Another Stresser In My Life
As if having my dad in the hospital wasn't stress enough,the other thing causing me stress is the stupid house we own in Omaha (shhh, don't tell the kids I used the 's' word!)
When David got a job in Topeka, KS 6 years ago, we put our house on the market in Omaha, NE. We knew it would be tough to sell as we needed a certain amount of money for it and really couldn't afford to take a lower offer. Well, after being on the market for 4 months (David was living in Topeka with friends and coming back to Omaha on the weekends), we decided we needed another option and put it on the rental market.
Now, some of you might think, rental market, extra income - good idea! It has been absolutely nothing but a money pit ever since!!! First, the rental payment has never been enough to cover the mortgage payment (that's a whole other post about how we used to be very stupid (again, the 's' word) with our money. Then, it seems like there is always some rinky-dink repair that has to be done (we seemed to live with it, but apparently renters didn't want to).
So, in April of 2003, the house was rented. Although we were still losing money, the tenants were good and always paid on time. They stayed for about 18 months and then he was shipped overseas (in the military). Unfortunately, it happened in November (not a good time to rent - holidays and middle of winter). So, the place was vacant for about 5 months (double mortgage - ouch!)
In April of 2005, we got some new tenants. They started out poorly (almost evicted for not paying within a month of moving in), but they ended up being good tenants and were there for 3 years (just moved out in April 2008).
So, we decided that we are ready to sell the place. We put a lot of updates in (new kitchen and bathroom counter tops, new kitchen and bathroom sinks, new stove, new carpet throughout, removal of wallpaper and new paint - thank goodness for a tax refund!).
However, with us not being there, the process of updating went slowly. We had it for rent as well as for sale. Unfortunately our real estate agent was not good and she did such a poor job of marketing the house that it just didn't look like a sale was going to happen.
So, coming to the end of this saga, we got the opportunity to rent the house before it sold. It wasn't going to be so bad this time because the rent was increased because of the updates to ALMOST cover the mortgage payment (still a money pit, but not as bad!). We figured we'd get a different realtor next time and hopefully sell it in a year.
What did we hear last week from our property management company? The security deposit check bounced, the November rent has not been received (even though they seemed very sincere when they talked with the property manager that the check would be there last Friday), so now the eviction process has started.
I really hate the thought of evicting a person, but that's what needs to be done. The one thing I'm really frustrated about this whole ordeal is the timing - it will definitely affect our Christmas plans (gift buying and potentially traveling).
So, even thought I'm stressed out about this and I'm frustrated, I do want to end this ongoing post in a positive note - I'm thankful for the job that God provided for David. Even though we have to eliminate saving money and some of the other non-essential expenses (like buying Christmas gifts, among other things), we are able to pay 2 mortgages without going into credit card debt.
My prayer for this is either the current tenants will come up with the money and become model tenants (that's what happened with our previous tenants who started off poorly) or we'll get a really good real estate agent and get this baby sold during the holidays and the middle of winter in cold, cold, Omaha, NE!
Thanks for 'listening'. I promise soon, I'll write more enjoyable posts!
When David got a job in Topeka, KS 6 years ago, we put our house on the market in Omaha, NE. We knew it would be tough to sell as we needed a certain amount of money for it and really couldn't afford to take a lower offer. Well, after being on the market for 4 months (David was living in Topeka with friends and coming back to Omaha on the weekends), we decided we needed another option and put it on the rental market.
Now, some of you might think, rental market, extra income - good idea! It has been absolutely nothing but a money pit ever since!!! First, the rental payment has never been enough to cover the mortgage payment (that's a whole other post about how we used to be very stupid (again, the 's' word) with our money. Then, it seems like there is always some rinky-dink repair that has to be done (we seemed to live with it, but apparently renters didn't want to).
So, in April of 2003, the house was rented. Although we were still losing money, the tenants were good and always paid on time. They stayed for about 18 months and then he was shipped overseas (in the military). Unfortunately, it happened in November (not a good time to rent - holidays and middle of winter). So, the place was vacant for about 5 months (double mortgage - ouch!)
In April of 2005, we got some new tenants. They started out poorly (almost evicted for not paying within a month of moving in), but they ended up being good tenants and were there for 3 years (just moved out in April 2008).
So, we decided that we are ready to sell the place. We put a lot of updates in (new kitchen and bathroom counter tops, new kitchen and bathroom sinks, new stove, new carpet throughout, removal of wallpaper and new paint - thank goodness for a tax refund!).
However, with us not being there, the process of updating went slowly. We had it for rent as well as for sale. Unfortunately our real estate agent was not good and she did such a poor job of marketing the house that it just didn't look like a sale was going to happen.
So, coming to the end of this saga, we got the opportunity to rent the house before it sold. It wasn't going to be so bad this time because the rent was increased because of the updates to ALMOST cover the mortgage payment (still a money pit, but not as bad!). We figured we'd get a different realtor next time and hopefully sell it in a year.
What did we hear last week from our property management company? The security deposit check bounced, the November rent has not been received (even though they seemed very sincere when they talked with the property manager that the check would be there last Friday), so now the eviction process has started.
I really hate the thought of evicting a person, but that's what needs to be done. The one thing I'm really frustrated about this whole ordeal is the timing - it will definitely affect our Christmas plans (gift buying and potentially traveling).
So, even thought I'm stressed out about this and I'm frustrated, I do want to end this ongoing post in a positive note - I'm thankful for the job that God provided for David. Even though we have to eliminate saving money and some of the other non-essential expenses (like buying Christmas gifts, among other things), we are able to pay 2 mortgages without going into credit card debt.
My prayer for this is either the current tenants will come up with the money and become model tenants (that's what happened with our previous tenants who started off poorly) or we'll get a really good real estate agent and get this baby sold during the holidays and the middle of winter in cold, cold, Omaha, NE!
Thanks for 'listening'. I promise soon, I'll write more enjoyable posts!
Comments
A few thoughts:
* Is your rent high? People are willing to pay for a good place to live. Possibly consider raising your rent especially if you are not even making those mortgage payments. You have to have that covered.
* Is your lease strict? Do you have late fees and do you raise the rent each year?
Lord, please provide!
We are praying that God will provide!