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.
Posts Tagged ‘Fix em Up Rent em Out’
Do you take time away from the stress of real estate investing? (video)
Monday, November 15th, 2010How to Find Tenants
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Here is a recent email that I received from someone who is taking my 7-Week email course, and my response:
Dear Terry,
We bought one fixer upper but are having trouble renting it — any ideas of good places to advertise for a tenant?
Thanks in advance,
Jean xxxx
Hi Jean,
Let me suggest a few techniques that that have worked for me:
1. Place several small For Rent signs on all nearby streets, especially the major intersections. If you get a sign with an arrow on it, you can point the arrow in the direction of your house. I buy the signs at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
2. Hold an “open house” on Saturday and Sunday. People driving by can come in and look around.
3. Contact companies that help people find rental properties. Some will list your property for free. These companies usually contact me.
4. Run an ad on craigslist.org. You can upload photos and describe the qualities of your rental property. The ads are free & I usually get a great response.
I hope you find a tenant soon.
Let me know if you come up with a good technique that I haven’t thought of.
Good luck!
Best regards,
Terry Sprouse
Location, Location, …
One thing I didn’t mention in the letter, but which is perhaps the most important consideration of all in attracting good tenants, is the location of your property. Properties located where people really like to rent are called “opportunity zones” (or “transition zones”). Just as Baskin-Robbins must offer the flavors of ice cream that the public likes, so you must offer rental properties in the areas of town where people want to live.
If your property is located in an area where people don’t like to rent, you will always have trouble finding tenants. For more information about my philosophy on where to invest, check out my EzineArticles.com article The Secret to Increasing Cash Flow – Invest in Opportunity Zones .
Festival of Books Link
Friday, March 12th, 2010
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For those attending my Self-publishing Workshop at the Festival of Books, here is a link to my handout where I discuss how I the techniques that I use to promote my book Fix em Up Rent em Out.
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New Fixer Upper and Rental House Class on January 23rd
Friday, January 1st, 2010.
Happy New Year!
For those of you who live in Southern Arizona, I will be teaching a class in Sierra Vista on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010. The Fix em Up Rent em Out class runs from 10 am to noon.
Below is the blurb from the Bulletin of the Sierra Vista Department of Parks and Liesure Services. My class is listed on page 20.
Workshops
Fix ’Em Up, Rent ’Em Out
How to start your own house fix-up and rental
business in your spare time.
Create wealth by buying, repairing, and renting fix-up
houses. This class will teach you how to start your own
house repair and rental business. Some of the topics
covered include: locating, repairing, and renting properties;
why invest in fix-up homes; tax codes; rental
contracts; advertising; keeping records. Terry Sprouse
is the author of the book Fix ’Em Up, Rent ’Em Out.
For more information, or to register, contact the Oscar Yrun Community Center at (520) 458-7922.
I will be teaching the same class again on March 27th.
New Fixer Upper Course Now Available
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
My new audio course entitled “Fixer Upper and Rental House Start Up Kit” is now available!
It’s specifically designed for the beginning investor who wants to learn through the convenience of listening to audio recordings. I start from the beginning and guide you through all you need to know to get started.
Audio #1 is Start Your Own Fix Up and Rental Business
This recording takes you though the steps you need to know to get going including identifying target neighborhoods, doing due diligence, paying for rental properties, how to do taxes.
Audio #2 is How to Manage Tenants and Enjoy It
Tenant issues are what detour many people from this business, but follow the time tested techniques that I use and you will find that managing tenants is a lot easier than you thought.
Audio #3 is How to Learn to Make Repairs
I did not start this business with many repair skills. But I learned as I went along, and you can too.
#4 Documents and Contracts
This includes the nuts and bolts you will need to run your business. You receive a form to screen tenants, application forms for tenants, eviction notices, sample letters to tenants, tables that allow you to calculate how much your monthly payments will be when purchasing a house, and much more. These are the forms that I use in my own business.
The Start Up Course includes a 14-page workbook that I have written to further guide you along the way to starting your business.
And for a limited time, I am offering a bonus download with an electronic copy of my award-winning book “Fix em Up, Rent em Out.”
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Trouble with Bad Tenants? Use a month-to-month contract
Friday, October 16th, 2009
One of the best ways that I have found to protect yourself from bad tenants, and we all know that a few will always slip though our “infallible” screening process, is to use the month-to-month contract.
If you have a tenant that you need to get rid of, for whatever reason (and I can think of a lot of them, such as painting a picture of a human face on the side of an outside wall, but that’s a story for another whole post), take the easy road.
If they have signed a month-to-month contract, you just need to send them a form saying that you are canceling the contract and they must be out by end of the next month. You have to give them a full 30 days to move, maybe more if they pay on the first and you are in mid-month when you notify them. In that case you would give them 45 days to move, at the end of the following month.
But, no matter how you slice it, it sure beats going through an eviction process, particularly if they are inclined to fight it. And, why wouldn’t they fight it since they at this point they have probably developed aggravating us into a science.
So, if there is any doubt in you mind about whether your tenant will go to the tenant dark side at some point, play it safe and have them sign the month-to-month lease.
New Product Announcement
I am in the process of developing a audio Course entitled “Fixer Upper and Rental Business Starter Kit.”
The course will include 3 audio recordings, electronic copies of forms, a Workbook, and a copy of my book Fix em Up Rent em Out.
I will be providing extensive information to guide you through the process of starting your own business. I will show you the quickest way to reach your goals, and protect you from the pitfalls.
Want to claim a sense of security when the walls of financial security seem to be crumbling all around?
Then this course may be for you!
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Interview with Mark Maxon Wednesday
Monday, August 10th, 2009.
In his book, Achieving Excellence in Life, author and radio host Mark Maxon states that a foreign-born individual relocating in the United States is four times more likely to acquire a net worth of one million dollars in his working lifetime than a natural born citizen. He identifies the reason for that as conditioning. Growing up in the US, we are taught “Money doesn’t grow on trees; “We can’t afford that, we’re broke;” and “The streets aren’t paved with gold.” While in other countries, people say, “The streets are paved with gold,” and “In America anything is possible.” I find that pretty interesting.
Wednesday, I will have the pleasure of being interviewed by Mark Maxon about my book Fix em Up Rent em Out. I invite you to join us. You can listen to us live at http://themaxonshow.com/, and selecting “click to listen live”.
Details for upcoming radio interviews:
August 12, Mark Maxon, KTALK AM 630, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10:00 am Mountain Time
August 14, Gillian Sutton, KRSN AM 1490, Los Alamos, NM, 7:30 am Mountain Time
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Upcoming interviews in Iowa and Minnesota
Friday, July 24th, 2009.
I am back from vacation in Mexico and from attending the National Speakers Association Conference in Phoenix.
It was amazing to see the Aztec Teotihuacan Ruins in central Mexico. My wife and boys climbed the Pyramid of the Sun (pictured above) and the Pyramid of the Moon. My 11-year old climbed the Pyramid of the Moon twice! We cut back his consumption of pixie sticks shortly after that. All that sugar was giving him way too much energy! I had to sit out the climbing because I had a sore leg from playing soccer the previous day.
Nando Parrado was a keynote speaker at the NSA conference. He was in a plane crash in the snowy Chilean Andes in 1972, along with members of his rugby team, and survived for 73 days. Eventually, he walked across the mountains and saved his friends by bringing help. His incredible story was told in the movie “Alive”.
Upcoming radio interviews to discuss my book, Fix em Up Rent em Out:
July 30, Steve Hexom/Brian Nichols, KBUR AM 1490, Burlington, IA, 8:05 am
July 31, Rich Peterson, KROC AM 1340, Rochester, MN, 9:10 am
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