All Forum Posts by: Alexa K.

Hi BP, so I'm currently in the next phase of getting my first rental property all fixed up and ready to rent, and am essentially looking to meet someone (or some people) who can help with things like installing kitchen cabinets, replacing toilets, installing light fixtures, laying floor, painting, electrical etc. Basically like a jack-of-all-trades handyman that I can give a call when I need and work with. I'm hoping that some of you in the Youngstown, OH area have had some luck and might know a person or two like this! I thought about Craigslist, but my experience with folks on Craigslist with updates and repairs for my own home were, uh... I'd rather not talk about it, lol. 

Right now in particular, I'm currently fighting with the hot water tank & gas furnace, hoping to find someone who could check those out without me having to contact a major company to come out for a service call and then be upsold into purchasing a new unit.

Update: Contacted the electric company and spoke to them. They came out today and replaced the meter, free of charge. Said that theft was common around here, but they always managed to recover them, so no charge to me. Just got to sign some papers stating it's okay for them to prosecute whoever stole the meter if found. Woo!

Thanks for your input, Jay. I'm anticipating I'll be eating the cost. It'd be nice if it were the utility company's responsibility, but I'm prepared for the worst. Needless to say, I learned my first lesson in the rental business!

@Account Closed The reason people steal meters is because of free electricity. They swap their own meter out with the stolen meter whenever the meter reader drops by so that it shows a smaller amount of electricity used, thus, having to pay a cheaper bill. Definitely creative, if nothing else. I'll be looking into purchasing meter cages for any property I purchase from now on.

I recently had the electric turned on at my first rental property yesterday. Visited in the early afternoon, flitted around with the lights for a bit, and made sure to turn everything off before I left. Well, I went back over today to do some work and found that my electric meter has been stolen. Not really sure about what the protocol is when it comes to this, and there's no way I'm contacting my insurance company because I don't want increased premiums. Wondering if anyone's had any similar experience, and if so, what did you do? Did you have to replace the meter? How much did it cost? I'd love to contact my electric company but they're closed until Monday. 

I'm planning on throwing $500 at it to test the waters out in the coming months. I'll be sure to post about the results here when I do. In the meantime though, I hope someone with some experience chimes in!

Just additional food for thought since I know you were considering removing the tree: If you do end up removing it, make sure to alert your insurance company and let them know because that can lower your premium. Believe it not, trees can affect rates quite a bit. 

I'm from the Youngstown area and can say that it's not a place you want to invest in unless you physically visit and get to know the area. Property values can vary insanely just two streets away, and so can rent rates, too. Two streets can make the difference between the verifiable dangerous part of town that you'll be lucky to get $400 for and a nice(r), safe(r) neighborhood that you'll see $550-$650. It's an interesting place, no doubt, haha.

As someone who works in insurance and files these claims all day, this would go through her own insurance. The tree branch might've been on your side of the property before it fell, but once it falls onto someone else's property it becomes theirs. Whether or not that's fair is debatable, but that's how it works over here at a top 3 insurance carrier.

@Jason Bott I'd love the info! 

@Jen R. I will PM you. Thanks!