You know you’re a real estate investor... when every time you go out to eat you mention real estate investing so you can write off the meal on your tax return.

Now it is time to eat tons of Egg Salad Sandwiches, right?

eat less, work out more.

I’m sure that the panic and fear that is currently lurking in every news paper, every television station and at every kitchen table could have us all standing in our underwear with nowhere to live and nothing to eat in 10 years.

How do you eat an elephant?

The rule of thumb is that expenses (vacancies, insurance, taxes, maintenance, property management, etc.) will eat up about 50% of the rent.

That's how we eat....:) There are a few other strategies that you can use, but I would stick with those 4.

Working on your property does not count, you have to eat either way.

A 4 month vacancy, an eviction, a lawsuit, or a large repair like air conditioning or roofing can eat into your cash flow and make you business a total waste of time in terms of making money, which is why we go into business.

The mileage allowance is lower than the cost of OPERATING a vehicle, so real "business people" don't automatically get a Benz or Beemer to drive around looking at property.Meals and entertainment-you only get to write off 1/2 on these but you shouldn't be eating at "Chez Expensive" when working on flips anyway.I'm sure that "some" people might accidently buy something for their residence and have the receipt fall into the folder for one of their flips.