New Guy to BP. 20+ Years experience as LL.

[Steve Davis]

Hello everyone. Name here is Steve Davis. Currently live in the Howell Michigan area.

I have been a landlord for a little over 20 years now. I currently own 2 Duplexes. I have had experience with Great Tenants, Okay Tenants, and Challenging Tenants. I have had to handle a few evictions over the years. Many funny stories and some sad stories.

Let me tell you a couple of stories about myself.

Why did I get into those whole Renal Property business?

As a 22 year-old I was a recent new hire for General Motors in Lansing Michigan. I started on the assembly line as an hourly person. For those old enough to remember I began my career in 1995 working on the Chevrolet Cavalier.

One of the first things I heard when I got to General Motors was being told by co-workers not to expect to last longer than a year. (By the way 22 years later I am still here at General Motor as an Engineer). At the time, I made friends with an older gentleman who was flipping houses. He suggested that I needed to buy a duplex. He wisely told me that if I lost my job I could still afford to pay a mortgage if half of it is being paid by someone else. Without any guidance, I ventured into a new business as a Landlord. I lived in one side and had a tenant pay half of the mortgage.

A few years later, a new lovely wife, and our first and second child on the way we decided to repeat (I have 4 children now). This time we bought another duplex (3 bedroom one) and kept the original property.

That is how I started. Over the years I eventually handed over the properties to a property manager. Made my life much easier and its more passive income now.

One of my many learning's as a Land Lord.

As a new landlord, I had to go through an eviction and had no idea what I was doing. I gave the tenant a typed up 7 Day notice. On the 7th day I knocked on their door and said I was headed to court and wanted to give them one more chance to pay. They of course asked for more time and I said I could not do that.

I went to the Lansing Courthouse and asked how I do an eviction. I gave them a copy of my 7 day notice and they almost laughed (they were nice). I then had them walk me through the process and found out that I had to use the city’s form.

I then went back to the tenant and said I had thought about their request and decided to give them 7 more days. This time I gave the correct form. Of course I did not admit I made the mistake.

I joined Bigger Pockets because I felt it is time to get some more properties. This time I will have to invest bigger money and want to wisely do it. As an owner occupied I was putting down something like 5%. I want to learn how to wisely evaluate properties this time around.

Looking forward to sharing my knowledge with others.

[Keri Middaugh]

HI, @Steve Davis.  Great story!  I've got some of those myself :)  I'm an investor and real estate agent down here in Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor.  If you are looking for property down here, please keep me in mind.  I'd be glad to help.

Keri