All Forum Posts by: Alex P.

My family has always owned rental units since the 1960s. It is what we have done for investing all our lives. However, why not just free yourself of all the work that goes into owning rental property and put it in the stock market? The rate of return in the stock market (at least that I've read on the internet) seems to be averaging about 8% long term. Is real estate such a better deal? My analysis spread sheet doesn't beat 8% most of the time (at least on a cash return on investment basis) until the property has been in my possession for about 5-10 years.

Can you please convince me (again) that putting most of my money in the stock market is crazy and that rentals units are a far better investment? I would love to hear the persuasive argument from those who have more experience and knowledge than me. Thanks in advance!

@Dawn Brenengen Right now we just have one two-unit building but will be purchasing another two this year.

Hello, I am new to BP but I spend a lot of time here... I have been looking at many of the online rent payment services but have not found one that offers all the features I want. Primarily, I would like to have the service automatically add a late fee to the rent after a certain date and time (24 hours after rent is due). My lease states a 5% fee if rent is late. I would rather have the service be free for tenants (better to have happy tenants who don't bug me rather than haggling over a few dollars a month). I also like the idea of documenting any late payments so I can have that information in case I need to evict a tenant for chronic late payment. Thanks in advance for the help!