Property Charlie: Final Walkthrough

7:00am. I don’t think I’ve ever written a post this early. Then again, this won’t be an ordinary day. I got an email from my lawyer, Marvin Wassle, who said that the total cost will be $18,800. That’s about $5,000 less than CFB Mortgage wanted to charge me. Wow.

Yesterday was the final walkthrough of PPC #3, what will become as of today my new property Charlie. I went through each of the tenants’ apartments to make sure that everything was good. Unfortunately, my real estate agent Prius had to come along with me. The first tenant, Thomas, was really strange. I mean, he was nice and all, but there was something off about the man. He was relieved when I told him that the rents will stay the same and they will continue to be month-to-month tenants. I asked him if there were any repairs needed in his apartment and he said no. Whatever, at least Tony has a job. I gave him his tenant packet and left. The next tenant was upstairs, and there was really something wrong with that woman. When I spoke, it was as if she was trying hard to understand what I was saying. My guess was that she’s on some form of disability. She wanted me to fill out her landlord form (food stamps), but I told her that would have to wait until I’m the actual owner. I gave her the tenant packet and left there scratching myself, which is my body’s way of telling me that I was in a dirty place. My skin is still crawling.

We went to the other upstairs apartment. No one was home but the door was unlocked. The place looked good except for one thing:

A sign of idiocy

Really? Two burners on and no one is home? Really? This is my life? What an idiot. The tenants of that apartment are supposed to be a mother and child. What mother or child forgets to turn the burners off when they leave the apartment? I turned it off and moved on to the final tenant, Chucky. Chucky is old and has been living there for 43 years. As in our first meeting, Chucky was pretty decent to be around and I liked him enough. I explained everything about who I am, then gave him a tenant packet. Once I was done, I went next door to meet the previous owner who had asked to see me, Ronny Mud.

Ronny is an 84 year old Italian who has lived in Smalltown his entire life. His wife (82 years old) and his daughter (66 years old) were there and hung out. Ronny is… to describe him best, he’s like that father from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. He’s the mouth of the family and has a colorful personality. We decided to switch the electric, gas, and water into my name while I was there. Everything went fine except for the electric company. National Grid, because there’s one meter for 4 apartments, considers the electric as commercial. This means I have to fill out a fucking application and send them $340 security deposit. The whole thing made no sense but I took it in stride. Ronny, however, started yelling at the National Grid guy with his “I’ve been doing business with you people for 64 years and I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous! What’s your name, sir?!” Before I left he shook my hand and made me promise him that I won’t be an absentee landlord. Like I said… colorful.

All in all, this was a good walkthrough. Doing the whole thing with Prius was annoying as hell with her idiotic questions and jokes. I can't wait to never see her again. I still have to meet the tenant who left the burners on like an idiot. The only thing I have to work on is rent payment. The tenants of property Charlie are used to paying their rent in cash because the landlord lived right next door. I need them to mail the rent as a check or money order, and I’m sure that will be a major adjustment. Other than that, I don’t foresee any major tenant management problems.