All Forum Posts by: Ed B.

I would recommend you keep it for at least a couple years to see how you like renting it. Could be it's a great rental and fairly easy to rent. Resist the temptation to sell now for a quick buck. Why sell the goose that lays the golden age? I've sold properties I later wish I'd kept.  Appreciate what you have, because it sounds like you may have lucked out on getting this one, and next time you may not get so lucky.

Nick and Kyle, I suggest you try advertising for someone using Craigslist or the local newspaper. You would be surprised at the number of people sitting around with nothing to do who would probably love to help you out to earn a few extra dollars and keep busy. A retired person might be ideal. As long as they are reasonably intelligent, you should be able to teach them most everything they need to do. I've hired several managers this way. I pay them $12-15/hr.

I the neighbors doing this are tenants, contact their landlord to let him know what they're doing. Perhaps he will put some pressure on them to knock it off.

Satya, remember this old communications rule: "Pay more attention to the non-verbal communication than the verbal communication, if you want to learn the truth." You say "The feedback they have generally been getting from prospective renters has been positive. No complaints about the quality of the unit or the price." What you're most likely experiencing is prospects flat out lying to you, failing to complain when they actually do have a complaint. If they had no complaints, they would be trying to rent your place.  I would suggest dropping your rent to get  a tenant. In 3-4 months you can raise it.

Jay, let me clue you in to something I learned awhile back. For some reason, it's just human nature for some people to lie. A lot of this "interest" you claim to be getting is probably feigned interest. They never return the applications because they were never very interested to begin with. It's easier to pretend being interested than to tell you they don't like the floor layout or the paint colors. I was trying to sell a house once, where I got lots of compliments about it, but no  offers.  Your rent may be too high, or your screening standards may be too strict. Something seems to be scaring away the prospects. You may have to bluntly ask a few people to tell you why they chose not to apply. Normally, finding applicants should not be too difficult. With the right price and decent advertising, you should be getting applications, but it could just be the dreaded time of year when fewer people are wanting to move.

Michael, I like Zachary's advice to "pay a little more for a quality product that last longer but you don't pay more for a fancier product that wont last longer."

There is nothing wrong with wanting to provide housing that is durable, clean and functional, but it also depends on how long you plan to  keep them. If you think for at least the next five or more years, don't worry about spending a bit more than your handyman might be comfortable with.  Provide a level of quality that may attract the better quality of tenants, but don't overdo it.

MarieChele, could I interest you in duplex in Albuquerque, New Mexico? I've been pondering buying it. Takes $40k down payment, and ROI is about 15% apr. We each put down $20k. Or you put in $10k and I put in $30k, share any profit proportionately. Send me a message if you want and I can provide more details. :) Sharing the risk with a more experienced investor (24 years) could be a wise move for a newbie.

William, no, he's probably in his 60s, lived in Logan entire life; I assumed he was in town during Christmas, but possibly he was gone during that time. That is very unusual to have such light snowfall, but I guess it's not so unexpected..if California can have  low rainfall for four years, makes sense that Utah, two states over, might have low snowfall, too. Thanks for clarifying! 

William, this is off topic, but is it true last winter was so warm in Logan that it never snowed in town, and only up in the mountains?  Perhaps he meant whatever fell in town quickly melted before it could build up depth. I know global warming has been creating crazy weather, but I'm not quite ready to believe this friend of mine's claim, who also lives in Logan. Is he stretching the truth a bit? :)

Thanks for the update, Ana.  You had some impressive accomplishments and apparently did many things right, but made some unfortunate mistakes, which is good that you seem to have learned from. No shame in failing as long as you learn and know what to do better next time. However, I stand by my original  suspicion that you found it harder than you originally thought. I, for one, didn't fully appreciate all the difficulties and challenges until I tried various investing strategies.