Assessing the Beta Situation

On Saturday, I went over to property Beta to check out the apartment that my soon-to-be-former-tenant Libby occupies. I wanted to see what things I’d have to do to get the place looking nice enough to rent out.

The place was exactly the way it was when Libby moved in. I’m fairly sure everything will be cleaned up when she moves out, but the cosmetic problems are still there. The windows are still old, the staircase carpeting is still dirty, and the caulk around the bathroom tub needs to be redone, as it looks like mold is trying to break out. While I’m almost certain that I’ll replace the staircase carpeting with a cheap but nice looking stair runner, I’m not so sure what I’ll do with the windows. Replacing the windows, even if I do the labor myself, will cost over $1000. I took the MDX for a checkup and decided to take care of the upper mount problem that I was supposed to take care of next year. Pretty stupid move, especially since Wally’s Auto said that it would last the winter. The upper mounts plus the oil change cost around $500. And that’s $500 less that I have to put towards the apartment. My mom Rita called me last week and said the ticket to Nigeria should cost somewhere around $1300. Add the $500 security deposit I have to give back to Libby when she moves out, and I’m already $2300 in the hole without a single repair being done. I think I’m gonna try to rent it out while I take care of the staircase carpet. If I’m lucky, I can find someone who’ll take the place as is so that I won’t have to do too much.

While I was there, I talked to Libby (actually, I just let her talk). She once again said that her reason for leaving was air quality and arthritis, as it’s tough to get up the stairs everyday and the old furnace doesn’t have an air filter. Not to mention that the downstairs tenant Carver has people over that smoke in his apartment, and that smoke goes into her apartment a lot. The way she sounded when she would talk about Carver was… annoyed. She seemed very annoyed at him, but always tried to cover it up by making an excuse for him or laughing awkwardly. I think she was afraid that I would stick up for him. But I’m not. Carver might be the guy with the longest tenancy, but I think it’s time to bust his ass a bit. I was pissed off even more because the backyard is full of dogshit which I stepped in and can’t get out of the cracks of my sneakers. Asshole. Before someone new moves in, I’ll tell him that he can’t allow smoking in his apartment, no loud music, and clean up after his fucking dog. I think he assumed the, by building that fence, his dog would be allowed to shit all over that area.

You know, Libby really made me see Carver in a new light. Because he’s been my tenant for 5 years and gives me access to some good handymen, I didn’t pay attention to him as much. I always figured that he was good for the neighborhood and a good tenant all around. While I still think he’s a good tenant, he’s no longer good enough to warrant such a low rent. In April, I’m raising his rent to $575, an increase of $50. It was supposed to be a $25 increase, but he being partially responsible for me losing Libby doubled the increment. And in 2015, I’m upping it again to make his rent $600. I keep the rent low for only one group of tenants, and that’s the Indians of property Alpha. I need them in that particular apartment so their rent will stay at $525.

So the renting out of property Beta’s apartment will officially start on the 17th. I hope to get a few tenants to take a look before then but I have very little hope of getting it rented out earlier than the 17th. I’m almost positive that I won’t make my quota of 12k for this month, but I’ve learned to keep my eyes open. I just might be able to luck out like I did with Libby.    

P.S.: Just got a call from Carver, saying that he'll be late with rent this month. After his girlfriend Linda's death, whose 2-year anniversary is on the 9th, he takes her kids out to celebrate. He also said he's gonna redo the kitchen with new flooring and paint. So I get an extra $70 in late fees. See? He's getting comfortable paying higher rent already.