2012 started with a fish taco attack in San Diego…
I had a fish taco attack when our plane landed in San Diego at noon on Christmas eve. Josh and Hillary gave me a new iPhone 4S, so we asked Siri for the best fish taco place in San Diego. She gave us the top 14 fish taco restaurants in order of popularity by customer ratings, and we spent the next ten days in search of the perfect fish taco. It was a great and tasty adventure! We had my little grandkids Zander and Aria with us, so we relaxed and did lots of kid stuff and lots of walking. We hit the zoo twice, the wild animal park, Sea World, the beach, fabulous sunsets, the works.
2011 was our best year ever! We worked smarter, and got leaner and meaner. We think 2012 will be a great year to increase and add cash flows. We have several plans in the works and will keep you informed as we pull them off. The landlording business is a ton of fun and a great retirement gig. I hope you have as much fun this year as I’m having!
Donald Trump on Entrepreneurs (Brutal!)
Donald TrumpMost people would be entrepreneurs if winning were guaranteed. .... And that is the reason why most people don't become entrepreneurs. They simply fear failing more than they desire winning.
MIDAS TOUCH – Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich and Why Most Don’t
Steve Jobs: Principles of Business
Steve Jobs
- Do what you love.
- Put a dent in the universe.
- Kick start your brain.
- Sell dreams not products.
- Say no to 1,000 things.
- Create insanely great experiences.
- Master the message.
How Landlords Get a Bad Rap
You’re a good landlord. You’re out there working your tail off trying to provide a nice product to your great tenants.
Then wham! Along comes some tenants that have been trained how to be bad tenants by bad landlords. They’ve been taught that it’s okay to pay the rent late. It’s okay to party and disregard the quiet enjoyment of their neighbors, etc. Heck, that bad landlord might even have paid the bad tenants cash to get out of the last apartment instead of doing an eviction. The bad tenant has been rewarded for his bad behavior by bad landlords, and thinks bad behavior is the way to get ahead. [You always get what you reward!]
Here’s an example: I recently got some great new tenants that moved to one of my apartments because their last landlord would not take action to stop the all-night-long heavy traffic and partying going on in the apartment upstairs from them. Their last landlord just let my new tenants out of their lease instead. Now that former landlord has bad tenants upstairs from a vacant apartment he’s trying to rent! Where’s the logic in that?
I don’t have any of that kind of crap going on in my units. All of my tenants know that I have an evil twin…and none of them want to meet her. 😉 There’s a sort of “ethics presence” in knowing that I have the will to confront bad tenants if I have to, and that I intend to protect the quiet enjoyment of my good tenants. Consequently, I rarely have to bring out my evil twin. [Perish the thought!] More…
Ordinary Income vs. Capital Gains
It often pays to “venture” outside of your area of expertise and inspect the thoughts of other professionals. Fred Wilson is an investor, venture capitalist and professional blogger living in NYC. On May 2, 2011, he posted a blog about the difference between ordinary income vs. capital gains which is really worth reading for income property investors:
“Today, I’d like to talk about ordinary income vs capital gains. This is not tax advice. I am not a tax lawyer or a tax accountant. I hope both tax lawyers and tax accountants show up in the comments as this is important and complicated stuff.
When you think about the various ways you can make money, two ways predominate. You can provide services to others and get paid for those services. That is ordinary income. And you can invest in something; shares of stock, a building, a domain, and then sell it later for more. That is a capital gain.
The distinction is important, at least in the US, because these two kinds of income are taxed differently. Ordinary income is taxed at the full federal, state, and local tax rates. We live in NYC and according to our accountants, we pay a marginal fully loaded tax rate of 47.62%. That means we keep about half of the ordinary income [my wife] and I generate. More…
Money Quote on Entrepreneurs
Fred Wilson [investor, venture capitalist, blogger]"Entrepreneurs don’t need degrees like lawyers and doctors do. They are credentialed by virtue of their track record."
Entrepreneurs are Different (and so are Great Landlords)
We all instinctively sense that entrepreneurs are different. But what is it that makes an entrepreneur tick? What makes an entrepreneur successful? What is the entrepreneurial mind-set? Let’s explore the elements of the entrepreneurial DNA.
You may have a day job, but if you are an income property owner you are also an entrepreneur. But be careful, if you use your employee brain to deal with your entrepreneurial endeavors, you could fall short as a landlord. Here’s why: More…
Ka-ching! That’s Your Curb Appeal Working for You
Gosh, it is so cool to own a little rental property!
It’s (normally) growing in value, it’s a forced savings so you’re not tempted to spend your down-payment and growing equity on doo-dads and bright shiny things, your great tenants are paying your mortgage down every month, you can keep more money in the family budget every year because of the savings on your taxes, you will have nice passive cash flow from now through retirement, plus you’ll have something of value to leave to your loved ones or favorite charity.
Sweet!
But it takes constant vigilance to keep the property in good repair. On the front end, it can be painful when you’re shelling out remodeling bucks. But upgraded properties = an improved tenant clientelle, an improved qualify of life as a landlord, an improved quality of life for your tenants, plus the value that will be added to the neighborhoods where your properties are located are all immeasurable benefits! Good landlords add a lot of value to the communities where they own property. It’s the ONLY way to do business as a landlord. More…