This is the story of a very "tough" gentleman.
If he can do it you can too


Consider this as the starting point….

He has an irreversible eye malady that is causing rapidly deteriorating eyesight. This means he can no longer drive a car (just think what you would do if you could never drive a car again) and may be completely blind in just a few years.
How do you provide for your family? Be sure that your 3 children are brought up in an environment of success? Get good educations so they can be as independent as he is?

This man is fiercely independent. No government handouts for him. I have seen him take the bus to work on his properties. Walk blocks to a phone, (he said he could not afford a cell phone) sweeping his cane before him. In neighborhoods that would give many of us pause to be there by ourselves. He was there to scrape and paint and later to inspect and supervise the workers.

I have often thought of the seller who thought they had easy pickin's.
I conducted him through their property with his cane, while he asked his wife or son what it looked like. How was the furnace, etc.? I can assure you he never missed anything.

He decided he had a certain time to be able to do certain physical things and then because of his sight would have to have his business operating to a certain level so that he could control it from his desk. He studied the Real Estate market and decided where he had the best chance of making his kind of business prosper. He had to make a good and solid income. This meant he had to know the values of property cold. How to maximize the rental income. Never (and I mean never) have any unpaid rents. How to get the best financing terms. How to have an airtight lease. Know the landlord /tenant law so he did not have to waste any money on unnecessary attorneys. He knows when to hire a professional and when he can argue his own cases in court. And boy can he argue!

Collections? I like to relate the story of the tenant who paid the rent late but did not come up with the late charge because she figured who would ever do anything about a crummy $45.00. When she received the eviction notice she knew better than to ever doubt his word or resolve again.

I recall a few statements that describe his management style…

When offering the lease to the tenant on a property that has been remodeled to "new" condition with oak kitchens, bathrooms, heat, wiring etc. etc. he says "I am letting you move in my property in perfect condition. If anything is not perfect
I expect to repair it immediately. That is my part of the bargain. Your part is to keep this property in this same condition and pay the rent on time. If you do not intend to do this, do not sign this lease because I can assure you I will keep my end of the bargain and enforce you to keep your end.

Another time after listening to a 2 hour panel discussion on rent collection and tenant screening services etc. he offered the following….
I really don't need to spend $40 for someone to tell me that my city clients have bad credit. They all have bad credit. I only care that they pay me. I make that clear that they will pay me before anyone else or they will not have a roof over their head.

This fair but tough attitude has allowed him to not only provide for his family but take some of the most exotic vacations I have ever heard of. He tries never to miss any experiences. He has hikes in Borneo, lived in tree houses in South America. Been to Thailand and any other place you can think of.

All on tenant's money!
.