House 3: Lots O' Trash

I went out to the property this morning to meet with the locksmith to have the locks re-keyed. The house was in the usual quick-move-out state - lots of trash left all over. There was clothing and furniture left everywhere, an old car left in the backyard (which was supposed to have been taken away), etc. I'll post some pictures later.

The house itself isn't in too bad of shape. It needs paint, walls patched, and virtually all the outlets, light switches, and plates need to be replaced. A couple windows need replacing. I think all the doors need to be replaced. The fridge needs to be thrown out and the stove needs to be replaced. (At least the fridge was still running and didn't reek of spoiled food.) The evap cooler needs replacing (and strangely enough, I couldn't find a thermostat or control for this thing in the house). The kitchen could also use new cabinets and countertops. They look ok from the outside, but inside they are somewhat beat up. There are two wall heaters that should be replaced, as well as a window air conditioning unit in a room that was converted from a carport.

The locksmith was the same guy I used on my last property and, when I told him my company's name, he remembered me. He said "Don't you have a place over at 53rd and Olive?" I said no, then realized that was where my last property was. He said he passed it the other day and saw it was for sale. I don't see it listed on the MLS, so maybe it's a FSBO. (But that doesn't make sense because the buyer's daughter was a Realtor.) Anyway, the locksmith remembered me and asked for a business card. Good thing I had some made up recently! He told me he "dabbles" in real estate and gave me his card. Basically, he is a birddog who gets houses under contract and assigns them. I told him that was how I obtained this property. So we talked a bit more and I told him all my funds were committed now, but to try me in a couple months. He may be a good contact, since he probably knows lots of neighborhoods and as a locksmith, he probably goes to houses that might need to be sold quickly - martial problems result in someone being thrown out and locks need to be changed, that sort of thing.

After I left, I called my handyman and confirmed my Monday morning appointment. I'm thinking there is about 2 to 3 weeks of work, depending on if one or two guys do the work. Back when I used this guy personally, there were two people and I'm hoping that is still true. (His business named has changed, so it might just be one guy now.) As a ballpark figure, I'm guessing $10,000 to fix the place up.

On an administrative note, I noticed I've been inconsistent in referring to my houses. Old posts refer to House 11 and this one I'm calling House 3. In the past, I numbered houses that I put an offer on. I think going forward I'll have to do something like Offer X for places I've put offers on and House Y for houses I've actually purchased. With all her houses, why doesn't Trisha have these problems? Must be because she seems to end up buying every house she puts an offer on! :-)