Monday Morning

Farewell summer!  Hello fall.  Well, technically by the calendar the summer isn't over yet.  But, once the school buses start arriving, it feels like they bring fall with them.

Here are some of my thoughts on this Monday summer/fall morning...

1.  Two boys are at school!  
      Note to self - When they say to be waiting early for the bus on the first day of school they mean it.   The bus came about 10 minutes earlier than I expected this morning for Wyatt (entering 2nd grade!).  So, this resulted in rushing out the door frantically grabbing the camera and throwing my child on the bus with a quick kiss. (Luckily I had taken a few pictures of him earlier in the morning.)

     Things were a little more relaxed for taking Edison to school.  He's in afternoon kindergarten so I actually drop him off at the school after lunch.  He'll come home on the bus with Wyatt.  Since this was the second time I've had a child start kindergarten I didn't expect it to be a hugely emotional event.  But, I'll admit, I did get a bit of a lump in my throat when I saw how proud he looked as he walked into the school with his spanky new backpack.

     (I'll post pictures later....)

2.  I had a tomato catastrophe last week.
    I was too busy writing my landlord series to write anything else.  But, I'll tell you now.  I'm no longer weeping and gnashing my teeth, but it still spites me what happened.  So, I had a boocoo collection of tomatoes that I wanted to can.  But, with four boys I don't have a large window of time to work on my big projects.  I tried to do it the 'quickie' way.

      Usually when canning tomatoes you should blanch the tomatoes and peel off the skin.  I didn't feel like I had the time for that...and I don't mind the skins (there are vitamins in there right?).  So, I decided to wash them (twice to be sure they were clean), core them, and cut them into chunks, then I'd cook them down a bit before putting them in my canning jars.

      I had one large pot with about 4 gallons of tomatoes, and another smaller pot with about 2 gallons.  Any guesses as to what happened?  I scorched my large pot of tomatoes.  Really really bad.  It smelled horrible, but I kept hoping that maybe the ones near the top of the pot were OK.  So, I tasted them.
    
      It tasted like what I imagine licking an ash tray must taste like.  Four gallons of tomatoes ruined!  The smaller pot was fine, but I was SO angry at myself!


3.  Projects, projects.
    With the 2 big boys in school, I'm feeling like this might be my opportunity to get some projects done around this house.  Now if I can just locate my motivation and energy....

On Becoming Landlords - Part Four - The End/ The Beginning

So, why did we choose to try our hand at real estate?

1. We wanted to be less dependant on my husband's paycheck

2. It gives us the opportunity to save money toward a future home purchase.

3. We wanted to change our mindsets & start to view money as a tool.

In our five year plan we would like to eventually be able to purchase a somewhat larger home with some acreage. Our goal is still fairly modest. I prefer older homes to new homes, so in my vision I see an old stone or brick farmhouse with hardwood floors and a huge, bright farmhouse kitchen. We would love to have about 5 acres (preferably with a stream or a creek, maybe a pond). In this dream we'd have space for a large garden, fruit trees, a barn in which my husband can tinker on tractors & his motorcycle, room for the boys to run, and I would love to have goats or sheep...just because I love goats & sheep. And, we would love somewhere quiet & away from hustle & bustle of the world.

That's our dream. Whether or not it comes to fruition is yet to be seen.

And, here's where my spiritual & moral dilemna with this whole venture has come into play. We live in a society where we are encouraged & expected to constantly be striving for something bigger, better, MORE. At times I have felt like the oddball because we have lived our entire married life in a home that wouldn't meet most people's standards (and certainly not HGTV's!). I have struggled with contentment and then, in the next moment, struggle with guilt for not being truly grateful for all we have.

We are blessed beyond measure. Even the poor in this country would be considered rich in so many countries around the world. When I read things like this, I am reminded of that truth.

As Christians where are our hearts and minds supposed to be? - set toward the advancement of our earthly treasures or toward the advancement of God's kingdom? Of course I know the answer to that question. But then it raises another question that I still don't know if I have answered...." As a Christian is it OK to strive toward an earthly goal or is that materialism creeping in?"

I really think it's a balance. And, here are some of the thoughts that I have had... (By the way, please note that I do not buy into the prosperity/ health & wealth teaching that seems to be out there in so many circles)

1. God created us in His image. And he is a God of creativity - His greatest creative work being all of Creation. I think we have an inner drive to try new things, to accomplish goals. What we do with that drive can be used to His Glory or our detriment.

2. I mentioned that we wanted to start viewing money as a tool rather than just something we earn. There is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 in which a master leaves his servants with money to care for in his absence. Two of the servants took the money and used it to earn more and had doubled the number of talents the master gave them by the time he returned. To them the master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
But, the third servant took the one talent he received and buried it until his master's return. The master was displeased with him and said, "You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received back with interest."

As with all parables Jesus has a point to make that involves more than just the example & story He uses. Still, I believe it does also speak to the fact that we are to be stewards of the money God has given us. We are to use it and to make the money work for God's kingdom

3. I felt very specifically one Sunday at church (when we were discussing finances from a Biblical perspective) like God was saying to me "Have you been faithful with what you have been given so far?" And, I would answer "yes". My husband and I believe in bringing our full tithe before God. I know tithing can also be a controversial subject - but it is something my husband and I have felt led to do and we have always seen God's provision in our lives. It was tempting to stop tithing during lean times, but we continued and God was always faithful.
Then, I felt like God said, "Would you continue to be faithful with more?" And, again, I answered 'yes'. And, that is the part that I keep thinking about. In what ways could God use us for the advancement of His kingdom if we continue to pursue this real estate venture? Some ideas that have been planted in my heart are

• We could have properties available for missionaries on furlough to use free of charge
• We can expand our circle of people by getting to know tenants & neighbors and speak God's love into their lives.
• We can be free to assist in missions trips/ relief efforts - right now the cost to go is a hindering factor.
• I think of the child in Kenya that we sponsor and how, if someday he were interested in coming to the States, we could continue our sponsorship and support of him as he establishes himself.
• And, I'm sure God has other ways he would call us into service, ways that we can't even comprehend right now.

4. Stepping into real estate investment is a vision my husband has had for many years now. Two things I have learned about my husband is that when he has a vision he WILL find a way to make it happen, and God's hand is in that vision.

So, as I said in my very first landlord post, it's hard for me to move forward when I can't see each and every step and the outcome ahead. But, we know God's hand is in this and this seems to be one of those times He is asking us to step out in faith.

We Interrupt the Regularly Scheduled Program...

Hey just taking a quick little break in my Landlord series....I'm gonna wrap things up this week with Part 4.  Then I'm done I promise.

Anyway, I wanted to encourage you to head on over to Chatty Mommy.  Somehow she always comes up with these really cool giveaways...I have to ask her sometime how she does that.  She has a giveaway going on right now from an Etsy store called Elephant Tales

They have some really cutey patootie things.  I think these personalized alphabet cubes (great for birth announcements or as a gift) are my favorite.

Her giveaway runs until Sunday...so go check it out.


Also, I just had to share with you what happens when I leave my husband alone with our boys...

 Is that...are they....?

Why yes.  They are on the barn roof.

The only reason the baby wasn't up there too is that I was feeding him.  They went up to check on the apples from our apple tree (you can see it hanging over the roof).  But, they found that they weren't ready yet.  And, yeah, the barn really is that ramshackle.  

Can I just say that sometimes my husband makes me very nervous?

On Becoming Landlords - Part Three - How Do We Do This?

So we established in the last post, that despite our frugal living, we really didn't have any extra money to work with.

So, how in the world were we going to purchase a rental property?

What we needed was a financial advisor.  But, we didn't have the money to spend for someone's pricey advice either.  So, we plugged into other resources.  My husband's brother recently started selling real estate & my husband's uncle had been involved in real estate for years and years.  Our first step was to pick their brains.

We also had a couple friends who had tried some real estate investments, so we also talked to them to find out what did work and what didn't work.

Next, my brother-in-law put my husband in contact with a loan officer/ financial wizard from a bank that his real estate company worked with.  This guy truly has a gift.  He was able to run through numbers with my husband explaining exactly how to make this possible.

When my husband came home & tried explaining it to me, I was still very resistant to the idea.  But, I agreed to go with my husband to meet with the man again so that he could go through the numbers with me and explain it in more detail.   (By the way, this guy probably spent about 2 hours or so between the meeting with just my husband and the meeting with the 2 of us.  He never charged us for his time.)

Now, I need to preface this by saying that we were super close to paying off our mortgage...like within 4-5 years.  The only reason this was the case was...

 1.  Our house was super inexpensive to start with.  Originally my father-in-law bought it at an auction (the house was 2 doors up from them and had belonged to his uncle & aunt).  My father-in-law in turn sold it to my husband (this all transpired before John & I were married).  Keep in mind this house had belonged to an Old Order Mennonite family.  There was no electricity, no insulation, very limited plumbing, and a LOT of cosmetic work. Fortunately my husband is a handyman extraordinaire and did the work himself.  We are STILL working on it.


 2.  My husband had set up the mortgage as a 15 year mortgage as opposed to a 30 year.


 3.  We had been working toward paying it off early & put a little extra in each month...some months more than others.

We were sooooo close.  And, what the man was going to suggest to us felt like going backwards to me...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Originally our plan was to pay off our house & then start saving toward a larger home with more acreage for us & to save for money toward a rental property.  Our plan also was (and still is) to keep our current home and eventually rent it out as well.

This financial guy showed us how to get started on our plan now.
Here's what he suggested...and what we implemented.

• Refinance our home.  (I debated whether or not to share actual numbers with you.  It makes it easier to understand if I do. And, originally I typed it out that way. But, then I thought about it a little more & I don't think my husband would be too jazzed about me including the specifics and sending them out into cyberspace.  So, I'm going to be as general as I can, but hopefully you can follow along.).  Our house is assessed at higher than what we owed (and also was we originally paid).  We refinanced for about 65% of the value of the property for 30 years, giving us a chunk of money to work with after closing costs.
• Use the money received from refinancing to make a 20% down payment on a rental property.
• Retain a portion of the refinancing money in an special account to use in the event the property needed repairs, etc.
• We then purchased a 2 unit property valued higher than it's selling price (It was in pre-forclosure).  
• The money collected from rent covers the full mortgage of the rental property and all but $25 of our personal mortgage.
• The money that we usually set aside for our own mortgage continues to get set aside in a savings account.  That money is not to be touched.  It is the money that we will continue to save toward a different house for us.  In 5 years time we should have approximately $50,000 saved toward a down payment.

The specifics were ironed out.  I really struggled with going from being completely debt free in 5 years to having TWO 30 year mortgages.  But, I eventually came to terms with that.

The other struggle I still had was more of a spiritual nature....to be discussed next.

On Becoming Landlords - Part Two - Our Financial Background

As I mentioned yesterday, I could see the benefits to investing in real estate.  I just didn't see how it was possible, and I was still totally scared to try.

We don't have a lot of extra money available to work with.  But we did have some things working for us...

My husband and I worked very hard to be debt free (with the exception of our mortgage) before we had children.  I know that for so many that seems an impossible dream alone.   Here's how we did it...

 - Neither one of us had student loans to pay.  I worked during college, attended a state college (cheaper), lived at home & commuted (much cheaper) and paid my college bills as they came.  And, yes, I paid tuition by myself. My parents were not in a financial position to assist me - although they did pay for my books, and of course gave me room & board.  My husband attended an aviation technical school & also paid his own tuition.

 - Neither of us had car loans.  I bought my car new as a college graduate...by the time my husband & I met almost 10 years later my car was paid off.  My husband always bought used cars with the amount of money he had available.  Since we've been married, any time we need to replace a vehicle, we save money & then  buy used.  No loans.

 - I did have some credit card debt coming into our marriage (my husband did not), but the first 2 years of our marriage we used my paycheck  toward debt reduction.  By the time Baby #1 came, it was paid off.  Now if we use a credit card we pay off the balance in full every month.  If we can't do that, then we don't buy it.

 - We live in a very, very modest home with a very, very low mortgage payment.

So, that was what we had working in our favor.  Our challenges were these...

 - Despite our frugal living and no debt we still pretty much find ourselves living paycheck to paycheck.  We tithe, we save, we pay our bills & there's not a whole lot left after that.

 - Living on one paycheck means we make sacrifices.  It influences the kind of house we live in, the kind of car we drive.  I rarely if ever buy clothes or shoes or have my hair done. We've been very fortunate in clothing for our boys - we've received a lot of hand-me-downs from friends & family & they often receive clothing as gifts for birthdays/ Christmas. We still enjoy eating out, but only on occassion.  We raise some of our own food & shop at a discount grocery store.  It is hard, but to me it's worth it to be home with my children.

 - We had no money saved for a down payment on a rental property, and we had no extra money floating around.

So, how would this be financially possible?  Finding that answer was the next step in moving forward & will be what I discuss in Part 3.

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.

It's Good to Know He Cares

After stepping on the bathroom scales and seeing a lower number than I anticipated...

Me: "Wow.  I don't know if that's right or not, but it would be awesome if it was."

Edison:  (the 5 year old):  "Yeah!  That would be crazy awesome!"