And as a courtesy to anyone who would smoke, I'd put a decorative ash can or bucket outside for their use as a way to deter them from leaving butts all over the place.Then I would suggest to them that they empty the can/bucket at least once a week.  

I stopped showing my place before it is at least almost ready because I never received a rental app. from potential tenants walking around paint buckets.

Real estate investing is fun and can be very profitable but, in many cases, is less liquid than any other bucket of money you may have.

We operate on envelopes and going to the grocery makes you reprioritize if you really need that $12 bag of shrimp or if you could just sub in some leftover chicken from the freezer, or if you take the time to cut a few coupons because that $6 you saved will allow you to splurge on a bucket of ice cream for the kids.

No way to get to legal code,,,too narrow,,, too short on headroom...Aim was to make "better" and it has,,,greatly.Been wanting to do this bucket list improvement for 35 years,,,finally had the brainstorm to design and DO it!!!

IF I dont reno them now when will I get my bucket list cleaned up? 

Plus Franklin's BBQ is on the bucket list.I just want to say thanks to you all in advance for your shared thoughts and experiences. 

Acquisition phase, maintenance phase, disposition phase (if I'm remembering the terms for the 3 parts of the cycle correctly).If you're early on in career and looking to increase portfolio, should cash out and buy more with relatively high leverage (while being sure to have solid cash reserves on the side of course).If you're middle career and looking to just maintain portfolio and don't need cash flow from properties, then focusing on building equity in existing properties by using cash flow to pay down loans make sense.Then end career dispose of assets and the sweet equity you hopefully built up by selling outright or owner carry or whatever.I personally would cash out and buy more with leverage, but that's someone in acquisition mode bucket talking.

Which in most cases is a drop in the bucket? 

While I'd love to convince you that I'm some kind of market timing genius, it was just dumb luck that I had a bucket of money when prices crashed in Denver.