Rental Property Report for February 2010
This post is an update on my rental property in Philadelphia. In this section, I talk about my landlord experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly. All my posts that are related to the rental property can be found in the Rental Property section, including the bad tenant saga series).
Roof Repair
My real estate property manager, Earl called and reported that there was a small leak on the roof of my house. He said that Philadelphia had tons of snow and the amount of snow caused a lot of roofs to leak. He told me that the problem should be addressed as soon as possible before more rain or snow comes.
I told him to get some quotes for different roofers. He called me back and said that he check with several roofers. He recommended a roofer that lives a few doors down by him. He said that he had hired him and he did a great job on his roof.
As for the price, he claimed he checked with several roofers and they charged $500 – 600, but the roofer he recommended charged $450. He said that he negotiated the price with him and brought it down to $350. Another $350 out of my pockets. So I gave him the green signal to go with the roofer he recommended.
Water Bills
The water bills are in my name. Usually I would pay the water bills first and then send copies of the bill to the tenant. The tenant had not been proactively paying the water bills. They sent me a few checks and the amounts are different from the amounts due on the bills. I had no idea where they would come up with the numbers.
I create a spreadsheet that detailed the water bill charges and the amounts that they had paid. The total water bill charges came out to $589.69 and the total amount I had received from them was $283.00. The difference was $306.69. I sent them a copy of the spreadsheet and copies of all the water bills.
Billing Date Water Bill Charges
7/15/2009 71.99
8/18/2009 75.32
9/16/2009 80.09
10/16/2009 80.09
11/17/2009 75.32
12/15/2009 70.55
1/15/2010 70.55
2/16/2010 65.78
Total $589.69
Date Tenant Paid Amount
10/16/2009 102.00
10/16/2009 40.00
12/17/2009 81.00
2/1/2010 60.00
Total $283.00
NET $(306.69)
Overcharge from Property Manager
My property manager, Earl charges a percentage of the rent for his services. He would usually deduct the amount from the rent check and send me another check, less his fees. The monthly rent is $900 and the property management fee is 6%, which comes out to $54.
For this month, my tenant had also made an check of $60 for water payment. So the total amount paid to me was $960. Earl had taken a 6% cut of the entire amount of $960, instead of only the rent amount of $900. In other words, he had charged a fee on the water bill, which he should not have done. He had charged a total of $57.60, an overcharge of $3.60. Granted the overcharge was small, but I was not happy with the sneaky tactics.
I called and told him that I had noticed an extra charge on his services for the same rent amount. And I said that we had agreed that the property management fee is a percentage of the rent check, excluding the water payments. He said yes. When I told him that he had overcharged me on the fees, he said that he was human and he would make mistakes too. He asked if it was only a few dollars. I said yes and then I said that I would let it go.
Monthly Income and Expenses for February 2010
Do you have a bad tenant or a bad landlord. Share your landlord/tenant stories with us.
Rental Property Report for January 2010
This post is an update on my rental property in Philadelphia. In this section, I talk about my landlord experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly. All my posts that are related to the rental property can be found in the Rental Property section, including the bad tenant saga series).
In January, I did not receive any calls from my property manager, Earl. This is usually a good sign. The rent check came in the beginning of the month and the rest of the month was quiet. I wish for more of these months.
Rental Property Report for January 2010
Carnival of Personal Finance #243
Happy Valen-week! Are you ready? J.D. preps you with this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance #243: Valentine’s Day Edition and intersperses his favorite romantic poems with his favorite finance articles. Ahhh, love.
His double star favorites (think double-plus-good!) are:
Pop Economics: The illusion of control — our compulsion to do something
Dough Roller: One Financial Goal to Rule Them All
His single star favorites are:
Four Pillars: Two Views on the Economics of Dating
Penny Farthing: Is debt okay if it leads to self-improvement?
Studenomics: How My Friend Made $2,100 From Tutoring
Think Your Way to Wealth: Is self-reliance a lost art in this day and age?
Financial Student: How I’m Receiving 30 Hours of College Credit For 15 Dollars
Personal Finance Ninja: 3 Reasons Why the Average Joe is a Bad Investor
Good Financial Cents: How to Choose The Best Financial Advisor/Planner for You
Foreigner’s Finances: Renting 101: What You Should Know Before You Sign
TD Ameritrade 3-Month CD 1.50% APY
I received an email from TD Ameritrade today and they are offering a 1.50% APY on their 3-month cd for a limited time.
CD Details
Maturity: 3 months
Minimum deposit: $25,000
Maximum deposit: $250,000
Rate: 1.50% APY
To qualify for the CD, follow these simple steps:
- Register for this special offer by clicking on this link and then choosing your preferred method of deposit.
- Make a new deposit of $25,000 or more by 02/26/10.
- Log on to your account and use the access code from the follow-up email to purchase your CD by 03/03/10 – you’ll get the most current rate, which is subject to change.
- Your CD will not be confirmed until you make your qualifying deposit and complete your purchase.
Carnival of Personal Finance #242
Thanks to Patrick of Cash Money Life for hosting this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance: Fun Tax Facts.
His Editor’s Picks are:
Personal Finance By The Book: Unemployed? Are You Rocking or Are You Rolling?
Personal Finance Ninja: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Your Credit Score
The Everyday Minimalist: Confusing frugality with minimalism
Pop Economics: Paralysis and other effects of distrust
This edition of the carnival also includes a great post by yours truly for a good cause, Legitimate Charitable Organizations for Donations to Haiti Earthquake Relief.
Carnival of Personal Finance #241
Evan of My Journey to Millions brings us the 241st edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.
His Editor’s Picks are:
Dividend Growth Investor: Buffett the dividend investor
A Gai Shan Life: I don’t want to retire
Financial Highway: MythBusters: Financial Advisors
Planting Dollars: Being Rich versus Being Wealthy
Len Penzo dot Com: When Pigs Fly: How I Fought My Parking Ticket and Beat City Hall
Pop Economics: What investment return should you plan for?
Legitimate Charitable Organizations for Donations to Haiti Earthquake Relief
In support of the Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts, this post serves as a source for information about donations to Haiti and legitimate charitable organizations that will provide aid to Haiti.
On January 12, Haiti was hit by a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake and according to the latest news on CNN (as of this article), the official death tolls have reached over 70,000 people. CNN reports that about 300,000 people are homeless and about 2 million people are in need of food.
The victims are in dire need of food (including water), shelter and clothing. Making a donation is the best way to help the earthquake victims in Haiti if you cannot be there to help in person. However, it is important to make sure that the charity is a legitimate one. One of the biggest concerns is that whether or not the donations will reach the hands of those in need of help.
There are many fake charities out there. Many scams have emerged as a result of the attention of the Haiti earthquake news in the media. It is best to do some research on the charity before a donation. To avoid scams and donate to the right people, look for a reputable charity, read more below. Also, research the percentage of the funds in the charity that goes to the Haiti Earthquake Relief.
Here is a short list of legitimate charitable organizations: Continue Reading >>
Carnival of Personal Finance #240
The latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is presented by Frugal Trader at Million Dollar Journey, the Support Haiti edition.
Here are his Editor’s Picks:
Squawkfox: 10 Frugal Ways to get Fit this Winter
Gen Y Wealth: The 7 Deadly Sins of Personal Finance
Balance Junkie: Your Financial Hierarchy of Needs
Pop Economics: Why crazy people rule the market, and how you can profit from it
Bible Money Matters: Blueprint For How To Make Money With A Blog: Income Generators, Optimizing Your Site And Helpful Site Tools
The latest edition also includes my article, Rental Property Update for Year 2009.
Rental Property Update for Year 2009
In the beginning of year 2009, the bad tenants drama that started in year 2008 continued in 2009. My bad tenants had not been paying for rent and were not willing to leave the house. Worse, they had wreaked havoc in the house and in my landlord experience.
Fortunately, after many struggles, I got rid of the bad tenants by the end of March. The house was in a terrible condition. The carpets were ruined, the walls had holes in them, the windows were smashed, and the doors were dented. And that was only half the story. Continue Reading >>
Permalinks Structure Changed in Growing Money
The Permalinks structure have been updated for this blog to make the URLs look more legible. However, the new structure seems to have caused a problem for all the old links, which are now broken. If there is a post that you are looking for and cannot view it anymore, please use the search function on the right side, using keywords from the post title or content. I will try to find a fix for this problem. If there is a broken link in the post, please leave a comment or email me.
Does anyone know of a Wordpress plug-in or a way I can have the old links automatically redirect to the new links in the permalinks structure? Is there a way I can manually redirect a certain post to the new link? Please contact me if you can help or leave your contact in the comments so I can reach you. Thanks for your help.
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