Finding a Renter Tougher Than Expected

Everything was all planned out.  Up-front research showed that rents in the area were between $1145 and $1200, so setting the asking rent at $1150 seemed appropriate.

It should rent within a couple of weeks - tops.  Yeah, right.

We started advertising on Craigslist several days before we closed on the purchase.  Then, we put a sign in front of the house.  A couple of weeks later, we decided we'd also advertise in the classifieds section of the local Sunday paper.

We got some calls, but definitely not the 10 calls per day that I had hoped for.  Most disqualified themselves - or disqualified the house - immediately.  Things like, "Do you allow pets?"

Corporate World Chews You Up, Spits You Out

Just read a fascinating - okay, maybe frightening - article on Forbes.com called Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out at Work by 30.  Though the article's focus is on younger women, the corporate world poses problems for both women and men.

Choice quote from the article:

“They expected things to be better now that they’ve arrived and made it. But instead they are starting over on the bottom rung and still striving. You can’t see the end of the tunnel because they are so many twists and turns. It’s impossible to see what life will be like in 20 years these days. It’s hard to look just 3-4 years in the future. They don’t know what they are striving for, which makes it really hard to move forward.”

It is true that some folks entering the workforce now have never had to work and therefore, their expectations are largely unmet by a corporation, whose sole purpose is to profit.  But if you work hard, think about what you are doing and have a good attitude, shouldn't it all work out?

Got it! First House Purchase

It's been busy since my last post!  We settled on a price and closed the purchase.  Here's the update.  The house below was listed at $99,900 and we put in an offer and negotiated per the prior posts.

It was a really FAST process.  We put in the first offer of $85k (they listed for $99,900) on a Tuesday and by Friday, we had an agreement on both sides to buy the house for $91,000.

Playing Ball, but Bunted

Heard back from the seller of the property we put an offer in on.  The good news is that they're playing ball!

The bad news is that they're playing small ball - they're not swinging for the stands; they bunted.

Offer is in!

Back from Omaha!  It was a great trip and I accomplished one of my major goals in going - identifying the neighborhoods where I'd look to purchase rent houses.  

I also accomplished another major goal, which I didn't fully realize I should be aiming toward until it dropped right in my lap:  

Headed to Omaha

So, I've talked about investing in a partnership.  And we've identified some candidates online in and around Omaha, Nebraska.  Well, seeing in person on the ground - especially starting out - and seeing online are two very different things.  So, this weekend, I'll be heading out to Omaha in part to see some properties and neighborhoods.  I hope to...

A candidate

My brother-in-law and I have identified a couple possibilities.  One is a house in an Omaha suburb called La Vista.  It's a bread-and-butter 3 bed 2 bath house that is a foreclosure property.  Other homes in the area sell for about $110k to $130k and it's listed for $80k.

I think we can get it for less, but what I'm realizing is that the most difficult part of the offer phase is figuring out what will need to be repaired or rehabbed and how much that will cost.  Not only do foreclosure properties generally need repair/rehab, but the way that I have been taught to invest is to do all repairs or rehab up front to minimize tenant issues during the first several years.