Ideally I'd like to flip houses to fund my acquisition of rental properties, and use the rental income to get out of the "rat race".

It’s quite a characteristic of them.”Many wage earners are caught in a rat race.

The tortoise always wins the race.

Well thanks everyone I resolved the issueI went by the property todayThe tenant purchased a lawn mower and actually did a pretty decent job of cutting back the ivy and grass and getting rid of the 20 tons of pine needlesSo I agreed to pay him 50 for the past four monthsand worked out an arrangement taking into consideration the shade and the growth seasons.I wrote up a working contract that separates what he does with the lawn from his tenancy.

Hope and faith is what defines the human race - but, assumption is mother of all foul-ups.

I think part of my reluctance to "put in my notice", as my day job is being self-employed in what I consider the rat race, is that right now only I can do that.

Sometimes it's worth it to pay $5 more to the mower guy because he also goes by with the trimmer and makes the yard look like a million bucks... sometimes it's worth calling a plumber to fix a drip cause even though he'll charge you $50 bucks to do something you can do for $5, it saves you 2 hours of driving and 110 miles on your car.

You cannot discriminate against "Protected Classes" Source of income is not a federally protected class. the federally protected classes are: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicapHowever some states or counties have instituted additional Protected Classes.

Slow and steady wins the race...

This gives me even more motivation to get the place rented as I race the agent to find a quality tenant and save myself their commission.