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Becoming a Landlord

Business, Finance

For those of you just tuning in, my mother-in-law died in April.

Since then, we’ve spent nearly every available moment at our inherited house, digging out and cleaning up.

My mother-in-law was a compulsive hoarder.   I’m not going to get into the details of her compulsion, but we have–so far–filled a 30 yard dumpster.  For perspective, that’s big enough to fit our Ford F150.

Now that the house is approaching the point where we can begin updating and remodeling, I’ve been looking into the requirements to rent it out.

In my city, I need to get a business license that costs $95 per year.   This comes with a requirement to allow the city to inspect the property every two years.

Before they will issue the license, I have to take an 8 hour Minnesota Crime Free Multi-Housing Program class that covers tenant screening, lease addendum, evictions, and “etcetera”, followed by a physical audit of the property to ensure minimum security standards.

The lease addendum basically reads “If you are loud, obnoxious, threatening, criminal, intimidating, or doing/dealing drugs, you will be evicted.”

The actual costs to become a landlord are going to be:

  • Something under $100 for my wife and I to take the landlord class.  The price varies from free to $40, depending on the hosting city.
  • $95 per year for the privilege of using our private property to conduct a private transaction with a private individual.
  • The remodel.  I don’t know what this is going to cost, yet.   There’s an unfinished bathroom in the unfinished basement.  I’d like to finish both of those, though the basement will never hold a 3rd bedroom, due to code.  The entire house need to be painted and have the trim replaced.  The dining room and hallway have hardwood floors, hiding under linoleum that was never properly put down.   We may need new windows.

If possible, I’d like to keep the project under $20,000.   Since we’re not adding a 3rd bedroom, or tearing out the kitchen cabinets, it should be possible.

In the meantime, expect to see a bunch of remodeling and renting related posts coming up.

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5 Ways to Save Money by Going Green

Finance

This is a guest post by MoneySuperMarket.

Making changes in your daily life that minimize your impact on the environment is the right way to go green. While most people are happy just to know the environment is being protected, there are other benefits to going green. Pick a few of these five lifestyle changes and enjoy having a little extra cash in your pocket as well.

Eat More Meals At Home

Dining out is a fun family experience, but it takes its toll on your wallet and your neighborhood. Restaurants create millions of tons of trash each year. This tip is to the people who already avoid fast food for health reasons, but cooking with your friends and family is a great way to get closer.

Pick Up A Creative Hobby

Some hobbies require a lot more equipment or materials, therefore creating more waste and using more energy. Creative extracurricular activities use inexpensive or recycled goods instead, requiring fewer trips to the sports goods store. Woodcarving can be practiced with scraps from cabinetmakers, while yarn for knitting can come from old sweaters that are no longer worn.

Cool Off The Hot Water Heater

Each water heater features a small screw or dial that allows you to set the perfect temperature. Millions of people have their heaters set higher than necessary, wasting a lot of electricity each year. You can safely turn the heat down to about 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which could net you some hefty annual savings if it is at 140 or 150 degrees right now. Most people never use water for washing or showering that is higher than 130 when mixed in the tap.

Carpool With Co-workers

Driving back and forth to work puts a lot of wear and tear on your vehicle. Rising gas prices has made it even harder to afford a long daily commute by car. Sharing the responsibility among a group of co-workers or fellow parents at your child’s school can help to spread out the costs and the impact on the environment.

Try Your Hand At Gardening

You don’t have to have a green thumb to grow your favorite herbs in a windowsill pot. Start out easy and try a potted dwarf lime tree or a terracotta planter full of strawberries on the patio. The vegetables you harvest don’t have to contain pesticides. Compare your gardening costs against prices for high-end organic produce at the store. You could save thousands of dollars each year and reduce the damaging effects of large-scale agriculture.

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Phone Insurance

Finance

Thursday, at parent/teacher conferences, I sat on my phone and broke the screen.

English: Part of the Sprint Nextel logo
English: Part of the Sprint Nextel logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not just the glass, but the LCD.

Not a problem.  I pay for Sprint’s repair plan.

Little did I know that Sprint–in their infinite #$!$%#$%–considers a phone unrepairable if there is more than one crack on the screen.  That effectively means that any broken screen is a total loss.

It’s good to know my $4/month has been wasted.

Other than a phone I had stolen last year, I still own every phone I’ve ever owned.  None have had water damage or anything catastrophic happen to them, so I didn’t get the replacement side of Sprint’s insurance plan.

To summarize:

  • I broke my phone in a way that Sprint won’t fix, even though I pay for the fixit plan.
  • My phone costs $600 when you aren’t signing a new contract.
  • My phone has the most expensive LCD to replace at the moment.

The Total Equipment Protection program costs $11 per month.  Given my history, that’s a waste of $11, though it would actually be a waste of $7, since I have been happy to pay $4 for the repair plan.

$7 per month since I got my first smartphone in about 2008, means I’ve saved $420 in insurance fees I haven’t used.

Today, I paid $298 to replace the LCD on my phone.  That includes overnighting the part to the shop since it’s not stocked and I’m leaving town tomorrow.

An insurance claim from Sprint comes with a $150 deductible.

All told, I’m $270 to the good.

Would I get the insurance if I were signing papers today?

Probably not.  A $7 monthly bill doesn’t hurt, while a $300 surprise does, but that’s why I have a repair fund.

Do you have insurance on your phone?  Have you used it?

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Whose Line Is It Anyway? Why do some shows return from the dead?

News

Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler (Photo credit: MandeePhoto)

Watching TV in the summer used to mean surfing channels of reruns, but lately there seems to be a slew of “new” shows that are repeating old ones. Networks and cable channels are bringing back previously popular shows such as “Whose Line is it Anyway?”, “Hawaii Five-O”, and “Dynasty”. While some people are thrilled that their favorite shows are back, a lot more of us are wondering why we need to keep rehashing the past.

The answer isn’t that the networks have suddenly become nostalgic. With increasing competition from internet videos and more cable channels, many TV networks have seen their profit from advertising drop in the past several years. More worrisome for the networks, many economists are predicting that the model of having companies pay for advertising during show breaks will become obsolete over the next decade.

These factors mean that TV stations are not very willing to take risks with new shows. A new drama or science fiction show can take millions of dollars to produce, and in some cases it will be pulled within a few episodes if it fails to catch on. When reviving an old show, a network has some guarantee that it will be popular. While not every remake catches on (Charlie’s Angels anyone?), a remake will usually attract enough interest to make the first episode a success.

The costs to produce these shows are also much lower than “new” shows. In many cases, networks already own the property rights to the show as well as contracts with many of the former actors, directors, and producers. In several cases, they also have access to props, costumes, and set pieces. Because of this, they can produce a pilot for a much lower costs than a “new” show.

Finally, advertisers like the idea of bringing back a show. While a network usually has to struggle to find sponsors for shows that don’t have a full season of Nielsen data to show, they can easily sell a show that advertisers are already familiar with. Furthermore, advertisers like that they know what to expect. Without seeing a single episode, an advertiser can accurately guess at the demographic that will be attracted to the show just by looking at the data from the original show. Because advertisers are familiar with the plot of these shows, they are also more willing to negotiate for product placement within the show itself. In some cases, advertisers have even suggested how their product could be incorporated into an episode before the first script is even finalized.

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I Won the Lottery!

Finance, Life

No, I didn’t, but this is what I’d do if I won an obnoxious amount of money.

  1.  Take 6 months or a year, hire traveling tutors for the kids, and see the world.  This gives the extra benefit of being completely out of reach for anyone trying to borrow money.
  2. Pay off the mortgages of a few close family and friends.
  3. Set aside a big chunk to support my decadent, extravagant lifestyle.
  4. Create a fund.

This fund will have the purpose of making all of my descendants live life on the easy setting in perpetuity.   It will give them enough money to cover the major hurdles everyone has in life, without giving enough that they don’t have to work.   Here’s the money I see them getting:

  • Upon the birth or adoption of a child with my last name (Because I’m a jerk like that.  My name will last forever!): $10,000
  • Graduate high school with at least a B average: $5,000
  • Attending college while making progress towards graduation: $10,000 per year, up to 8 years(to allow for doctors and rocket scientists and stuff)
  • Graduating college:  The amount of college costs (tuition, room & board, etc.) up to $200,000.
  • Marriage, provided my descendant maintains my last name: $20,000
  • Starting a business, up to twice in a lifetime: $50,000

Each of these items that occur after the recipient becomes an adult would have the stipulation that their will gifts half of their estate back to the fund.  That way, everyone who got this headstart will help pay it forward.

This will require management, so I would appoint trustees to manage it.   Their job will be to grow the fund and adjudicate any requests.   They will have the authority to buy property, invest in businesses, or whatever will grow the fund to support future generations of my spawn.   Three, because that way there can be no ties.   Each of the three will have a named successor, who must be one of my descendants.   They will, of course, earn salaries.   I don’t see this being part-time work.   A salary that puts them at the 80th income percentile in the US seems fair.   They won’t have the ability to give themselves raises, beyond a statistical adjustment.

Amounts can be adjusted to cover rising costs, inflation, or potential depletion of the fun upon the majority vote of the Council of Three, with the overriding goal of making sure the fund survives to help future generations.

I actually see the organization of this being a corporation built around the management of a trust fund, but I’m not a lawyer or an accountant, and this is a fantasy, so I can see it however I want.

Yes, I follow the patriarchal model of maintaining my last name.   Sue me.   My last name, a parent who is descended from me and has my last name, and a will that states you’ll do your part to continue the awesomeness isn’t a high price to pay to avoid nearly all of the expensive things that hold people back.

That’s my master plan to take over the world, in the future, by proxy.