All Forum Posts by: Roger S.

Last time we took a vacation, we just gave everyone deposit slips to our bank.  It was hassle free and we are considering doing it all the time now.

  We have 10 houses, and 2 sets of 2 had the same rent amount, so we had one deposit go to savings and the other to checking, so we could log on to our accounts and see who had paid.  We are now making sure that each rent amount is different, so we can know instantly who has and hasn't paid.   No need for receipts or anything like that.

Without receipts, I wouldn't do it, at all.  

I use the cheapos, and figure I'll have to replace almost all of them at turnover.  I charge 15 bucks a blind out of their deposit to replace them.

We drive older vehicles bought for cash.  I drive an 03 Ranger.  Very handy for hauling stuff and if I need more room I hitch up my little utility trailer.   It's the best feeling in the world to no longer be making multiple car payments every month.

I've always thought being mega rich might take some of the zest out of life.  I mean if you could buy anything, go anywhere at the drop of a hat, wouldn't that take away the fun, the anticipation of the good things?   

@ Nicole A.   

Doesn't it cost you money to file for eviction?  It's 162 dollars here.   If I filed every time a tenant was a couple of days late and then cancelled it,  I'd be losing thousands of dollars a year

Yeah, we all know it's a business.  But I'm in agreement with @Jill F., if you can't work with your tenants in C class properties, you're going to constantly be turning units over.   We just placed a new tenant in a house I spent several month rehabbing.   They paid extra deposit because of their dog, and the 1st months rent.   They notified me before the 2nd months rent was due that they would be short, but they asked if the could pay half, set a date to pay the other half and included the late fees.   And their explanation made sense to me.  Just moving into a house, they had lots of other expenses, utility deposits, things they needed for the house, etc.   I was willing to accept that, this time.  I also told them, this is the only time I can do that.    If it continues, then we have a problem.

Most of my tenants suck at money management, a flat tire is a crisis.  Because I've been there, I understand.   Once is ok, twice is not.  It's not been a problem.

@DL Martin

I hear ya, everything is expensive, but we've been planning this for a while.   Our stated income will be lower than 40k due to depreciation and other write offs, so Obamacare subsidies will kick in.   We paid off our vehicles and have no debt besides our rental properties.  My wife has a small pension, we have a couple of hundred grand in dividend stocks, so we should be able to hit 40k a year.   AND...  that 40k is almost completely tax free.  That's the equivalent of well over a million dollars at a 4% withdrawal rate.  No state income tax in Texas, we downsized our home a few years back, we made all of the decisions with early retirement in mind.

I travelled for my job for several years, back and forth to Southeast Asia many times, so we decided to stockpile our miles for retirement.  We have well over a million miles now, so we can use 150k a year for 7 years, by that time my SS will kick in.   We plan to do slow travel, renting a small house or apartment for 5 to 6 weeks.   It's amazingly cheap that way, the rent for a month is less than a week in a hotel.  

When we decided to retire early, I started saving a large percentage of my income, so my take home for the past few years has been less than our projected income in retirement.

It finally comes down to do it or not.  I'm tired of selling the remaining minutes of my life to the highest bidder.  I'm just about to pull myself off the auction block and live for me.

I don't.  I don't need a massive amount of wealth to retire early or travel internationally.    I can do all that on 40k a year.

I'm sorry, but you paid twelve THOUSAND dollars on an "education" about how to manage your finances?     WOW.