Posts Tagged ‘opportunity zones’

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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Turn Your House into a Rental Property: Podcast of radio interview with Dan Ramey

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Here is my radio interview with Dan Ramey of WBEX in Chillicothie, Ohio.

I described the process that I use to turn a house into a rental property. I advocate that people use this when they are ready to buy a new house. Instead of selling their old house, they should just turn it into a rental property.

The average American buys 7 houses during their lifetime. If they kept all their old houses as rentals, they would have a pretty substantial monthly income by the time they retired.

Interview with Dan Ramey 09-15-2010

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A Secret to Increase Rental Profits: Buy Properties in “Opportunity Zones” (Video)

Monday, September 20th, 2010

When looking for investment properties, don’t just find houses that meet your financial criteria. Rather,  find the house that meets your criteria in locations where people are extraordinarily inclined to rent.

There are nice areas in my town and there are not- so-nice areas in my town. However, neither of those two areas is where most people like to rent properties. The largest majority of people like to rent in what I call “opportunity zones” (also known as “transition zones”).

A great way to maximize rental profits is to buy rental properties in “opportunity zones.”

How 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 .