OK.  Pictures are not showing in the other posts and I'm not sure why, so here is a link for all of the pictures of I have.
http://picasaweb.google.com/UrbanAndrew

Enjoy!

Comments/ Questions:
UrbanAndrew@gmail.com

        

Here are pictures of the new house on Greeley St making this one Greeley#2. let me know what you think or what improvements I should think about making. These apartments will be available for rent May 1st and will be totally renovated inside and out. UrbanAndrew@gmail.com

        

A TON has been going on lately hence the lack of posts.  This will be a real quick over view of what happened since last time. 

 

I went to Tahoe, CA for 10 days, which was great, but I came home to kind of a mess (nothing I couldn’t handle however).  The tenant at Greeley St on the first floor abandoned the apartment.  I sent all the correct forms and tried to contact her but with no luck.  She later informed me that she no longer wanted the items and I should contact her ex-boyfriend to pick them up. HAHA that was a good one.  Well I cleared the apartment, and have stored all the items in a locked area until a time I see fit to dispose, donate, burn, what ever to them. 

Also while I was away a tenant at Greeley called me to inform me that the basement had flooded, possible because of the hard rain.  OK funny that never happed before?  So upon further review and the fact the first floor kitchen sink was over flowing I finally determined that it was not water but sewage that was over flowing into the basement.  This was due to feminine products, hair, straws, and popsicle sticks, in the drain, not sure why that in there but people do weird things.  So after paying $455 dollars to Gem (I know but it was short notice) the pipes were cleared and all water was flowing smoothly.

  

 

Pictures Above are what was pulled out of my sewer line.....MMMM.

 Greeley st was now looking AWESOME on the inside and I was receiving lots of calls for renting.  I’m pretty sure I have a suitable renter, but I never know until the money is in my hand.

Basically around this same time, the renter on the second floor of Sandringham left which was sad.  She was a great tenant (my first tenant ever), who was quite, paid on time, and put up with my occasional antics (haha she will probably read this).  Her apartment was left in the best condition so far.  There were lots of nail holes everywhere and a few larger holes that needed patching but all and all it was in good shape.  I have had lots of calls on that apartment and it should be an easy rent asking on $990.00 for a 3 bedroom, 1100sqft in a REALLY nice area.  The kitchen and bathroom set up are lacking and are something I have big plans for in the future.  I need a tar driveway first then worry about the kitchen, but once it’s done will really improve the apartment.

 

Now for the big news………..drum roll please.  I was able to pick up another multi family next to the house on Greeley.  So I will now have Greeley 1 and Greeley 2.  Greeley 2 will be the new one, which is a bank foreclosure and was VERY cheap.  I was able to get the price down to $127,900, with the house being worth $258,000.  Not a bad difference, and should be great for a re-fi in a year or two.  This house has three bedrooms on the first two floors, a strange one-bed room on the third floor and then a nice 1 bedroom in the basement.  The house does need some minor work such as a few new windows, tile work, new appliances, new flooring here and there, and some new paint.  But honestly it’s in really great shape.  I’m meeting with contactors to go over prices and ideas.  I’m also going to be video taping the entire project from start to finish and make segments for YouTube, so look for those going up soon. 

 

Lots of exciting things will be happening in the springtime so keep in touch and make sure to check back often.

 

You can always reach me at UrbanAndrew@gmail.com

Happy Investing!

        

        

There was a question asked about the type of form that I was using for a particular tenant issue. There are lots of forms out there but I'm going to post the forms that I use and you are more then welcome to use and tailor to your needs.

Here is the application that I use for potential tenants.  The application is fairly in depth.  I look at past references, job reference and what their boss has to say about them.  I also make sure they have enough for the first month, security, and still some in the bank.  A potential tenants credit score is not a big concern for me.  Lets face it, if they had a steady job and good credit they could buy a home instead of renting.
Rental Application

Here is the tenant lease agreement, which gets into ever aspect of what they can and cannot do.  Very in depth.
Tenant lease agreement

I give a receipt for the deposit amount to the tenants for their records.  I also give a rent receipt when they pay each months rent.
deposit receipt
Rent Receipt

As stated in the lease agreement, all repairs must be made by the landlord (me).  Also tenants must fill out a repair form when there is a repair needed (unless its urgent).  The repair form is first filled out by the tenants stating the repair, I then acknowledge the repair, and then we both signing when the repair is completed.  Having this form will keep you out of trouble if a tenant is upset with you and decided to break a window them call the housing board to tell them a window has been broken for more then a month and you have not fixed it.  If you have then fill a form out every time it will be very difficult for them to do this.
Request for Repairs

A quick reference with tenant’s info such as name, e-mail, phone, and emergency contact is very handy.  I also store all of this in my Palm.
Tenant quick info

Delinquency papers:
Abandonment Notice
Fifteen day late notice -Used at the start of eviction process and is sent on the 15th day after non-payment of rent

As far as software or programs are concerned I use www.rentomatic.com and Quicken Property Manager. Rentomatic is a great online resource that allows you to track tents rent, design and post rental ads, and send rent due invoice via e-mail.  You can sign up for the premium version, which will allow you to receive online payments, and have an online balance.  Quicken Property works great for tracking all expenses and incomes and gives great break downs on how each property is doing.

I will continue to update this list as I use more papers.  Keeping a good paper trail is the best way to stay out of court and makes dealing with tenants much easier.  If they see you are on your game they are less likely to try and take advantage of you.

Please post comments.

 

        

It has been to long since I have posted and I really wanted to post every week which I’m going I’m going to do. So over the last two months the third floor of Greeley has been vacant.  I along with many good friends have cleaned the apartment top to bottom. I would say that it’s cleaner now than ever. Two of the carpets were steam cleaned and one was replaced. 

Two comments regarding the carpets:

1. Don’t rent a rug cleaner from home depot. The ones they rent do not work well and the one I rented leaked tons of water.

2. If you are installing a new carpet in Rhode Island call John the rug guy at 401-480-9943.  John does an amazing job at an even better price. 

You can check out the video’s of the apartment cleaning’s on YouTube which show just how dirty the apartment was and how clean it became.

It took around 3 weekends and a few week nights to get the place up and going to the condition I wanted. The apartment was vacant for two months which was not bad considering it was winter and there are more rentals then people. I also had to drop my asking price from $650 to $625 which resulted in many more calls and me renting the apartment.  The drop in price is not a huge factor for me as I really just wanted to get some well qualified, well behaved tenants, which I think I found.  Because of the apartment being vacant I have not installed a new washer and dryer but do have all the hook ups there and ready to go.  This coming weekend I’m going to just purchase a washer and dryer, and get it over with.  One big problem with Greeley St. is the rear parking has a large section that is still dirt and is making a huge mess.  With the snow thawing and the rain the drive way area is turning into a mud pit (which I usually won’t mind .  I’m thinking around $200.00 or $300.00 for the prep and paving of the drive area.

 

In the next edition I will be changing over the washer and dryer and also showing the updated electrical at Greeley St.

 

Until then, invest!

[where: 02908]

        

The third floor of Greeley is now vacant, which I was really dreading happening.  The third floor is older and with age comes wear and tear, and the need for a good cleaning overhaul.  I have been over there for 2 days so far and put in around 13 hours worth of work Its not today and I have had some help which makes it go quicker.  Some areas of concerns have been the gas on gas stove, the rugs, and the bathroom.  Because of the condition and age of the rugs I might have to rip them out and replace them.  My original thought was to steam clean them, but because of the pulls and discoloring that might just be a big waste of time.  The bathroom has a stand up tile shower stall, which hasn’t been cleaned properly since installed.  The grout is a very yellow/ orange color because of mildew and the hard water.  I sprayed the bathroom down with bleach and recently purchased an AWESOME grout brush at target for 2 BUCKS!  I have to say that I’m actually excited to try the brush, LOL, and hope it makes a big difference (I’m sure it will) the paint in the bath room is the other issue.  There is no exhausted fan so the steam build up has made the, none mildew resistant paint peel and crack in many areas.  It’s not to the point where I HAVE TO repaint but if I can't rent it out immediately then the going to repaint it.  The sweet 1970's gas on gas stove has many issues and is a horrible almond brown color.  I would like to replace this unit but I have not budgeted for that type of purchasing seeing as how I'm purchasing and installing a washer and dryer in the basement. hhmmmm.  If I have the stove serviced which will cost around $150 it will be in perfect working condition, so I will most likely go that rout.  I may take the casing off and just spray it all white, which would make it look a Ton better.  Here is a short video of day two of the clean saga, LOL.  Enjoy!

maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=52+Greeley+St,+Providence,+RI+02904&sll=41.847143,-71.44076&sspn=0.006378,0.014591&ie=UTF8&ll=41.854139,-71.422441&spn=0.006377,0.014591&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

        

I feel as though every social situation where there is something given needs some type of exchange for that something.  If you constantly give give give and never receive eventually you will not want to give any more and may do something to justify all that you have given.  As a landlord I try very hard to ensure that I give back to my tenants, AKA not a slumlord.  I'm constantly fixing and updating items that not only increase the worth of my houses but also please my tenants greatly.  One example recently was cleaning out a storage room in the basement for a tenant of mine so she could move some AC units and a bike down there.  This was something that I needed to do eventually, but not right away.  I also had to replace a cracked window from a built in china cabinet.  The cabinets had been there for a while and people had painted over the hardware a number of times.  So what did I do, I replaced the glass, repainted both of the doors and the cabinet itself, replaced all the hardware and scraped all the paint off of the glass from people doing a half ass job the many times before.  This took me all of 2 hours, the hard wear cost about $5.00 and the paint was already there.  She is now much happier and my cabinets look about 10 times better a win-win in my book.  However the bigger win for me is having rent on time every month and not having to beg.  I gave movie tickets a little while back to everyone because they all paid on time.  This month having my birthday on Halloween, and my love for jack-o-lanterns I purchased 5 pumpkins and handed them out to tenants in the house I live in.  Pumpkins were $5 each (Shaws supermarket) I’m going to keep 2 so it sonly cost me $15 for the pumpkins and made some people very happy.

 

            One other thing I would like to mention is that I recently sent out an e-mail regarding fire’s in apartment building in providence.  This is a serious issue during the winter with space heaters so I sent out an e-mail regard space heaters and safety.  There was also a list of local center that assist people if they have trouble affording heat.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=138+Sandringham+Ave,+Providence,+RI+02908&sll=41.854139,-71.422441&sspn=0.006377,0.014591&ie=UTF8&ll=41.848657,-71.440766&spn=0.006378,0.014591&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

        

If you are reading this Blog you are mostly aware of the foreclosure crisis that is happening all around us.  One issue with foreclosures is that houses are left abandoned and in most cases unmonitored.  Where my house is on Greeley St is a very real picture of what the foreclosure crisis is doing to the housing market.  The house that is directly next to my house has been abandoned for quit some time.  Apparently many other people have noticed it has been abandoned as well and have been squatting there.  Well it’s New England and the nights are getting cold so they are going in there to get warm.  But not only do they have a roof over their head but they also have power and gas, because they were never turned off.  At night there are people walking all over the 3 floors and are even cooking in the house.  They gained access by a fire escape in back where there is a window they just kicked right in.  I have called the police a number of times complaining of a break in but I have never actually seen people inside.  Today I received a e-mail for one of the tenants voicing her concern of her safety and the safety of my house.  I said I would look into it, which took much longer then I expected.  I started with the town tax assessor’s office, which was little help but was able to give me the name of the lender they had on file.  This sent me down a long dead end road.  So after about an hour I was still no closer to finding the owner or if the property was foreclosed.  I ended up going do to the town records office and spoke with this very nice, very beautiful girl Wendy.  She was able to help me be giving me more info and a few other lender names they had on file for the owner.  One of the lenders was able to tell me that they were holding the dead and the property had been foreclosed on.  After I told them about the squatters they informed me they would send out an assessor to look over the property and determine what needed to be done.  She said they would most likely board up the windows and turn off all the utilities.  If there is no sign of any assessor in the next 2 weeks I will be forced to take matters into my own hands and board up the windows on my own.  The last thing I want is a gas explosion because some drunks snuck in and decided to light their crack pipe with the gas stove.

        

With the direction of my blog going towards my experiences with houses and renting apartments i only see it fit to show a few slide shows of pictures of the apartments.  The first one is of Sandringham on the 1st floor.  this apartment is 1300 SqFt and is currently occupied by an excellent tenant.


The next pictures are from Greeley St on the 2nd floor, and I will also post pictures after it was abandoned. Greeley Abandoned