On Becoming Landlords or How My Husband Talked Me Into Doing Something That Scares Me To Death - Part One

If there is one thing you should know about me, it's that I am not a risk-taker.  I am not one to take chances.  You will never find me jumping out of airplanes (just getting ON an airplane is a stretch for me) or bungee jumping.

And, when it comes to other areas of life I tend to live very status quo.  Why rock the boat if something has worked so far?  If I can't see the end result and every step that leads to said result then let's just leave well enough alone.

My husband is the opposite of me in this way.  He thrives on adventure & danger.  He finds the thrill in new challenges.  He is able to step out in faith when he doesn't know exactly where the road is going to take him.

We balance each other.

And sometimes we stretch out of our comfort zones to meet the other part way.

Stepping into the world of owning a rental property and becoming landlords was a stretch for me.

My husband has been interested in investing in real estate in some way, whether by flipping properties or owning rental units, since before we were married.  He saw it as a way to get beyond living paycheck to paycheck.  And, he liked the idea of not being totally dependent upon his paycheck.  In an economic climate where people have been losing their jobs (and for us, last year my husband took a cut in hours) it made sense to him to have an another form of income.

And, all of that made sense to me.  But, to actually take that step and DO something about it scared the hoo ha out of me.  And, I have to admit, I probably held my husband back.  He didn't want to start such a major venture until he knew I was on board.

How I got on board and what we hope to accomplish is what the next few posts will be about.  Stay tuned for Part 2.