All Forum Posts by: Karl B.

I think financial freedom is real. I'm just an outlier who has zero want to buy things I don't need. Also, I enjoy working and buying properties is more like a game of Monopoly to me and I'm more interested in the game of growing my portfolio VS making money to remove from the company to spend on silly things. 

I am financially free. I don't worry about money or paying bills. If you want to call it financial health, I'm financially healthy. I'm sitting on cash and am rooting for a downturn so I can have an easier time buying more deals. 

I know there are others like me on here. Guys and ladies who work hard, live below his or her means, and stack cash, either waiting to reinvest, are currently buying, or are busy working on properties.

The issue I do have with the financial freedom people are when they show airplanes, luxury cars and people dressed up and wearing designer sunglasses in their ads, when they should be showing a dude wearing work boots and dirty clothes standing in front of their pickup truck or work van. 

And I get that some successful investors are smart with money and pay someone else to do the physical work and that's cool too. But these investors likely aren't blowing their money on too many stupid things and if they are, they're stunting their growth. 

I think wanting more assets and investments (the constant pursuit of financial growth as you call it) is a good thing and it simply leads to more financial freedom. Of course, working too hard and not taking the time to enjoy one's success is also a way to inhibit financial freedom. We all need to take the time to go on the occasional vacation or to enjoy a delicious dinner at a private club. I'm guilty of working too much, and I've found I'm happier when I partake in the occasional excellent dinner out. I'm definitely more into having enjoyable experiences VS buying expensive non-essential things but that's just me. 

I want to give you the best advice so I'll ask: how easy is it to rent the place out? 

If you can easily get another tenant in there (who is strong on paper - one never really knows how good a tenant truly is until they're a tenant, of course) then I would be more likely to advise you give them notice and find another tenant. If you've got an A or B-class place and you think you can rent it out with ease to someone decent, I would consider letting these people go.

But if the climate in your current market has recently been vacancies (for other landlords in that rental area) then I would be less likely to give them a notice as they're paying rent and you didn't mention anything else about issues with them (I'm assuming they follow the rules and take care of the property).

I've had tenants annoy me, but I also realize I deal in C-Class and finding halfway decent tenants is not easy as the majority of people interested either don't meet my acceptance criteria or have concerning criminal records. 

I don't remember where I heard this from, but someone told me a similar story and the tenant's lawyer wanted to know who his insurer was. The landlord told the lawyer it wasn't his business and that he could sue him if he wanted. 

After that, nothing happened. The lawyer was clearly hoping for a quick and easy insurance settlement and didn't want to put actual time and effort in an ambulance chasing case. 

After hearing that I put a paragraph in my lease regarding the driveway at one of my properties, essentially covering my *** in the event a tenant or a guest of a tenant fell in the driveway.

I would fix the hump (and sand and stain the original floors) and would forever call the property The Black Eyed Peas duplex. 

When I sold my house in Los Angeles (I tricked the place out before selling it to get top-dollar - only spent 30K or so on the upgrades) my realtor hired a designer and the designer showed me a few color combinations for the exterior and I chose one I liked. 

For the interior, my realtor swore up and down to go with off white for the walls. Now this went against everything I stand for as I hate rentals that have white walls because it's what the lazy landlords do. 

My realtor maintained that we didn't want to choose an interior color the prospective buyer might not like. I was like MAAAAH! but I trusted the process and we sold the house for more than I thought possible and so I reckon she was correct. 

I allow cats. I've got them in probably 75% of my rentals and have never had one spray against the wall (they must be neutered or spayed).

I don't allow dogs. Because the majority of them bark. I have one renter with a dog. He has lived there for 30 years and has his deceased mom's dog there. Whenever the guy leaves the apartment the dog barks non-stop. 

Also, I've bought several properties with woodwork damage thanks to a dog gnawing on the wood. 

Not being inept. That skill alone puts them above 80% of PMs. 

I would have her pay the two month buyout. In the event I rent the place out the next month (meaning the place was vacant for one month) I would refund her the 2nd month but would keep the first month's buyout as the place was sitting empty for a month. Of course, if there was damages the security deposit didn't cover, I would likely keep both months. 

When I list a property for rent I use Facebook, Apartments.com and Zillow. 

For online rental payments I use Apartments.com as it's free for both me and the tenant and they have good customer service when I call them. 

The only downside is it takes roughly 5 days from the tenant withdrawal until it hits my bank account. Aside from that I like it, considering it's free. 

Some tenants prefer to pay with cash, money order or personal check and I allow that as well. 

You told him no and that should suffice. If the neighbor is stupid enough to take a portion of your fence down (and none of your fence is located on his/her property), you'll have no issue suing and winning.