How to Avoid Bad Tenants

Avoid Bad TenantsWhen you have places for rent, inevitably you will find tenants to avoid.  You need to understand how to avoid bad tenants.  As a matter of fact, if you screen tenants with any sort of consistent basis at all, about 95% of the inquiries will be from poor quality tenants.  There is even a scientific basis to these numbers.

With about 30% of tenants being ones to avoid, it is better to exclude a few good ones, rather than take a chance.  One bad tenant can kill years of rental profits.  Here is a case of a tenant I recently avoided.

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July – August 2015 Rental Cash Flow

100-PDHoly crap has it been busy.  And I thought last month was busy.  It was also expensive, and might have even been a bit negative on the cash flow side of things…  There were a few repairs, and continuation of my remodel on a unit that was vacant.  As always, rents came in on-time, but I added a couple of upcoming vacancies that will be coming due.

When life throws you lemons, you make lemonade.  Rentals are not always fun, but I can assure you they are profitable, if you can manage them right.

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How to clean out a tub drain

Tub DrainThis article will teach you how to clean out a tub drain.  When you own rental property, there will always be maintenance.  You can do it yourself, or hire someone.  Even in your own home, there are tasks that need to be completed, this is a great one to learn to do yourself.  If you can save $100, that is a couple or three (for two people) nice restaurant meals (in my places), or $100 to your retirement.

Of course some tasks are not fun, some are messy, and some of them are just gross.  Even the tasks you think are real bad ones; there is someone out there that does them all day, every day.  Do not feel sorry for yourself.

When I turn a rental over, cleaning a tub drain is a very common task.  It’s not fun, but not difficult.

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Should I Pay Off My Rental Mortgage?

debt-37557_1280-PDIf I pay off my rental mortgage, my cash flow will definitely increase.  It has been a year since I paid off my last mortgage, not literally my last mortgage, but the most recent one I paid off.

My investment account balance has grown back to where I was before I paid the mortgage off, and then some.  So, I am now wondering if I should pay off one additional mortgage.  There are a lot of things to think about before you make a sizable payoff.  What are the other uses of the capital?  How strong will your cash flow be after the payoff?  What are the alternative investments, such as the stock market?

Here is the analysis that I am going through.

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How to Begin Investing in Real Estate – 6 Steps to Finding Amazing Deals

DealI get emails and other correspondence quite often asking me how to begin investing in real estate.  When you are trying to find your first real estate deal, real estate investing seems very complicated.  It’s not that difficult, but you have to understand that deals are not on every corner, at least not at the sellers price.   It takes diligence, looking at many potential deals, in order to find ‘the one’.  Then you have to find the next deal.  Professional investors are everywhere, and they make a living in every city.  You can do it too, but you need patience, persistence and determination.  And some seed capital.  Here is how to do it…

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June – July 2015 Rental Cash Flow

100-PDThe past few months have been pretty busy.  The rental cash flow has been as expected.  I have had several turnovers, and some other maintenance issues to take care off.  Luckily, all is well and the rentals have moved forward for another month.

Hopefully you have had a chance to look at some of my other cash flow posts and have been following my retirement countdown.   As I get more detailed in my own retirement dashboard spreadsheet, and add more check points and cross checks, I realize this next year of working is mostly an exercise to put the final nail in the coffin of the cube farm.

So here is how the past month went…

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Countdown To Retirement – Financial Check Up 06/2015

Back in January 2015, I created some financial goals as a countdown to retirement.  The goals were pretty aggressive; it’s time to see if I have lived up to my plan.

It is one thing to create a plan, and another to follow through with the plan.  On January 1, I had 551 days until I leave my full time job.  Today, it is closer to 380, with only 230 work days left, or 54 weeks.  That is only 60% work days, as I have some vacation and holidays coming.  And it doesn’t count sick days.  But who is counting…?

As the days draw closer to the last day of full time work, and the last days of getting a steady paycheck, I check my retirement plans very often.  Way more often than needed.  Does a retirement plan need to be checked every hour?  I sometimes think it needs to be checked even more often, especially when the market is soaring.

Here is how I have progressed.

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May – June 2015 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PDGetting your rental cash flow on time is the name of the game.  Mine is almost like a broken record.  Rent is due, rent gets collected.  If you are a landlord, collecting rents on time is what you want.  For a landlord with only one or two properties, getting rents on time should be routine.  Keeping track of 24 properties is a bit more of a challenge.  I have done this for quite some time, and it all has to do with getting great tenants.

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Signs You Might Be a Bona Fide Real Estate Investor

Dream bigIf you have ever contemplated becoming a Real Estate Investor, there are things that you must understand.  Once you cross the line, your life will never be the same.  You will have crossed to the ‘dark’ side of making money.  A 2% savings return will look paltry.  Of course, just getting back your initial investment might also look like a windfall.

Things you take for granted now, will forever be gone.  But you will persevere, for you know that the fruit will be there to harvest at a later date.  Sooner or later, you will be able to pick the fruits of your labor and enjoy them.  And no one will tell you that you have to wait until  you are 62, or 65, or 67 or 70.

Your view on other properties will change.  How much can you buy it for, how much can you sell it for.  A distressed house on your own block becomes an opportunity, not an eye sore.  A friend with money may become a partner, not someone to envy.  A junk toilet sitting in your backyard becomes a trophy, not a piece of junk (not right away anyway…).

When a new large store is being built, you hope it is a home improvement store, not a clothing store.  You look at all the colors of paint on the color wheels, and know that only one or two would you ever buy.  You realize that many of the paint colors should be illegal to sell.

You are a Real Estate Investor!

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How have your views, on anything, changed once you became more involved and in tune with the activity?  Have you ever thought “I will never think or do something like that”, and then a few years later you want to “think like that”?

 

 

 

Simple Appliance Repairs for Landlords (or Homeowners)

Appliance repairWith any issue, if you can do some simple appliance repairs as a landlord, you can save a ton of money.  In my rentals, I find that some appliances are worth fixing, some are not.  Here are a couple of recent simple appliance repairs that I have completed.

I typically buy fairly cheap appliances.  I always buy new, and make sure that they are 100% clean for all new tenants.  Of course, I also expect the tenants that are moving out to keep them clean.

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