[4plexowner]

which hijack? the little woman or luck?

[4plexowner]

which hijack? the little woman or luck?

[4plexowner]

which hijack? the little woman or luck?

[4plexowner]

which hijack? the little woman or luck?

[4plexowner]

which hijack? the little woman or luck?

[4plexowner]

luck in life – that’s an interesting topic

“Chance favors the prepared mind” Louis Pasteur

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” Seneca

was I lucky in San Diego real estate? or was it all the real estate seminars and books I had attended/read that prepared me to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along? I was preparing myself for 8 years before I bought my first property

was it my skills and intelligence that allowed me to spot the real estate bubble in 2002? or was I just lucky that I happened to be actively buying real estate at the time and was looking at numerous MLS listings everyday, working the numbers, etc? I wouldn’t have spotted the bubble that early otherwise

I’ve always considered myself lucky – but I also throw out the quip that my luck started when I took my first paper route at age 12 and that the harder I have worked, the luckier I have become

luck? who knows – the real element of luck in my life, as I see it, is that I was born to educated parents who placed a priority on education, work ethic, delayed gratification, etc

~

pull yourself up by the bootstraps – another interesting topic

I had climbed up on this soapbox recently when one of my relatives pointed out that I HAD bootstraps to grab on to and that many people don’t

having bootstraps to work with is another element of being lucky at birth – I was born a white male in a middle-class, educated family – when the time came for me to pull myself up by the bootstraps they were easy to grab onto

[4plexowner]

luck in life – that’s an interesting topic

“Chance favors the prepared mind” Louis Pasteur

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” Seneca

was I lucky in San Diego real estate? or was it all the real estate seminars and books I had attended/read that prepared me to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along? I was preparing myself for 8 years before I bought my first property

was it my skills and intelligence that allowed me to spot the real estate bubble in 2002? or was I just lucky that I happened to be actively buying real estate at the time and was looking at numerous MLS listings everyday, working the numbers, etc? I wouldn’t have spotted the bubble that early otherwise

I’ve always considered myself lucky – but I also throw out the quip that my luck started when I took my first paper route at age 12 and that the harder I have worked, the luckier I have become

luck? who knows – the real element of luck in my life, as I see it, is that I was born to educated parents who placed a priority on education, work ethic, delayed gratification, etc

~

pull yourself up by the bootstraps – another interesting topic

I had climbed up on this soapbox recently when one of my relatives pointed out that I HAD bootstraps to grab on to and that many people don’t

having bootstraps to work with is another element of being lucky at birth – I was born a white male in a middle-class, educated family – when the time came for me to pull myself up by the bootstraps they were easy to grab onto

[4plexowner]

luck in life – that’s an interesting topic

“Chance favors the prepared mind” Louis Pasteur

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” Seneca

was I lucky in San Diego real estate? or was it all the real estate seminars and books I had attended/read that prepared me to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along? I was preparing myself for 8 years before I bought my first property

was it my skills and intelligence that allowed me to spot the real estate bubble in 2002? or was I just lucky that I happened to be actively buying real estate at the time and was looking at numerous MLS listings everyday, working the numbers, etc? I wouldn’t have spotted the bubble that early otherwise

I’ve always considered myself lucky – but I also throw out the quip that my luck started when I took my first paper route at age 12 and that the harder I have worked, the luckier I have become

luck? who knows – the real element of luck in my life, as I see it, is that I was born to educated parents who placed a priority on education, work ethic, delayed gratification, etc

~

pull yourself up by the bootstraps – another interesting topic

I had climbed up on this soapbox recently when one of my relatives pointed out that I HAD bootstraps to grab on to and that many people don’t

having bootstraps to work with is another element of being lucky at birth – I was born a white male in a middle-class, educated family – when the time came for me to pull myself up by the bootstraps they were easy to grab onto

[4plexowner]

luck in life – that’s an interesting topic

“Chance favors the prepared mind” Louis Pasteur

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” Seneca

was I lucky in San Diego real estate? or was it all the real estate seminars and books I had attended/read that prepared me to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along? I was preparing myself for 8 years before I bought my first property

was it my skills and intelligence that allowed me to spot the real estate bubble in 2002? or was I just lucky that I happened to be actively buying real estate at the time and was looking at numerous MLS listings everyday, working the numbers, etc? I wouldn’t have spotted the bubble that early otherwise

I’ve always considered myself lucky – but I also throw out the quip that my luck started when I took my first paper route at age 12 and that the harder I have worked, the luckier I have become

luck? who knows – the real element of luck in my life, as I see it, is that I was born to educated parents who placed a priority on education, work ethic, delayed gratification, etc

~

pull yourself up by the bootstraps – another interesting topic

I had climbed up on this soapbox recently when one of my relatives pointed out that I HAD bootstraps to grab on to and that many people don’t

having bootstraps to work with is another element of being lucky at birth – I was born a white male in a middle-class, educated family – when the time came for me to pull myself up by the bootstraps they were easy to grab onto

[4plexowner]

luck in life – that’s an interesting topic

“Chance favors the prepared mind” Louis Pasteur

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” Seneca

was I lucky in San Diego real estate? or was it all the real estate seminars and books I had attended/read that prepared me to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along? I was preparing myself for 8 years before I bought my first property

was it my skills and intelligence that allowed me to spot the real estate bubble in 2002? or was I just lucky that I happened to be actively buying real estate at the time and was looking at numerous MLS listings everyday, working the numbers, etc? I wouldn’t have spotted the bubble that early otherwise

I’ve always considered myself lucky – but I also throw out the quip that my luck started when I took my first paper route at age 12 and that the harder I have worked, the luckier I have become

luck? who knows – the real element of luck in my life, as I see it, is that I was born to educated parents who placed a priority on education, work ethic, delayed gratification, etc

~

pull yourself up by the bootstraps – another interesting topic

I had climbed up on this soapbox recently when one of my relatives pointed out that I HAD bootstraps to grab on to and that many people don’t

having bootstraps to work with is another element of being lucky at birth – I was born a white male in a middle-class, educated family – when the time came for me to pull myself up by the bootstraps they were easy to grab onto

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[Author]

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