Put it in the Books!

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Only one more hour until 2015 (well, 2 for me since we are in Jackson, Mississippi). We are road-tripping to New Orleans for tomorrow’s Sugar Bowl. Go Bucks! Brent Musburger is being overly dramatic calling the Mississippi State/Georgia Tech game. I’m about ready for bed, so this is probably the tamest New Year’s Eve I’ve had since I was a kid. It almost feels like Christmas Eve, though, with the big present tomorrow - an epic/historic/hopefully successful football game! Oh, and getting to New Orleans for the first time tomorrow shouldn’t be so bad either.

Here’s hoping 2015 brings everyone health and wealth!

Millionaire Christmas

by ⋅ 2 Comments

It is nice to be home. It has already been a productive day. I fixed the furnace, again (don’t get me started - same part went out as last time - part supplier was perplexed, but gave me a replacement without a hassle). I’ve run a couple errands, and updated some items on my computer. Now, I’m trying to process and decompress from the whirlwind that was family-time last week.

On the surface, everything seemed about the same. But, I know I felt different, or at least more aware of certain things. Mr. PFL and I haven’t declared our “status” to our families, although I did send a link to the very first post to my younger brother. I think it is safe to say that neither set of our parents has a net worth over $250,000. And, based on the drama that surrounds any job loss, I think it is safe to say that none of our other family members likely have a net worth in our general vicinity. Many of our family members are set up with long careers at the same companies, so I assume that they will be okay in retirement, but there isn’t anyone I can think of that is even remotely close to quitting full-time employment. But, I don’t really know, since “net worth” isn’t Christmas dinner conversation appropriate.

With all of that in mind, I know people were amazed that we are now planning a trip to the Sugar Bowl to watch The Ohio State University beat Alabama on New Year’s Day and then leaving for Hawaii a week later. I could almost see the math turning in their heads. I do see that this isn’t something an average American could pull off. I’m hoping that the total cost of the Sugar Bowl experience, including all travel, lodging, food, game tickets, and beer, will stay under $2,000 total, and hopefully closer to $1,600. Hawaii, including everything, should stay in the $5,000 neighborhood. But yes, we will be spending about $7,000 on travel before January 20th. That just isn’t something most people, including most of our family members, could ever pull off. So, I felt like I could feel them wondering how we could make this happen. Then I started wondering what they think/say when I’m not around - but, I’m not going to get sucked down that rabbit hole.

When my dad was giving me a ride to the airport yesterday, he made an offhand comment that I probably wouldn’t have even noticed last year. He was trying to tune into the Catholic radio station, but it was all static, so he was telling me about the two radio hosts that he likes to listen to on that station. He summarized a recent message from one of the hosts as something like: “You shouldn’t hate millionaires because they aren’t all bad/greedy/flashy/taking advantage of the little guy.” The way he said it seemed like 1) this was a revelation; 2) a millionaire is something he knew he would never be; and 3) he assumed we had both 1 and 2 in common. I know my mouth starting forming the words: “Dad, we are millionaires!” My brain stepped in before I got it out and I contemplated some of the possible outcomes of this declaration. I know I almost said it twice. I finally gave some noncommittal response and he moved on to another topic. I’ve been stewing on this for more than 24-hours, though.

What, exactly, have I been stewing about? I don’t actually know. I guess it all boils down to our relationship with money and our expectations. On the one hand, no one will ever be able to say that Mr. PFL and I didn’t “earn it.” Clearly, I’m still paying off a hefty student loan bill; Mr. PFL paid for the strong majority of his college as well, including five figures in student loans. Neither one of us has received an inheritance, loans from our parents, nor had someone else pay our cell phone bills. I can think of about $10,000 that I have received as cash in my whole life, including high school graduation presents, $625 from my aunt in Denver that she’d saved up for about 20 years, $5,000+ for our wedding/honeymoon, and about $4,000 that I received right before college that I “earned” because I turned 18 in November of my senior year and the Social Security death benefit that my dad had been receiving (since my biological mother died when I was 5) switched to my name until my graduation in June (then it stopped). While this is much more than many, many, many people ever receive, there is no way this can explain our success, and for that I am grateful, I think, because Americans appreciate a self-made man more than one that didn’t “earn it,” as do I, I think. Although, I really don’t begrudge anyone their success, or their family’s success. And maybe that is the “eureka” moment I’ve been waiting for! In a nutshell, because I recognize that my relationship with money/success/jealousy is different than the average American’s, and more like Will Smith’s (real or fake) response to Occupy Wall Street, I don’t want to accidentally ostracize myself from my family because of my values. This is what I’ve been most worried about, but didn’t realize it. I don’t feel that different, but I know they will see me differently, and maybe not so kindly, based on their own values and stereotypes about money. Things would change.

I’m relieved I kept my mouth shut…

Merry Airport!

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

I’m at it again. We had a fairly successful holiday celebration with Mr. PFL’s family on Saturday. Mr. PFL and I celebrated yesterday. We were such urban dwellers: we took the bus up to an art exhibit and bar-crawled our way home. It was a lot of fun and we went to a couple of new places.

Now, I’m on my way to Minnesota, for the fifth time this year (I think this might be a record). I’m flying through Chicago, again, and they are expecting snow today. Any flights after noon can be changed, free of charge, so my confidence isn’t high that I’ll actually make it all the way to Minnesota. I hope I do, though, because I’ve already declared that next year at this time Mr. PFL and I are going on vacation. I enjoy smaller family get-togethers more than the “forced family fun” that the holidays bring. I also just don’t need the stress that extended-family dysfunction brings into our lives.

I just got the best Christmas present that the airport could ever give me: only 45 people on the flight today! On a plane that fits 175. I’m getting a whole row and taking a nap. Hooray!

Repairman Shaming

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

I almost called this post “I Fixed a Furnace,” but I think the more important lesson is about customer service.

Where to begin…

Well, let’s start with my tenants at the Condo reporting that the heat has been out for three days yesterday morning. We live in Ohio. It hasn’t been that warm. Don’t know why they waited three days. Anyway, I headed over around lunchtime, looked at the codes (flashing lights), realized it was shutting itself off because it is overheating, but didn’t have a solution. I finally set up an appointment for someone to come out this morning. Not long after, Mr. PFL came home from work and took a look. He immediately recognized the problem. Please note the fan (black) in the following pictures:

]

Um, yeah, it isn’t supposed to do that. The motor was still working, but it had busted out of the surrounding plastic shell. Now, you may be wondering, why didn’t I notice it right away? Well, BECAUSE THAT WHOLE PIECE WAS JUST REPLACED IN JANUARY!!!!!!! FOR $790 INCLUDING LABOR!!!!!!!

So, I called the 800-number that provided the repairman and the part less than a year ago (the fan went out on New Year’s Eve, of course). They confirmed that the part will be covered because it has been less than a year, but that I’ll have to pay for labor because it has been more than 90 days. Not impressed. But, okay. I guess that’s something. I’ll see them between 8 and 5. And I was promised he would be bringing the part with him.

When the repairman called this morning to let me know that he is on the way, he introduced himself as the one that did the repair last time. Ugh. I didn’t like him last time. We met up, he looked at the issue (VERY OBVIOUS) and told me he’ll go see if he can get the part for me to pay for. Excuse me, what?! I say NO. We are calling about this first. I call the 800-number back and get the run around (we are on speakerphone) - we talk to warranty, then tech. One of the ladies says that notes say something about it being installed incorrectly (I probably reported that yesterday as a possibility, because why else would this break?). He says there is no way it can be installed incorrectly because “it is just 4 screws.” The repairman finally just leaves without saying good-bye. I am shaking because I’m so mad. 90-day warranty. The lady promised to write-up the guy I talked to last night for giving me false information.

Anyway, looks like no warranty, for now. I looked online for the part - just over $200, but won’t arrive until the 22nd at the earliest. So, I took the part to a local supplier, and he hooked me up with a new one for $301. (We paid, through the repairman, $491 for the same part in January.) And, since it was 4 screws (actually 5) and two electric pieces that needed to be plugged in, I took care of it in about 5 minutes.

BTW - the guys at the shop had never seen anything like this before. It basically looks like somebody sat on it and cracked it out of the case. That is just not possible. It has to be a manufacturing defect. The supplier also confirmed that he believes the part should be under warranty for a year and all of his parts are.

I hope nothing else has been damaged due to this catastrophic failure. The furnace seemed to be working when I checked on it about three hours later. I expect the tenants will let me know, someday.

Tenant Shaming

by ⋅ 2 Comments

Shaming others, online, seems to be pretty trendy. So, I’m here to add to the mix. I hope that shaming equals education for others. As I first reported last week, there have been some developments on the property management front. The one tenant and I agreed that she would vacate by today, at noon. Throughout our negotiations on the move-out date, she let me know that she wouldn’t be able to move the big furniture out. I assumed this meant Mr. PFL and I would be taking out a couch and a bed. She sent me an email on Sunday indicating that she had left. I didn’t get home until almost 11:00 p.m. last night, so I just went to collect the keys and remove her code from the door lock. Her email on Sunday included the following: “You may do what you wish with any remaining belongings of mine if I cant get anyone to remove them. Thanks again for being so flexible and understanding. I wish that I was in a position to reciprocate that more in appreciation. You have been a great landlord to have.”

With that in mind, imagine my surprise when I walked in and found this:

I mean, come on. Seriously? She just moved in June 1st. Gross. I am most disappointed by the bathtub. I cleaned out 5 of those tubs on my hands and knees last year. Not looking forward to doing that again. At all. Yuck.

So, I guess I won’t be putting the ad up today. Please, if you are a tenant, do not leave your apartment like this when you move out. Or, don’t live like this in the first place. That’s probably better advice: don’t live like this in the first place. Ew.

 

The Challenge of Flight IV

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Coming to you live from Salt Lake City, Utah.

I now have photographic evidence that checking apps for flight status is superior to waiting to be informed by the airline. I first discussed this “rule” in my first post about the Challenge of Flight.

I’m not surprised that I will be delayed today. I made it into Denver an hour early on my direct flight on Friday. I was only delayed about twenty minutes yesterday on my direct flight from Denver to Salt Lake City, even with de-icing. So, I was due for a delay. This is how it goes for me. As you can see, I realized my second flight was delayed at 9:53 a.m. local time today.

I did a quick search to see if this was a resolvable issue, but there really isn’t anything I can do.

Okay, time to board. As you can see below, I finally got a text from the airline at 11:10 a.m., more than an hour after I knew about the delay. If there was anything I could have done, I would have been way ahead of the crowd. Can’t wait to get home!

UPDATE as of 3:07 p.m. Phoenix Local Time:

So, after I sat down in my seat in Salt Lake City, I received a new text that my flight was now delayed until 4:50 p.m. After taking some beautiful pictures of the mountains,

I settled into a pattern of obsessively updating the flight status thanks to the free wifi on the plane (well, it is free as long as I just search on the Southwest app or webpage). About halfway through the flight, the new time was moved back until 5:30 p.m. This was unacceptable. I saw that I could probably make a 2:55 p.m. flight to St. Louis, and then go to Columbus from there. As soon as the flight landed, I called to see if they could make the change for me; she said I needed to deal with it at the airport since I was in mid-itinerary. I deplaned and rushed to the gate (it was directly across from where I deplaned). I was put on stand-by. Within the five minutes I was standing there, the flight from St. Louis to Columbus went from a 30 to 45 minute delay, AND the flight from Phoenix to Columbus went backwards to a 4:35 p.m. departure. So, I got off stand-by and am now patiently (ha!) waiting for the 4:35 p.m. departure. Of course, I am still obsessively checking for changes. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything I’ll be able to do if this flight doesn’t leave. All of the other flights to anywhere east have left already. Time to scrounge up some dinner and hope for the best.

Live, From Denver

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Good Morning from the Mile High City! I arrived yesterday to visit my Aunt. She invited me to a meeting at 7:00 a.m. this morning (yes, on a Saturday), and I accepted. The sunrise was worth the early wake-up call.

I’ve been very lucky to have the freedom and financial resources to visit with family this year. I’m also grateful that Mr. PFL is supportive of these trips, even though he stays home for some of them. At least he has Norman to keep him company.

(As an aside, I’d never bought a cat bed until about two months ago - Norman LOVES it. Who knew?)

I’ve felt more “aware” of my trips to visit with family this year than I have in the recent past. Realizing that we are so close to having the ability to do anything or go anywhere we want has made me focus on being present in these visits. I’m savoring the time we have together, because I am anticipating a time when we might go several months or years without having face-to-face interaction. This year has also been laced with loss, including my grandfather (who I was lucky enough to visit with the week before he passed), and Norman’s “brother,” our other cat (who was also Mr. PFL’s best friend). These losses have caused us to grieve, but also to be committed to what is important. Speaking of which, the theme of the meeting from this morning was “Re-Dedication.” Therefore, I hereby re-dedicate myself to the goals of financial independence, paycheck-free living, and enjoying all of the experiences life brings my way. I also re-dedicate myself to my family, especially Mr. PFL, and will do my best to enjoy the time I am able to spend with them through this holiday season.

Crumbling Empire

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

There’s been a double-whammy on the real estate front since last Thursday. First, I might need to evict a tenant at BD (the 6-unit) who has only been there since June. Thankfully I was smart enough to put up the 3-day notice to evict when she didn’t email, text, or respond to my phone message. I’m hoping she will leave quietly and cleanly by Wednesday so I can get the unit back on the market ASAP. I’m not looking forward to the process, but I feel confident that I can get the unit rented out within a couple months. If she doesn’t leave, I’ll need to file the eviction. She may not have to leave until January sometime. The most frustrating part for me is that her automatic ACH withdrawals for her monthly rent were coming out on or near the last day of the month. So, she’s already had November for free. It was my choice to set up the payments this way (I’d rather collect money that is there than money that is not), but, in this situation, it puts that process a month behind. Thankfully I know better than to spend the checking account down, so this is a minor set-back, not a major “we can’t pay the mortgage” problem, but it is still inconvenient and counter-productive.

In other news, I have been selling the duplex that was our first rental property via a land contract. It is in a rough neighborhood that failed to improve as I had anticipated, so I’m happy to be getting rid of it. However, I didn’t get a payment last month and the purchaser said I could add an extra $150/month until she is caught up again. I just received a phone message from her this morning reporting that the payment (ACH withdrawal) isn’t going to be there this month and that she might leave if things with her family-member roommate don’t change soon. The ACH withdrawal is in process, so I’m not sure if it will be funded or fail at this point. I also don’t know what I’ll do if she decides to leave. The math just doesn’t work out on this property very well because the rent is so low, which attracts a certain tenant, which in turn causes a lot of maintenance issues. The city has been tearing down a lot of the houses on the block, so maybe an investor will see an opportunity. I don’t know.

I completely understand how real estate investors get themselves into trouble. If we had a mortgage on one or the other of these properties, and we took an unexpected $1,200 hit to our rent collection in one month, we would struggle to get that mortgage paid, which can fairly quickly lead to foreclosure. Also, if we were relying solely on rental income, and not employment, this could also be a devastating month. So, while it may feel like our “empire” is crumbling around me, I’m probably being a little over-dramatic. Ultimately, this is only a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. And I’m thankful I’m not the one who is out looking for a new place to live.

Property On My Mind

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Mr. PFL and I ruled out the 5-unit place. I hope someone else will have the time and money to make it beautiful again.

I’m going to do a drive-by on a 4-unit place in a different part of the city. There are a few blocks of a neighborhood that are really nice, and it continues to expand. This 4-unit place is on the “right” side of the main road that cuts through the neighborhood, so I’m curious to see how this block looks. There is also a mystery-number of units in another building about a block away, on the main road. That one might have potential, too, but there really isn’t much information available, yet.

Why do I keep looking for more real estate? I think the answer is three-fold:

1) I am worried about cash-flow. Mr. PFL and I will always need money, and if we intend to be out of the real workforce for 40 or more years, we need to produce income; and

2) I’m getting antsy for another project. Now that we’ve fully decompressed from the very intense renovation experience at BD (6-unit), I think we’re ready to get our hands dirty again. There is something very cathartic about manual labor for me. I also like the creative design process. Mr. PFL and I both have an underlying artistic side, but neither of us can express it in a traditional art form (painting, sculpture, etc.). We are able to be artistic when it comes to property, both inside and out, and we both enjoy the process, even though it can be very stressful; and

3) If we do decide to buy another property, we need to do it while we still have jobs. It will be easier to get a loan, if necessary, for example. It will also be easier to front the initial renovation costs when we have cash-flow from another source.

So, I’m going to check these out and, if they look promising, set up a showing.

I also need to sketch out the plans I have to renovate our house on the interior. I’ve got some big plans in my head, which may or may not be worth doing. I also need to figure out how permitting works for renovations since some of these ideas are pretty extreme (adding one or two bathrooms, and removing a shower in another, for example). I’ve got to get them on paper so I can stop obsessing.

UPDATE: 4-unit is a no-go. A couple blocks too far from the good streets and no glimpses of investment nearby. The other place is huge (maybe 15 units) and I have actually been there before as a guardian ad litem through my attorney job. The location is much better and has potential.

Happy Holidays?

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Hard to believe it is December 1st already. This year is quickly winding down. I think I’ve finally managed to provide enough Christmas present ideas to both of our mothers, too. We don’t need anymore stuff, and are planning a big clean-out during the last two weeks of the year, so coming up with ideas was more difficult than usual. I wish they would accept my suggestion that we just spend time together, and maybe give us some money towards plane tickets so we can visit, but it just doesn’t work. Maybe next year…

There should be plenty of articles out right now about how to “not break your budget” when shopping for presents and how to “cut down on the stress” of the holidays. For what it’s worth, I try to get presents for the fewest people possible; they don’t want to buy me a present anymore than I want to buy them a present. Next, I maximize the amount of gift cards I can get with my credit card rewards. I used up over a hundred dollars in gift cards already this year as wedding presents, so I’m actually going to need to use some real money. Mr. PFL and I haven’t been presents-for-each-other people in many years. Every once in a while one or the other of us will buy a gift, but it is not expected. We generally view our travels as present enough. Finally, I try to ignore all commercials starting after Halloween - when I watch too many, I daydream about a Lexus will show up in the garage and that I’ll get a diamond pendant necklace while sitting in front of a roaring fire. This is the same reason I avoid the mall - I can always find something to buy. It is easier to not want it in the first place.

I know that the holidays are a time for family, but that seems to be directly related to the stress. I assume most families get stressed when they get together, which makes me wonder why we do this to ourselves. But if we didn’t get together for the holidays, it might be years and years before we see some of our family members. So, I guess that is why we do it? Mr. PFL and I spent Thanksgiving with just the two of us for the second time ever. I spent all day cooking, which I love to do, and we watched movies and football. It was a really nice day. I wasn’t stressed. We talked to everyone on the phone or texted with them. We did get invited on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to a dinner about an hour and a half away, but declined. Thanksgiving alone was just what our family needed. Especially since we are hosting Mr. PFL’s family for Christmas on the 20th.

My holiday wishes for everyone: remember what is important, spend accordingly, and don’t forget to take care of yourself.