InvestInCamelot's Blog

Eight-unit apartment building: units for rent

Karen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:49:13 +0000

Today we added an 8-unit apartment building to our portfolio, here in Warrick County, Indiana. Most of the units already have renters, but there are a few empty. If you’re looking for a convenient spot to rent, this is 7 miles from Green River Road in Evansville, five miles from Newburgh, and six miles from Boonville. Each of these efficiency apartments has its own central air and electric heat.

Acquiring two rent houses

Karen — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:27:04 +0000

We went to an absolute auction today and wound up as highest bidder on two rental properties. We did some diligence on these houses over the past few days to determine $what they’d $need in the form of $repairs, and then figured what our maximum offer would be for each. Two of them are now in our growing portfolio.

These single-family rental properties are in Evansville, and are already cash-flowing as is. Next we’ll do a bit more diligence to see what the paperwork situation is, and meet the renters.

House Hunting

Karen — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:18:39 +0000

We did a walk-through on about a dozen Evansville rental homes for sale today. Some require easy carpet-and-paint, while others will need new furnaces, windows, even foundation work! They go up for sale soon, so we’re crunching the numbers to see what we can offer.

Rehab project underway

Karen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:25:46 +0000

We secured a house near downtown Evansville from the bank, for a song — no, really! — and now we’re in the process of fixing it up. It needs:

Some foundation work
Basement fill-in
Add a bathroom downstairs
New windows
Woodwork here and there
Paint, carpet
Clean-up

Then it will be ready for renting or for selling!

Indianapolis REIA Meeting

Karen — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:41:28 +0000

The Central Indiana REIA meeting was great! We got to meet Vena Jones-Cox and hear her plain-talk presentation on what it takes to get started in real estate. She’s got a lot of common sense, put into common practice, and has helped shepherd new investors along the path while she does it. The best part, is how she includes the context that newbie investors need — other gurus tend to make assumptions and leave the green-horns in the dust.

If you’re new to investing in real estate, we think she can help you “get a leg up”. Her subtly-titled website is TheRealEstateGoddess.com. Check it out!

Even more rain

Karen — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:09:54 +0000

We got soaked in April, so why should May be any different?

The midwest has had more than enough rain this spring.

Can’t plant, when your tractor is stuck up to its axles in mud.

Crop prices are going to be high this fall, aren’t they?

Control your time and attention

Karen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:07:15 +0000

Focus on what's important, not what's urgent

Even when in the real estate business, there are a host of tips available online on how to get organized, how to prioritize your daily tasks, and much more.

But one of the best is 43folders.com, the delightful brainchild of Merlin Mann.

When spending many hours talking with home buyers and home sellers in the world of real estate, it’s easy to get scattered, to lose track of what’s important… when you’re faced with all kinds of urgent alarms. Urgent? Well, maybe so — but is it important?

So take a moment and look at his slide-deck for “Who Moved My Brain?” It’s a great way to invest 15 minutes and get some perspective on how — and why and when — to focus your attention.

People give you money because you know how to solve problems. Not because you move email around and respond to things that go “DING!” – Slide 10

Merlin — well, he’s the Mann, man.

InvestInCamelot: Bodiam Castle

Karen — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:17:59 +0000

Curious about our masthead? Given our Camelot theme, we figured we should go with something genuinely Camelot-ish, and this 14th-century castle from southeast England fit the bill nicely.

Dawn at Bodiam Castle

This is Bodiam Castle, built in 1385 during the reign of King Richard II. Its purpose was originally to defend the surrounding area from French invasion, but the castle never saw action.

The image itself — Dawn at Bodiam Castle — was taken by Jeremy Edwards, and we nabbed it from iStockPhoto.com. We had to darken it up (quite a bit! unfortunately) in order to get our website name and ‘Solving Problems for home owners and home buyers‘ tag-line to be visible.

It looks like there’s some drainage problems in the yard — do you suppose Bodiam Castle has a damp basement?

Answer the phone!

Karen — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:13:19 +0000

Here it is St. Patrick’s Day 2009 and…

We found a property listed today — not far from Evansville, and just a short walk from the Ohio River — and when we tried to contact the owner, as specified in the ad… he wouldn’t answer the phone.

And he hasn’t called back all day. Odd way to manage your property, wouldn’t you say?

When you advertise something that people will need to contact you about — for example, a home for sale — you should answer the phone! If you ask people to get in touch with you, let them!

Okay, there will be times that you’ll be away during the day… maybe for a grandkid’s ball game or even a walk along the riverfront… but you should check your messages and get back with the people who have called you as you asked!

InvestInCamelot.com

Karen — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:04:20 +0000

Welcome to investInCamelot.com. We solve real estate problems — for sellers and for buyers.

We will be using this blog to talk about solutions we encounter for both real estate buyers and real estate sellers.

Home owners:

Imagine inheriting a house from a distant aunt or uncle. What do you do with it? How can you find the right buyer for it?
What do you do with those expensive house payments if you get “downsized” at work?
Did you get bitten by the housing bubble?
Wondering what to do with that vacant house you meant to use on vacations?

We can help.

Home buyers:

Are you looking for a cozy cottage to move into?
Would a single-family home suit you just fine?
Are you looking for an investment property with some cash flow?

We can help.