Stuff in general from a slightly warped perspective…
Interesting thing about maps–apparently, they help you find stuff.
Certain people sometimes get the big-head and think they know the territory so well that maps are unneccessary. They justify this by claiming they are saving ink (but really they are just cheap.) These same people then get hopelessly lost looking for 10K trailer/lots and waste many gallons of gas driving […]
Popularity: 12% [?]
Our agent called and left a message–seems she’s been gallivanting around Europe and South Texas. Anyway, I’ve got the street address to the 10K lot and trailer and will do a drive-by tomorrow while I’m out buying another gallon of paint for the kitchen cabinets. Hopefully, I’ll get some good pictures and post them tomorrow […]
Popularity: 23% [?]
This is JoJo.
And this is JoJo on the floor looking all innocent in front of my favorite lamp.
And this is the scene of the crime.
You will notice in this picture, taken Thanksgiving Day, that I had *2* favorite lamps–one on each side of the couch. Now I have one–
Guess who’s in the doghouse?
There will be no […]
Popularity: 11% [?]
Mr. Brz likes the idea of ceramic tile counters and doesn’t need any elaborate justification. Unfortunately a couple of issues are hindering the advancement of counter materials in Texas from laminate to tile.
Measurement of the stove space shows exactly 30″… no more, no less meaning even the thinnest tile might interfere with stove installation.
The bid […]
Popularity: 18% [?]
At high noon, the mister heads out the door for an afternoon of fun and profit sanding kitchen cabinet doors. At 12:01, Mrs. Brz heads out the door to visit her mother. At 12:04, the phone rings, child-unit #3 fields an emergency call from a highly agitated Mr. Brz. At 12:08, a face appears at […]
Popularity: 18% [?]
It’s time to call the laminate installer to get an estimate for new countertops in the Magnolia house. As much as I love/hate laminate, its really the only choice that makes economic sense for a house at this price point. But while laminate may be inexpensive, it scratches and burns, serious drawbacks for a rent house. Looking at dozens of […]
Popularity: 19% [?]
I hate background checks–totally, completely, thoroughly despise the whole process. It’s boring and inaccurate, mind numbing and irritating, icky and stupid. Just looking through all my old files is giving me hives.
So, in an effort to purge my harddrive of the spector of the old background check business, I’m planning to upload anything useful and move on to fun […]
Popularity: 15% [?]
There’s a ton of confusion even among professionals about what constitutes a background check. Phrases like background check, background screening, and public record’s checks are used interchangeably, yet mean vastly different things.
Just for grins, here’s a list of common terms with distinctions noted.
Glossary:
Background Screening: As the name implies, a method of ‘screening out’ undesirable applicants, usually during the early […]
Popularity: 15% [?]
Here’s something new: 2/1 singlewide trailer, Asking price: $10,000
From MLS: Small unrestricted, commercial/residential lot with mobile on opposite side the street from refinery parking lot. Has many possibilities, Owner will entertain any/all offers.
At this price, just how hideous *is* this place?
No skirt, no stairs… are the utilities hooked up?
Really doesn’t look too bad… the description […]
Popularity: 14% [?]
Some mysterious rhinovirus decided to pay the Brz Clan a long-term visit this holiday season and while I’ve always enjoyed company, this is getting silly. Several articles are waiting in the pipeline, ready to publish just as soon as the fog clears long enough to do some serious editing, but in the meantime, this cold is a […]
Popularity: 9% [?]
An experimental pine floor installed in a rent house kitchen has held up well. Mr. Brz used a combination of 6 and 8″ boards (the type generally used for shelving), beveled the edges and used Miniwax Golden Oak stain to darken it up a bit. Six coats of polyurethane and 2 years later and it looks exactly the same.
We […]
Popularity: 20% [?]
Ratty Trailers With Stellar Cashflow
Two possible candidates appeared on MLS recently. Neither of these lovely little beauties would make the cut for our regular portfolio, but might be just right for the TTC. Both are in the same neighborhood– a mobile home community with a combination of single/double wides on 1/2 acre lots, community water and sewer, […]
Popularity: 9% [?]
A Little Demolition Goes a Long Way
Floorplan: Before
And After:
A few days back, I took my friend Marc over to see our latest project. Not only is he a great guy, he’s also looking for a place to rent and we’ve been trying to wrangle him into one of ours for a while. He’s also blunt– […]
Popularity: 10% [?]
Dad and DD1 back in ‘87 on the deck he made of salvaged airport landing pads from Ellington Field
My dad use to take me hunting as a kid. As far as I know, he never picked up a rifle after leaving the Marine Corp, but he loved a good bargain and rundown shacks were his specialty. […]
Popularity: 16% [?]
If These Floors Could Talk
The little house we’re completing now is one of my favorites. The first time we snuck inside, tiptoed through the fallen ceiling tiles while dodging the dead wasps on the floors, I knew this ratty little shack was going to be a keeper.
Repo’s are generally a mess. Holes in the sheetrock, exposed […]
Popularity: 14% [?]
Sections 1-12 are now up.
Click the Tenant Screening tab at the top of the page… more to follow soon
For clarity, a few quick reminders:
This was written back when I ran background checks for fun and profit. My audience at the time were my clientele–small business owners and nonprofit organizations such as softball leagues, soccer teams, […]
Popularity: 13% [?]
The first attempt at uploading the background check manual was declared an utter and abject failure as of 12:16 am CST accompanied by the sound of much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Therefore, one of my personalities made a motion that the whole thing be uploaded to the blog via copy/paste. The motion carried as everyone else […]
Popularity: 19% [?]
Free Background Check Manual
Several years ago, I started a background check company, proclaimed myself king and anointed Mr. Brz vice-king. We had a lovely website, lots of lovely traffic, tons of people calling and went broke in record time. Something about giving all the goods away without compensation of a monetary sort probably contributed.
Couldn’t help it though… […]
Popularity: 13% [?]
Last night the Brz clan suffered severe trauma and emotional distress of a decidedly reptilian nature. The following excerpt (with some minor tweaking) was written for some cyberfriends over on my favorite decorating forum. As I’m finding myself in need of further catharsis, the blog world now gets a dose of same. (If Reuters would run the […]
Popularity: 16% [?]
The Brz's live and invest in East Texas. Mrs. Brz maintains the blog and tends to refer to herself in the third person.
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