The Wall Street Journal this week highlighted a problem that’s only getting worse as the financial sector melts down. Baby Boomers Delay Retirement Declines in Assets Force a Generation to Face New Reality By KELLY GREENE Nancy Davis, a 59-year-old senior marketing manager for a law firm in San Diego, had hoped to ease into her retirement after her son finishes college in two years. But “I may be 70 before I retire at this…
Author: Dennis Fassett
I'm pleased to report that after multiple decades of hard-headed stubbornness, I've finally figured out that all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. So I've taken it upon myself to convert my wife and now adult(ish) kids into a roving band of merry adventurers.
From horseback riding in Monument Valley to ocean kayaking in Acadia - all of our exploits have earned the coveted "epic" label from the younguns.
I'll tell you about them - and also about the other "adventures" I'm having in my real estate investing business.
You can also find me over at DennisBuysHouses.com
Part II of Finding the Perfect Deadbeat
Yesterday I started a discussion on how finding, screening, and selecting tenants is Critical Success Factor #2 for being successful at owning rental properties. And I began to discuss the four steps that need to be taken to screen and select successfully. I talked about step 1 yesterday. That was Set expectations up front. I’ll finish up with the rest of the steps today. 2. Do not advertise your unit for rent too early. You heard that right. You can advertise…
Critical Success Factor #2 – Selecting the Perfect Deadbeat to Give Your House To
That’s harsh I know. And the way that I run my business it’s not at all accurate, because I have some of the best renters that you could imagine. But think about it – you have a house that’s worth, say $100,000. You’ve bought it, done some work to it, and you’ve made sure that you’ve complied with the rental-unit laws in your city. Then you spend time looking for someone to GIVE the house to.…
Off-Topic Friday: Trivial Pursuit, or More About The Author
The meme bug is sweeping the real estate blogging world again. @ToddWaller tagged me a couple of days ago to reveal potentially embarrassing facts, after he had supposedly done so himself. I didn’t see any embarassing things on his list, but there were a bunch of interesting things that I learned about him. So in the spirit of TMI and full disclosure, here are a few mildily interesting things about me that very few people actually know:…
Talk About the Law of Unintended Consequences
As I look at the stock market, at the moment the DOW is at 10,844, down another 215 points today. Do you know what this means? That as of right now the market is only 476 points above where it was eight years ago after the internet bubble burst. It’s still above the lows that we saw after 911, but when you look at the market as a whole? Over the last eight years the…
Off-Topic Friday: Boston-Edison’s History Being Sold for Scrap
I have always been a fan of old homes. Not 1930’s and 40’s. Boring. I’m talking REALLY old ones from the turn of the century. Â There’s something about walking through one of them when it’s vacant and listening. When I do this I can almost hear the sounds of the families that lived there. I imagine conversations about hopes and dreams, and others about the simple routines of everyday life. It’s at these times…