Or so our wonderful new tenants call us…
When we moved to Salt Spring we downsized and the plan was always to buy a rental property so we could have some income. It's notoriously hard to make a living on Salt Spring – with a population of 10,500 and a largely tourist economy.
And finally, the right property at the right price (thanks to our fab Realtor Chris Hobbs of Sothebys) came along. Our amazing Mortage Advisor Rishel of Custom Mortgages got us an awesome fixed rate and it all came together at the end of July. So, now we are landlords…
Of course to get such an amazing deal on the property there was a 'price' and this has (so far) included:
a new roof- a brand new septic field (that actually works)
- new windows to replace the (some) broken and (all) single glazed windows and patio doors
- new carpet / laminate flooring to replace the icky 80s-tastic faded beige textured carpet in the living room/hall and the 1980s jazzy blue/grey patterned carpet in the master bedroom.
- a new bathroom for the master bedroom
- replacing uncovered fluorescent and broken light fittings
- organizing a more efficient fireplace insert for the living room/getting the chimney swept
- Cleaning out smelly insulation that had 2 dead rats in there (previous rodent infestation was disclosed on sales sheet)
- and that doesn't even include the much needed interior painting over brick and also green wood panelling and gloss black paint effects, never mind minor fixing (eg. of dodgy plumbing/electrics), tidying, cleaning etc.
And we did all this in one month! I have never worked so hard physically in my life. We worked full days, evenings and weekends – right through in the last couple of weeks. I learned to mud, tape and sand walls as well as just fill holes and paint. We had some help – much appreciated – from my brother and our new tenant Rod. Thank-you very much!
See photo album (coming soon) for before and after pics.