with an apartment.  They live in the apartment until they can afford to build a bigger house.  

This is the ideal set up for an Airbnb.  We get the advantage of renting out a "whole space" but are still onsite to prevent parties, vandalism, etc.  We cater to families who want a "farm experience" for their kids (collecting eggs, playing with our goats).

In addition, be sure to send a Security Deposit Accounting to the forwarding address.  You can download a template for a business invoice in Word, change the title to "Security Deposit Accounting" and add your business address.  Tally up the charges.  Send this along with the check (if any is due) or it can become a statement of charges owed.  You will end up with a very professional looking document.

Others may have different opinions, but I try to return at least SOME SD.  I believe it shows that I am not just a money-grubbing  LL.  I have never had a tenant challenge my accounting. 

No forwarding address?  No problem.  Still send the SD Accounting to the last know address (your unit).  Keep the unopened letter with check in the tenant file.  Bring it to court unopened if challenged.  Let the judge open the letter himself.

Don't let this slide.  You MUST address the SD in California or you can be liable for 3 times the SD.  California law is very strict on SDs.

I second going the AirBnB route, especially if you can configure the property to give the AirBnB it's own entrance. For example, a typical split level has a family room with a sliding glass door and bath downstairs. Add a bed, microwave and mini fridge to the family room, and you have a "whole space" listing. Put in a non load bearing wall with a locking door at the base of the stairs to separate the two spaces. Your guests get privacy and you get extra income. After your guest books, you text them a photo of the door they are to use to access the AirBnB. Just be sure to clearly explain the arrangement in your listing.

Another thought... since you have such a large yard, would an ADU in the back yard or adding an apartment garage make sense? In many ways, this is the ideal set up to get your start in REI. Airbnb in the high season, short term corporate rentals in the low season. Since you are living on site, you can keep a close eye on things and easily self manage.

I left Tacoma in 2013, so my info is dated.  However, I lived in NE Tacoma for decades.  There is a little pocket of 30 or so SFHs (non view property) just north of the golf course.  The houses are smaller and older, but would be perfect rentals.  They would be in the NE Tacoma Elementary area.  

Great strategy, IMO.

Watch the prices closely in the big city. As prices rise in the city, look for opportunities in the easy commute bedroom communities that surround your big city. Look closely at freeway drive times and ease of access on/off the freeway. Stay within a 30 minute drive time of your downtown core, if possible. If your are buying SFH, look to school district quality and rankings next.

My apartments are located in a smaller town between Spokane,WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID.  They are one block from the freeway entrance that connects the two commerce centers.  They are also close to the town's City Hall, which ensure that our streets are snow plowed first!  These are easy to fill units, and I draw tenants that work in both cities.

I would look them up on my county assessor's website and see if they actually even owned property.  Even if they had a fire and have to rebuild, they would still be listed as owners of the parcel.  They should also be willing to provide proof of funds.  

Also look them up on your state/county courts data base.  They may not have a rental history due to just getting out of prison. 

I suspect that the disaster is an eviction.

I second Matt K's response.  I put this exact TV in the living room of my one bedroom apartment that I Airbnb.   I have 2 TVs in my one bedroom apartment -- one in he living room, one in the bedroom.  I have internet, Netflix and live/local TV via the Spectrum app.  

I don't know how much use these get, but since I am "family friendly" I need the TV.

setting expectations starts with screening, showing and lease signing. Develop a "landlord speech" to give to prospective tenants where you set out your expectations.