Monday, April 22, 2013

You can be far away and take care of business

I was in Scottsdale, AZ last week during the flood in Chicago.  From my phone, I was able to access a plumber, schedule him and handle that.  Then, another tenants' wall buckled and that was handled.  Then, an official died and I had to generate a press release.  Thank goodness for the latest technology. I was able to attend to everything and no one knew I was on holiday.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Know when to hold...know when to fold

After over 20 years of owning a rental property in Harvey, Illinois, I let it go.  I've had good tenants and really horrible tenants.  The last group was in a category all to themselves.  That house has been robbed, completely stripped by thugs and the taxes are astronomical for a crime-infested city.  The leaders have no concern about the City and if you go in and complain, they're defensive.  Plus, the Mayor and all his relatives are in key positions.  A few weeks ago, the tenants left the place in such an infested state that my handyman threw up.  Orange juice was splattered on the walls...weeks old meat was rotting in the fridge. Junk and garbage were piling up.  I almost cried.  At that point, I decided to let it go and told my handyman.  He said he'd like the house and I practically gave it to him.  He is so deserving and he needed a place.  All of it will work out next year come tax time because I took a hit.  But, it was an ah ha moment that told me it was time to fold.  You've got to when to let it go because the stress is not worth it.  I folded but in the process helped someone else.