ISSUE 4

From the Owner: Sioux Falls Businesses and Churches Help Those in Need Long After the Ice Storm of 2013By Josh Kattenberg

During the ice storm in the spring of 2013, large tree branches came crashing down causing damage to homes, cars, and power lines. Some residents went without power for a week. For one home owner, the downed power lines caused a house fire and ruined the electric system. The owner did not have home owner’s insurance or the money to fix their home and turned to the Sioux Falls Help Line Center for assistance during the crisis. Gerald Teunissen, former owner of American Electric, and Jay Van Voorst, the current owner of American

Electric, volunteered to fix or replace the electric system in the home. However, in order to do so, all the sheet rock had to come out of the home and then be replaced, so this turned into a major remodel project. In addition, the roof of the home was damaged and needed to be replaced. The Deacons from the 1st Christian Reformed Church stepped up to provide the labor for the remodel. These volunteers were recognized by the City of Sioux Falls and the Help Line Center for their hands on support of our community and their neighbors.

Gerald Teunissen, Bender Commercial Real Estate

Jay VanVoorst, Owner American Electric

IN THIS ISSUEFROM THE OWNER

PAGE 2

FIRE!!

GROWING RESILIENT SIOUX FALLS RESULTS

PAGE 3

HOW TO START FINANCING YOUR FIRST RENTAL PROPERTY

PAGE 4

THE LEGACY JOURNEY: DAVE RAMSEY

PAGE 5

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: Revenge of the Hoarder

IMPORTANT RPM DATES

PAGE 6

LEARNING THE JOY OF BAKING

RECIPE: Ice Box St. Nick Cookies

PAGE 7

LEADERSHIP SIOUX FALLS #28

ST. FRANCIS HOUSE

CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES

BACK PAGE

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN HELPING HURTS

Gerald Te nissen Bender Commercial Real EstateGeGeraraldld T Teueuninissssenen,, , BeBendnderer C Comommemercrciaiall ReRealal E Eststatatee

Jay VanVoorst Owner American Electric

Gerald Teunissen Bender Commercial Real Estate

FIRE!!

2

By Derek Kattenberg

You ever have one of those days when things just aren’t going as planned? You wake up early on a Saturday morning to get all your chores done and the rain that is supposed to come after noon is already here. There is no way to do yard work in the pouring rain. Then suddenly an idea hit you, that old hog building would burn nicely and with the rain you should be able to keep it under control. So I set up a garden hose just in case. Yeah if this gets out of control I bet this garden hose is going to make a big difference….

It took only a few minutes to get a fire smoldering in one of the walls. In two more minutes the roof was smoking and five minutes after lighting the fire the entire roof was engulfed. Once the roof started on fire my world got hot! The rain had a short lapse and the garage and corn crib next to the fire started smoking. I had the hose running on the garage but it was getting so hot I couldn’t put my hand on it.

I will be honest I was starting to freak out. The skies were heavy and could let loose some rain at any time but it seemed my smoke had closed the gates. A neighbor stopped by to see if everything was alright at that time the roof collapsed in and the fire cooled down. The rain slowly started coming again and everything was under control.

From the initial lighting of the fire until the building was lying flat was less than 30 intense minutes. I was shook up and drenched from head to toe.

When we were just kids my parents burned down an old building on our farm. In the middle of the building burning down the wind changed and ignited another building which in turn lit a third building. While they were working like mad men keeping the fire from traveling any further my little sister came out of the house

crying. Mom had started making dinner when she saw the problems outside and ran out to help. She had forgotten to turn the stove off and the food was burning on the stove. At the end of the day three buildings were burned to the ground and our house smelled horribly of smoke and burned food.

Take extra precautions when you are out having a bonfire or getting your “pyromania” on and burning an old building. Winds can change and before you know it some of your most precious belongings and even life can be lost in the flames. That is experience talking.

Growing Resilient Sioux Falls ResultsBy Josh Kattenberg

You may remember in last month’s newsletter we talked about Real Property Management helping to install smoke alarms with The American Red Cross and the Sioux Falls Fire Department in the Whittier neighborhood. Here are some of the results.

1,118Preparedness materials delivered (including those left at doorsteps where no one was at home).

> 30%Homes we visited opened their doors to the teams

108Smoke alarms installed

Continued on Page 4 �

3

How to Start Financing Your First Rental PropertyBy Ryan Spellerberg • First Premier Bank • NMLS 612404

Purchasing a rental property for the first time can be a very scary thing. How much can I rent it for, what is the best way to find a good tenant and what happens if something goes wrong? All scary and valid questions, but before you worry about those you have to be able to purchase the property. I have three great ways for the average person to get their first rental.

The first, and in my opinion, the best way to buy investment property is to pay cash. If you do this, you won’t have to worry about the interest rate you pay or how you will afford the payment on your own if the tenant moves out. You also won’t need to worry about the hassle of working with bankers like me.

The second and most popular way people get into their first investment property is to convert their current home when they decide to move. There are some things to consider before you decide on this route. First, make sure your current home loan is not financed through South Dakota Housing. South Dakota Housing is meant for owner occupied properties and not for investment homes. So, if you find your loan is, you will need to refinance prior to renting the home.

Another thing to consider with converting your current home would be your cash needs and budget for the transaction. Along with having the standard down payment on your next home, you must be able to afford two house payments without counting the future rental income to qualify. Depending on the bank you finance with, you may also need to have between 2-6 months of the old and the new house payment in reserves. If your bank does not require this safety net, it is still a great idea to have reserves in case of late (or no) payment by your tenant or property damage.

One final idea you can use to get into your

first rental property is to live in a multi-family home while renting out the remaining units. If the owner lives in the residence, the property may qualify for FHA financing options. If you chose this option, your minimum down payment will be only 3.5% versus the standard 20% down for a traditional investment property. You can also finance up to a 4-plex with South Dakota Housing and potentially receive down payment assistance if all other qualifications are met. Please note, if you are financing a multi-family property with South Dakota Housing, the unit must be previously occupied for five years or more so this is not an option for a new property.

Now that you have this information and some resources, getting into your first investment property doesn’t seem so scary, does it? If you have more questions, please contact an experienced mortgage lender.

The Legacy Journey: Dave RamseyBy Josh Kattenberg

Many people are familiar with radio personality Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University classes. What you may not know is that Ramsey has come out with a new class called The Legacy Journey. This is the follow up to Financial Peace University. I hope to be leading one of the first The Legacy Journey classes offered in Sioux Falls. Come and join us.

Here is a the link for sign up. http://bit.ly/L15Ptw Cost is around $110

for class materials. Wed. Feb. 26 at 6:30pm for seven consecutive Wednesdays. Child care provided.

Lesson 1: Snares and Dares

Dave covers what the Bible has to say about wealth and faithful stewardship, and he debunks some toxic beliefs society has about wealth.

Lesson 2: The Pinnacle Point

Learn how to invest wisely. Get the pros and cons of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and real estate investing.

Lesson 3: The Law of Great Gain

Discover the keys to contentment and learn how to figure out how much is enough. Dave teaches you how to create your own ratios for increased giving, investing and lifestyle.

Lesson 4: The Road to Awesome

Learn the five stages of an awesome life. This lesson covers purposeful living, mastering your talents, guiding others, and more.

Lesson 5: Safeguarding Your Legacy

Dave’s daughter Rachel Cruze joins him to share how to live and leave a legacy for your family and future generations. Learn the importance of choosing blessings over curses, and ensuring that your future is protected.

Lesson 6: Generational Legacy

Dave shares a kingdom perspective on material possessions. Learn the keys to basic estate planning and generational wealth.

Lesson 7: Called to Generosity

God is a giver. Discover how you can become generous and use the resources God gives you to further the kingdom for generations to come.

First Christian

Reformed Church

2901 East 26th Street

Sioux Falls, SD 57103

The Legacy Journey by

Dave Ramsey

February 26 @ 6:30 p.m.

Where?

What?

When?

4

Growing Resilient Sioux Falls Results� Continued from Page 2

42Homes had no detection equipment at all prior to our visit

NORMALHIGHBlood pressure checks performed: 64 (1/3 of these registered as high)

117Total work force

All in a Day’s Work: Revenge of the Hoarder By Sharla Kattenberg

In the early days of our business, we realized one of our tenants had abandoned her rental home, and as new business owners, we personally drove to the property to clean and do maintenance. We didn’t realize until we walked in the door that we were entering the abode of a hoarder. As we stepped through the door, we were shocked to see a living room filled with magazines, newspapers, beer bottles, and mounds of clothes. We did a quick walk-through to assess the entire situation.

The place was small: two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen and living room, and a basement. As we stepped from the cluttered living room into the kitchen, one of our feet accidentally hit an overflowing bag of garbage, and a cloud of fruit flies erupted into our faces. Sputtering and waving our hands in front of our eyes, we pushed our way through the kitchen, which was littered with more bags of garbage, old food, and spilled cat food. With every movement, we dislodged more

and more fruit flies, until we felt as though we were pushing our way through a gauzy gray curtain.

We escaped into the hallway and inspected the bedrooms. Saggy beds, broken furniture, and mounds of old clothes greeted us. The basement was almost beyond belief--packed tight with old clothes, sleeping bags, 70’s-era furniture, a beer pong table. In one corner sat the washer and dryer and, beside it, to our disbelief, leaned bags and bags filled with dryer lint. Seriously? Who saves dryer lint?

Despite the quantity of stuff, it wasn’t worth $500. What size dumpster would we need? We ordered a semi-sized dumpster initially, filled that to the brim, and had to order a standard size dumpster to finish up. About a day later, the person in the neighboring apartment called us to tell us he was being invaded by fruit flies. I guess with their food source removed from the apartment we had just cleaned, they were going in search of new food sources.

5

February 10

Post Owner Draws

February 14

Owner Draws Received

February 26

The Legacy Journey class starts

MMarcch 100

Post OOwnneeeer DDrawss

MMarcch 133

Investmmeent RRRRooouund Table

MMarcch 144

Owner DDrawwwwsss RReceivved

IMPORTANT RPM DATES

6

Everyone loves the smell of fresh baked cookies and bread. When I think back of

my early memories of baking it was my mom in the kitchen making fresh bread and

cookies. Once she had the dough made we were allowed to sample the dough

and even lick off the beaters.

Around Christmas mom always made this one cookie called St Nicks. To make the cookies you would mix the batter and then roll the entire works and stick it in the fridge. Once it cooled you could take a knife and cut of even ½ inch slabs and lay them on a cookie sheet to bake. The most common

problem with four kids in the house was before mom could get more than

a batch baked the rest of the cookie dough would disappear. At one point it was so bad that mom wouldn’t even bother to turn on the oven because she

knew there would be nothing to bake anyway.

My wife Laura has babysat Josh’s kids and has done some baking with them. Carrying on the tradition once the batter is mixed they get to lick the beaters. She doesn’t let them eat all the dough so when I get home I get to enjoy the fresh smells and tastes of what they made.

I have a friend that works in a high stress position. She said if they know they have a customer coming in with a major problem they have a little portable oven and will quickly bake a batch of cookies. When the client walks in the tension is automatically eased from the smell of fresh baked cookies.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if all our problems could be handled by simply making a batch of cookies? Maybe all this world needs for a little more peace is a few more people baking fresh cookies. �

Learning the Joy

of BAKINGBy Derek Kattenberg

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Cream:1 1/2 cup cane sugar1 1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups real butter2 eggs2 tablespoons real vanilla Sift together:4 cups unbleached flour3 tsps. cinnamon1 tsp. allspice1 tsp. nutmeg1 tsp. cloves1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. baking powder Add:1 cup slivered/chopped almonds to flour mixture (or chopped walnuts) Combine butter mixture with flour/nut mixture. Turn out onto wax paper. Finish kneading with fingers until all is well combined.Form dough into rolls with 3” diameter. Refrigerate or freeze.Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350 degrees. Freezer paper or Saran wrap also works for making rolls. Yum!!!!

LEADERSHIP SIOUX FALLS #28Leadership Sioux Falls (LSF) is a program sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. LSF was started almost three decades ago by city fathers who wanted to make sure the city always had a source of talent who understood the internal workings, vision, and planning of the city. Each year 25-30 people from across the spectrum of businesses and public sector agencies come together to learn about Sioux Falls: the history, vision, planning, struggles, politics, and needs of our fast growing city.

After applying for three years in a row, I was finally accepted for LSF 28. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience. Not only do I get out of the office and hang around with some great people, we have learned from current and past city leaders such as former mayor Rick Knobe, former council member Mike Crane, and Jeff Schmitt of the Sioux Falls Planning and Building Services, toured places such as the Orpheum Theater, St. Francis House, the Minnehaha County Jail and Corrections Center, and a guided tour of the city.

Interesting to note, former mayor Rick Knobe become mayor at 27

years of age after being a resident of Sioux Falls for only 3 years. Here’s a challenge…think of some 27 year olds you know and then picture them as the mayor of Sioux Falls. Hmmmm.

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7

Former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe

St. Francis HouseAs part of the Leadership Sioux Falls program we took a tour of the St. Francis House which is a homeless shelter in Sioux Falls. St. Francis House is a unique combination of shelter and counseling. They provide much more than warmth from the elements.

When interacting with the homeless, their motto is Firm, Fair, and Friendly. For example, in order to stay at the shelter the residents must be drug, alcohol, and gambling free. They must be looking for a job and they have a set amount of time to find a job. Once they have a job, a percent of their paycheck must be put into the house savings account which is given back to the resident when they leave the shelter. In one instance a resident had saved over $13,000 by the time he

left. Residents receive life skills training such as money management and job interview skills. Hot meals are served for free at the shelter, but residents are expected to pitch in and help with the

cooking and cleaning. If someone does not qualify to live at St. Francis House or is not abiding by the rules, they are asked to leave. St. Francis House helps these people by providing free coats and blankets.

Overall I was impressed. Not only with the passion and caring exhibited by the staff, but also by their philosophy of charity. One of the staff members mention being influenced by a couple of books--Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help, And How to Reverse It, and When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself (Review on back page).   I have since read When Helping Hurts and can see some of the principles of the book lived out by the St. Francis House. If you have a chance to take a tour or attend one of their benefits, it would be well worth your time.

CURRENT MORTGAGE RATESSingle family non owner occupied as of 1/21/14

4.75% (4.872% APR) 30 year

3.875% (4.081% APR) 15 year

Duplex

4.75% (4.872% APR) 30 year

4.00% (4.206% APR) 15 year

6009 S. Sharon Ave. Ste. 103

Sioux Falls, SD 57108

(605) 274-7373

www.expressrpm.com

6009 S. SShhhaaarrroooonnnn AAAAvvee. Ste. 103

Sioux Falls, SD 57108

(605) 274-7373

www.expressrpm.com

Jackie Stewartjackie@expressrpm.com

(605) 274-7373 #103

Accounting & Leasing

SalesMaintenanceDan Soper

dan@expressrpm.com

(605) 274-7373 #104

Derek Kattenbergderek@expressrpm.com

(605) 274-7373 #102

Book Review:

WHEN HELPING HURTSHOW TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY WITHOUT HURTING THE POOR…AND YOURSELFBy Josh Kattenberg

Having just come through the holidays and running the gauntlet of bell ringers at the entrances of retail stores, mail filled with requests for end of year charitable donations, and radio and TV ads asking for Christmas presents for poor children, some of us might have charity fatigue. With so many great charities and seemingly endless needs, do you ever wonder how and where to give? Do you find yourself tossing a few coins in the red bucket just to relieve your sense of guilt? Can giving ever be a bad thing?

I just read a short book called, “When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Pool and Yourself” by Steve Corbett. Corbett explains that often our attempt at helping the poor can actually hurt them by developing dependency upon the charity.

One way the wealthy can hurt the poor is by unknowingly ruining their economy. For example, suppose a poor business owner in Africa is supporting their family by buying used coats and selling them in their community. A well-meaning person from North America, hearing about the need for used coats puts together a campaign to collect donated used coats and then ships them to the African community. Everyone in the community is happy because they received a free coat. However, the large supply of free coats has destroyed the local coat market and drives the small business owner out of business. The loss of the business owner’s job is tragic, but the larger problem is that

when someone in the community needs another coat, they will be unable to buy one because the coat vender no longer exists. In addition, dependency upon the North American donor has been created.

I remember one of my archeology professors talking about paying his workers on his excavation in Egypt. He would pay them only slightly more than the going rate which amounted to a fraction of our minimum wage. He said that if he would pay the workers something equivalent to our minimum wage, all the workers

would quit their normal jobs to come work at the excavation. Because the excavation only operated a few months out of the year, the workers would not have work for the rest of the year, having quit their regular jobs. Overpaying these workers could effectively ruin their economy and cause them to starve.

Well-meaning donors can create a feeling of shame and a loss of dignity by their unthoughtful giving. Corbett gives the example of a suburban group buying and delivering Christmas gifts, Easter goodies, and Thanksgiving baskets to an inner city ghetto. While the inner city kids were excited to receive the free gifts, the suburban group realized that they were causing great shame to the fathers of these inner city families. The fathers felt emasculated because they could not provide gifts and food for their own families.

Of course, this is not to say that the wealthy should shun the plight of the poor. We need a thoughtful approach to make sure our giving truly blesses the poor without hurting them.

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Existing RPM Owner (Name; Number & Address):

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*New owner must sign a Management Agreement with RPM. Contact Derek Kattenberg at 605-274-7373 for details. Referral coupon must be filled out and presented to RPM.

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