Morning all!

[calmloki]

Dunno that early retirement is what I'm looking for - there's a bit of difference of opinion as to whether i've worked at all! At 57 i look back and see Navy years (multiple cruises through the exotic South Pacific), college in Santa Fe, a few years employment in New Mexico, a few in Oregon, dalliance with law school, 5 years as a little VW shop owner... The most money I ever made was as a mushroom grower for Castle and Cooke - $15,500/year.
Got lucky about 28 years ago and hooked up with a gal who is loyal, thrifty, creative, not shy about working - if she has a fault it's her belief that her work will be voluntarily recompensed by the powers that be. We have chugged along living well below our means and started buying sad little houses (later apartments). Poured our money and labor into fixing them up and renting them out. Took the rent money and put it back into the rentals. I haven't had a job in over 15 years, the girl has been part time for 10 or so (insurance and $600/mo). According to Unca Sammy's tax man about all our money is unearned income. Looks like i could maybe pay for denture cream and moustache wax with my SSI, the girl could get double that.
I'm getting very tired of some of our 53 tenants. I don't much mind fixing leaks or getting out at 12:30 at night because a pipe has burst, but the petty inter-tenant bickering and the psychic trauma of putting someone out because they can't pay the rent for whatever reasons is wearing on me. I'm thinking that there is enough value built up in the properties that it can fund a decent retirement - but that's a subject for another post!

 

[crazy connie]

Welcome aboard!!! You will figure it out as you cruise along. Congrats on picking or being picked by a great life partner.

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

Welcome!

One possibility I'm assuming you've considered, but if not then I'll mention it here, is getting a solid property management company involved. Sure, it cuts into your profits... but it certainly takes away the headaches you've mentioned as well as can help you retire as you won't have to actively manage the properties, yet still you get the income.

 

[yakers]

calmloki welcome, your last paragraph is a good discription of the work of apartment rental. Makes REITs look better to me.

 

[calmloki]

Welcome!

One possibility I'm assuming you've considered, but if not then I'll mention it here, is getting a solid property management company involved. Sure, it cuts into your profits... but it certainly takes away the headaches you've mentioned as well as can help you retire as you won't have to actively manage the properties, yet still you get the income.

Yah, we have circled around the notion of hired management, but it would cut way deep into our profits! Figured that by the time we paid management and 100% hired help for repairs the only profit left would be in property appreciation. The plan a few years back involved rolling all our little places into one larger one and then hiring our own onsite manager, but that would then involve managing the manager - and frankly, i think we have enough for our needs - i'm not driven by new car lust or the desire to fly first class. But we do have to branch into new investment vehicles..

 

[calmloki]

calmloki welcome, your last paragraph is a good discription of the work of apartment rental. Makes REITs look better to me.

It's a shame - most of our tenants i really like - let them slide on rent due dates around Christmas or if they have a family emergency - it doesn't take any food off our table and can help them a bunch. And fixing a broken water line at 0-dawn-thirty is kinda cool - a minor version of the sort of emergency response firefighters get to enjoy. But there is a new breed of tenant out there - instead of 2 FEDs in 15 years I've done 4 in 2 years - and the stress of those or tenant infighting just eats at me. Time to let the money make money.