Posts Tagged ‘turn your home into a rental house’

“Turn Your Home Into a Rental House” is 2013 National Best Book Award Winner

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

I’m pleased to announce that the book that Angy and I recently authored:

“Turn Your Home Into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It!” is the winner of the 2013 USA Best Book Award: Real Estate Category. Here is a link to the contest web page.

       


 

 

 

 

 

The USA Book News Press Release:

For Immediate Release
November 2013
Contact: USA Book News
E-mail USA Book News

 USA BOOK NEWS

ANNOUNCES

WINNERS AND FINALISTS

OF

BEST BOOK AWARDS

MAINSTREAM & INDEPENDENT TITLES SCORE TOP HONORS

in the 10th ANNUAL USA BEST

BOOKS AWARDS

LOS ANGELES –USABookNews.com, the premier online magazine featuring mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists ofTHE 2013 USA BEST BOOKS AWARDS on November 14, 2013. Over 400 winners and finalists were announced in over 100 categories. Awards were presented for titles published in 2012 and 2013. Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USA Book News, said this year’s contest yielded over 1500 entries from mainstream and independent publishers, which were then narrowed down to over 400 winners and finalists. 

Highlights include the following Award-Winning Titles: (Fll results listing available on USABookNews.com)

Animals/Pets: General

Chasing Doctor Dolittle: Learning the Language of Animals by Con Slobodchikoff, PhD
St. Martin’s Press
978-0-312-61179-8

Autobiography/Memoirs

IMPOSSIBLE ODDS: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six by Anthony Flacco with Jessica Buchanan & Erik Landemalm
Atria Books/Simon & Schuster
978-1-4767-2516-1

Business: Real Estate

Turn Your Home into a Rental House Instead of Selling It by Terry Sprouse and Angy Sprouse
Planeta Books LLC.
0978-1-979-85665-5

Children’s Picture Book: Hardcover Fiction

In the Beginning: Moral Tails in an Immoral World (Maurice’s Valises) by J.S. Friedman, illustrations by Chris Beatrice
Mouse Prints Press
978-9491613036

Keen says of the awards, now in their eleventh year, “The 2013 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of the USA Best Book Awards, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, John Wiley & Sons, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Hay House, Llewellyn Worldwide, Thomas Dunne Books, Oxford University Press, American Cancer Society and hundreds of independent houses contributed to this year’s outstanding competition.

Keen adds, “Our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community.

A complete list of the winners and finalists of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards are available online athttp://www.USABookNews.com.

 

###

7 Book Promotion Tips by Radio Host Bob Schmidt

Sunday, August 11th, 2013

 

Bob Schmidt, Radio Host “Extraordinaire”

I was interviewed last Tuesday about my book, Turn Your Home into a Rental House, by Bob Schmidt of WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Bob is one of my favorite radio show hosts. He asks good questions, he laughs at my little jokes, and he keeps the whole interview light hearted and fun. Here is a link to that interview (my interview begins at the 16:50 minute mark.)

I was also on his show in 2009 to promote, Fix em Up, Rent em Out. That was one of my very first radio interviews. After the show I called Bob to ask him if he had any advice for me on how to promote my book.

In my “radio interview notebook” I still have the written notes of what he told me. Here they are, verbatim.

Bob Schmidt Book Promo Advice

1.) To book guest appearances call the radio show after hosts are off the air, and talk to the producer or the host. They  don’t respond to email. They want to hear your voice.

2.) Tell them you are the author of a book and succinctly describe “the hook,” or how his/her listeners will benefit from you being on the show.

3.) Make sure you get the host/producer name correct. They are very egotistical and will be insulted if you get it wrong.

4.) During the interview be entertaining and provide helpful information.

5.) Call local TV producers, say I am a local author, and I am fixing up houses. They can film the process.

6.) Contact newspaper home sections.

7.) Fix your website. Put a chapter from the book on it, or provide a prominent link to Amazon where they can get more information about your book.

Why I Like Radio

Radio has been an important component of my book promotion plan.

I use three different ways to reach people, like a three legged stool. One way is the internet, but believe it or not, not every is on the internet. A second way is by giving speeches to groups and organizations. The third way is by radio. It takes all three legs to hold up the stool.

Radio is great because radio shows have time they need to fill, and they guests are one way to do that. It’s fun to be interviewed and you can reach huge audiences from the comfort of your living room. In addition, when a host likes you they invite you back to their show.

Since I started doing radio shows in 2009, I have appeared on 50 shows (and 2 television shows). So far, I have sold 3,300 copies of my books.

To put things in perspective, my friend Joe Sabah has been on over 700 radio shows, and has sold 23,750 copies of his books.

As I like to say, Joe and I together have sold over 27,000 books.

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ. http://wrnjradio.com (to listen live).

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

Abe Lincoln Storyteller Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

What to do When Struck by a Bolt of Inspiration

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

Do your remember that last time you were tied up in knots because you were facing an overwhelming problem?

Then, out of the blue, at 4:00 in the morning, you wake up and the answer to your problem flashes into your mind.

The  really interesting question is, how do you respond to this epiphany? By immediately acting on this inspiration, or ignoring it as fanciful, or not practical, and letting the idea fade from your memory?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

“A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within,”  and “abide by that spontaneous impression” even if the whole world is against you.

While we may under-value this great source of inspiration, there are people who have held onto it with every bit of strength that they have, and that has made all the difference in their lives.

Philippe Petit

The Artistic Crime of the Century

On August 7, 1974, Phillippe Petit rigged a wire between New York City’s World Trade Center Twin Towers and walked back and forth across the 200 foot distance between the world’s tallest buildings eight times before he was arrested. He was almost one mile (1,400 feet)  above the ground, walking on a 3/4 inch wire.

Policemen  sent to apprehend Petit were so awed by the scene unfolding before their eyes  that  instead of arresting him they watched in amazement. One policeman said, “We thought we’d never see anything like this again in our lifetime.”

The “artistic crime of the century” took six years of planning. Petit made several trips to New York for first hand observations. He built a scale model of the towers in France to practice on.

But, as fantastic as the actual feat is, of more interest is how did Petit come by this stupendous obsession?

Petit discovered the World Trade Center in 1968 when he saw an artist’s rendition of the yet-to-be-built structure in a magazine while sitting in the waiting room of his dentist’s office. Petit was mesmerized by the drawing, and from that moment, tightrope walking between the two twin towers became his life obsession.

He never thought, “how much is this going to cost” or “will this take too much time.” He only thought, “I’m going to do it.”

Will Rogers

I Never Met a Man I Didn’t Like

Will Rogers was the single most popular and beloved man of his era. The inscription on his tombstone reads, “I never met a man I didn’t like.”

Rogers was raised in Claremore, Oklahoma. He worked as a ranch hand and became very good at roping and rope tricks. Because of his magical skills with the rope, he was hired by the owner of a traveling group of entertainers to perform his rope tricks.

While Will was extremely talented, and had many dazzling tricks, he did the show in complete silence. His show was entertaining but he was not one of the top attractions.

What changed Will Rogers from silent rope tricks to international fame as the “Cowboy Philosopher”?

According to his wife, Betty Rogers, the turning point in his career came one night when he was attempting one of his most difficult rope tricks of jumping through the lariat with both feet. This particular night, he only got one foot through the rope, instead of two. The other foot got tangled in the rope. He was embarrassed and made the off-the-cuff remark, ” Well, I got all my feet through the rope, except one.” The audience exploded in laughter.

Betty said, when that happened a light came on in Will’s mind.

From then on, in each performance, Will purposely failed when doing that trick, and each time his funny comment brought the house down.

Will began to include more off-the-cuff humor into his act, and the manager of the show asked Will to introduce the other acts and make humorous comments in the process. His fame grew. He went on to host radio shows, wrote daily newspaper columns, and at the time of his death in 1935, he was the highest paid actor in Hollywood.

Robert Frost

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

This is the final stanza  from Robert Frost’s most beloved poem, “Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

Frost wrote hundreds of poems but this one is considered his masterpiece.

What inspired Frost to write these haunting words?

Frost said that he had been up all night writing a long poem and had finally finished when he opened the front door and realized it was morning. He went out to view the sunrise and, and in his words, he suddenly got the idea to write the poem “as if I’d had a hallucination” and wrote it  in just “a few minutes without strain.”

Phillippe Petit, Will Rogers, and Robert Frost, all embraced their bolt of inspiration.

They accepted it without fear or hesitation, allowed it to take over their lives.

Think about this the next time you are in your dentist’s office and pick up a magazine to read.

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ. http://wrnjradio.com (to listen live).

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

Volunteering at Pascua Yaqui Youth Career Academy Job Fair

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

 

This morning I was interviewed by the masterful interviewer, Rich Peterson (KROC Radio 1340 AM, Rochester, Minnesota), about my book “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House Instead of Selling It!”

I was also on Rich’s show a couple of years ago to promote my earlier magnum opus “Fix em Up Rent em Out.”

Today, Rich asked the question,

“Does the city have to  inspect a house before you can rent it out?”

My answer was,

“No the city doesn’t do inspections unless you have constructed a guest house, or added or room, or make some major modification to the property. You must comply with building codes, but if you don’t make any changes, the city is not involved.”

When to Hire an Inspector

While there is not need for the city to do an inspection, prior to purchasing a new home, it’s critically important to hire your own inspector to make sure that everything is “operational” in the house that you want to purchase.

Usually, the owner has to fill out a “disclosure” form that informs you of any existing problems that the house has, that he or she is aware of . Sometimes, owners will have a report available by an inspector that they hired to inspect the property.

Even in that case, you still need to hire your own inspector. It may sound like a case of “dueling inspectors,” but I like to have a report written by the guy that is representing me, not the guy who is representing the seller.

Hiring a good inspector is especially important when you are purchasing a foreclosed property, where there is usually no owner present. Then, the only thing you have to make your decision about the condition of the house is the inspector’s report.

Tid Bits: NBA Trivia and Unwise Career Moves

1st NBA Basket

Prior to my interview with Rich, I was listening to his radio show and I learned that the first basket scored in the NBA was by Oscar “Ossie” Schectkman, who recently passed away at age 94.

I also learned:

4 Things that People do to Help their Career that Actually Hurts Their Career.

1. Staying too long with the same company. Employers wonder why you haven’t changed.

2. Being too good at something you don’t like doing, because you’ll be hired to do it more and more.

3. Keeping your mouth shut. You should tell supervisors before they make mistakes. You may get fired, but improves your status under point #1.

4. Putting in a recommendation for a friend. If the friend is a failure, it reflects badly on you.

As Rich Peterson says, “We’ll’ see you down by the riverside.”

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Tuesday, August 6th, at 8:10 am (central time), I’ll be on Bob Schmidt’s show, WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Tuesday, August 6th, at 9:40 am (eastern), Greg O’Conner will interview me, WKHM 970 AM, Jackson, MI.

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

Saturday, July 27th, 2013

 

Don’t’ rent to these guys!

On my Friday interview on the David Sutton radio show (KRSN AM 1490, Los Alamos, NM), David’s co-host Nancy asked me about one of the common fears of people who would like to own rental houses.

Can’t Get Rid of Tenants? 

She said,

“Once you have tenants in your rental house, even if you want to, you can’t get rid of them for at least one year.”

My response was,

“That’s not exactly right. The tenants may have signed a lease for one year, but that doesn’t give them a free pass to do anything they want to in your property. If they violate the contract (by not paying the rent, disturbing the neighbors, doing auto mechanics in the front yard, etc.), then regardless of how long the lease is for, you can remove them.

The bad news is, they can fight you in court if they don’t agree that they violated the contract.”

Month-to-Month Lease -The Bain of Bad Tenants 

The approach that my wife and I take to avoid extended, and costly, legal fights, is to have all of our tenants on a month-to-month lease. This allows us to scrape off bad tenants like barnacles. All we have to do is to notify them that we are canceling the lease, and they have to be out in 30 days. There’s no fuss, no going to court, easy as pie.

I thought that tenants might balk at having to sign a month-to-month lease, rather than having a long-term one, but every one just accepts it as normal. I explain to them that the advantage for a month-to-month is that it protects both the tenant and the landlord. If they are not happy in our rental house, we prefer that they leave.

We Remove a Bad Tenant 

My wife and I have only had to evict tenants once in our 12 years in this business.

The police informed us that they had the people in one of our rental house under surveillance for drugs because a lot of people were coming and going at odd hours. That was the final straw, since they weren’t model tenants anyway. We canceled their month-to-month contract and they left without any objection.

As we do with all tenants, we gave them a “Move Out Information Letter” describing the steps of the moving out process, which they followed.

Our Fondest Desire: Long Term Tenants 

Of course, our objective is to keep good tenants in our properties into eternity. (We’re exploring options to keep them as tenants, even in the afterlife!)

We don’t want them to ever leave, and we will bend over backwards to keep them happy. That’s how money is made in this business, by having good long term tenants.

We lose money when we have a lot of tenants move in and out, and the unvarnished truth is, we  do like to turn a profit.

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Wednesday, July 31, at 8:15 (central time), I’ll be interviewed by Rich Petersen, KROC 1340 AM, Rochester, MN.

Tuesday, August 6th, at 8:10 am (central time), I’ll be on Bob Schmidt’s show, WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Tuesday, August 6th, at 9:40 am (eastern), Greg O’Conner will interview me, WKHM 970 AM, Jackson, MI.

Wednesday, August 14th, at 9:15 am (eastern), I’ll be on Dave Kelber’s show, WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown, NJ.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

Will Rogers’ Secret of Seizing Opportunities

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

“It was not so much that Will sought the new opening as that he never failed to seize it when it came his way.” — Betty Rogers 

It’s nice to think that we are captain’s of our own ship and masters of our own destiny. Who doesn’t want to like Captain James T. Kirk or Bill Gates?

In my own case, I know that the reason I became the person I am today is by, not so much bending life to my will, but more by taking what life handed me, and by being keenly alert when a new opportunity presented itself.

That’s the way Will Rogers found success.

As his wife Betty said in her biography of Will:

His whole career was the development and unfolding of a personality through the various vehicles that seemed to be constantly and almost miraculously presenting themselves. His comment on stage on the stage during his roping act was incidental at first, if not accidental. (Will never spoke during his Vaudeville rope trip act, except when he once made a mistake and the audience laughed at his funny excuse. From then on, he incorporated that comment, and gradually others, into his act.)

His writing came the same way. (Will wrote a regular Sunday feature for the New York Times that was syndicated throughout the U.S.) His entrance into the movies, too, was not of his own seeking  (he starred in 69 movies). But once started in these new fields, he made the most of each, giving to them the same enthusiasm and energy he had given to the rope (tricks) in the early days.

I added the comments in parentheses to the text.

Meander in the Direction that You Want to Go

I know I’ve probably said this before, at least in Fix em Up Rent em Out, but a good way to get started in real estate, particularly if your circumstances are such that it is impossible for you to start investing in real estate right away, is to just start by meandering in that direction, like a slow, gurgling stream.

You can program your mind to pay attention to anything related to real estate. Cut articles out of the newspaper, buy books at book sales, tale to friends and co-workers about it, watch for seminars and classes about real estate investing. Sometimes desire and knowledge can be acquired simply by observing someone else operating a successful business.

And, when the opportunity does present itself to get started, like Will Rogers, seize it!

 

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews (most shows can be heard  on the internet)

Friday, July 19th, at 7:45 am (eastern time), I will be interviewed by Gary Sutton and Chris Tyler, at WSBA 910 AM  in York, PA.

Friday, July 19th, at 8:10 am, I’ll be on Dan Ramey’s show on WBEX 1490 AM, in Chillicothe, Ohio.

On Thursday, July 25th, at 7:10 a.m. (central time) I’ll be on Jeff Anderson’s show, KSDR 1480 AM, Watertown, South Dakota.

On Friday, July 26th, at 7:30 am (mountain time) I have an interview with David Gillian, KRSN 1490 AM, Los Alamos, NM.

Tuesday, August 6th, at 8:10 am (central time), I’ll be on Bob Schmidt’s show, WLFN 1490 AM, Onalaska, WI.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles:

Volunteering at Pascua Yaqui Youth Career Academy Job Fair

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

Saturday, July 13th, 2013

The Morning Blend interview

Yesterday I was interviewed by the legendary radio host, Mark Wayne, of WICH in Norwich, Connecticut about my new book “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House Instead of Selling It!”.

Check the Roof

Mark commented that the first two things he would check when buying a house would be

1.)  the roof, and;

2.) the foundation.

He doesn’t want to be stuck with these potentially big ticket expenses.

I said that those types of dangers to a real estate investor underscore the importance of having a thorough inspection of the house done prior to purchasing.

Have a Professional Inspection

Not only does a complete inspection by a professional inspector

1.)  protect you from surprise expenses, but

2.) the inspector’s written report is a good tool to help negotiation a lower price with the seller, if the inspector identifies other issues the house may have (for example, A/C, plumbing, wiring, etc.)

Television Interview Update

The Morning Blend is a nice, friendly show, with genial hosts Amanda Guralski (who is also an author) and Sally Shamrell.

I was interviewed last year on the Morning Blend show to promote my book “Carve Out Your Niche,” so I wasn’t too nervous about  Wednesday’s appearance to promote “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House.”

Where’s Angy?

Before we started filming, they asked why Angy wasn’t with me, since she co-authored the book.

I had to tell them the truth.

I said, “I tried to get her to come, but ultimately she couldn’t be on the show because of her back. It has a big yellow stripe right down the middle.”

Strangely, Angywas never nervous when  she and I have taught fixer-upper house seminars together, but she was a little anxious about appearing on television.

Like Riding a Horse

I told Angy it’s like learning to ride a horse. Isaid, “Sure, you may get bucked off a few times and maybe just break an arm or a leg, but before long, you’ll be riding that horse like the Lone Ranger!”

Maybe that wasn’t such a good analogy.

I thought the interview went okay, except that I caught myself mumbling a few times.

Blog Review of “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House.”

Thanks to Sharon at Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog  for her review of my new book.

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews

Friday, July 19th, at 7:45 am (eastern time), I will be interviewed by Gary Sutton and Chris Tyler, at WSBA 910 AM  in York, PA.

Friday, July 19th, at 8:10 am, I’ll be on Dan Ramey’s showon WBEX 1490 AM, in Chillicothe, Ohio.

On Thursday, July 25th, at 7:10 a.m. (central time) I’ll be on Jeff Anderson’s show, KSDR 1480 AM, Watertown, South Dakota.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

“Turn Your Home into a Rental House” to be topic on “The Morning Blend”

Monday, July 8th, 2013

 

“Situations have ended differently than what I expected, but I would never consider that a failure.  A no is just a no for today, it doesn’t have to be a no for tomorrow.”

–Amanda Guralski, I Am Not a Smartie Pants

 

In my never ending (Quijotesque) quest to inform people about how to turn their home into a rental house, Wednesday, July 10th, I will be appearing on the Morning Blend television show, channel 9, sometime between 11:00 am and noon (Tucson time). For those of you not in the Southern Arizona area, the show will archive the interview on their web page.

As we discuss my (and co-author Angy’s) book, Turn Your Home into a Rental House Instead of Selling It!, one topic that will probably be discussed, is the advantages and disadvantages that are an intrinsic part of this business of renting houses.

The upsides to owning rental properties – monthly income and long-term increase in equity – are nice to have, but before jumping in it’s wise to consider the downside of the equation too. Here are some disadvantages that we like to look at as small and manageable issues rather than big obstacles.

 

  • There is work required to prepare your house to rent out;
  • Time must be spent finding and managing tenants;
  • Life is fraught with problems. Even tenants have a few.

 

In truth, these things take time to learn. Like riding a bicycle, you learn to buy, repair and manage properties, by doing it. There were times when we were just beginning our business that Angy and I were so frustrated by tenants that we wanted to throw in the towel. But, we kept on going, and we got better at it.

As Aristotle said,

“We are what we repeatedly do. Exellence is not an act but a habit.”

 

Upcoming Interviews

On Friday, July 13th, at 8:40 a.m. (eastern time) I will be a guest on Mark Wayne’s radio show, WICH 1310 AM, in Norwich, Connecticut.

On Thrusday, July 25th, at 5:08 a.m. (central time) I’ll be on Jeff Anderson’s show, KSDR 14480 AM, Watertown, South Dakota.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

“Refusal to accept the death of a dream would seem a historical imperative in realizing it.” (Referring to Abraham Lincoln’s long held conviction that he would someday be president.)

–Chris DeRose, Congressman Lincoln

Holy Mackeral! It’s time to prepare the roof for summer.

We can ignore it no longer. It’s time to get up on that roof and get the cooler in working condition (for those of us in the southwest), and to re-coat the entire roof in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season.

the water cooler (a.k.a. “swamp” cooler)

We will eventually turn the home into a rental house, so we must keep the roof in top condition. Later, we need to fix one of our rental house’s roof too.

Water Cooler Issues

This year, the copper tubing broke on my cooler due to cold weather. I used to drain the tubing every year before winter. Then, a friend told me that was a waste of time because it never got cold enough to break the pipes.  Now I have one additional broken pipe, and one less friend.

Just kidding. Actually my friend is only serving time in the  penalty box  — for the next 2 years!

valve attached to new tube

 

copper tube

Fortunately, it’s an easy fix to change the tubing. Here are the steps:

1.) At Ace Hardware, I bought 8 feet of copper tube at $1.29 per foot,

2.) I cut off the old tube, and

3.) I attached the new tube using couplers, also from the aforementioned Ace Hardware Store.

copper tube cutter

Applying Rubberized Roof Coating

Last weekend we tackled this job at our house.

We used 4-5 gallon buckets of Tucson Rubberized Roof Coating. Each 5 gallons covers about 400 sq. ft.

The procedure was:

1.) One day before, wash off the roof with a high powered water spray,

2.) Stir up the paint with electric drill and large paddle stirring attachment,

3.) Place my two sons on roof with rollers and paint, and stand back as they lather it on like shaving cream.

 

“chips off the old block” lathering it on

 

making steady progress

Blog recommendations:

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

Our First Rental House Plunge

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

By Terry & Angy Sprouse

 

We (Terry & Angy) are partners in both marriage and in real estate business.

Who says married couples can’t be business partners? And the great thing is we have never considered divorce . . . murder sometimes, but never divorce. Well, never murder, really, but maybe forcing each other to watch, in an uninterrupted viewing, the horrifyingly bad movie, The Clan of the Cave Bear.

In reality, this business has been a bonding experience, not only for us, as husband and wife, but also for our two boys, who have been active participants in the business from the very beginning.

9/11 Attacks Take the Starch Out of Us

We started in real estate investing following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The ensuing economic recession forced our hand. The hours at Terry’s job were drastically reduced. We realized that for the security of our family, we needed to have a business on the side—a business able to provide regular cash flow in case Terry’s 9 to 5 job suddenly went away.

This led Terry to experience a very intensive period of soul searching and in-depth research (accompanied by gratuitous whining and moping). We decided that a rental house business was the best way to go. We were excited to find the rental business was an easy business to learn and to start. This business required no special license, degree, or training. And the results tempered the most important source of Terry’s whining. The rental business offered the potential to make money.

We Jump In and Hope the Net Appears

We essentially just jumped in with good intentions and very little practical knowledge. After we made up our minds that this is what we wanted to do, we simply bought an inexpensive fixer-upper house, one that had foreclosed and been repossessed by a bank. We moved into and lived in the fixer-upper house while we did the necessary repairs.

But most importantly, we did not sell our original home. We rented it out.

Angy Puts Her Foot Down – On Top of Terry’s Foot

It took a little adjustment to move into that first fixer-upper house. The first thing we did was to get one of the bathrooms back into working condition. Angy’s negotiating stance on that topic was, “I’m not living in that house unless at least one bathroom is fully operational!” At that, who could argue? Marveled by a mother’s logic, together Terry and the boys nodded their heads and dropped the labeled empty plastic bottles they held in their hand into the Recycle Box.

As we went forward with the repairs, we changed bedrooms frequently. Moving from room to room, we cleared out of one bedroom to install tile and then moved again out of the next to make room to install carpet. Huffing and puffing, we moved furniture from one side to the next as we worked through the house painting all the walls. We replaced the cabinets in the kitchen, the fixtures in the bath, the leaky plumbing and the outdated lighting.

Group Hugs

Preparing meals required serious creativity. Entertainment and rest required the same. But the support and flexibility from all family members, and a few timely “group hugs” (some through gritted teeth), got us through.

 

—–

Recommended reading:

Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

ey