All Work And No Freaking Play
My day began this morning with a surprise phonecall from Contractor 3 at 7:15 am. He woke me from REM to ask me if we have flood insurance. Even in my sleepy stupor, I knew that couldn’t be good. “Um….WHY?!?!?” I asked him. He said House 8 is flooding again.
With all the Spring rains, the ground is saturated everywhere. And, some of the rainwater is seeping in through a crack in the slab that Contractor 3 discovered after he pulled up the carpet he installed in the back bedroom. His tenants are understandably upset. The flooding isn’t bad–it basically has just soaked the carpet in parts of two bedrooms.
I feel awful for Contractor 3 that he’s in this position. On the other hand, he was supposed to fix this very problem for me last Spring when the same thing occurred. He says it is at least not as bad as last year. :-/
To answer his question, I never thought to get flood insurance on House 8. It isn’t in a flood zone or anything. But, now, I am more determined than ever to review and make changes to every policy we carry! I think every house we have should have flood insurance, even though none of them are in official flood zones. Living in Oklahoma, you just never know what’s going to happen with the weather. Sometimes, we get flash floods in parts of the city. In fact, living in our subdivision, there have been three times I can think of during the four years we’ve lived here that there has only been one way home–the other streets were all washed out! And, you may all remember the recent hail storm we had. I’ve filed claims for House 2, House 17, and our company vehicle for significant hail damage. In fact, I just met the insurance adjuster for both houses today. He thinks they both need completely new roofs. But, I haven’t heard his dollar amount yet. By the way, we have a $1500 deductible on House 2, a $1000 deductible on House 17, and a $1000 deductible on the company vehicle.
But, back to Contractor 3 and House 8…. He says he’s going to have to bring in concrete and backfill portions of the house 3″ to reinforce the slab and fix the issues. I feel terrible. I had no idea the problems with House 8 flooding still existed. I am, however, relieved that he’s the one that worked on it the first time. I told him if we had the funds, we’d help him with the material cost–but, we just don’t.
I’m still helping out with leasing for my broker. Actually, I like it now! I really didn’t realize how much I missed being around people and missed the validation from a job well done. My broker is really appreciative that I’ve stepped up to help her. Her business depends on having good leasing agents. And, gosh, it’s SO EASY. Like taking candy from a baby! I come and go as I like, naming my own days. I enjoy meeting the prospective tenants–I CAN enjoy it because they’re not MY prospective tenants! 
We even have a leasing coordinator to do the background and credit checks–it’s not my job. So, I get to meet all kinds of interesting people and just joke around while looking at houses. What could be better? Oh, yeah, and, I’m paid well for it. I’m not leasing every day–just a couple of afternoons a week as I can afford the time. Today, though, I had several showings.
Mostly, I’m concentrating on perfecting House 2 a little more every day while it sits on the market. Then, I’m also working to finish House 17, as according to plan. But, I’m worried that my little jaunt to Branson, MO, to my favorite Mexican restaurant for Cinco de Mayo, may be in jeopardy! I think every dime and minute we can muster will be used to finish House 17 and prepare it for appraisal for the refi. I spoke with our mortgage broker today–he said it’s an absolute MUST to have every project completed before the appraisal. Appraisers have gotten skiddish. Well, I can tell you right now–the granite countertops will not be here in time. So, I’m thinking of just re-installing the old formica countertops just for the appraisal. We still haven’t ordered the hardwood stair treads–not that we’ve had time to start that project yet.
I finally laid down the pneumatic nailer at about midnight tonight.
Tonight, I think I’ll dream a little dream about a day when Contractor 3 has cashed us out of the lease option for those three houses, when House 17 is completed and refinanced, when House 2 is sold, and all credit card debt is gone forever. Let’s hope I don’t get another 7:15 am emergency wakeup call this time.
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I enjoy reading your posts. SFR’s are a bunch of work as shown by your posts. There is no easy money. Have you ever considered commercial real estate?
Wow — flood insurance sounds like a good idea in your area. Bummer that the house still has the leaking issue.
You are so close to finishing! You and Michael are doing a great job.
Hi, Terry! You are absolutely right. And, yes, I do want to do commercial! I’m waiting on our contractor to cash us out of the three houses he bought with a lease purchase. Then, we might have the funds for a downpayment on a commercial property. I’d prefer if we waited until we flip our House 16, which currently has a tenant, to boost the amount we’d have for a downpayment. Thanks for reading!
Alison - Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing. I’m worried that our contractor’s just going to give us the house back. He really should fix it, though–since that’s what I hired him to do when it was ours! Thanks so much for the kind words! We’re working hard to correct our situation and get back on track!