Saturday, February 12, 2011

And The Final Decision Is...

Tile. Yes, I started at tile and I am back to tile and this is why. I got off early from work yesterday intent on going to Home Depot to order the carpet and vinyl plank flooring. When I got there I ran in to an old acquaintance and his friend. We started talking and they said I should put tile in my rental. I told them that I couldn't afford the labor cost for tile and they offered to put it in for me! Or I should say, they offered to help me install tile. My head was spinning because of this new option and I quickly calculated the cost of carpet and vinyl ($2,400) compared to tile, thinset and grout ($1,700+food and drinks). With free labor it would be the most economical choice. I took the leap and bought the materials and they helped me cart them home and unload. We plan to attack the project next weekend and hopefully I will be able to get Friday off to make it a long weekend. It will probably delay renting the house by 2 weeks but hopefully the tile will last a lot longer than the other flooring options.

I still love that vinyl plank flooring though. I think it would be great in my RV just as soon as I get to that point.

I met with the property manager and he says that similar houses are renting for $1,000 a month. That would be fabulous. He told me how his company takes care of screening tenants and collecting rent, evictions and they inspect the house every 90 days to make sure the tenants are taking care of it. If they can get $1,000 a month they will definitely be paying for themselves. I would have thought $900 or $850 would be closer to the average.

I didn't go to the rental house at all today. I wanted to because I need to measure the windows for mini blinds but I ran out of time as usual. This morning I took 7 bags of laundry to the laundromat and spent $40 washing and drying. When I got back home I realised that I was missing all of my dark clothes and a blanket that were all in the same bag. I think someone took them but I will go back tomorrow and look. Maybe someone took it by mistake and brought it back. I know I collected all of my bags that were sitting on the floor and I remember folding my pants when they came out of the dryer. I guess that's one way to force me to change my wardrobe. There went my favorite pair of jeans, my favorite sweatshirt, 2 pairs of pants that I wear to work all of the time and some shirts plus the blanket that I got in high school. I am sad about it and even more annoyed that I will have to go shopping for new work clothes. I don't have time for that! I should have just stayed home and got more water delivered so I could wash my own clothes. At least I wouldn't lose them.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you mind me asking what you were renting it for? i thought i remember you saying that you net $700+/month after taxes and insurance so I would have guessed that you were already getting close to $900/month ... or maybe you have very cheap property taxes and low cost insurance?

how much do they charge for new leases and for lease renewals (e.g. 1 month's rent)? If your average tenant stays/signs for approximately 1 year those fees along with a 10% monthly management fee will probably drop your average net around 200.

not saying it's a bad decision, good pm's will save you a lot of grief and hassl. just hope you can stay at least at the rent income level you had planned earlier.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

Brilliant news about fitting the tiles. About time you had some good luck and you will learn the tricks of tiling at the same time.
I think you are sensible to go through an agency. It is rick free but there is some mitigation of risk at least.
Hope your clothes turn up today. Does everyone use the same sort of bags and can mistake their own or was it deliberate?
Because my other house is so far away I keep a house book which has a couple of pages for each room. I have every imaginable measurement in there as well as details of electrical,plumbing etc. A[art from anything else it means I can fill my holiday cases with IKEA curtains and throws and save a fortune.
Lizzie

Daizy said...

Anonymous, It was rented for $950 at first but then they had trouble paying and I lowered it, and lowered it again and it was down to $750. That is why I need a property manager. I am such a softy. This property managament co. charges $200 up front and 10% after it's rented and that's all. I hope it works out.

Daizy said...

Lizzie, that is a good idea to keep all of that info handy. I know I have the window measurements somewhere...but it's been so long.

I was using trash bags for my laundry which other people use too so it is easy to get them mixed up.