Newbie in Anchorage, Alaska

[Brian Braeutigam]

Hi everyone,

I am a newly started real estate investor. I first became interested in this business last year when a fellow real estate investing co-worker took it upon himself to educate me in all the benefits of owning investment properties. At the time I had a SFH, which had been my primary residence for 10 years, and I shared the deed with an ex who had not been in the picture for 9 of those years. I had been procrastinating the unloading of that property for a long time, but with my mentors gentle nudging and help I finally sold the house. I paid off the ex and used the balance of the proceeds to owner-occupy a four-plex in December 2013.

With the help of my beautiful and talented fiancé, Aimee, I have been learning the ropes of being a landlord. My biggest challenges have been getting the tenants used to my management style (much more rigid than the last owner), a nasty pest invasion and an immediate vacancy in the unit of a 6yr tenant who apparently had something against even basic cleaning. Even these experiences haven’t been horrible and they have allowed me to ‘jump right in’ and engage in a crash course of learning and learning about my building.

After only a few months of owning this building, Aimee and I have felt the benefits and decided to dedicate ourselves to the world of real estate investing. My goals are several. I will be involved in the process of turning some of my cities struggling neighborhoods back into quality areas wherein people can feel safe and happy to live. I will learn the world of real estate investing and pass along all the knowledge I can gather, as it has been passed to me, in order to provide others with the opportunities I have been afforded. Through passive income Aimee and I will be able to spend much more quality time with friends and family and the children we hope to have, and provide lasting wealth benefits for them as well.

I really appreciate the opportunity to join this community. I first encountered BP when I was searching for answers on how to screen my first tenants and the ideas and tips I read in your forum posts are a large part of why those tenants are the best in my building, hands down. I’ve been watching from the edges for some time now, and I think I’ve listened to about half of the podcasts already. I figured I was long past due for my introduction, so there it is...

I’ll try not to be such a wallflower now. ;)

Best wishes to you,

Brian Braeutigam

[Brian Braeutigam]

Joe Fairless Thanks! It was actually a bed bug problem, which has been getting much worse here in Anchorage, I hear. My tenant hid the fact for a couple of weeks, and finally told me when she was almost out of furniture to throw away. I called a local pest company and bought the treatment package that was two levels above the one they suggested. I was horrified that they might spread to other units, but the 'nuclear' option that I chose seems to have done the trick, as it's been a couple months with no sign of them. (Knocking on wood!) I think that there was probably just one solitary bug introduced to the house, as only one dead one was found, in the general area the tenant was sleeping at the time. I sleep in the building also though, so the scorched earth treatment was the only one that was going to let me sleep well. ;) Thanks for the question and I hope you never have to deal with them!