The Legal Bubble

It’s been a while since I have posted, and I am vowing from this point on to post at least two articles per week!  A lot has been on my mind lately, and everyone around me as well. 

People are suffering financially, and just trying to make it.  Last year was NOT the year to try to jumpstart a career.  I made that mistake, and it put me deep into debt.  Despite what various websites say, MOST ATTORNEYS do not make much money.  So, I took a low paying, low gratifying job, and ended up doing the un-smart thing of paying bills on my credit card.  Granted that’s not what this blog is about, it’s what everyone wants to hear.  People want comfort knowing that it’s not just them, or not just the people around them.  So, here, I spill it! I’m in a higher-paying, degrading contract attorney position, and I am slowly getting out of debt, with the occasional treat.

 But, back to real estate.  I have told you about the ins and outs of being a landlord, about renting out rooms in your own home.  But, what about those high utility bills?  The rates are going up, but our salaries are not.  We have to learn to cut corners, reduce expenses, and earn extra income the best way we know how. 

My electricity bill is ridiculously high.  I am on the average payment plan with PEPCO, and pay $540/month.  That’s a car payment.  For one month, I went around my house constantly unplugging everything, making sure lights stayed out, etc.  I noticed my bill dropped by almost half.  I haven’t been quite as diligent lately, and it has gone back up.  Everything in the house is electric.  I do not pay a gas bill at all.  Keeping your computer on all day and all night for a month adds approximately $40 per month to your bill.  We have 5 computers in the house, and we rarely shut them down.  I guess that’s a huge loss right there.  Ladies and Gents, shut those computers down!!!  Additionally, items that remained plugged in, like your TV, Stereos, alarm clocks, microwaves, etc. all are still using electricity.  They have to be able to power that LCD that gives you information, such as the time.  It’s best to just shut your entire power strip off. 

 To keep the temperature in our house constant, we try not to leave the doors open.  In the winter, some windows in the house we have closed off with a thick carpet padding, covered by thick draperies.  We also insulated our attic this winter with blown insulation (you can rent the machine from your local home improvement store). 

We have blinds to keep the lights and heat out in the summer.  We also installed 2 additional ceiling fans in our home since it began to get hot.  They help tremendously.  Our central air unit does not come on until it’s above 85 degrees in the house.  I had a contractor stop by my house and check out my HVAC unit, and he told me I have a commercial unit, and it’s enough to heat or cool my house and another house!  That was an eye-opener.  The unit will NOT be on longer than one hour per day.

Since my schedule varies, and there are some times when I have to be home, I try to leave the house, and go somewhere in close proximity (can’t waste gas or what’s the point!) and use their cool air.

Eat uncooked/raw food/salads or throw some food on the CHARCOAL GRILL… that can help save you money, especially if you’re leaving the oven and/or stove on for an hour or more to make dinner or other meals.  I tend to cook dinner once or twice a week and eat leftovers.  That helps keep the stove/oven off, and keep the house cooler than if I were to keep the oven on, thereby saving even more on your utility bill.

 Washing your clothes in cold water can also help reduce your bill.  I do this occasionally.  It reduces your bill because you don’t have to heat up the water to be washed.  I also do not completely dry my clothes.  I leave them moist and hang them up to finish drying overnight.

 When cooking on the stovetop, you should keep the lid on your food so that it can cook faster, the temperature can stay hot.  Keep your oven closed while baking, as the temperature can drop about 25 degrees just from peeking in on the food, thereby consuming more electricity (or gas) to heat up again.

Last, but not least, change the filter on your HVAC unit.  If only I could remember to follow this, then maybe I could reduce mine!  I am embarassed to tell you how long it’s been since I replaced my filter.  It doesn’t look dirty though!

Recently after going through my budget with a fine toothed comb, I decided I needed to be more creative with how I make money.  Well, it’s not like it has never been thought of before, but it was kind of new to me.  As a self-employed attorney and realtor, I am struggling as well.  People that need my services don’t have the money to pay me, or will not buy a house in this market.  My husband and two kids and I live in an SFH (Single family house aka Detached) in Washington, D.C., within minutes of everything it seems!  We have a 4br/3fb house, plus a small den/office. 

Back in January and February, when I took up a part-time job to supplement income, I met a young woman at work who said she needed a place to live, cheaper than where she currently lived, public transportation accessible, and safe.  I offered up a bedroom in our house for only $500, which included utilities, and she JUMPED at the chance.  She moved in a few weeks later.  I told my husband about it after the fact, and he (like me) is excited about any LEGIT opportunity for extra income. 

Sidebar, over a year ago we let a family stay with us, setting no rules, no boundaries, no rental rate.  Big mistake!!!  Our electricity bill has doubled and we aren’t getting rent.  They will be gone come the end of this month.  Since we had such a hard time with tenants/houseguests, I wrote a lease up for this young woman

There had to be some shifting, as the houseguests were originally occupying that room and other areas of the house.  The only thing that needed to be done to prepare for the tenant was paint and new blinds, and of course cleaning!  Just like that an extra $500/m.  She’s quiet, hardly ever there, and very respectful of space.  We definitely could use the help/income.

After she moved in, I thought about what other areas of the house I could rent out.  My husband and I of course used one bedroom, and our two daughters are very young and share their room.  We now have the tenant.  That 4th bedroom?  Well that was a music studio for my musician husband.  If you can’t tell from my other posts, I am ALL ABOUT making money.  My husband has produced several tracks and albums for various local artists.  However, I politely asked him if he could move his studio to my office (which I haven’t been using) so that we can rent out that space, and he agreed to it.  I found a renter for that bedroom for $500/m, which includes all utilities and wireless internet, and now cable… THE WORKS!!  Just when I thought things were done, my beloved husband mentioned that a friend of his (who I know pretty well) said that he would have rented the room if he had known we were renting it out.  Well we were out of bedrooms, but have a 1200 sqft unfinished basement.  Well, basement is about 30% finished, but has a full bath that is finished, and a separate outside entrance.  I went on a limb and asked if he would stay in the basement while it was undergoing the work, and he was all for it.  I told him the price is $600/m, which includes all utitlies and wireless internet, and he will be moving in on June 1st!! 

All renters can also do their laundry free, offstreet parking (we are not landscapers so we park in our yard).  We will have a gym in the house as well.  I think it’s a steal, they think it’s a steal, and we will make money!  The economy is in such disarray that almost everyone that I know is struggling.  While helping people out that we know by offering low-cost rent, we are making money, so everyone is happy.

The best thing is, it didn’t take much to prepare these rooms to be rented.  I bought miniblinds for about $5 each at LOWES.  I also RELIGIOUSLY go to the paint rejects in Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart whenever I am at those stores (they cut paint prices in half).  I got TWO cans of rejects called “bleached wheat” which is a fancy name for off-white, from Walmart, and spent $11 total for the two cans.  At Home Depot, I purchased the “paint mate” for $24.99.  It made painting go a lot faster, but wasn’t as expensive as the sprayer.  You pretty much load a tube/roller extension with paint straight from the paint can, and roll it on, pressing the trigger to release more paint into the roller.  That inventor was a genius!!  I painted two coats into the room with only 1/2 can of paint.  Okay I don’t know about you guys, but when I have painted previously… one average-sized room took the WHOLE CAN.  I love my paint-mate, and now want to paint the whole house!!!

Before you let someone into your house, you must find out about them, smoking or not, pets or not, work schedule/sleep schedule, background check is strongly suggested (try quickbackgroundchecks.com or tenantbackgroundcheck.com, which sound good, but I haven’t personally used them), cleaning and cooking habits, cleanliness is important, but it’s hard to find out that information!! 

You should also decide whether you want a male or female.  For our house, I didn’t want a male because I have two daughters.  My husband didn’t want a male because he didn’t want them around his wife or kids.  The male we got is a friend, so that’s okay.  I wasn’t too keen on a female because I don’t want to have anyone suddenly think it’s okay to walk around the house in a tshirt and panties.  I have heard horror stories.  After fully interviewing the female I did choose, I am confident that this type of behavior will not happen.
While my family and I are sharing this space with quite a few people, we do have a whole floor to ourselves.  In just about any home, if you have an extra room or space, you can find someone to rent it.  You should try your local colleges or craigslist to find a tenant.  Minimal preparation and you can start making your $500 or $600/m.  That’s another car payment!!!  Maybe now I can satisfy my want/need for this bag: 

It’s only $1399!!!  Okay, I won’t buy it.  Byebye Chloe Paddington, my love!