It blinks and flashes the property information and put out occasional fireworks.When someone visits it becomes the lock box.

Being an older woman and suffering occasionally from the woulda-coulda-shoulda syndrome I would live frugally now to keep the rental.

Except for the occasional paint jobs, there really is nothing new under the sun.

There is an ongoing thread about day care at a rental:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/109391-advice-needed-residential-tenant-w-a-daycare-insurance-headache-helpI didn't want to hijack it but I thought a more generalized discussion would be helpful to me and a few others.I also made it a point to tell applicants I do not wish to conduct business at my propertyHowever there are some gray areas, and I basically made my rules looking at the nuisance factors...not so much liabilities, and now looking at that thread, I may have to rethink this.You see, I would not have allowed the day care simply because a half dozen moms picking up and dropping off at the same time would cause a parking jam and inconvenience.On the other hand, I have told tenants who occasionally allow "friends" to drop off a kid for them to babysit its ok.

Occasionally the payors would default and I would foreclose.

I am looking to add at least one property a year, and possibly doing an occasional flip if possible.Let me start by sharing my current portfolio:First condo unit I purchased in Midvale, UT for $56,000.

I currently have two duplexes and my long term plan is to invest primarily in rental properties (buy & hold), but I would love to do the occasional fix & flip if I find the right property.

When you get down to the math, it costs less to keep (good) tenants than it does to find new (unproven) ones.Costs involved in keeping a tenant: an occasional gift, the occasional repair, paint an accent wall of their choosing, etc.Costs involved in finding a new tenant: #1 is lost rent for the amount of time the unit is vacant.

Occasionally a problem comes up before closing but has always been resolved and/or EM refunded

That's what I think of when I occasionally read articles like these or start to obsess about the future and the various economic obstacles we face in the near and far future!