April Fools Day is a little more than a week from now. But what that day means to me, is the same as any 1st of the month... It's the day RENT is due. But on this April 1st - the joke may truly be on me (and all Landlords)... Because there may be no rent coming in due to COVID-19.But this episode of the... and Landlord Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast is about how half of my rental units are occupied by Tenants who have Section 8 Vouchers. Thus, a portion of my monthly rents come directly from the Government. This means the joke won't be completely on me. At least I'll have some amount of guaranteed rental income. But for my non-Section 8 Tenants...The World has essentially shut-down. Most businesses are closed (or greatly reduced), so those workers aren't getting their normal paychecks. Some businesses are running reduced hours and altered workloads, but even those must often layoff workers in a situation like this. You can't keep all those employees on payroll when there are no customers. And if those now unemployed (X-employee's) are your Tenant's - how are they going to pay rent to you?And then compare this to those who are invested in short-term rentals (AirBnB). No one is travelling - so they have basically lost 100% of their rental income. Yet mortgages and leases remain due for payment. Maybe payments will be waived or some sort of forbearance will be granted. But in this episode of the Landlord Podcast, I contrast my situation with Section 8 Rentals, to those who have Short-Term (AirBnB) Rentals.Just saying... Right now, I'm happy to know that I'll have some rental income in April. And I think I'd be freaking out right now if I was singularly and all-in on AirBnB.

Podcast Episode 52 

People have been getting rich on Real Estate for decades - really going back hundreds and even thousands of years (before the current crop of humans on this planet even existed). But the economic crash of 2008 / 2009 might just have created the best Real Estate buying opportunity of our lifetimes.Now as humans we tend to suffer from "recency bias" - thinking that what we've experienced is the best (or worst) that anyone in history has ever dealt with. True or not - in this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast, I'm asking the question - "Are You Late To The Party?""The Party" I'm speaking of is the situation that followed the "Great Recession" of 2008 / 2009, where a year or few later (sometime between 2010 to 2012) - in many (if not most) locations in the country, it was possible to buy Real Estate for LESS than its replacement cost. In other words, you could often buy a property for less than it would (or did) cost to build that same property new. That's a situation (a party) that doesn't happen every day.So in this [... and Landlord!] Podcast episode, I mention my envy of those who were able to jump on those deals right at the start of the party (around 2010 to 2012). And I lament the past a bit (something I try NOT to do), in that I didn't get to the party until 2015 - but still in time to grab some amazing deals that are paying off big-time for me today. And I start the episode by asking (singing in fact) "is the party over?"If you're just seeking to get started in Rental Real Estate Investing here in 2020 - are you 5 to 10 years late to the party? Is the party over? In fact, did the party end in 2019? <hr> So just this past weekend, I submitted an offer on behalf of one of my Investor clients (acting as their Realtor). And even though we were several thousand over the listed price on a distressed Townhouse in Raleigh (NC) - the seller went with another offer. I'm told by the listed agent that there were over 70 showings in only 4 days and at least 20 offers submitted (including mine on behalf of my client).So you can see from this one anecdotal example, that Real Estate is HOT right now, and competition for even highly distressed properties is high. From 2015 to 2018, I bought several properties just like this one - after they had sat on market for months in many cases. Now they go in days and for tens of thousands more than back then. So if "the party" is getting an amazing deal on a property - its not far off to ask "are you late to the party" or even "is the party over?"Listen to this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast to hear my answer to these questions... And It's NOT "YES!" - What is over, is "Armature Hour". You're going to need more than the MLS or Zillow to find deals in 2020.

Podcast Episode 42

I am a "Transaction Engineer" - Which is my way of saying that I engineer (or create) transactions of Real Estate deals, using whatever means or tools are at my disposal. Lease-Options are one such tool in my belt that I've used to great success. So in this episode of the Podcast, I relate my story of having used Lease-Options to successfully acquire 3 Rental Properties - essentially for FREE! Now yes, I did have to put some money into each property - at least initially. Each required an "Option Fee", which is a non-refundable pre-payment of some amount of the purchase price to create a binding contract. For these 3 deals, the Option Fees were $100; $1,000; and $3,000 - respectively. Also, each property needed approximately $9,000 of rehab (give or take a few thousand) - to make them rental ready.But I use zero-interest credit card promotions for most of my rehab expenses - so that's FREE money not coming out of my pocket. And here, the properties themselves kicked off enough positive cash-flow (once rented), to both payoff the credit card balances prior to any interest hitting. They also paid me back for any actual cash out of pocket, such as for the Option Fees or any rehab expenses that I couldn't put on a zero-interest card.I even relate how the properties increased in value during the Option period, so when I actually did complete the purchase a year or two later, I was buying them well below their current value - allowing me to walk away from the purchase closing table with a check in hand. How often do you buy a house and get paid to do so!? <hr> Lease-Options are a two part contract... The first part is the Lease, which is not much different than any Lease for any property, where you agree to pay a monthly rent to occupy the home for some period of time, along with other rules, requirements and restrictions. Some slight differences here are that you are not going to occupy the home yourself, but instead have the right to sub-lease the property to an end Tenant of your choosing, and collect all rents.The second part of the contract is the Option, which gives you the right to purchase the property at any point prior to the end of the Lease / Option period, for an already agreed price - that does not change regardless of if the value of the property should go up or down during that period. The Option contract gets recorded against the property title / deed, so that it cannot be sold to anyone other than the Option holder during the Option period. You have the property on lock.And it is typically the case that in exchange for being granted a binding Option to purchase the property and full control, the Option holder is also fully responsible for paying all expenses related to the property, which would most often include the mortgage; taxes; insurance; repairs / maintenance; rehab / upgrades, etc... Because after all, you are making money on the property - its essentially yours, as you have full control and all rights. And depending on the market and property conditions, you may also be paying a premium of some amount to the owner for this privilege.So I'm a real fan of Lease-Options, because if you can find a home and potential seller with the right motivation(s), and you can craft a presentation that explains the value and benefits to the owner, while overcoming any obstacles and objections (there may be several) - you can truly create a win / win / win situation.Of course the first two wins are you and the seller; but that third win is for the Tenant who now gets to live in a great home that would not have otherwise been available - if not for your being a "Transaction Engineer" who understand and can leverage the power of the Lease-Option.

Podcast Episode 29

So this is another special announcement episode - this time announcing Blue Chariot Realty! You may remember previously (in Episode #12) I announced Professional Property Management Services from Blue Chariot Management. Well, now I'm announcing my North Carolina Licensed Realty Firm (Blue Chariot Realty) - of which I (Jonathan Taylor Smith) am the Licensed Broker-In-Charge.Further, Blue Chariot Realty has joined with eXp Realty - so its "Blue Chariot Realty, Brokered By eXp Realty". More on that later, but I did not want this episode to be completely self-serving, so I've also packed in lots of information about "The Investor's Realtor" and working with Realtors as an Investor to obtain more Rental Properties.What makes a good Investor's Realtor? Well, of course, like I very humbly mention in this episode - you want a Realtor just like me! But if you're not seeking properties here or your not local to the Raleigh / Durham (Triangle) area of North Carolina - then you can't work with me as your Realtor. Instead, you need to find someone just like me, and so I go into a bit of detail to that end as to what you should be looking for in a Realtor.You see, a lot of Investors do not want to work with a Realtor who is also an Investor themselves - for fear that such a Realtor will keep all the great deals for themselves. Hey - maybe so, but they can't buy everything! And getting in good with them, making yourself known as a real Investor who is able to close quickly on any decent opportunities - will make you far more likely to be top of mind when such an opportunity comes along that they can't buy for themselves.So in this episode, I go into some of those details as to why you should WANT to work with an experienced Realtor who is also an Investor. Then I spend the rest of the time talking about myself and Blue Chariot Realty - as what kind of a special announcement episode would it be if I didn't!?

Podcast Episode 28

Real Estate Investing is a team sport, and its hard to win the game when you're not playing as a team. My teammate is my wife. So how do you get your spouse to even want to join you in this particular game of being a Rental Real Estate Investor... and Landlord? In this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast, I relate how my 20 years of entrepreneurial endeavors have benefited from (and were made possible by) the unwavering support of my wife - starting before we even got married. She's been my rock, and I couldn't have done it without her - so I share some of those details.But since I'm the one in business... I'm the one buying Rental Properties. I'm the one going to seminars, conventions and trade-shows. I'm the one reading countless books and listening to podcasts each day. So here I cover some of the things I've done to bring my wife along on this journey - fully informed and excited herself about each step along the way.If you feel that your spouse isn't on your team (yet), when it comes to this particular game of Rental Real Estate Investing - maybe this episode will start you down that path of building confidence and interest in them as to why they've got to get into this game ASAP! Because this game can make the average person rich - and you don't have to know how to do anything with a ball or a deck of cards. All the talent you need for this can be learned. And its so much easier when your spouse is on your team and fully in the game.

Podcast Episode 30

Have you ever noticed that many of the tallest and most impressive buildings in the Downtown areas and throughout most Cities have the names and logos of Banks at the top? This is because Banks make money from money - and not just when the tellers are open from 9 to 5 Monday to Thursday and to 6 on Fridays. They make money from money 24 x 7 x 365... A ton of it! But have you ever considered that YOU can do the same thing? The rich get and stay rich by investing in assets - assets that create cash-flow. In other words, they invest their money into things that make more money. They don't work for money - they make money work for them. And you can do the same thing, by being the Bank as a Private Lender against Rental Real Estate.So this 31st Episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast is for those of you who really don't want to be a Landlord, but who would still like to invest in Real Estate... You can! You can become the Bank, by being a Private Lender for people like me, who want to be Landlords, and who thereby seek to buy properties for rehab into rentals (BRRRR).You can be the Bank for me and other Landlords (or those who seek to be), by lending in the first or second position against Rental Real Estate. Listen to learn more about what might be your key to all the income you may need to live a life you never thought possible. Also learn a bit about Self-Directed IRA's as yet another way of creating a massive nest-egg for your future.

Podcast Episode 31

2020 is only 2 months away... How has your 2019 been? But more importantly, what are your prospects for 2020? I've never done New Year's Resolutions, but I do set goals, and I'm very excited about what 2020 is likely to hold for me and my family - and business should be very good. And I believe I owe this outlook on what's to come for me in 2020 to the focus of action and highest / best utilization of my time that I've put into place since 2015, and especially here in 2019.In this 32nd Episode of the [... and Landlord!] Podcast, I relate my challenges of focus. How I struggle to be the most efficient and productive version of myself by leveraging systems, processes, people and building a team to offload those tasks that are just as well completed by others as myself. I came to realize, that even if others are only 80% as good at the task as me - that's good enough, as my time is best applied towards those few tasks that only I am able to do for my businesses.I also go into some of the things that I had to sacrifice in order to better focus on what was really important to me and my pursuit of financial freedom - which was becoming a Rental Real Estate Investor... and Landlord! Less important to me than this achievement was listening to music, playing and watching sports, watching TV. Those things and other entertainment does nothing to make money for me or move me any closer to financial freedom - so that makes it a waste of time.I also detail how not everyone is entitled to be in our lives, so anyone who is not a benefit is a detriment - and therefore needs to be blocked, or otherwise limited in access. Everyone in my life needs to play some role in making it a better life, or I will work towards blocking / limiting them in my life. Around me is a no negative influences and no leaches zone... You should create the same for yourself.Let's start planning how we're going to use these 2 remaining months of 2019 to make 2020 the best year of our lives yet. And focus on the important things and achieving our goals should be at or near the top of the list of things we're going to do to make that happen.

Podcast Episode 32

How likely are you to acquire a lot of something that you don't like, don't value or consider to be bad or even evil? Even if you claim to want it and lots of it - would you really!? Why would you - if you feel that way about it? Can you even, if you think and speak negatively about it on a regular (if not daily) basis? What I'm talking about is MONEY. To compare, name for me one thing that you have near constant negative thoughts about (when other people have it); speak negatively about every time the topic comes up (unless its yours); feel that its bad or even evil to have a lot of it; think that those who have it in large amounts are bad or evil and will be punished for having it - yet somehow you want as much of it as you can get!? Really, what would that be?Money is the only thing that I'm aware of that people claim to want lots of - yet, put great effort into disparaging it and those who have it. So while I can't guarantee much, I can absolutely guarantee that you either won't have much money or won't keep it for long (even if you were to win the lottery) - if you don't change your view of money.So this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Podcast is asking the question, "How Do You View Money?" - Because that's where it all starts. How you view (or think about) money, will determine how you treat it. Because things you treat badly won't stay around for long, if they come around at all.In this episode, I relate some of my challenges with my own view of money - my thoughts and the books I read that lead to me changing that view. And best of all, how money started to flow my way along with opportunities for more - once money became something I desired and valued for what it was... A tool that makes me a better version of who I already am, as well as, a greater blessing to those I know and love.

Podcast Episode 33

On the main image for this episode you see a roof logo silhouette, the words "Real Estate", and then a reference to "Slogan Here". When you're starting your Real Estate Business, you'll certainly come across stock logo templates like this, and any designer you're likely to hire will almost certainly come up with something along these lines for your review and approval. You'll spend time going over all the samples, drafts and mock-ups of what will become your Real Estate Business logo. You'll come up with several slogans, eventually settling on one that fits well enough with your business name, logo and brand. You'll then get business cards created with your nice new logo prominently featured.Maybe you'll keep it simple and go with a card that just has your local phone number and your email address will be @Gmail.com. But if you're like many starting a new business (especially a Real Estate Business) - you'll want a very easy to remember (maybe even a vanity) phone number; and you'll certainly want your website address listed on your business cards.So in addition to spending countless hours on your business logo, you'll spend weeks (or even months) working on a website for your new business. But because you almost certainly named your business prior to getting your Domain Name (a mistake) - the website address is something horrible.Maybe you named your business "Prestige Home Buyers, LLC" - and PrestigeHomeBuyers.com was TAKEN, as was PrestigeHome.com or PrestigeHomes.com (just for example - I have no idea if these are active sites or not, available, taken or otherwise). And you certainly won't be getting Prestige.com - so you end up registering PrestigeHomeBuyersLLC.com (which is horrible); or PrestigeHomeBuyers.net.When you see website and email addresses with LLC, INC, NC or non .COM extensions, it almost always means the person named their business BEFORE obtaining their domain name. So in this episode of the Podcast, I go into some detail as to how to avoid this mistake for (CRIME against) your business. I suggest getting your ideal domain name FIRST, and then naming your business SECOND - to match the domain name (and without any LLC or INC). <hr> But all of this is not even the real point of this episode. The real purpose here is to express that all of this stuff related to your business name, business cards, website, etc... is NOT what you should be focused on in the first place. Don't get bogged down in the trap of spending your primary time and effort in setting up your business. Instead, spend that time and effort getting your first (or next) rental property!You don't really have a business anyway until you've got some properties (I'd go as far as to say several). Because most people having one or two rentals don't have a business in place. So focus on getting some properties, and worry about creating a business later.But when you do get to the point of being ready to create a business, this episode of the Podcast will provide you with some key insights into how to go about doing it right - so that you do not end up with a website address like Prestige-Home-Buyers-LLC.net.

Podcast Episode 34

Do you like to travel? Would you do more of it if you did not have to pay for your airfare and could fly for FREE? And do you have a business? Having Rental Properties IS a business... So, if you've answered "YES" to each of these questions, then you need to learn about Credit Card Points Hacking. Your Rental Properties (and other businesses) can earn you FREE travel with points!I travel a LOT (over a dozen flights this year), and I've yet to pay a single penny for airfare (other than a couple of upgrades for more legroom on longer flights and a couple of checked bag fees - that I even got back). And that doesn't even include FREE flights for my wife and son; and even a couple of times where I used my points for some other family members to fly for FREE.My businesses generate enough points each month that I haven't paid real money for airfare in years. I even have enough points to be an aid to others, using my points to lower the travel expenses for some family members.How? Because I don't pay my business expenses directly. Instead, I put every business expense that I possibly can on a points credit card. And I then pay that card in full each month. But the benefit of placing the card in the middle of the merchant or vendor and my business, is that the credit card rewards me with points. In most cases its a straight dollar-for-dollar reward, in which $1 charged on the card gives me 1 point. But some cards give double and triple points - maybe for certain categories like gas or food.However I can, I hack my legitimate and necessary business expenses into points that I can redeem whenever I wish for FREE travel. If you have a business that has any amount of frequent or reoccurring expenses that can be paid with a card (the higher the better), then you're missing out on a great opportunity for FREE travel, if you are not paying those expenses with a points credit card.Business owners fly for FREE... And owning Rental Properties IS a business!

Podcast Episode 35

I was a one-man business machine. 16 hour days were nothing for me. I often worked to 3AM, slept to 7 or 8AM, and got back up to do it all over again - like it was nothing. If something needed to be done, of course I did it myself - as I wanted it to be done right. And surely no one else could do anything right, but me - right? That worked well enough in my late 20's and early 30's... But not so much once I reached 40 or so. At 40+ if I'm up to 3AM, I'm not getting out of bed before 10AM - if not 11. And thankfully, I've long since learned that I'm not the only person who can do things right.Having come to understand this, I'm no longer clocking 16 hour days. I can (and do) occasionally, if and when I must - but now I have a team in place that removes most of that burden from my shoulders. This episode of the [... and Landlord!]<a href="https://www.andlandlord.com/">Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast</a>is about VA's (#VirtualAssistants) and other members of your #RentalRealEstateInvesting Team.I leverage VA's to get things done - because I can't (and shouldn't even try to) do everything myself. There is a highest and best use for my time, so in this episode of the #LandlordPodcast, I speak about my use of VA's and team building activity. My goal is to fire myself from any and every job that can possibly be done by someone else on my behalf. Even if that person is only 80% as good at the job as me, putting multiple VA's on several tasks at even 80% of my effectiveness still results in a LOT more work getting done than I could possible do on my own.So would you rather a job done at 80% of your greatness or yet another job sitting un-done on your to-do list? I know my answer! Hear it in this episode, along with details that will help you do the same.

Podcast Episode 36

Might there be a "Super" version of yourself inside - just waiting to get out? Or stated another way... Are you currently the best possible version of yourself? Might there be another possible version of YOU - who is capable of doing things that could make you RICH. Or do you think it more likely that you'll somehow develop super powers and fly before you'll ever become RICH?The book<a href="https://www.andlandlord.com/rich-dad-poor-dad-what-the-rich-teach-their-kids-about-money-that-the-poor-and-middle-class-do-not/">Rich Dad Poor Dad</a>puts forth the idea that being RICH is a choice. But the opposite is true as well... Being POOR is also a choice. Or actually, a life long series of daily choices - bad ones. But YOU CAN BE RICH. You just have to WANT IT. You have to WANT IT enough to DO SOMETHING to obtain it. And most people won't. In fact, they CHOOSE not to.In this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast - I talk about how most people are not RICH because it has never occurred to them that they can be. And thus they make choices that ensure they won't be. At the basic level, all it takes to be rich is 4 things... 1) The belief that you can be; 2) The determination that you will be; 3) An idea as to how; 4) And effective execution of that idea.The problem is that (outside of maybe winning the lottery) most people don't think that they can be rich. So they certainly don't have any determination to be rich. And most people are lacking ideas, such as for a business, product, service, etc... So they can't execution on what they don't have.Ideas are infinite - but why would an idea come to you if you're just going to dismiss it as something you can't do anyway? So the first part of getting an idea to execute upon is believing that you can and then determining that you will.So listen to this episode of the Landlord Podcast and let's stop being lessor versions of ourselves. We all have greatness within - LET IT OUT!

Podcast Episode 37

Rehabbing distressed properties into rentals is a balancing act... You must watch your budget, because every dollar spent on the rehab lowers your ROI - and depending on how you choose to fund your rehabs, it can also lower your cash-flow (at least initially). And you want the resulting property to be nice, plus you also want everything to be durable - so that you're not likely having to replace everything all over again at each tenant turn. Finding that right balance between price / cost, appearance and durability is critical to a successful outcome. And if you're like me, you want prospective tenants to think "WOW" (or even say it out-loud) - when they first see pictures or have a tour of your rental properties.In this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast, I relate some of my thoughts on achieving this outcome and balance - so I ask the question "How Nice Is Too Nice?"Here I relate that I cannot prove it, but anecdotally, I feel that the quality of my rental rehabs both make my properties more desirable (I definitely get that "WOW" effect); and results in an increased durability. But it does come at the price of an increased rehab cost. I put a bit extra into making my properties really nice (but "How Nice Is Too Nice?") - so at the same time, I must be careful not to take it too far.Because at a certain point, things are durable enough and look good enough - so to go further or spend more gains little to nothing in return from increased rent or reduced vacancy. While I feel you can certainly attract a better tenant who may stay longer if you put a little extra into the rehab (like upgrading to Stainless Steel Appliances, LVP Flooring, Granite Counters, etc...) - creating a home they really love and have pride of residency... It has a limit beyond which you get drastically diminishing returns. And since measuring those returns are almost purely anecdotal anyway - you really must be careful when increasing rehab expenses to make a property nice. You can quickly end up with a property that is far nicer than it needs to be to get the same tenant at the same rent you'd have gotten anyway with a lower cost rehab to rental.So where to draw the line? How nice is too nice?

Podcast Episode 38

Podcast Episode 39

OK, so there was a time in my life when I spent a LOT of time playing video games - which is then kind of ironic that it now annoys me that my 12 year old son does the same (even more so that I was the one who first introduced him to video games). But for the most part I left that behavior in my teens; however, whenever I'd allow myself to get sucked back into a given game, I could easily blow 6+ hours before I even realized it. I really LOVE playing video games, but I have no time for playing games right now - haven't for years. Now I make an exception in playing with my son, but he now prefers playing online with his friends from school - so I'm currently retired in my video game career.Now that said - this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast - is my excuse to express my love of video games, and how it relates to business and life. Level Up! That is the goal when playing video games, and the same is true when playing the games of Real Estate, Business and Life.Here I wanted to make clear with the sub-title of "Problem? What Problem?" - that what a person at Level 1 perceives as a problem, may be no problem at all for a person at Level 2 or 3. And a Level 10 person would not even slow down when encountering a Level 1 speed bump - they wouldn't even see it as a problem.Success in Rental Real Estate Investing requires that we Level Up. My first property was just over $60K - when I was just starting with Real Estate Investing. Whatever level I was at then could not relate to my current level where my latest project will have a value of over $600K. And I have no doubt that I'll soon be dealing with projects that are over $6M - because I'll Level Up!So this... and Landord Podcast episode serves as an analogy between Leveling Up / improving your charter in a role-playing video game and improving yourself in life - so that in both cases you're able to handle ever greater challenges to win the game. <hr> This is the final episode of 2019 - so let this be your start to an amazing 2020. Make it your goal to end the coming year at a higher level than you began. The... and Landlord Podcast itself began in 2019, and I'd like to think it has reached a new level and will continue to improve in the coming year.Happy New Year!

Podcast Episode 40

Yea, I've got 2020 Vision - in more than one way. So in this Episode #40 (the first of 2020) of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast - I'm engaging in the New Year / New Decade pastime that pretty much everyone else is as well... Goal Setting! What's your 2020 Vision? For that matter, what's your Vision of 2023, 2025 and all the way out to the end of this / the next decade - 2030!? That's what we discuss in this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast. We'll be setting grand goals and making plans to achieve them.If you've already got a Rental Property (or few); or if you're trying to get your first - getting from where you are to where you seek to be will be aided greatly by a goal directed by a plan. So let's get to it and kill-it not only in 2020 but for the decade to come all the way out to 2030 (and beyond)!

Podcast Episode 41

So I'm a sci-fi geek, which means I believe (even hope) that life exists on other planets. They might be on their way here right now to end life on this planet as we know it. That could mean to wipe us out, and steal our planet's resources; or even to make us their food ("To Serve Man") style - as is the typical sci-fi result of "Alien Invasion". Or a more optimistic take on it, could be that they end disease and even aging itself - share their knowledge, technology - and take us to the stars. I say all of this because...This 43rd Episode of the... and Landlord Podcast is about Optimism versus Pessimism - and how a person with an Optimistic outlook over the past decade (since 2010) had a much better chance of profiting financially than did someone with a Pessimistic eye towards the future.Here I go into some of the many reasons a person might have legitimately had for being a Pessimist. But how resisting that tendency could have been very profitable - especially in Rental Real Estate Investing, or even Stocks. I explain how I'm an optimist in most things... I'm not expecting the Zombie Apocalypse. I'm not expecting an Alien Invasion. Not looking for a meteor to strike. Don't expect the government to fall or the economic system to crash (again) - at least not anytime soon.So I am proceeding with an Optimistic outlook towards the future. And as such, I'm making investments NOW, that I fully expect all will still be around (including myself) to benefit from in that future. And I make the point that a person who had that outlook in 2010, and acted accordingly - likely had a great decade. Are you an Optimist or a Pessimist? What do you expect the next decade to hold for you? Because Optimism can be Profitable.

Podcast Episode 43

In this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast, I speak about RENT increases here in Durham, North Carolina. And one example I give is that of my own... The 2 Bedroom Duplex unit that I lived in for 4 years when I was last a renter myself (from early in 1998 to the start of 2002), where my rent was $625/mo (increasing to $645 in the final year). Well now here 18 years later, that exact same 2 Bedroom Duplex unit (of ~1,000 SqFt), is suggested by Zillow and Rentometer to have an average rent value of $1,381/mo, with the median rent for 2 bedroom homes in the area being $1,450/mo... That's crazy! If correct, it means that rents here have more than doubled over the last 15 years or so since the boom and bust occurred in Real Estate.But think of that... This Duplex is nearly 20 years older than when I last lived there. And I drove by it recently, and it doesn't look like anything major has been done to update it or improve its appearance or condition. If the same people / company owns it now as then, they have likely paid it off by now (or are near to doing so). So they are not only getting more cash-flow from this now 35 year old property than before due to greatly increased rents, but also because they may no longer have a mortgage to pay from those rents.What is better than Rental Real Estate Investing!? You end up with what is essentially a FREE house - because the tenants pay all the bills and expenses. You get cash-flow for life. And that cash-flow greatly increases over time due to the mortgage pay-down / payoff; and as result of annually increasing rents. Not to mention the incredible tax benefits and the likelihood that the property increased in value despite having gotten older. And did I mention the tax benefits? You get to depreciate the value on paper as it actually appreciates in real value... Wow - Seems like you'd go to jail for that, but its allowed!

Podcast Episode 44

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