All Forum Posts by: Doug Heim

I rehab with products made in the U.S.A. to support American renters and landlords.  The toilets, ovens, fridges, water heaters, faucets, and air conditioners that I've used to fix up my houses are all made in factories in the U.S.A. by workers that often are renters.  And guess who the American factory worker rents from?  That's right, the American landlord, that's you and me.  So that's one way I support the American renter and landlord.  How are you going to support the American renter and landlord in the tough times ahead?

I'd be interested if anyone else has any Bible wisdom that relates to being a landlord.

I've fixed up and rented three properties in the last three years and so far things have gone smoothly.  I recently starting thinking about what to do if one of my tenants has problems paying the rent due to the Coronavirus and job layoffs.  When I woke up this morning the answer came to me.  If a tenant loses his (or her) job and can't pay the rent, I will tell him to pay me what he can afford, and the remainder for that month will be forgiven.  I will also tell him in these times of need to do a good deed for his neighbor so that my generosity continues.  A month later, if he should come back and say he still doesn't have a job and can't pay the rent, I will ask him what good deed he did for his neighbor the past month.  If he can recount a good deed, I will tell him to pay me what he can afford, and the remainder for that month will be forgiven.  If he cannot recount a good deed, I will evict him as soon as is legally possible and re-rent my property to a more deserving tenant.

I based this guidance on a parable from Matthew 18:23-34:

because the Kingdom of heaven is like this.  Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants' accounts.  He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt.  The servant fell on his knees before the king.  'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay you everything!'  The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.  Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars.  He grabbed him and started choking him.  'Pay back what you owe me!' he said.  His fellow servant fell down and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!'  But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.  So he called the servant in.  'You worthless slave!' he said.  'I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to.  You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.'  The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.

Hey @Graziano 

@Graziano Casale are we having an Indy/LA meetup anytime soon?  

I used Orkin to figure out how the mice were getting into my attic (only cost me a few hundred dollars for their service, well worth it).  Turns out there are little passages behind the siding at each corner of the house that run up to the attic.  They recommended stuffing steel wool into these passages (outside, at ground level near the foundation where the siding starts), and that stops the mice.  Seems to have worked!

I'm from LA and have 2 SFHs on the northeast side of Indy (zipcodes 46235, 46226).  Let me know if you have questions.

I do not live in Indiana and set up an LLC there last year through the INBiz.IN.gov website. It's a fairly quick and easy process. I did need to hire a registered agent service that was local for $99/year.

@Theresa Harris Haha, that is faux wood vinyl on the left of the fridge, and the front above the ice maker.  First time I've seen that.

@Steve Lehman Wow, currently I look for properties that take a week or two to get ready to rent.  How long did it take you to rehab that one?

@Mike D'Arrigo Correct, these properties were on the MLS.

I was recently in Indianapolis looking for a second rental house to buy.  Thought I'd share some of my experience.  The first picture shows whoever (probably a tenant) painted this home's kitchen got a little too lazy to move the fridge and thought the job was good enough, haha.  The next two pictures shows why I say away from old homes that are two stories high.  Walked into this home to find a water leak on the second floor made its way to the first floor, causing damage to the ceiling and newly installed flooring.  Would be interesting to hear what other investors have run across recently.