Intro by JL’s Team “Is now the time to buy a house?” As national mortgage interest rates hit +7% and housing prices fall across the country, many people are asking themselves this very question. But like the stock market, “investing” in a home isn’t a question of timing. In this post, JL highlights why… [Continue Reading]
The House Hacking Strategy
Your house may be a terrible investment, but I love the idea of house hacking. In fact, I knew people doing it way back in my college days. Half a century ago. Of course, it wasn’t called “house hacking” in those ancient days. I’m not sure it even had a name. But some students,… [Continue Reading]
Truly Passive Real Estate Investing
The house pictured above is in Montgomery, Alabama. I have never seen this house in real life. I have never been to Montgomery, although I am sure it is lovely. The odds are good that you, too, have never been to Montgomery and have also never seen this house. Even if you have been to… [Continue Reading]
Kibanda Part 5: Pretty, and pretty much done
Kibanda plaque by Lysh @ Rustic Ludlow This post has been on the back burner for months now. My apologies to those of you who have been asking for a Kibanda update. Your patience is rewarded. For those of you who wonder why these damn Kibanda posts even appear on what is (mostly) a financial/investing… [Continue Reading]
Kibanda Part 4: Quicksand!
When I was a kid, the TV adventure serials and pre-movie shorts (remember those?) in the theaters were filled with dauntless heroes facing deadly peril in exotic lands. One of the most compelling of these was quicksand. You be walking along when suddenly you, or more likely the lovely damsel with you (sorry ladies, that’s… [Continue Reading]
Kibanda Part 3: Running the numbers
It is a new dawn and… …sunrise at Kibanda After a brutal move (“Well then, we’ll just leave your stuff on the lawn and go”) we have finally taken up residency here at Kibanda. The lake front is as magnificent as we remembered. Unfortunately, owning a house is also as big a PITA (pain in… [Continue Reading]
Kibanda, Part 2: Negotiating the deal
Kibanda from the road It is interesting. With a beach house, “front door” and “back door” become meaningless. Guess we’ll have to get used to “lake side” and “road side” Anyway, back to our story. As you recall, Part I ended with… Lying in bed that night I realized, at the right price, this was… [Continue Reading]
Kibanda: Mr. Anti-house buys his dream house
Well, beach shack anyway… Kibanda cha Ziwa Of course, it is not about the house. It is about this: Ziwa Having the occasional Bald Eagle drop by doesn’t hurt… But wait. Aren’t I the guy who preaches against owning houses? Well, I guess when you publish posts like… Why Your House is a Terrible Investment… [Continue Reading]
Is there an interior designer in the house?
A little over a year ago I finally completed the manuscript for my book. But as anyone who has been thru the process will tell you, that is just the beginning of a whole new set of tasks. Most of which require specialized expertise. In a rare stroke of brilliance, it occurred to me that… [Continue Reading]
How to Live in a Hotel Full Time
I have always loved staying in hotels. Not all hotels all the time of course. But when they are done right I love just about everything about them. Business travel was always a regular feature of my working life and between that and our personal travels, over the years I’ve stayed in a lot of… [Continue Reading]
