Landlord Retirement Thoughts

surf-fisherman-1404140686CZL-PDAs I go through my financial plan, there are always some reservations about leaving a steady job with 4 weeks of vacation and a nice tech salary.  I have checked my landlord retirement plan several times, like Santa checks his list, but a lot more often.

While I will not be without income, as I have my rentals, it certainly will be a life changing event.  I will have an additional 40+ hours a week thrown into my lap.  Here are some thoughts that run through my head as I begin the countdown to retirement…

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February – March 2015 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PDHopefully everyone’s rental cash flow and rent collections are going well.

All 25 of 25 rents were collected and deposited mostly on-time.  I was able to place at least four renters so far this year, with one vacancy coming up for May 1.  Rents have been bumped up just a bit for 2015 on the turnovers, so my monthly gross income, before expenses, should be up quite a bit over last year.  I was able to raise rents just a bit in 2014 too.  And I have bumped up the rent on one renter for April 2015.

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Are you getting Your Landlord Discounts (also homeowners)?

Landlord DiscountsThere are a lot of landlord discounts out there.  I often talk with homeowners who are doing remodeling on their home.  They might be buying Sheetrock, paint, appliances or any other remodeling project.  Some of them spend several thousands of dollars on the project and are do it yourself people.  They are generally too frugal (i.e. cheap) to hire a contractor at $100 an hour to do the work, so they do it themselves.

When I ask if they are getting their discounts, they give me a deer in the headlight look.  They know enough to save money on most everything, but not on a remodeling project.

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Investing after you are a Financially Independent Real Estate Investor

sunset-494544_1920-PDI am a financially independent real estate investor, and always in the market for new investments.  The secret to finding great deals is to be observant, understand what you are investing in, and understanding the risks.  And a bigger key is to be able to actually get into the deal.

If all your capital is used up, you will have to watch others get into deals.  So I have a choice coming, additional investment, or ride off into the sunset with what I have – which is more than enough already.

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January – February 2015 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PD24 of 25 rents were all collected and deposited in the bank by 2/3/2015.  Since I am now 100% full, it was a great month for deposits and rental cash flow.  My one late tenant is the same one as I have every month, and she paid on 2/6/2015.  It was late, and many landlords would be happy to get their rents by the end of the month, let alone the first Friday of the month.

My typical month goes just like that.  If you look at my previous rent collections, you will see that I rarely get any late fees, and I rarely go beyond the second business day of the month to deposit my rents.

How do I do it?  I get great tenants to start with.

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December – January 2015 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PDThe rents were almost all collected and deposited by 1/5/2015, so the rental cash flow was consistent with previous periods.  I do have one tenant that paid $400 for the first installment of the rent.  The same tenant seems to struggle, but since she has been there for a while, I let it ride.   Any new tenants I took in over the past few years, they must pay late fees.

So, as has been the case for a considerable time, all rents were collected in a timely manner.

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November – December 2014 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PDThe rental cash flow for the month was as expected and according to plan.  All rents for December 2014 were in hand by Friday, 12/5/14.  That is 24 for 24.  All units were full, with the exception of my one vacancy that I have been working on for a few months.

I generally have ~10 to 15% of the rents in prior to the first, 50% in by the first, 75 to 90% of the rents in by the seconds of the month, and 100% by the fifth of the month.

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October – November 2014 Rental Cash Flow

cash flowThe rent collections were stellar as always, and the rental cash flow is solid.  All 24 of 24 rents were in the bank by 11/3, which was the first Monday in November.  If you look back at my previous reports, you will see this is typical for me.  I can attribute it to having the ability to screen tenants and use credit score to my advantage.  I have solid units, and they are priced right.  Landlords that do not use credit score as a screening tool, and do not understand the significance of it, are fooling themselves.  They are either working too hard, or not making as money.

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September – October 2014 Rental Cash Flow

packs-163497_1280-PDIt’s time for another report on the rental property cash flow.  The month of September was extremely busy.  I had a brief trip to Florida, where I looked at several areas to potentially invest in.  While no properties actually excited me that much, it was a great trip.  I did realize another thing.  While Florida might be a great place to spend during the Minnesota winters, it is a bit humid during the summers.  Even in the morning.

So here is how the cash flow evolved for the moth.

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How to Make Money Traveling

100-PDMany of us had the desire to make money traveling the globe.  Most of us had had menial jobs in the past.  Working for minimum wage, or doing a hard job for not much money.  This post is about saving money, which in effect is actually earning it.  Here is a recent example of how you can pick a cheaper way of traveling and you can actually get ‘paid’ for your time traveling.

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