All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

When I do ACH transfers between personal linked accounts, I found that PUSHING the funds from the source account to the receiving account means the receiving account makes the funds available right away. When a do a PULL by the receiving account from the source account, the receiving account puts a hold on the funds for a few days to make sure they clear.

Not only is cash a security risk in terms of being robbed, it's also a counterfeit risk. Many stores now run cash through counterfeit detection machines and call the police when they find any.

Many stock brokerages stopped taking or giving cash in the 1980s when Congress passed the "know thy customer" laws to crack down on money laundering. Brokerages do everything by check or ACH transfer because they leave a paper trail that can be traced.

Banks convert cash into money orders (for a fee).  My landlord accepts money orders and after a couple of bounced checks, requires either money orders or cashier's checks for the rent payments.

The power company in Northwest Florida offers a free smart thermostat program (Google "Gulf Power smart thermostat"). Participation in its Energy Select program requires either ownership of the home or the homeowner's permission (along with broadband Internet with secure WiFi).

When I asked my landlord about it (because I would need their permission), the answer I got back suggested they had no idea what it was about, so I dropped the matter. I'm happy with the manually-programmable thermostat that came with the apartment.

Both of those sites have funds for non-accredited investors.

DISCLOSURE.  I'm a toe-dipper with a small sum of money invested in those funds and other Reg A+ and Reg CF offerings.  If all goes well, I'll ramp up my financial commitment in a few years.  If all does not go well, I'm prepared to lose my invested capital.  Having skin in the game focuses one's attention on the game.

For the electric power, each tenant where I live has a separate account with the power company. I had to provide my account number to the landlord so it could be put in the lease. If I get into trouble with the power company, it's my problem and not the landlord's problem.

For water, trash, and sewer, the landlord gets one bill and hires an outside company to determine the amount owed by each tenant. The landlord bills the tenant for that amount.

I live in an apartment complex with several hundred units. The landlord is a large privately-owned corporation with thousands of doors in several states.

I'm not a lawyer, but an oral contract is still an agreement of sort. The rental income might not seem like much, but if the eviction is not handled correctly, there could be a bigger price to pay if removing the items from the garage is seen as theft by the police.

I know many rich people use corporations, which shields them from personal liability when debts go bad. But people starting out often have to cosign any loan made to their corporation because banks aren't stupid.

When the tide is coming in, high debt works. Appreciated real estate can be refinanced to pull out equity for down payments on additional real estate purchases. Appreciated stock can be used to borrow money from the brokerage firm to buy more stock.

When the tide is going out, high debt hurts. The interest payments are still due, but get harder to make when rental units go vacant. Brokerages have to issue margin calls (Federal Reserve rule) when the value of the stocks declines. Some banks call in commercial loans and freeze HELOCs when the value of the real estate declines.

From reading stories in the business press, many "rich people" in 2007 were not so rich in 2009 after being forced to sell their illiquid holdings at fire-sale prices during the 2008 meltdown. The people on the sidelines with cash in 2009 were able to buy quality assets for pennies on the dollar.

If you take a deadbeat to court and get a judgement, you might be able to garnishee their wages. Of course, it costs money to get the judgement, so it becomes a cost-benefit decision on the best use of your time and money.

When I was a kid, my parents hired someone to help on the farm (New York State). One day, they got an unexpected call from a lawyer who had a judgement against this person for an unpaid debt. My parents withheld the garnisheed amount from his paycheck each payday and sent it to the collection agency.

Whenever I've done a real estate transaction (buying or selling), my agent wanted to be kept in the loop by having all communication with the other party go through her. Otherwise, how could she do her job properly? On those few occasions when someone from the other party contacted me directly instead of going through her, I let her know immediately so she could deal with the matter. 

As a homeowner turned renter and retiree from another state, I had assets (savings account balance) to prove my capacity to pay the rent for a year and a good credit score to prove my character of paying my bills on time. My documents (the address on my out-of-state driver license and savings account statement) were consistent with my story. I was not asked to show tax returns. I provided personal references (realtor and former boss), but they were not contacted. I signed a one-year lease and moved in.

Even if your tenant applicants can prove their cash income, the amount is still less than 3X your rent requirement. The risk with cash income (in my opinion) is to make sure it comes from legitimate sources and not something illicit such as drug dealing.