Mice...er Gila Monsters

"I think I have mice, but it could be Gila Monsters."

Mice, or any pests for that matter, are definitely cause for a certain level of concern.  We've had the pleasure of removing, roaches, mice, bee's, stray cats, and even pigeons...but today was the first day we've heard of a Gila Monster problem.

It's easy to let the fear of a little creature roaming around your house cloud your judgement, but the differences between a little mouse and a gila monster are pretty definitive (see below).



Well, thank goodness that it was just a mouse and the little bugger is gone now (RIP)!

In case you were wondering, this was a different tenant that accidentally got drunk and mailed the rent payment to the wrong address.

You're right, we can't make this stuff up!!

Where SGI Gets It Done Each Day

Central Phoenix.  Downtown.  That's where we get it done all day every day.

Quick, paint a picture in your mind about what our office looks like.  Done yet?  How about now?  

Luxurious high rise, walnut executive desks, leather chairs, butlers that bring you tea and a hot towel when you walk in.  Well...not so much.  

You see, we're frugal and we're trying to do this deal right.  No debt, no long term leases, no funny business.  We're investing in systems and people first, because our customers seem to like our people and our systems a lot more than our fancy office with leather chairs and a butler.

Ok, here's the skinny where we're really making SGI happen every day.  It's called Co+Hoots (www.incohoots.com) and we think it rocks.  It's an old school grocery store that was built in 1926.  Concrete floors, metal tables (think 7th grade biology class), particle board dividers that make a conference room, you get the idea.  We're "in cohoots" with 9 other small businesses that do cool stuff like PR, web design, graphic design, business data analysis, and other sole proprietor type biz.  We love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

If you come and visit us, you'll love it too.  It's got personality, just like us!  We're sorry if the butler doesn't bring you any tea, but we'll grab you a coke out of the fridge and we can sit down in the particle board conference room and chat.  It's funny, cause we've had some big $ guys come through here and talk property management and RE investing and they love it too. We've found that most everyone appreciates their property management company saving a buck.  

We're delivering World Class Experiences everyday, in our old school building with concrete floors and metal tables...and here's a picture to prove it!

Here we go!

So property management is a blast. Stop right there, I already know what you're thinking.

When my Co-Founder and I were just developing the idea of Saving Grace Investments, every other person (more like 3 out of every 4) was telling us that "Dealing with tenants and toilets is nothing but a nightmare- give up the idea and find a real job."

Well, you see, we were going at it from a whole other angle. We wanted to help some people out. Everybody and their brother has short sold or foreclosed on 1 or 2 or 5 homes here in Phoenix it seems like, so that means there's lots of renters out there that haven't been renters in a really long time.  It also means that a lot of really smart people are buying homes right now since they've suddenly gotten cheaper than most new SUV's, in case you haven't heard.

Not everyone wants to buy a home, and that cool, but lots of people do want to buy but can't.  Unfortunately SGI can't issue our own bailout program, but we did figure out a way to help out a little.  If you're a renter and you want to buy a home, you can help us out.  You see, we have owners that want a renter in their home to help take care of the place, and treat it like their own.  If you rent and hold up your end of the bargain, we will credit you $1,200 a year.  It usually takes 3 years to fix you're credit after a short sale or foreclosure, so that means you'd have $3,600 to put down on a place just by renting!

This blog is going to be a way that you can check out the day to day interactions with tenants, owners, and those of us here at SGI.  Names and addresses will be changed to protect the innocent...and the guilty.

Sample:  
If you're not supposed to have a dog, but there is one roaming around your backyard and chews up the irrigation, you probably:

1. Are dog sitting...
2. Accidentally left the gate open and a random pooch decided to hang out...
3. Are harboring a stray because you have a big heart...
4. Have a dog that you're not supposed to have.

This is gonna be great, and there's more to come....