I Really Appreciate Our Family

Thursday August 13, 1992

Get ready day. Marketing, packing the trailer, baking cookies and partially preparing the casserole to take for Saturday night potluck. Luckily, I'm feeling good because it's a busy day. Of course I always find a few minutes to rest my back. It's not bothering me quite as much.

Called all the family members but none home. Talked to Mother and Myra in the evening. I really appreciate our family and how well they all get along. We are so lucky. I hope nothing ever spoils that, like inheritance. Myra's kids and Dave's kids have so many problems. I'm on the phone all evening.

When Mom passed away, I did worry that my brother and I might have "issues" over our inheritance. Mom was a very wise woman and left her 3 rental houses to both of us equally, which is only fair. However, Gary was the one who had to deal with all the repairs on the houses. Frank stepped down as trustee of her estate, which was probably a wise decision so as not to alienate either Gary or I. It took over a year to get those houses fixed up and then sold. I felt guilty that we were so far away and unable to help Gary with the houses. He's a good and kind brother and very easy-going, so it all worked out. Gary, if you are reading this, thanks for calling me last night. It's been far too long. I am LUCKY to have you for my brother.

New Furniture for the New House

Sunday June 6, 1992

Joseph and Jr. are up already when we come downstairs at 7:30. They are watching the movies we rented for them. Frank goes to Marvel for some last minute touchup. The ad "for rent" is running in today's paper.

After lunch poor Frank goes to Newbury Park. His tenant there says there's a leak in the plumbing coming through into the downstairs. Just when we thought he was about through taking care of problems in the rentals!

The boys and I are waiting for the phone call that the new furniture is ready to deliver to Gary's house. The call finally comes at 2:15. We go to let them in. We try to arrange it to look real nice when Gary and Maria arrive home from their honeymoon.

We go square dancing 8-11. I feel real good.

Mom owned 3 rental houses, including the one she lived in prior to her marriage to Frank. Frank owned one rental house, the one he lived in before he and Mom bought a house together to live in. That makes a total of 4 rental houses. Even though Frank had retired the previous year, these houses could become a full-time job. The houses that Ric and I own (9 rentals) plus the 6 that we manage for Ric's mother have become a huge burden as well. When everything is going smoothly, the houses are all rented and prices are appreciating, real estate can be a very good investment. But for the first time in my lifetime, the value of real estate has come crashing down the past six years. We have lost most of our equity in the rental houses, and there are a few that are "under water", meaning our loan amount is larger than the value of the house. The houses that we bought 10-20 years ago are now requiring alot more maintenance than when they were new, and because of the recession, we have had to evict a few tenants in the past year, and other tenants are way behind in their rent. All of this creates a very stressful life during what was supposed to be our golden leisure retirement years. I do as much as I can, but Ric is the one stuck with doing the hard manual labor like cleaning sewer lines, repairing sheetrock, replacing toilets and water heaters. The work never seems to end. I can so relate when Mom says "poor Frank". With 20/20 hindsight, how I wish we had sold our houses 5 years ago when I retired!

Rental Woes

Tuesday September 3, 1991

Bad news for Frank. He is over at Gledhill house tearing out sidewalk to reach a leaking pipe underground beside the house. I meet him over there with his lunch. Later we go to Lemona where I water the yard. A friend of Frank's comes to check out the wall heater that's not working. Phil comes to replace the water meter at the same time. The dishwasher at Gledhill is working well. Frank did a good job of fixing it.

We head home a little earlier, 5 p.m. Tomorrow is chemo so that will kill the afternoon and evening.

This is the first time I have discovered that Mom made two entries on the same day. Odd.

Frank may have retired from the City of Los Angeles Parks and Rec Dept earlier that year, but you never get to retire from being a landlord. Mom and Frank had 4 rentals, the one on Lemona that I grew up in, the one on Gledhill Mom bought for her residence before she and Frank got married, one that Mom bought in Simi Valley before the marriage, and the one in Newbury Park that Frank owned as his residence before the marriage. When they married in 1982 they bought a big beautiful house in Simi Valley together. My husband Ric and I have 9 rentals and manage 6 more for my mother-in-law. Between the 15 rentals, there is always a sewer to unplug, a defective water heater or other appliance to repair or replace, or a vacancy to rent. Last year was a record: we had 6 turnovers in 2010! In addition, there are almost always delinquent tenants to deal with, which can be quite stressful, especially if it becomes necessary to do the unlawful detainer process.

Just as I was retiring from Pacific Gas & Electric, the housing market began a long downhill dive, and we have lost most of our equity. We are hoping the market will recover in the next 5 years, so we can start to sell, which was always the plan for my retirement. In the meantime, it is hard to travel or even be away for a weekend, as there is always a rental problem to deal with. So for now, with 2 teenagers at home and 15 houses to manage, we take short trips here and there, mostly to Lake Tahoe, where we can be home in 4 hours if necessary.

Rocketeer

Thursday July 11, 1991

We try to get some more done from our last trip and get the house ready to be gone again for 4 days starting tomorrow. We take Justin to the movies to see Rocketeer. We check with Newbury Park tenants. They owe us $5000 now and it looks bad financially. They are still taking good care of the house.

After dinner we go square dancing. Justin is so good. He reads a book. We dance from 7:30-9:30. It's alot of fun.

When we get home we still have to pack and finish getting the house ready. I fall into bed at 11:30.

I remember that silly movie. According to Wikipedia it bombed at the box office even though it received favorable reviews from critics. For a 10-year-old boy though it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

When Mom and Frank married in 1982 they rented out her two houses in the San Fernando Valley and his house in Newbury Park and bought a new house together in Simi Valley. $5000 was alot of money in 1991 to be behind in the rent. My husband and I have 9 rental houses and manage 6 more for my mother-in-law. Being a landlord can be very stressful, especially when tenants cannot pay their rent. It's a fine line to walk between showing compassion for your tenants when they hit a rough patch and going through with an eviction, which is also very stressful. We currently have a tenant who is $10,000 behind in his rent and it is putting a huge strain on us. The wife is undergoing chemotherapy and they are struggling to pay the medical bills, their rent and other bills.