All Forum Posts by: Tom McQuinn

I'm half laughing at this today.  I hope a little humor can be tolerated here.

I have a rehab project that is going, but going slowly.  The gods laugh at any plans I make.

I have two sons in college who were told they would have free car maintenance until they graduate.  Guess who does it for free?  I've been chasing a problem for my younger son that requires me to log a lot of computer data.  So we swapped cars.  We actually put an obscene amount of money into his car building the engine but you wouldn't think so to look at the paint.  I look like a very poor old man driving a beater.

This is a special project, I'm emotionally invested in it.  I'm doing a lot of it DIY.  The next one will be different but I am spending a lot of time here.  The curtains are down because there has been a ton of dust.  It's obvious that it's vacant.  My son's car is in the driveway.  So the driving for dollars crowd (not a put down, I do it) keeps interrupting my work thinking some they're seeing a project where the owner has run out of money and is ready to cut his losses!!!!  May lightning strike me if I don't have nice Porsche in the garage!

I'm sure you're right, I don't think a picture of someone smoking crack would be enough to prosecute someone. 

For 50 bucks I'm going to give the trail cam a try and maybe see how many of 'em there are.

I confess that this is for my residence but I am an investor and I do hope to sell it for a profit someday.

Back in 1992 I lost my mind and bought a 1.15 acre wooded lot in one of the better areas of town.  I totally underestimated how much work, expense, and hassle it would be.  Using fencing, I've basically divided it into 2 lots so I can keep my dogs within sight.  I won't even try to describe the history of problems I've had with the back lot.  It's actually easier to take care of now that all the Ash trees have died.  But today I found 2 crack pipes in the back lot.  This is not going to continue.  I don't want to start a fight here but the cops here are useless for this sort of thing.  Has anyone ever used a trail cam and gotten good enough photos of trespassers to be of use to the police?  I'd like to try something that doesn't involve me going back there with a shotgun in the middle of the night.

Yeah, I reached out to a friend who's a social worker and I think she can get me in touch with the county folks.

This may or may not be a good idea.  The bathroom is small and has an old brick chimney in the wall that would ideally be removed to make space.  We'll see what the county says.  Less than perfection may be acceptable if I'm able to make some changes that don't break the bank.  Having the circuit breakers in the basement could be an issue as well.  But I'm sure others have had this same design and found ways to deal with it (a relative or whatever).

I have been out of the landlord business for a VERY long time.  I now have a single family house that I'm going to rent.  It has an ADA compliant ramp built into the garage.  It turned a 2 car garage into a 1 car garage, but a person can pull a car into the garage, shut the garage door, and still easily get up the ramp.  My plan is to move the washer & dryer from the basement to the 1st floor (a trivial plumbing job), and find someone, maybe from the country, to show me what needs to be changed in the kitchen and bathroom to make the place really accessible.

My other option is to remove the ramp and make it a 2 car garage again.  I'm going to try making it a handicapped rental first.  Has anyone ever done something like this?  My goal is just to get a stable tenant, long term if possible, who doesn't trash the place.

Thanks.  I've done a few deals but I'm basically at the 'drinking from a firehose' stage this week.  But one by one the problems are being solved.  It's good just to be busy again...

I'm very fortunate that I live in an area where the local investor's group is very active.  I think that between the connections I'm making here in town and whatever I learn from the forums I will get most of the resources I need.  The rest I will just blunder my way through and pay the fines! 

Hopefully this is going into New Member Introductions.  I will try to make it humanely brief but hits have been put out on my typing teacher...

I am in Cincinnati.  I was a 3rd generation journeyman carpenter (hated heavy construction) who became a software developer in 1984.  In 1988 I quit my job, started a consulting company, hired people, etc., etc.  It was a great ride but now it's becoming a commodity and I'm out.  Along the way I had a two family that I hired one of my old bosses to rehab but I was a terrible landlord.  I can honestly say I know a lot of things NOT to do.  I used to do hard money lending but I'm not actively seeking these opportunities, at least for now.  I've been taking a course in wholesaling and I think I can use that to generate some cash.  Time will tell.  I have one terrible vice that eats cash like crazy and I will never retire while I'm healthy.

I have a rental.  I fell into it and I'm a prime example of how a fool can get lucky.  Half of it was given to me and the other half was exchanged for a debt that I did not think was collectible.  It needs some things and I'm actually enjoying some of the DIY parts, though long term I intend to get reconnected to the trades and hire all work out.  And I am not going to be as foolish this time.  I am going to learn landlording and I'm going to be as tough as I need to be with tenants.  But I have more questions every day.  I want to see if others have already been down some of the paths I'm considering.  So I'm here.  You can reasonably expect to read all the excruciating minutiae here in the coming weeks if you're interested.