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    Saturday was move in day for the tenant in House #1.  I usually like to pop over when this is happening but I had a trip to Hershey Park planned with family and friends that day so I missed it.  The trip was planned before the move in date and i would have been shot it I canceled.  I wish I had.  

    Let me give a slight description of one part of the house before I get into the tale.  The previous family that lived there had an elderly woman who had a hard time walking up the steps.  This was why they eventually moved.  To help her traverse the steps, there was a wrought iron railing installed on the left wall of the steps.  The rest of the railings were changed tso everything matched.  There is a wrought iron railing on the right side that goes up the steps.  There is also a small landing at the bottom of the steps where there is a turn.  There is a wrought iron set of railings that closes this off and goes down the 3 steps into the living room.

    I get a call that the movers are having a hard time moving an armoire up the steps.  Does the landing railing come off?  Now everything that goes on can come off  but I don't trust movers to be the ones to take of or put something back on correctly.  They aren't contractors….man that was a loaded statement.  Theres a bunch of contractors i wouldn't trust that with with either….but that's a different post.

    I explain that I don't think it does without causing damage.  The tenant explains that he needs to get it off and will pay to get a contractor back in to replace it if he needs to.  I am totally out of the loop as I am about 2.5 hours away at this point in Hershey Park.

    He calls me back about 20 minutes later to let me know that the railing indeed does come off.  It bolts into the floor under the rug and that they had to cut and pull part of the rug away to get to it.  He says that he will get it repaired.  He called because he thought he might have freaked me out with the previous phone call.  He read me well on that one.

    I see two things here.  First, on move out day there is going to be a repair to the rug that needs to be done.  Even if he fixes it now to live in the place, he may not when he leaves as the railing will need to be removed to take the armoire out.  Second thing is that he did call me to check and to try and alleviate my fears.  That's more than most tenants would do.  Needless to say that I will be popping by shortly to see how things are.  My trip to the CISSP training class is getting in the way of me visiting this week.

web log for us – those that trust but verify 

    I'm going to be a traveling fool for the next couple week.s  I enjoyed my trip to San Francisco last week.  It's a beautiful city from what i got to see of it.  On my business trips my time is usually consumed from the time I wake up until around 10 or 11 in the evening.  For the San Fran trip I actually ended up with a couple hours on evening and had about 4 hours one morning before my flight left.  I'll admit that I was mostly checking out the tourist areas around Fisherman's Wharf but I found it enjoyable.  It was a nice way to relax while out there.

        These trips I have coming up are to Virginia.  The first trip begins today.  I'll be heading down to Vienna, Virginia for a a CISSP certification training boot camp.  6 days consisting of 12 hours each day from Monday through Saturday.  The culmination of that is a test hours long and 250 questions next Sunday.  We'll see how it goes.
    
    After that I am home for 13 days before I am off to Reston, VA for another 3 day trip.  Not as busy as it could be but I'm moving and shaking for about a month.  These Virginia trips are a 3 to 4 hour drive for me so there's no free time spent on a plane or train.
    
    What does that mean to everyone who reads this little blog?  I'm going to try and keep the information flowing.  I'll be posting my articles whenever I have a free moment and may be able to schedule them out for the future if I can get ahead of the game.

This article was guest blogged by David Di Cristo 

    Investing in real estate can be a both a rewarding and exciting time. One of the most important steps after having made the choice of what property to invest in, is figuring out who is an ideal candidate to lease it to. Cash flow is critical whilst paying off the home mortgage, so you want to make sure to have no issues with the tenant making rental payments. This article will discuss the importance of using tenant reports to find the right tenants prior to signing the lease agreement, to prevent any possible future problems.

    Tenant screening is becoming a common practice among landlords and property managers to weed out higher risk renters who possibly have financial difficulty paying rent always and on time, or possibly even commit rental fraud. I am sure you are familiar with the horror stories you hear on the news where unfortunate real estate investors bring on board nightmare tenants which don't pay any rent and have a free ride at your expense.

    For landlords and real estate agents, tenant screening has become a virtual necessity as a preventive measure. Eviction history is one of the most important steps for tenant screening whereby tenant checks are performed for past evictions. To protect yourself, your property, and your community, tenant screening is necessary.

    Tenant screening is an excellent way to weed out possible problem tenants even before they have a chance to become a problem headache for you. Tenant screening is a quick and easy way to obtain the most accurate, reliable information available on prospective tenants. Tenant screening is available online through American Apartment Owners Association or through several local vendors. There are also other resources on the internet to assist landlords with this process.

    In conclusion, it’s important you do not rush through the process of performing tenant screening, to ensure you bring on board the best possible tenants, as it’s your investment that is at stake.

So I've taken a page from some of the other blogs I read to name the properties I have.  So from now on I will number the properties I have.  As of this day there is Condo #1 and House #1.  Here is a description I have for each of the properties.

Condo #1 – This is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit located in Northeast Philly.  It's approximately 820 sq. feet.  Tenant is responsible for all utilities except water.  Water is included in the condo fees.  The unit has forced air heat and central air conditioning.  I provide a dish washer, refrigerator, clothes washer and clothes dryer.  The tenant in this unit has been there for just over 3 years and has just had the rent raised by $35.00 per month as the unit is currently way below market value.  

House #1 – This is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house in northeast Philly.  It is one of the typical "row homes" that are prevalent in Philadelphia.  This unit is unique in that it has a breezeway.  That means that there is a break in the center of the block.  This house is basically the end of a row but situated in the middle of the block.  This provides for a slightly larger house than the standard row homes on the block.  It also has more land as there is a side yard and the front lawn extends beyond the side of the property.  Tenant pays for all utilities.  The first $30 of the water bill is included in the rent.  This house has forced air heat and central air conditioning.  This unit has a finished basement with a gas fireplace.  I provide a dish washer, refrigerator and clothes dryer.

web log for us – those that learn from the other blogs we read 

    The NAR had previously forecast a rebound of the housing market to take place in 1Q 2008.  They have just updated that timetable to reflect flat prices for 1Q 2008 compared to 1Q 2007.  In addition they are predicting more year over year declines for new homes.

    The groups is also predicting the median home price will fall 1.4 percent for all of 2007, with a 2.6 percent drop in the prices of new homes.  This is still only a forecast so we will see where the final tally ends up.

    Of course they are offering a rosy outlook for 2008.  They are also encouraging home buyers to enter the market now.  NAR senior economist Lawrence Yun says "Local conditions vary considerably, but with historically low mortgage interest rates this summer and sustained job gains; it could be a good time for first-time buyers with a long-term view to test the housing waters."  

    Here is where the cynic in me comes out.  Do you think he has a reason for encouraging people to buy?  His association depends on more people buying homes.  The more people that buy, the more agents they need.  the more agents they have the more money they make.  Why would he say something that would discourage people from buying?  For that you have to turn to another expert.

    Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust in Chicago, doesn't think it is a good time to get into the market.  "No one is buying into their Kool-Aid; that's why prices are falling," he said. "It could be that they're going to fall a lot more. The Realtors tend to be overly optimistic. Eventually they'll be right about prices turning around. I don't know when prices are going to stabilize but I suspect they'll fall more than they think this year. It may be a much better time to buy six months or a year from now."
    
    What does this mean to the Real Estate Investor who buys and holds properties?  I think that it's a time to keep your eye out.  Good deals will be popping up now and better deals will be coming down the line.  Make sure you have your cash ready because between the buyers market and the upcoming foreclosure problem, there will be a ton of houses coming onto the market cheap and a ton of people displaced because they got in over their heads.  More properties available to purchase and more people to rent them.  Add in that financing will still be reasonable and you have the Real Estate Trifecta!

web log for us – those that look for the best time to make a deal