All Forum Posts by: Lam N.

 Debbie, you have to understand something.  This is a numbers game.  Each one of us have to deal with dozens/hundreds of potential tenants and tenants.  Yes, we try to look at each individual and background, but at the end of the day we have to have certain "rule of thumb".  Otherwise, we'd be bogged down with every little thing.

For example, I always look both ways when I go through an intersection that I have the green.  Yesterday, as I was going through a green, I saw the car coming in from the right wasn't stopping.  So, I slammed on my brakes and saved myself from a t-bone collision.  I don't have time and mental capacity to evaluate each driver on the road as an individual.  This is why I blanket assume everyone who drives on the road is a dumbass and unpredictable.  And that rule of thumb saved my life yesterday.  

Many of us here have had enough housing tenants in the past to have a sour taste in our mouths.  I say this fully aware that there are honest-to-god good housing tenants out there.  But at the end of the day, it's a numbers game.  The percentage of bad housing tenants make it a big risk that many of us simply cannot afford.  Especially when section 8 don't seem to hold anyone on section 8 accountable.  

I'm in my 30s. Have portfolio of dozens of units. Net passive income is pretty comfy.  In fact, 100% of my income is now passive.

So, this morning I suddenly became interested in starting a retirement thing for myself. Up to now, I have been treating my investment venture as my retirement. So I haven't really looked into this before.

From what I have found on the internet, you can't use passive income for contribution in something like solo401k.  But most of what I have found online are of people having 1 or 2 properties while their main income is a full tome job. That is why I am asking my question here.

Those who have been doing this forever, how do I start a retirement thing with only passive income?

I can't tell you what to do because I don't know you, your situation, or your tenant.  But I always get rid of existing tenants and get my own.  This way, I know exactly who is renting from me and I can also use the opportunity to rent out at current fair market price.

Case in point.  Last year, I bought a 5 apartment building.  Got rid of all the tenants there.  The previous landlord was charging about $400 each unit.  New tenants are now paying $850 each unit.  That's fair market price.  

In my experience, landlords who underprice their units also tend to not do their diligence with vetting tenants.  Existing tenants are almost always pain-in-the-*** tenants.

 Debbie, the severely obese tenant who stopped paying 3 months before moving out, broke the toilet seat with her weight, and then filed a lawsuit about the broken toilet seat thought she was the best tenant in the world.

Every bad tenant I have ever ran across think they are the best tenant in the world.  Just sayin'.

 I do have an llc.  All my properties are owned by the llc.  

Like a lot of small businesses, it doesn't really matter.  Yes, technically I'm suppose to pay a team of accountants millions of dollars to manage my small-*** business, a team of super duper lawyers to watch over my shoulders, and bow down to the almighty IRS and pray to it every morning.  But like I said, smaller operations like mine don't need to be so formal.  I don't need to hire Trump's lawyer and pay him $10K/hour to do an eviction.

Just saying.  When I get bigger, then I'll start worrying about all this stuff.  

Oh, I just use my personal account.  My operation is not big enough to be nitpicky about that.

Cashapp has fees?  My tenants have always paid via cashapp and they tell me it's free to use and I certainly don't pay any fee at all.

I give my tenants 3 ways to pay:

1. Go to my bank and make direct deposit into my business account.

2. $Cashapp

3. Zelle quickpay

Here is my experience on partnering with other people.  

I used to have partners with other people.  What ended up happen is everybody wanted to cash out and run away at the very first sign of inconvenience.  

Later on, I shared this experience with a business owner I befriended.  He told me something that made perfect sense.  Most people are W-2's and have W-2 mindset.  Meaning if they start a business they will always see it as a side gig.  In other words, if there is even the slightest inconvenience or risk, they will quit and run away.  

And since W-2's make up the overwhelming majority of the population, it is very hard to find another entrepreneurial minded individual to partner up with.  I'm gay and I've been told it is even harder to find another entrepreneur to partner up with than finding another gay dude to date.  

For example, when the pandemic shutdown and eviction moratorium hit, my business partner's natural instinct was to sell everything, pull back, and dig in.  I disagreed.  I thought now is the time to expand.  If we want to survive this, we have to expand and look for other sources of revenue while we still have the resources and strength.

I think of it in a military sense.  If our walled city is under siege, most people would want to close up the gates and hope for the best.  Slowly starve.  From my perspective, we need to fight RIGHT NOW while everyone still has the strength and we still have the resources to carry out a battle.  If we wait it out, it just means we will die slower.

Well, we fundamentally disagreed and parted ways.  I went ahead and used the remainder of my resources to obtain more properties from other landlords who are in distress. 

 Haha ok.  Added a picture of me at the gym because I'm all into the fitness thing nowadays.  

Chevy bolt would defeat the purpose.  It will be my work + fun vehicle.  And I got a 120 pound dog that I take everywhere with me.  My dog alone will fill up the bolt.