- Joined
- Oct 2, 2007
- Messages
- 22
Just wanted to share this story to show how persistence and focus can help you turn a property around...even when it seems like all the cards are stacked against you...
A little over a year ago I decided to start investing in Alberta. So, after taking a trip out there and interviewing several potential power team members (realtors, property managers, etc.) I finally purchased a side by side duplex. Although it was in a "rougher" part of town it seemed like the area may be turning around as we saw many of the older run down properties being renovated or cleaned up. We also assumed the existing tenants.
From day 1 things were challenging. A few days before our closing date we got a call from the seller informing us that he had begun the eviction process in one of the units and he assured us that he would complete the process even after we were to take possession. So, from the start we knew that we would not be receiving any income from that unit until the process was complete and we could get a new tenant in.
Next, we had a 2 week delay in closing for various reasons...obviously stressful for all parties involved.
A few weeks later, the "bad" tenants had finally vacated the property which was good news......but, a couple of days later the detached garage burned down. In addition, while the unit was vacant it was broken into and the vandals made quite a mess.
After that the tenant in the basement suite (who we found out later was a recovering drug addict) had his unit raided by the police. He thought he could avoid the police by putting a coffee table up against the door but instead they knocked the door down and threw a few flash bombs into our unit. What a disaster!
All of these things happened within the course of a year and often times it was very discouraging...especially trying to handle all of the little emergencies and co-ordinate with our property manager from a distance. However, today I`m happy to have had these experiences because I`ve grown and learned several valuable lessons from all of this. The biggest one for me was to more thoroughly screen existing tenants before agreeing to assume them. As things kept getting thrown at me I tried to stay focused on turning this property into the solid, profitable investment I knew it could be.
Here`s how we turned it around:
First, we worked diligently with our property manager to clean up the mess immediately. The damaged units were cleaned out thoroughly and renovated. The exterior and the yard were also cleaned up.
Secondly, we secured the units to avoid future break-ins. All broken or damaged windows/doors were replaced. All units were re-keyed. We also placed bars on the windows in the basement units for security.
Third, new tenants were placed in two of the units. Now that the "bad" tenants we originally assumed were gone we were able to put in carefully screened tenants who actually care about the property they live in. Our new tenants have been amazing and by treating them as our customers and giving them the respect they deserve we hope to maintain a great landlord-tenant relationship.
Now, we have a solid, newly renovated property that cashflows in Alberta! Go figure! The neighbours were also extremely pleased with the changes they have seen over the last year and spoke with my business partner to tell her that they are so happy we took over the property and got it cleaned up. It`s a great feeling to know that you`ve made a difference in the neighbourhood. The best part of all is that we recently had the property appraised and the appraisal came in at $150K over what we paid for it last year.....So, even taking into account the money we spent in renovations we haven`t done too badly.
After a year of challenge it`s finally nice to be able to sit back and enjoy this small success!
A little over a year ago I decided to start investing in Alberta. So, after taking a trip out there and interviewing several potential power team members (realtors, property managers, etc.) I finally purchased a side by side duplex. Although it was in a "rougher" part of town it seemed like the area may be turning around as we saw many of the older run down properties being renovated or cleaned up. We also assumed the existing tenants.
From day 1 things were challenging. A few days before our closing date we got a call from the seller informing us that he had begun the eviction process in one of the units and he assured us that he would complete the process even after we were to take possession. So, from the start we knew that we would not be receiving any income from that unit until the process was complete and we could get a new tenant in.
Next, we had a 2 week delay in closing for various reasons...obviously stressful for all parties involved.
A few weeks later, the "bad" tenants had finally vacated the property which was good news......but, a couple of days later the detached garage burned down. In addition, while the unit was vacant it was broken into and the vandals made quite a mess.
After that the tenant in the basement suite (who we found out later was a recovering drug addict) had his unit raided by the police. He thought he could avoid the police by putting a coffee table up against the door but instead they knocked the door down and threw a few flash bombs into our unit. What a disaster!
All of these things happened within the course of a year and often times it was very discouraging...especially trying to handle all of the little emergencies and co-ordinate with our property manager from a distance. However, today I`m happy to have had these experiences because I`ve grown and learned several valuable lessons from all of this. The biggest one for me was to more thoroughly screen existing tenants before agreeing to assume them. As things kept getting thrown at me I tried to stay focused on turning this property into the solid, profitable investment I knew it could be.
Here`s how we turned it around:
First, we worked diligently with our property manager to clean up the mess immediately. The damaged units were cleaned out thoroughly and renovated. The exterior and the yard were also cleaned up.
Secondly, we secured the units to avoid future break-ins. All broken or damaged windows/doors were replaced. All units were re-keyed. We also placed bars on the windows in the basement units for security.
Third, new tenants were placed in two of the units. Now that the "bad" tenants we originally assumed were gone we were able to put in carefully screened tenants who actually care about the property they live in. Our new tenants have been amazing and by treating them as our customers and giving them the respect they deserve we hope to maintain a great landlord-tenant relationship.
Now, we have a solid, newly renovated property that cashflows in Alberta! Go figure! The neighbours were also extremely pleased with the changes they have seen over the last year and spoke with my business partner to tell her that they are so happy we took over the property and got it cleaned up. It`s a great feeling to know that you`ve made a difference in the neighbourhood. The best part of all is that we recently had the property appraised and the appraisal came in at $150K over what we paid for it last year.....So, even taking into account the money we spent in renovations we haven`t done too badly.
After a year of challenge it`s finally nice to be able to sit back and enjoy this small success!
