Houston Apartment Update

The monthly report for the Houston apartment complex was positive once again. As mentioned last month, occupancy for February was at 96% (not quite the 97% they estimated, but still darn good). Income for the month equaled their highest month ever. Repair costs were higher due to the quarterly unit inspections, which resulted in more repairs than normal.I wrote last month about the income from telephones and wondered if that was all really from people...

Need Faxing Solution

I'm looking to join the growing number of people who no longer have a home phone line (landline) at their house. I was looking at my bills the other day and realized I'm paying close to $50 a month for two phones lines that I almost never use - one line is my standard home line and the other is for a business fax machine. I make and receive almost all my calls on my cell phone now, so I don't see a need to continue to have and pay for a landline.I...

Final Prosper.com Loan Paid Off

I received notification today that I have received the final payment on my last outstanding loan with Prosper.com. I'm now finally through with that experiment. I made a total of four loans and two of them defaulted. One was paid in full over the 3 year loan period and one was paid in full early - about 10 months ahead of schedule. I lost about $350 of my $500 investment.I've said it before and I'll say it again. Lending through Prosper isn't for...

Apartment Complexes Being Abandoned By Owners (Updated)

This article on msnbc.com today brings up an interesting subject: apartment complexes that are being abandoned by the corporate owners as they go into foreclosure. The examples in the article are all in the Phoenix area, which caught my eye since it's where I live. I've passed this info on to my friend who deals with apartment investing to see what he thinks. He already owns some apartment buildings in Phoenix and knows the area well. Could be some...

Fell Out Of Escrow

The property that is the collateral for hard money loan #6 fell out of escrow and is now back on the market.Nothing much new to report. I've been working on getting my paperwork together for my taxes. The four flipping LLCs I am invested in in California all reported losses last year. The amount ranged from 1% to 3% of my investment. I'll be taking the losses as deductions on my taxes. On the positive side, the people running those have some other...