I have a couple of rent houses. They are paid for so no mortgage and they provide a nice cash flow. Well, the guy in one of them moved out. Unlike some others that I have had, the guy always paid his rent on time. It was filthy and I have spent the last month cleaning, painting and repairing. Haven't seen my rural property/pond in that month. The carpet and 15 year old linoleum needs to be replaced. The original floors are wood. Went to Lowes to get that set up and got a shock. BTW, the house was built in 1956 and is in a nice neighborhood. I found that any house that was built prior to 1968, that has linoleum or tile, has to have an environmental test to assure that the linoleum or tile doesn't have carcinogens that were in most "plastics" prior to that time. The is EPA rules/law and the tests can take up to 6 weeks. If so, sealants, like concrete, have to be applied prior to replacing flooring. Until I got the place about 25 years ago, it had only that wood and I hate to mess that up with barrier type treatments. I know dang well that the linoleum was put down after 1968 but certainly can't prove it. I can't even remove the old linoleum and go back to the original wood because it is illegal to dump the linoleum prior to it being tested. The consequences can involve niceties like doing time in a Federal prison. I have a serious aversion to that so I'm going to stay legal.

I have a prospective renter that I have to notify that it won't be ready for the first of the month. That sux.

Anyway, I'm taking the week end off and will try to not even think about this deal. Wife wants us to go to an Oklahoma casino today and I'm heading to the country to do some fishing and 4 wheeler riding tomorrow. May even try out the shooting range that I built about 6 weeks ago.

Hang in there pard. +1 on the range time. I always feel better punching holes in some paper, or clanking some silhouettes.

Dave my parents old house had tile ( asbestos) on the floor and as we found that you can remove it yourself without any problems, but if you pay someone to do it then it has to be abated legally.... go figure

That is what we found out (quite a few years ago now so may have changed) about a very small ceiling in a furnace room in our church that had some asbestos tile. Had it been a private residence we could have removed it ourselves (but like you say if a contractor did it much more involved) and put it in the landfill. But since it was a public building it had to have professional removal. So it is still part of that ceiling.

I feel so "protected".

You are a he!! of a man. I would have floor scraped that stuff off and found a hole to put it in for ever. Mind you I would have warn a mask.

Cheers Don.

Dave, the linoleum probably has date stamps all over the back side.

SSS

Scrape, shovel and shut up.

I can get you some 9" square floor tile to go along with that linoleum, no charge.

Amen to that

Heck, I know that its not hazardous. I had it done about 20 years ago. It's just that the EPA has guidelines/laws.

Wear a dust mask and shower off. Clean up well before letting others in.

FINALLY finished and the house is rented. About $7,000 and 2.5 months of work. I missed the Spring time in the country which I kinda resent.

On the plus side, I lost 15 pounds and am getting into jeans that haven't fit me for years. It was mainly from skipping lunch.

Never again. I changed the lease agreement and added 6 month inspections. If the house isn't cared for, out they go.

If you want too keep wearing those same size pants, maybe you should come visit us.

I'm going 7 days a week. I too feel old old and worn out. I could use a work companion like you who can work at my pace. I could also use your fortitude and Texas Ranger attitude to get one of my renters out and then help me get that house cleaned up and repaired enough to sell it. I've got two others in similar condition.

Besides, I haven't seen you for a while. My older son who lived in OKC took a job in Lincoln, NE. So I'll be a lot farther away from Pond Boss headquarters.

The Other old PB curmudgeon,
Ken

I've helped relatives fix up rentals. Being a landlord is not for me, and I have had some opportunities. NEVER!!!!

Ken, thanks for the invite but I don't think I have another rental refurb in me. Next time, it might be 5 gallons of gas.

Too many "ifs" involved in rentals, so no landlord for me either. If the tenant is good, if they can keep their job, if the appliances survive, if the pipes don't freeze, if code doesn't change, if it doesn't burn down... One house is enough.

Then you have to factor in these odd creatures called humans. Once that species gets involved in cash flow, sanity goes out the window. It is bad enough having roommates, I remember this well, but if I owned the place my roommates were busy trashing? I would be doing time.

From a financial standpoint, I have no real regrets. I bought this house for $36,000 about 30 years ago. It's paid for and is now worth about $150,000. The other one is also paid off. It was my Wife's house when we married and she paid about $75,000 for it. It's now worth about $200,000. Renters have paid for both. Although they have occasionally been a PITA, I find that they are at least as good an investment as the stock market. In that time, I've only had to evict 2 or 3 renters.

I like real estate investing better than the stock market. About 10 years ago, I bought 50 acres next to my place. I kept it 5 years and believe I paid about $40,000 for it. I sold it about 4 years later for, I think, $100,000. We hunted and fished on it so it wasn't just an investment. I used the profit to pay off my home, land, and both rent houses. I'm debt free but without a lot of tax write offs.

I doubt that I'll do it again or buy any property. I'm getting too old to mess with it.

Editing here. In no way should anyone consider me an investing whiz or even knowledgeable about reading tea leaves when it comes to real estate investing. I've gotten lucky.

Just curious Dave...did you and the wife make it to the Oklahoma casino?? Just last weekend wife and I did a Oklahoma casino run. Went up to Grant and then over to Durant and then finally ended up in Thackersville Oklahoma at the Winstar casino. Winstar is the largest casino in the world with near 5,000 slots alone!!! I too have rent houses and just need to get away sometimes!!

Yeah, we went to Winstar and lost some $, then to the small one close to it and lost some more $ there. My Wife likes to play the dollar machines but I spend a lot of time walking around looking for 25 cent ones. I always lose so have to hunt for the cheap ones.

Dave....real estate has made many, many a millionaire. My real estate agent always tells me "they ain't makin any more dirt". Looks like you've done pretty well. I've considered rental properties, but never took the leap. For better or worse....being an Amazon addict I have made Amazon my "rental property". After an initial investment I try to buy one share a month and see where it takes me. A retirement planning guy told me "the best retirement plan is to keep working until you can't because it is very difficult for most people to replace that income".

Dave, at least you seem to be handy! I just hired a guy to rebuild a kitchen on a rental house. I bought it as a remodel for my wife to have something to keep her busy and for an investment. After a year of not getting much done, due to her keeping a great grand child. I stepped in last week to finish it all up. I stepped in by hiring a guy who helped build a home for me 10 yr's back. I have learned that if I do the work, it won't be done right and in the long run will cost me more than if I hire it done from the beginning. I wished I had a little of handy man in me, but it is not in my deck of cards.

Who me? Handy? I screw up a lot of things and isn't unusual for me to head back to Lowes.

Amen to that Tracy...I have trouble putting gas in my SUV.