Kinda Crazy Thought?

[Justin S.]

Hey BP. I've been spending some time analyzing my costs, and as I begin to make the switch to living off of my real estate income, I'm looking at ways to make more or save more. Currently I own two apartment buildings, a strip mall, and a number of houses. I am actively buying more properties, and believe I'll be buying 2 - 3 more apartment buildings this year. They are all in a similar neighborhood, so I'm debating beginning to do the lawn work myself. I don't mind this kind of work, and I have a lot more free time to be doing this. Over the past year, I've been purchasing every tool I could ever need and then some, in order to save money, and now I'm debating buying a nice commercial mower which would pay itself off by the end of this summer. The problem is, then I would need a trailer for my truck, and then I have to decide where to park that trailer.

So that brings me to the big question of, how many of you investors have own a workshop of some kind? I really like commercial properties, and there are a few good deals in town that could get me a nice workshop with room for all of my tools, extra things for the rental properties, and now possibly keep some landscaping options. Like a lot of you, I troll craigslist for extra fridges, stoves, etc and when a good deal comes up on tile, doors, or normal things I go through a lot, I stock up on them. Just in what I save in landscaping would be enough to pay for my workshop, and would also build long term equity with mortgage paydown, and give me a nice tax writeoff in the meantime. I'm already at 10 properties, and see no reason I won't be at 20 - 25 in the next two years or so, which will then make it almost necessary to have a storage place. Last but not least, I see some value in keeping business and personal separate, and currently my rental stuff is overpowering my house and absolutely my garage.

Would love some thoughts!