Every business, no matter how large or small, can be compared to a lemonade stand. This simple concept has been the foundation for teaching my son, who is now 7 years old, about money. Ever since he was 4, he has been setting up his lemonade stand, and over the years, it has grown more…
We love to read to our kids and teach them to read. (Admittedly, my wife does a much better job of it than I do, she’s great actually). There are several go-to books that I love to read them. Dr. Seuss’ “Oh The Places You’ll Go” is actually the first book I read to my…
There is a big fear that keeps people from being landlords. People are afraid that a tenant will destroy rental property. Yes. It happens. Every landlord has horror stories. The stories aren’t myths. Landlords exchange horror stories. You think you’ve done a great job screening tenants. But don’t worry about whether or not tenants will…
Imagine a financial strategy that can lower your monthly mortgage payments, save you thousands in interest, and bring you closer to the dream of early retirement. Mortgage recasting is a powerful tool that can help you achieve financial independence faster. In this article, I’ll explain mortgage recasting, explaining what it is, when and why you…
When is the best time to buy a house? As a real estate investor for over 20 years, I have bought houses through many cycles. I bought houses when interest rates were in the 7s in the early 2000s. I bought a house with a 2.3% interest rate. I bought houses before the 2008 housing…
Should you hire a rental property management company to manage your rental house? No, in most cases you did not need to. When I started buying houses in my early 20s, I was adamant that my real estate business did not interfere with my day job or my social life. It sounds like a property…
You’re a new landlord, or thinking about becoming one. How do you maintain a rental property? Look, I am not handy. Even if I was handy, fixing things was not part of my business model. I was comfortable paying someone to do it right so I could worry about other things. But there were times…
You’ve decided you want to be a landlord. Great! Now, how do you decide what rent to charge? Determine market value The easiest way to determine what rent to charge is to observe the market. Look at sites like zillow. Also, compare your house to other comparable houses on sites like Facebook, or calling landlords…
Please teach your kid personal finance. The school system barely does. I have not dissected anything since high school. I have not used calculus. Trigonometry and Geometry have added no value to anything in my life. But I have borrowed money, saved money, made money, spent money, and invested money. We all do these things…
Deciding when to evict a tenant is tough. Let’s get a disclaimer out of the way. I am not an attorney. Nothing said in this post should be interpreted as legal advice. Speak to an attorney. Do not take anything said in this post as legal guidance, at all. To any renters/tenants that stumbled across…
A few week’s back I mentioned that I was just about to announce my retirement. I have since given my notice at work. After 22 years in Financial Services, one year as a mortgage broker, and one year as a technical writer the end is in sight. This upcoming Friday is my last day. I’ve…
What mortgage term should I have for my rental house? Seek out a mortgage length that you can afford the monthly payment when the house is vacant, but not so long that it takes a half of a lifetime to pay off. If you can’t do that, than you are buying too expensive of a…
How much do you need to retire early is just a math problem. It’s a matter of understanding how much do/will you spend? How much income do you need to cover those expenses. You do not need a Financial Advisor or Financial Planner to solve this math problem. You just need to understand the basics…
Tenants tend to think every landlord is a bad landlord. Landlords deserve and earned this stereotype over the years. I wanted to be a better landlord. That was part of the plan. I see renting to people as a partnership. The tenant is agreeing to pay me money in exchange for a comfortable home for…
Five years ago when my wife was pregnant with our first kid I thought long and hard about how to be a good dad. I thought about my dad’s style. That gave me framework for what not to do. Then I started thinking about what matters and what I would have wanted. Actually I thought…
We are almost ready to retire early. We have Financial Independence. My wife is a stay at home mom with our three kids. We have assets. We just haven’t figure out what to do next. The friends that are aware that we will retire soon ask me what they think to be a hard question….
