All Forum Posts by: Karen M.

Jay, this is a very cool idea.  Hope it turns out well for you and for the recipient.  I will come back here to view any updates!  

Karen

The nice thing about property management is that you are making income off someone else's assets, so if you are paid a % of rents, then it's a steady income, you only have to sell it once and then you have that income over and over.  Property management has been described as a good business to be in.  But you have to get your customers and serve them well.  

Either way could be a good way for you to go.  Good luck! 

Hmmm.  Interesting question.  On the one hand alcohol is legal and if they are behaving and paying rent on time and not breaking lease, leave them alone.  But if their behavior is bad, and they are breaking lease the you should be able to get them out.

It sounds like you want them to shape up or get out, right?  

Are they breaking your lease terms?  Does your lease say anything about noise? 

Hope you find a solution.  I think maybe you can send them a letter to put them on notice about the loud behavior and hopefully finds something in the lease to back it up.  Are they month to month?  

Thanks for sharing your stories, they are interesting to read. 

Here are a couple great blogs for living well on less -- mrmoneymustache an earlyretirementextreme.  

I would double the advice to sell stuff.  Can you downgrade your car or your home to save money each month?  Can you sell off your junk to get more cash to pay down your debt?  

I don't know if investing while you are in debt is the greatest idea.   Have you ever listened to Dave Ramsey?  You can check out his podcast or also his books, like Total Money Makeover.   He has a very clear and specific program for paying off debt, having an emergency fund, paying off debt from smallest to largest, and then saving for the future.

He advises people to avoid bankruptcy most of the time… but it depends on your specifics.

The most important thing you need to do is earn money.  Where can you get a good job?  

I also listen to Jim Cramer, who basically says not to invest when you have credit card debt, period.  How about cleaning up your personal finances before getting in deeper?  If you have investment property with no cash cushion it can be a recipe for disaster.  Dave Ramsey calls it broke, desperate, stupid.  You need to be in a place where you can think very clearly about your financial moves, and right now you need more stability and more income.  How much debt do you have?  

Jay, it was UA, I think for United Airlines that was making me think of Under Armor.  Apparently United Airlines trades under UAL, which is United Continental Holdings.  AU *is* Australia. :)   Gotta love the abbreviations. 

The timberland stories are great.  

Bill, the thing with investing overall, is that if you take a nap on your investments, your risk goes up.  I like to watch my stocks, and I would want to watch my real estate too.  The idea that someone can buy and not look at their investment over a lifetime is usually wrong, although there are some companies that are very solid, the world we live in is always changing.  It can bite anybody's investments.

Jay C are you leveraged up, or are you into really speculative stocks?  I suspect you are taking greater risks than most investors want to play with.  How long have you been investing in the stock market?  Just curious and making conversation, I am not aiming to challenge you on your stuff.  

Just remember that your home is not an investment, unless you are buying a duplex or multi family and living in it.  Your own residence is not going to make you money.  As an investor, you want a real investment.  A large mortgage on a property that makes no income is of no help to you. 

For me it's pretty basic,  I want to know that my kids will always be able to eat, and that their kids and the future generations will be able to eat and have housing and not struggle or worse, fall apart financially.  I want them to be safe.  

A lot of this has nothing to do with money, it has to do with how we parent them and teach them.  But…  money prevents desperation and creates more opportunity and choices.  

There's a lot of talk of the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer.  I think that is totally pessimistic and actually wrong.  But…  if that is what ultimately happens, I want my kids to be on the side that is not stressed out over money, and I want to do as much as I can to help protect their interests.