“No half baths, and no skylights!,” my realtor snapped at me, half joking but exasperated. We were standing in a windowless closet on the third floor of what would soon be my very first property, and I was pointing out the places where my grand plans would soon spring into life — here a new built-in, there a half-wall, all within budget and on schedule. When would I understand the truths about managing a property: that renovations should not be needlessly costly or lengthy, that time is money, and that tenants inevitably tear everything up?
After I started the job and saw what it really entailed, evidently. But this was my first property, and I had much to learn. I promised her, and myself, that it would be finished in six months, by the holidays; she rolled her eyes — of course it will — and I set out, high on ambition, empty on experience.
Read Full Article »