It's been a couple of weeks since the last update. I have two vacancies now with one lasting for a month and a new one coming up on Sunday. As it turns out the lady who I suspected of being pregnant was indeed pregnant and just had her baby yesterday. She's getting out the the hospital on Sunday and needs to stay with someone who can assist her and the baby. This was the same person I had some payment issues with and she was very concerned about getting locked out because rent is due on Saturday and she won't be out of the hospital until Sunday. She said she couldn't afford to "lose her stuff again" which lets me know that she was kicked out of another rooming house prior to renting to me. Zero tolerance means she's current through Saturday and I told her I wouldn't charge her for Sunday or lock her out as long as her stuff was out. So, starting Sunday, I have two vacancies now. She's got a nice room, so I may be able to get someone in there more quickly. The other room is a bit small, so I may have to drop the price to get it rented. She's been there for three months. The guy who left prior to her was there for a bit over two months. Everyone is still in a hold pattern. I just hope the replacement tenants I get are as decent as the guys who left.

I had someone who had cerebral palsy express interest who lives in the neighborhood. He's mobile and on SSI, so he'd probably be a longer term tenant. Had a referral from an agency who wanted one of the rooms as well, but criminal background filtered him out. The agency was willing to pay 70% of his rent, but the criminal background was a non starter. So hopefully, I'll get these two vacancies filled shortly. I'm thinking of also contacting a few local employers and advertising with them as well.

I've decided to install cameras and I'm thinking of going with the Netgear Arlo cameras. They're wireless and easy to install. Anyone using these?

Lifestyles of the Rooming House People.

Mickie:

I ended up getting the Nest cameras, because I like that they are plugged in to a power source and therefore record 24/7 - not just after motion is sensed like battery-operated ones.

When there is an incident I can go back & captured video- including leading up to the incident- and still shots to give to police. It also records sound. If someone tries to deactivate it, I will get a nice close-up of them. Video is saved to a cloud, so they can't destroy it.

As time goes on and the tenants feel as if they get more familiar, they like to try stuff. For example, this is a bonus week month and there's a tenant who's been paying like clockwork but tells me that he wants to pay every other week now due to a job change. He's been a decent tenant and has caused me no issues--but that's also the case with everyone else. He wants to get a week behind and pay when he paid next week on his new job. I was thinking through various scenarios to accommodate him----and then just suddenly stopped. We have an agreement that provides for a late fee of $ 10 a day and by the time that accumulates, his rent of $ 125 becomes $ 195 plus he owes for the following week. He's simply not going to have both weeks and may move leaving me out of two weeks rent. I'd rather have the vacancy now. There are other people in the building who pay bi-weekly and they simply pay two weeks ahead. I just told him to pay this week's rent as normal and when he gets paid, pay two weeks ahead. If the job he has is legit, he can get with a payday lender or get a loan from friends or family. Funny thing is that I had a premonition that he'd have a problem with the bonus week and I think he's trying to test the waters.

two things you posted jumped out at me.

1. I wouldn't have other tenants show the place nor pass out applications ... gives them "power". they don't want a neighbor with a third eye blinking in the middle of his forehead or they hate all people from Norway ... so they discriminate against them ... you are the one in the middle. Even if not that issue, folks like this have very little control or power in their own lives ... don't give them a chance to jump on any of yours.

Nicole--point noted on the applications and I agree, it's just better to keep the tenants out of anything other than just paying the rent. One of the things that occurs in my case is a close neighborhood, so whatever occurs in the rooming house is not limited to there. Everyone in the neighborhood knows as well so it's really just best that I handle the business and keep the tenants out of it which also keeps the neighbors out.

On a recent eviction, I did indeed have a late fee reduced and if I recollect, it was reduced to 10%. I'm not changing it for my regular rentals and if I have to evict someone again, I'll deal with it then.

G,

Considering all the energy to keep this thing afloat, when you add up your personal hours, are you making any money?

Brad: Where are you getting the impression that I'm keeping things "afloat"? Where are you getting the impression that I'm exerting a ton of "energy" every week at this rental thus making it not worth it?

To be sure, running a rooming house isn't for everyone, but one thing I've tried to do is paint an accurate picture of both the good and bad that I've encountered as well as my own errors. On balance, this is a profitable worthwhile endeavor for me that has taken only slightly more time than a regular rental. For me, that adds up to less than 4-5 hours a month on administrative issues. Compared to my CPA practice where I can easily log 60+ hours a week with tons of stress with clients and deadlines, this is a piece of cake.

G,

Sorry if my question sounded critical. I tend to go right to the point when asking business questions.

I appreciate your updates. They are a fantastic real life learning tool for all who read them. You're doing great.