Most of the events that took place after the purchase of property Charlie had to do with property management. The stuff with Kylie Ray, the sewer trap issue at property Chi, Libby moving out of Beta, Danny the Kid, and Lamore all provided lessons I had to learn and remember for the future.
From the start, Kylie Ray was trouble. She gave off all the warning signs of a bad tenant, and yet I ignored it in hopes of keeping the same tenants in property Charlie for at least two years. I went back and forth over and over again, not being sure of what to do. I stupidly fell for many of her novice tricks and I felt like a fool. It was even worse when I let her go without suing her for the money she owed! I was so stupid. Warning signs she gave off was the lack of communication and being unable to contact her, the erratic payments she made, and the fact that her phone number changed almost every month. Anytime I look in my phone log and see a tenant’s name displayed almost 50 times in a month, it’s time to file for eviction.
In the end, I got so mad at her that I cut off communication, and it cost me the money she owed. Next time, I’m gonna make sure that I keep the lines of communication open at all times, and get the money I’m owed. Had I done this when she missed the first payment, I would have had someone new in there instead of an empty half-finished apartment like I do now. The most important thing I learned is that, when filing an eviction and not being sure if the tenant is going to pay, I have to give them a 30-day notice at the same time. That way if the payment is made, I can still throw them out at the end of the month. I did that at first with Kylie Ray, but didn’t follow through on the 30-day notice.
Fixing the sewer vent at property Chi was my first dealing with insurance claims. From now on, I have to get more than just one estimate, send the insurance company the highest quote, and then go with the lowest quote. I’m not sure that is 100% legal, but it was suggested by the insurance guy that sent me the money so I think it’s okay. Once they get the quote, they also use their own guys to do an estimate. If their estimate is in the area of the one I sent them, it’s all good. So, let’s say I got 3 quotes to fix the sewer vents of $2500, $3000, and $3500. If I send them the $3500 quote and their estimate is in that vicinity, I can use the payout money towards the $2500 quote and save myself a lot of money and hassle. I don’t know how that thing broke, but I’m blaming the Africans regardless. I’m blaming them for just about everything that’s gone wrong there, and throwing them out at the beginning of 2014 will be one of my top priorities.
With Libby moving out, I had a chance to test my ability to get a rental ready apartment rented out quickly. I did it too quickly and let my eagerness to meet my personal deadline get the best of me. I overlooked far too many warning signs and moved in Danny the Kid and his older roommate Scott. This would not have happened had I stuck to my big rule of never letting a tenant move in without the security deposit AND first month’s rent. I did that with my old tenant Nicky and it was a mistake. Every time I do that it leads to disaster, so why did I have to learn that lesson more than once?! Once I threw Danny the Kid and Scott out, I finally utilized my option of wage garnishment. Time will tell if this option actually works, but at least it gives me a chance to recoup my losses. I’m glad Knick and his girlfriend took the upstairs apartment, so hopefully I don’t have to focus on that place for a long while.
Paying someone to handle the mowing of the properties was a good idea, but I’m still not sure if Lamore will pan out. I’ll have to keep looking around and get some new contacts before the end of winter. The last month that Lamore had to mow the lawns, he was charging me $20 per property (Alpha, Chi and Charlie… Carver does Beta). I can understand charging that price for Alpha which has a big backyard, and maybe $15 for Chi since it’s at an angle, but Charlie has almost no grass! The most I should be charged is $10 for that place. I’ll keep that in mind when looking for new lawn mowing guys.
Overall, I give myself a C- for property management in 2013. I should have done better, and I’m hoping for at least a B+ next year. Besides the management side of things, I also made the big financial mistake of purchasing the Acura MDX with straight cash of over $7000. Along with repairs, that vehicle cost me well over $10,000 of straight cash. I could have easily bought a brand new car under lease or payment plan, like Nino did. He bought himself a 2013 Subaru Outback, pays a low monthly payment, and never has to worry about repairs because it’s all covered by the warranty. I still love the MDX, but I could have had a lot more money in my account right now had I bought a 2013 Santa Fe or something cheap. That would have cost me about $3,500 for the entire year, leaving me with an extra $7000 of short term money to use towards the purchase of property Delta. I have to learn to think before I spend a large sum of money.
I’m still not sure what happened with the whole Nikita Simone thing. One day I’m hoping my subconscious lets me in on why I had to go through all that. The only thing I know for sure in my dealings with Nikita is that I’m done with ghetto girls. If I’m gonna have casual sex with a woman, I’d much rather do it with a woman who’s got her stuff together like Nikita than a crazy hoodrat girl like Mercedes. If only Nikita wasn’t so hung up on having kids and so in love, I would have tried to make it work. But that’s all over and I’m looking forward to 2014.
For the purpose of this blog, this is the end of 2013. As I write this, my dad Roy is barking instructions about Nigerian customs and who to meet and the different people I’m gonna be staying with. Ugh. But 2013 is over. Not a bad year, but here’s a glass of fruit punch Kool-Aid I raise in hopes of a better year in 2014.
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