We will also finish up some renovation on our owner occupied house and pull a HELOC for an emergency fund and possible rental purchase fund.What are you looking to do, @Kristie Laufer? 

We keep a window unit in reserve to install in emergency situations.

I separately end that paragraph with: “Landlord encourages the use of email for all non-emergency communications or as a follow-up to emergency phone call(s)/message(s).”

Hi Tiffany,I think any homeowner with a decent amount of equity should look into HELOC as an "emergency fund" option.

The exception is if it's an emergency and then we can enter anytime. 

RoundUp and pre-emergent weed blockers/killers, and landscape fabric under crushed stone or river rock will be your friends for the landscaping work.Trash requires a bit more info.

As a financial planner, I generally recommend clients build up a personal emergency reserve before investing.

We see a lot of non-performing notes in the Cook County area and the discounts are tempting but the picture that's emerging is explaining a lot of that.Are investors actively buying at the foreclosure sales?

We recently found a licensed contractor reasonable enough that we now call him for things that aren't an emergency, initially saved us thousands off management's estimate for repairs due to a break-in during a turnover (apparently management calls an outside contractor to quote potential insurance claim repairs, and he was beyond ridiculously expensive).

What’s a good rule of thumb to follow when starting a business or owning multiple properties for how much you should set cash aside to go towards the mortgage, expenses, emergencies and paying yourself?