Archive for the ‘spare time’ Category

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Monday, July 2nd, 2012

One of the jobs associated with operating a fixer upper and rental house business is to keep your rental properties in ship shape!

With the annual approach of summer rains, now is almost the last chance to make rental house roofs water proof before the watery onslaught. As someone who has a sworn aversion for arriving too early to parties, I subscribe to the time-tested philosophy of “better late than never.”

This morning I applied some black roofing cement on some areas on one of my townhouse roofs. I had located some cracks upon my inspection of it about 2 weeks ago.

The first photo shows the area in question, where I had previously applied a small amount of plastic roofing cement, but today I was going to put on some more and cover a broader area.

Before picture

The second photo shows the application of the plastic roofing cement. We apply one layer of cement, then put a white membrane on top of that, followed by a second layer of cement. The membrane allows for more cement to be applied.

Application of roofing cement

Below is the “after” photo. You can see that in addition to the corner, we hit a few other cracks with our roofing cement on the sides of theroof. Later, we’ll come back with white roofing paint to cover the black cement.

Completed repair

A good rental house

My wife and I purchased this 2 bed 2 bath townhouse in 1993 and lived in it for 10 years before moving on to a bigger house (to accomodate our growing family), and turning this property into a rental house in 2003.

Its been one of our best rental houses because it is in a “transition” zone (aka “opportunity zones”) where there is heavy demand for housing, and it is easy to care for because it is compact (1100 sq ft with small front and back yards). The townhouse perfect for single people or small families.

We originally purchased it for $53,000 and we charge $750/month (more if the tenants have pets).

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New Book – Carve Out Your Niche – Coming Soon

Friday, August 12th, 2011

What happens after you have been successfully operating your fixer-upper house business for several years, and you have become a master of your own minor universe?

At that point, it’s time to move on to the next phase of your career. You need to write a book about your experiences and share your hard-earned wisdom with others.

Following closely on the heels of writing your book, you will need to find ways to reach the people that will benefit from your book, and you must (gasp! choke!) promote your book.

This is where my new book, Carve Out Your Niche: How to Live Your Passion, Write Your Book, & Help Others to Change Their World, comes to your rescue.

I have already blazed a path for you to follow. Just follow the steps laid out in my book and you too will be able to:

1. Find your niche, or mission in life, if you haven’t already;

2. Lean to write and self-publish your book;

3. Promote your message through an assortment of proven techniques, including videos, radio interviews, and that ravenous monster called “the internet.”

Carve Out Your Niche will soon be available at Amazon.com and other internet book stores.

However, if you can’t wait and would like a preview of my book, you can fill in the form on my Carve Out Your Niche website and receive a free download of the Introductory Chapter.

Joe Sabah, author of How to Get on Radio Talk Shows all Across America, has reviewed my book and commented,

Carve Out Your Niche is a true pleasure to read. Follow Sprouse’s steps and you will succeed!

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William Nickerson Says “It’s Never Too Late to Start with Rental Houses”

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

You are never too old or too young to start investing in rental properties.

Take it from William Nickerson, author of How I Turned $1,000 into Three Million in Real Estate – In My Spare Time, who said,

“It is never too late to start, although fortune favors early starters. Each day of delay loads the dice against  maximum success. But I know of many successful owners who bought their first income property after retirement at sixty-five. You can always start later in life.”

Age is Relative

To put things into perspective:

Thomas Edison invented the telephone at age 84;

Benjamin Franklin helped in the writing of the United States Constitution when he was 81;

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Marin County Civic Center in California at age 88, and;

I started buying rental properties as a mere child at age 47.

Too Much Work?

I have a friend who retired when he was 65, but he had to take a job at an Arby’s fast food restaurant to help make ends meet. I asked him, “Why didn’t you just buy a few rental properties before you retired?”

He replied, “It’s too much work.”

Too much work?

Which is more work, being trapped in a restaurant 8 hours a day doing menial labor, or having free time all day, and cashing rental checks once a month? Sure, there is some repair work every once in awhile, but you can hire a handyman to take care of that.

It’s Never Too Early Either

I’ve had young people ask me, “Is it too early to get started?” If you have the motivation and don’t mind learning as you go, there is no better time to build wealth and security than when you are in your 20’s. You don’t have to know everything to start.

I have a friend who got started at age 25. He bought a 4-plex apartment complex. He lived in one unit and rented out the others. He had a sharp learning curve in the beginning, starting off at an Elmer Fudd skill level, but after he had done it a year or so, he had his business operating like a Swiss watch.

Are you too young or too old?

It’s not about age. It’s about just getting started.

Calvin Coolidge said, “We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once. “

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Turn Your Home into a Rental Property (video)

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

What is the most powerful thing in the world?

An idea that has been planted in a person’s mind.

To improve your economic security you should plant in your mind the idea you should never sell a house. Converting your home to a rental house can provide long-term rental income and economic security to you and your family.

 

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Do you take time away from the stress of real estate investing? (video)

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Even real estate investors (especially those who fix em up and rent em out) need to get away from the stresses of life once in awhile. Maybe it’s time for you to take a walk in the country, and get back in touch with that inner place where you can be yourself.

William Nickerson – real estate better than stocks

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

William Nickerson, in his book How I Turned$1,000 into Three Million in Real Estate – in My Spare Time, said “you success with real estate properties is enhanced because you can retain control of it.”

Many people have made money in stocks, but they relinquish control of their money, except when to buy or sell.

When investing in real estate properties, you can retain personal control in all stages of the selection, operation and improvement of your investments. You are the captain of your own ship.

More radio interviews scheduled

Aug. 10, 9:10 am, Dave Kelber will interview me, WRNJ 1510 am Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Aug. 11, 8:10 am, Mark Wayne will interview me, WICH 1310 am, Norwich, Connecticut.

Aug. 17, 6:50 am, Jason Mansmith will host me, WRPN 1600 am, Ripon, Wisconsin

Here is the complete list of my upcoming  radio interviews. I will keep you posted as more are added

Aug. 10, 9:10 am, Dave Kelber show, WRNJ 1510 am Hackettstown, New Jersey.

Aug. 11, 8:10 am, Mark Wayne show, WICH 1310 am, Norwich, Connecticut.

August 17, 6:50 am, Jason Mansmith show, WRPN 1600 am, Ripon, Wisconsin.

August 20, 8:30 am, I will be on David Sutton’s show, KSRN 1490 am, Los Alamos, New Mexico.

August 25 at 8:08 am,  I will be on Jeff Anderson’s show, KSDR 1480 am, Watertown, South Dakota.

Joe Sabah, Get the Job You Really Want, and fixer upper houses

Monday, July 26th, 2010

In the book How to Get the Job you Really Want and Get Employers to Call You, author Joe Sabah says,

Are you willing to pay the price to have your life be the way you really want it? We all know there is a price to be paid for everything in life. If we stay in the same circumstances we are now it may cost us our life. Serious illness can be caused because of stress, the stress of being in a job we hate. Take the time to consider what price you are paying now for what you have in your life.

For me, the perfect job was buying fixer-upper houses and renting them out. It provided me the independence and financial security that I desired, and I could do it while still working my 8:00 to 5:00 job.

If you don’t like your job, if you are having your hours reduced, or if you lose your job altogether, it may be time to consider establishing a business that will provide you with some additional economic security.

How would you answer Joe Sabah’s question, “What price would you be willing to pay to have the life you really want?”

Review of "One Person – Mulitple Careers"

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

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My review of the book One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life, by Marci Alboher is now on-line over at ezinearticles.com. I think it’s a great book for those of us who are part-time fixer upper house investors with several balls in the air at the same time. One aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed is that it describes many case studies of people who have chosen this path and tells “why’ and “how” they did it. My review of the book is from the perspective of someone who keeps their day job and does real estate on the side.

I also recommend visiting Marci’s New York Times blog entitled Shifting Careers: Smart Thinking at Work. It regularly provides thoughtful stories of interesting people who approach work to the beat of a different drummer.

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Real Estate Investing in Your Spare Time as a Slash/Career

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

Those of us who are working our 8-5:00 during the day and doing fixer upper rental house investing in our spare time are part of what is being called the phenomena of slash/ careers. It appears that many great figures in the eighteen and nineteenth century engaged in more than one job at the same time. Read more about slash careers in The Art of Simultaneous Professions by Nina Smith.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a great comfort being a regular job/real estate investor. It allows me to follow my dream.  There’s are few things I’d rather be doing. Not only does it provide me with an outlet for interests, skills, and dreams that would otherwise never be realized, but it provides more security in retirement. If one career falls through we can focus on one of the others. And, we have learned many useful skills that open up a larger world of possible job options, if we wish to transition to a “primary” job in a different field.

More than anything, having slash/careers makes life a lot more fun.

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How to Learn the Skills to Repair Houses, part 2

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

This of Part 2 of my reponse to a question asking, “My background is not in the building trades. How do I learn the required skills to start a business in repairing houses and renting them out?”

How to learn the appropriate skills:

3. Draw on the Past

After I got more involved in the repair work of our houses, I thought back about how my father had taught me a lot by example. I recall seeing him construct screened-in porches on various houses that we had lived in. I was too young to help out much at the time, or to appreciate what he was doing, but looking back I realize that it required a strong desire to learn the basic principals, and a sense of self-confidence to build it. He had no formal training in construction, and didn’t have reference books like I do, but he learned by observing other porches that had been built in the neighborhood.

I also have a friend who has made a career out of living frugally. He does virtually all of his own house repair and car repair work. If he gets stuck, he goes to the library and finds books to help him. It helps that he has a background in teaching vocational eduction. We have helped each other with house repair projects over the years, and he is a source of practical advice when I need help.
You too may have family members, or friends, that you can draw insight and inspiration from when it comes to making repairs.

4.Create a House Repair Library

I like to scour the fix-up book areas at used book stores for good buys. I buy a book as soon as I see it if I know that it has valuable information. In the past, I have waited to purchase the book only to return later and find that the book I had wanted was gone. The price you pay will literally be a drop in the bucket compared to the money you will save. I have books on almost every possible repair topic, including electrical wiring, plumbing, flooring, you name it. Some books that offer information on a wide variety of repairs, such as Reader’ Digest “Fix-it Yourself Manual” and Better Home and Gardens Complete Guide to Home Repair,” are also good to have. See my earlier blog for more infomation on recommended repair books.

When a book is not enough, I can usually get good advice on specific jobs at hardware stores, like Ace Hardware. And, you can sometimes get advice on difficult repairs by doing a Google search.

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