All Forum Posts by: Jeff Sprunger

@Jeff Sprunger

Lol...why are you in this forum again?

@Kweku Ako-adjei I owe this post a long overdue update. 

@Tami DuBose I'm glad to know I can call on you when I need a bouncer!

The tenant ended up living for about 3 more months after this post was made.  Because of several of the suggestions posted here I was able to offer some advice that the mother took action on to get some rent assistance.  A home hospice moved in for the end of life care and they made a contribution to the family's rent.  Their local Catholic church made a similar contribution on their behalf and as of today, they are still almost a full month behind on rent, but continue to make significant progress in getting it fully caught up.  Now I am aware of at least two organizations worthy of my charitable donations in the future.

At the end of the day, I still have a paying tenant, I was able to make a difference in someone's life when they really needed help and they still have a place to live and are not having to deal with being evicted at the same time as losing a loved one.  If the worst case scenario had come to be then I would have been out a couple months rent and had to rehab a unit that has been in rough shape since I acquired it with this tenant already in place.  

I know the "best practice" is to follow the advice of those who say this is a business and compassion will only cost you money in a situation like this.  I've never been one to play by the rules, so I'm glad my chosen path worked out and I am pleased with the end result.  A huge thanks to all who offered their input here.  I truly appreciate the support of the BP community.  

Law of Attraction says that thoughts become reality, so choose to focus on the good ones!

Love these replies.

@Jeff Sprunger, thanks for the thoughtful response. Our goal is definitely to reach freedom and have time with kids when we get there. Would you change your response if we mentioned that we're willing to be pretty aggressive in investing at this time (ie. use that cash to buy multiple units, etc)? 
@Patrick Liska, Answers to your questions in order: No previous rehabbing experience, when I say we're handy it means we can install flooring, pour concrete, and things to that effect... I'd say putting up drywall would be a big stretch. We would be comfortable being a landlord to people close to our age (pretty good at the Good Cop (me), Bad Cop (fiancee) thing). The multi family/house hack option has been the most attractive to us... do you have any thoughts on specific areas around Austin or is that just the strategy you'd take?
@Kris Wong, @Thomas S. since it looks like you're the only local who's commented on this so far what have you found to be successful as an investment? Your thoughts on living in an area we WANT to live in is great, neighborhoods we've loved have been pricey (mostly hugging the river on the north or south between Zilker Park and East Riverside)