Fixing up rentals prior to selling!

[Tyrone Miller]

Well, our first true rental property has gone on the market in Macomb, MI.  We have a large home that we bought about 7-8 years ago and have had a good time owning it until we encountered our last tenants.  We rented to them for about 3 years and they were late a lot, but always paid.  We eventually evicted them because we wanted to sell the property because we now live in Texas.  Unfortunately once they were evicted we discovered that our tax bill went up a few years ago because our tenants stopped paying their water, trash, and sewage bills!  Apparently the city of Macomb, MI just adds that on to the owners taxes if it is not paid!  Who knew?  Well we got them out and had some contractors fix up the place which cost us over $20,000!  They ripped up everything!!  Well its fixed now and on the market and we have a buyer!  Unfortunately, the inspection now shows roof damage and mold in the attic!  Got to love the middle east winters and the thaw that follows.  I suspect it'll cost another $10,000 to fix the roof and mold.  Lessons learned I guess!

Have a property manager that routinely checks your property.

Vet your renters and pay a little extra in mortgages up front to get people you want.

Never give a contractor your credit card number!  They overcharged us $3000!

Try to personally be involved as much as possible to avoid issues at inspection.

We shall see how this pans out, but never the less, our properties here in Texas are doing well and will more than make up for the issues with the Macomb MI house!

Thanks

TJM