All Forum Posts by: Sylvia B.

I had a winner today.

I have a small 2 br house available with several applicants to choose from. Yesterday we were discussing which of the 2 best we would choose when I got a text asking about the house. 

I answered her questions and made an appointment to show it at 1:30 today. At 12:45 I got a text, "We're here."

We were still at lunch, so it was a bit annoying, but we were almost done, so they waited for 15-20 minutes. 

She was there with an infant, little sister, mom, and dad, but boyfriend, who makes the money and apparently calls the shots, was not. I gave her an application and letter explaining our requirements, and everyone looked. She couldn't fill out the application right then because she didn't have boyfriend's info, so we told her to take it with her, fill it out, and text or email us a picture of both sides. 

So this evening I get another text: "My boyfriend says we'll take it, but he won't have the money for 2 weeks, if you don't mind waiting."

No completed application, no money, but they want the house. Mmm hmmm.

I told her we had decided to rent to another applicant.

About an hour later I got, "We'll be sure never to rent from ya'll."

You're darn tootin' you won't!

Well, now, that reminded me of a little story:

The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and the Banker
An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.

The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”

Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.”

“Millions, señor? Then what?”

To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.” 
................................

Some of us don't want to wait for "finally". We prefer to enjoy our paid off properties now.
Not everyone wants to build an empire.

Bill F. covered pretty much all the reasons we buy with cash.

• We get good deals with cash offers & fast closings.
• We don't like debt.
• We like having control of our assets. (We aren't stock market lovers)
• We got into REI looking for a place to put our cash that would give us better returns than keeping it in the bank. Our houses are now our bank.
• We aren't interested in building an empire, so "limiting" our purchasing power by using cash is not an issue. 
• We buy what we want, when we want, so why should we care if someone else thinks we're doing it "wrong"?

I would want an amount equal to one year of taxes & insurance plus 6 months other expenses, but I am very financially conservative. 

 Ah, but like any investment, you most certainly can go wrong! Buy at the top of the market, then panic & sell when the price drops. That's just one example. 

Silver is actually a better investment right now, and is likely to make much higher gains than gold. But storage is a much bigger problem with silver. 

In the 8 years we've owned rentals I've never had a 3AM phone call. The phone is set on do not disturb from 10PM to 7AM so it wouldn't go through anyway, but not even any attempted calls. 

I also have never had a tenant demand anything - they ask politely. Even the time a tenant had a sewage backup she started the conversation with, "I hate to bother you, but..."

We've had calls for HVAC problems, plumbing blockages/leaks, electrical issues, (not light bulbs!) permission to make _______ modification to the house/yard, notifying us that a rent payment will be late, notifying us that they are moving out early, storm damage, (tree fell on house) doorknob won't lock/unlock. The first 3 of those make up the bulk of the calls.

We currently have 12 houses, and except during turnover, which is usually in spring or summer, we get very few calls. Many of our tenants never call us. Nothing breaks, they have no issues, so we never hear from them. Occasionally we get a tenant that needs a keeper, and they think that's our job. We had one that called 40 times in a 30 day period. They were sent packing asap.

If they leave  the unit clean and undamaged, return the deposit in a timely fashion. For future tenants,  I would suggest a change in your procedure. 

Send a notice 60 days before the lease ends, asking for it to be returned by a specific date - the day rent is due would be good. Specify your renewal terms: $x/month for #months. Provide a place for them to indicate if they will vacate rather than renew. 

That provides you with the notice you want and them with a reminder that the lease is ending. 

What is "sugar glass"? 

"I made a decent sized down payment [...] the builder never recieved the funding" 

To whom did you make the payment? It sounds like you sent the down payment to the lender, but why would you do that? Wouldn't you pay the builder, or put the down payment in an escrow account?

Be better than your competition. Note: That doesn't necessarily mean cheaper.

• Make your units the best quality in your market for the price.
• Respond to maintenance requests as quickly as possible. 
• Leave them alone. (Some new landlords feel like they need to do inspections every month.)
• Communicate professionally. 
• Be friendly, but don't try to be friends.