When you first take over an income property - particularly a residential one - there is a period during which you are getting comfortable with your property. Here is what it means by “getting comfortable”:

• Happily (we hope) or unhappily (we hope not) you are learning the truth about the building (this is usually somewhat different from what the seller might have told you).
• During your visits to your building (and you will make many visits at the start), try hard to get to know your tenants.
• The actual expenses of your building will become clearer to you because you’re paying the bills! These expenses may be somewhat different from what the seller told you - they may be more, or they may be less than you were told. Usually, they’ll be more!
• Your income and expense calculations show you changes to make to improve your income from your building.

I am frustrated! I always read about people who have many options in saving money. My husband and I have 3 children plus child support for his two. I work part time at various jobs. Our combined net income is $2500 per month after his child support. I am currently working on a degree in secondary education with two years left. We do not live in a town that offers double coupons or co-ops for food. There are only 2 grocery stores. The price of gas lately doesn’t even make it efficient for us to go to Costco 180 miles away. Please offer some insight for people who have situations similar to this.
Kay

Office properties can be bought by you with better financing than residential properties because there are fewer buyers for office buildings. Hence, sellers are more creative in the unique financing options they offer buyers - namely you.

Office properties usually give owners fewer problems than residential properties. Why? Because office properties normally have only dult tenants. There are no children or pets to cause a variety of nuisance complaints and woes.

Office properties can have leases written such that the first $1,000 (or any other agreed-on amount) in repairs are the responsiblity of the tenant. This reduces the number of small-repair calls you get, allowing you to have a quiet life with your office building real estate holding.

Our friends belong to a group of couples that host an “Amish Night” once a month. It’s modeled after the Amish custom of “barn raising” where all the families come together to do some sort of construction project. Each month, it’s someone’s turn to use the free labor to accomplish a home repair or improvement. They save money on labor, gain a lot of expertise from the various members, and it’s also a lot of fun to do the project with friends! They’ve done everything from painting rooms to plumbing fixes to installing wood floors.
Mary C.