New Landlord, 12 units, and the value of "systems"

[Dustin Beam]

Hello beautiful people of BP,

This is a somewhat cautionary tale. Not one to avoid failure (but that could apply), but more of how to avoid stress. This is only my story, YMMV. :)

So, it's not that I didn't understand the value of systems, or that I don't now. It's more of how it's difficult to just have sytems in place without, say, a mentor or slowly scaling up. At least I don't know how to conjure them up at a moment's notice.

I bought 12 units about 1.5 months ago. Still no regrets, but I'd be a liar if there aren't days where I feel like I'm drowning. Why? The building has a lot of deferred maintenance. 

For instance, I need to have wood rot repair and painting done on these fourplexes. Do I have a guy? Nope. So I'm trying to round up some bids. That's not really a big deal. But oh yea, I'm remodeling one apartment to increase rents. Needs to be done in less than a week, but still lots of work. Do I have a "guy" for that. Nope. It'll be me and luckily my girlfriend and father have and will help. But then there's also tenants calling about things that need done. Do I have time? Nope. 

As you can see, I'm learning trial by fire. And it's a lot to bear sometimes particularly with a "normal" job. So without systems and people in place, it's harder to stay on top of everything in a timely and cost effective manner.

So, I know I will survive this, but I would certainly advise anyone getting into this to first find a mentor if possible. A mentor could tell you of a painter that will give a great price, or a handyman to go fix the hole in a screen window. If not that, I still wouldn't tell you to avoid 12 units like I have, but be prepared to be running around crazy for a while until you find the people you trust and do a good job. And if you can, find those people ahead of time...again if you can.

But anyway, I just felt like sharing a little. I know it's nothing revolutionary, but maybe it will help a fellow noob like me that is coming into a deal soon. Ha :)