Agent Profile
My job is service...service to you and your real estate transactions! How can you benefit from my 25 years of experience and expertise? What can I offer to make the process more productive?
* Current information on available housing...comparative and competitive market pricing and analysis
* Daily involvement in the local real estate marketplace.
* Thorough, comprehensive knowledge reflecting years of helping others complete their real estate business.
* Extensive network of professional resources to make the process as smooth as possible.
My commitment is to you! Being available to you...returning your calls...answering your questions...addressing your concerns...respecting your money...matching your timeline...meeting your expectations...helping accomplish your real estate goals!!
JANEESE JACKSON: 503-709-0802 or jj@janeesejackson.com
Hugo Montenegro – Theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly!
There’s always the good, the bad and the ugly!!! That being said, personal experience is a great teacher but a very expensive way to learn. So, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned from managing my own investment properties.
If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know I have “put my money where my mouth is” concerning investment real estate and own multiple rental properties. I love that you use other people’s money (a mortgage) to handle the major portion of the purchase of an investment, the tenants’ pay off that mortgage (albeit slowly), you immediately enjoy the available cash-flow + realize the lowered principal balance/equity accrued caused by the tenants paying down the mortgage and the tax advantages! So, even if there is NO appreciation in the housing marketplace (which I think we can expect in the short-run, but eventually our economy will recover and natural appreciation will begin), you win!! I certainly can’t say that about my mutual funds!!
Nothing is perfect, so what’s the “down-side”?? Everyone has heard a “tenant from hell” story, so I won’t go into detail about my personal experience. I’ll “jump to the chase” and tell you what I’ve learned!! I am determined NOT to get jaded. I always listen to my gut and I knew something was askew. I just should have acted….plain and simple! I bend over backwards to have a personal empathy with the residents of my homes (which is what I consider them, “residents” and “my homes”) but there are certain reasons why this time I let a situation go too far. Listen and learn!
- I try to purchase properties that “I would live in…”. Maybe they would not be perfect for me now, but in my younger years I would have said “what a score!!!!”. I want to bond with my property the way I think the next resident will!!!
- I don’t necessarily “bank” on credit reports, but unless you’ve had a lot of experience I would run one! I have to say that many of my best tenants were attempting to repair their credit and with that focus they became my best tenants EVAH!
- I also call but don’t always “bank” on reports from existing/previous landlords. If the tenant is still there and the landlord wants them out at all cost, they will tell you anything (so they don’t have to evict them).
- I do rely heavily on meeting and talking with my prospective tenants. I’m not saying a professional con couldn’t pull one on me, but I trust my gut. Things can go wrong and if you suspect they have…act, don’t react!
- I definitely check with employers. Some are more “forthcoming” than others, but checking with employers will give you peace of mind.
- I love it when prospective tenants bring family, friends, whomever…it usually means they are really trying to get a consensus on their new living arrangements (and you can learn a lot from family and friends).
- I do not allow smoking in my units. I know it’s tough on smokers but I have to protect the integrity of the property. I’m not big on telling others how to live their lives but cigarette/cigar smoke residue is unacceptable to the future value of any property!
- I am sorry to say, that from now on if I even smell smoke on a prospective resident, I would not trust them to not smoke (despite the fact that all my rental agreements incorporate “no smoking” as a contingency of the agreement). Smoking is a tragic addiction but I am not going to chance it in my properties any more!
- I do allow pets. Do they occasionally do damage? …yes! However, it’s usually something that can be covered by a security deposit and pet deposit. I have this theory that people that love & care for their pets will often care for property in which they live. They, at least, take responsibility for lives other than their own. I do want to meet and “vet” (pun intended) the prospective animals.
- I pay for garbage. I don’t pay for other utilities but I pay for garbage. I just don’t want a notice from the city that because a resident is “cutting corners”, garbage has piled up. I’d rather just pay for garbage but let everyone know how much you’re willing to pay (i.e: one garbage can a week, any extra will be billed to the tenant, etc).
- I don’t pay for water. I have installed sub-meters for separation of water bills for duplexes without separate meters (much cheaper than installing separate meters for the city to read). You have to read them (or have the occupants read them) and do the calculations based on usage. I also have investor/clients who merely divide the water bills and disclose the policy (their tenants accept the policy upfront).
- I try to get on a “rental rotation” that have the properties being rented no later than October of each year (preferably even earlier in the calendar year due to the “rental pool” lessening as we approach the holiday season). Of course, you need to know your location. IF you have a specific pool of potential renters (such as OHSU students/residents, as one example), you’d want to get on a rotation that reflects their schedule.
- I now have a new rule that I do a walk-through the property at least once a year (with the re-signing of the lease). If I have ANY reason to suspect that something is “awry”, I’ll do it whenever (with 24-hr notice, of course). Sometimes it’s easy to become complacent with long-term, paying residents…just don’t!
- I have, thus far, managed my own properties. If you decide to utilize a property management service, I’d ask what their policies might be concerning walking through the properties. If they don’t have a provision for this, I would insist or just do one on your own, if you feel comfortable doing so.
- I try to make it as personal a relationship as possible. I want to be empathetic, sympathetic and consider each resident as an individual. Life isn’t perfect. Good “karma” has no monetary value.
- I absolutely listen and try to respond to the residents of my homes! I try to be fair and available! I can’t do everything they want necessarily, but I can listen and decide.
I’ve probably left out a lot but these are some reasonable lessons in the life of one real estate agent/investor!!!
About the Author | Janeese Jackson
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