I absolutely HATE the water/sewer people in the city where my investment houses are located. I've never liked having to deal with government employees as most realize they have no profit initiative like private corporations (and the fact it's almost impossible to get fired), so they treat customers like scum of the earth - in most cases.
To get everyone up-to-speed, when I bought House #2, I called the water company (a special utility district) to have the water turned on. It cost me $100 for a deposit (which is supposedly refundable) PLUS a $50 non-refundable hook-up fee. The water company has a partnership with the City in that the city provides sewer service. But if you start water without starting sewer, the City will tell the water company to lock the meter until service is started. Since I only required water for 1-2 days after buying the house to clean, I ignored the fact of starting the sewer service. Eventually, the City found out and the meter was locked. But I didn't care, because I didn't need the water anymore anyway.
Now that this potential buyer needs the utilities turned on to get the house inspected, I had to go by the city and start service so that the water company would unlock the meter. I get there and am "helped" by a person who acted as though what I had done was equivalent to the guy who massacred the people at VT last week. She was just aghast as to how anyone could be so stupid (note: she didn't use the term "stupid", but her words and actions incinuated it). After going back-n-forth, she finally left the office to talk to someone else about it (a supervisor?). When she came back, she said that I would not only have to pay the normal $100 deposit for sewer (which is a separate fee from the $100 deposit for water), BUT I had to pay for service since LAST OCTOBER. IOW, even though the meter was turned off back in November-ish and I had no water, I had to pay all those months for service I never even got! Outrageous! At that point it was nearing 5pm and I had 100 other things to do, so I paid the $100 deposit and told the woman to bill me, but that I was going to contest the whole thing later. I also stressed that I needed the water turned on by Tuesday so it could be inspected by a potential buyer.
Secondly, when my tenant in House #1 moved out last week, he said that the water/sewer would be transferred back to me on Wed. I asked the same lady there if the transfer took place. My God - I opened another can of worms! The lady said they don't "transfer" service. You open an account, and if you get a tenant in the place, your account is closed and a new account is opened. I told her I specifically called her office two years ago to verify the procedure and was told that the service was transferred. She said whoever told me that was wrong. Great. Then she told me I never even HAD an account there, and I blew up. I told her I would go to my house right now, pull up the receipts, and bring them to her to show her I had an account at that address. Again, she left the office and came back. Without apologizing or admitting fault, she said I would need $100 in order to restart service. I only had one check with me, so I told her I'd have to come back to pay the $100. I then asked what happened to the $100 deposit I paid two years ago, and she said it was credited to the account. So, that meant I would have to fish through my old records to see if I ever got credited the $100. When I got home, I pulled my file and I swear I don't see where I got credited anything. That means I will have to go back today and do another round of bitching.
On top of all that, I called the water company first thing this morning to verify the meter would be turned back on and the lady there said they haven't received anything from the city yet. I just said "You're kidding?" The lady said as soon as she gets a call from the City, she'll call me back. BS! I hung up and called the City and talked to another lady and asked her what the hold-up was. She said she would call the water company and let them know I started service. That was 30 mins ago, and I still haven't gotten a call yet confirming it will happen, so I'll need to call again to get on these people.
Edit: After making a couple more calls, the lady at the water company assured me their roving maintenance person had unl;ocked the meter. She said they leave it off and it is up to the homeowner to turn it on, but that's nothing more than turning a valve on the meter itself. I guess I'll go over there this evening or tomorrow and make sure everything is working.
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5 comments:
Steve,
Question for you.. Since your a rich dad follower. was wondering what made you pursue real estate first using your w-2 money, rather than using your w-2 money to start a business where the business proceeds to purchase real estate while providing you with an additional stream of income?
One thing i noticed with those who read the rich dad books is that mostly skip past the creating a business & run into real estate, only to have then bought at the peak of the cycle or were unprepared to be landlords.. This isnt directed towards you, just an observation...
What do you think?
Funny you should ask. I learned about REI through a friend on a sports board of all places, which got me started. While REI can be very lucrative, I've learned business building to be even better. However, I know with my experience and resources, it's not something I want to tackle just yet - but I do have some ideas floating around (some dealing indirectly with REI, and some completely out of the industry).
I agree with your 2nd paragraph whole-heartedly, and not just for Rich Dad students, but for REI-wannabes in general. Believe me, I have thought about giving up more times than I can count, but I don't want to be part of the 95% statistic. I've actually learned more through perseverance these last couple of years than I could have gotten in any book, tape, course, or what-have-you, which has strengthened my drive more, instead of made me want to quit. I also agree that landlording is not for everyone (nor is a lot of REI). I think people are lured by the false claims of fast riches and no effort, and when reality finally hits them, they realize (sometimes too late) that REI isn't for them.
True, I'll probably end up losing money on House #2 for a myriad of reasons (mostly my own fault), but the experience gained will be returned 10-fold. I've already started a long list of "lessons learned" that looking back now could have created opportunities for me.
I guess the premise of my post is create a income stream now at low entry point & since you have job, you wouldnt need to use your w-2 money to invest, instead use your income stream to invest in rei & to handle any losses/gains...
Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, as I mentioned a few times before, TIME is my biggest enemy now. Having a JOB that pays a steady income is a Catch-22. You get paid, but in return, you give time. That time could be used for starting a business, investing more, etc. I'm not trying to make excuses, and if you were to film a week in my life, you would probably better understand.
But aside from that, I realize NOW is the time to set the wheels in motion for LATER, and regardless of the obstacles, I need to persue other ventures for a diverse stream of income.
Wow.. What an ordeal. I always try to leave all the utilities on when I flip a place. Most of time, the workers are in there and need water and power anyway.
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