It took maybe 3 yrs. before I REALLY knew how to winterize the house, shutting down water pressure, plugging fire place stack, which doors to leave ajar, where to put the thermostadt (or get one that’d go low enough) … and for about $25/month got a lady to pay my bills/check the mail box. It works fine, she still pays most of the ‘regular’ bills.
My retired Marine neighbor was available to check if the house alarm ever went off which in about 10 yrs. only happened once! (weather issue)
When I started offshore internet and comms was not as ubiquitous. And sailing MSC meant being farther away for longer. Besides auto-pay, something to consider if one is particularly concerned is a limited power of attorney. I had one established with my parents (whom, vitally important, I trusted implicitly) so that they could handle any unexpected occurrences, financially or otherwise, on my behalf while I was out of communications.
Setting everything up auto-pay and paperless should solve most issues, but I have had some annoying and important items come by mail anyway. I’ve never used one of those mail-scan services, but that might be useful in this case.
Smart thermostats like Nest are nice in that you can check the temp from anywhere in the world. A coworker has wifi cameras the send a text with video link whenever someone comes in view at his remote properties.
I think the landlubber term for that is “chimney” !
that’s funny, the idea that it might be something else simply never occurred to me, obviously every one else is sorta screwed up !! ha ha : I must learn to be more … uh, … whatever it is !!
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Where did you stay on your shore time when you ditched your apartment?
I didn’t have an permanent place to live for about 4 years & no vehicle for about 5. My schedule for the majority of that time was 90 & 45 but I was flexible, sometimes less, sometimes more. I stayed in cheap hotels, hostels & weekly efficiencies in Mexico, Central & South America mostly. A few weeks in Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam each. For 1.5 yrs I always returned to Lima, Peru because that was where a girlfriend lived. This was before smartphones & good offshore internet so I would always have a travel book from this series called, “Let’s Go” that was aimed for budget minded backpackers. Those books always had a list of places to stay for each major town in each country. I don’t think those books are published anymore because smartphones & the internet have made them obsolete. The life of a financially secure hobo is pretty nice IMO.
Edit: I guess the Let’s Go travel series is still around. I don’t know if is the same but it used to be full of cheap places to spend a couple weeks/months.
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I mostly bounced around Chic’s Beach before I bought my first home. Lot’s of fun. My ten speed was the preferred method of travel. Wish I had invested there back then, can’t even get a toenail in there now. Oh how I wish I had a tarot cards back then. No regrets. Outer Banks made up for it. Bought my first lot from a dentist, Dr Martone. was ripe age of 20. One lot off the sound, 7k for 7 years at 7%. interest, what a pitch, Bought it on a fishing trip at Avalon Pier. As former posters have stated, they don’t make land anymore, That lot ended up building two homes when I sold it many years later.Beer money at the time.
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Back when I was young and single.
Auto payments
Also I gave my dad.
“Power Of Attorney”
Consisted of a long winded notarized letter from me saying he had the authority to make financial decisions for me.
It doesn’t have to be notarized . Just helps.
Fortunately for me my dad made sure I paid into things like savings plans and pension ect before I spent
It all on women, booze and squandered the rest.
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I never felt freer than my years I had without a bunch of physicals possessions. Jesus & Buddha had it right. My Jeep got stolen from storage in a relatives yard & caught on fire. Whenever I went back to the US I would rent a car which worked out good because I couldn’t spend more than 30 days in the US for tax reasons. I always visited places with good public transportation. I didn’t have to worry about DUI’s, parking & it was a good way to meet people. I was with my wife (girlfriend at the time) for nearly 2 years before I bought car again. I bought my home in the US when I was 25 but didn’t live in it until I was 29. No regrets about being a vagabond either, wouldn’t change a thing, I highly recommend it to any young person who can pull it off.
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I agree sir, you will do well having seen both sides of happiness, whether broke or bountiful. Was very happy on my ten speed., and broke. The beach was a GREAT RELIEF after crew change,. Still have friends to this day from that multi year episode in my life. Some invested, some didn’t. Great pals none the less. I still golf with my lifelong friend that lives/invested in Outer Banks. We were just kids then, who knew we were dumb/smart in those days.
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It might, depending on the jurisdiction. If you want to do your own lawyering, google “power of attorney” and/or “affidvait of agent” followed by the state where you and the agent reside.
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Anyone with experience living in Aruba?
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For someone that is handy, fixer uppers can be a great deal. Foreclosures use to be good, but not so much now. The great thing about real estate is that you can add value to it. You cannot do that with a stock.
There is an article in the Wall Street Journal today about publicly traded real estate owners and realty trusts buying back their own stock because the market is undervaluing them.
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If publicly traded real estate owners and REITs really believe in their business they would buy more properties rather than buy back stock. Most CEOs of REITs are given shares and have their compensation tied to the stock price . So it behooves them to buy back stock using profits or borrowed money rather than invest in more properties to increase the long term value of the company. If the real estate market is so undervalued and the long term outlook is great why in the world are they buying back stock instead of using the same money to buy more properties?
Surely they don’t want to inflate the stock price and cash their free shares out before the SHTF.
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Can’t speak for others picks, but I hold two REIT’s that pay well, but price I paid for them years ago has declined a bit.
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Saw an article today regarding commercial vs urban homes sales. KBH reports 42% increase in contracts for residential real estate. Commercial real estate is not doing as well. I can attest to a post I put up a few weeks ago. “Relative” sold his home last week well above asking price before it was even listed. Bought the upgrade before it was listed. Word of mouth and a good realtor made this possible. Traded a 3&2 for a 5&3. Crazy as it sounds, ended up paying less per month because of interest rates and equity he gained on the sale of the home he owned for 3 years. Timing is everything. We all on here have seen the ups and downs. He got lucky. His bears have plenty of room to run now.
For over a decade as a single guy I had a couple of properties. I used property managers to handle the property and bills. I will admit that the majority of them skimmed and one took me down handsomely. However I still made money in the short and the long. I looked it at it like a bar owner that routinely looses money from the staff grifting the bar. I routinely rented out my personal property on a Corporate level (mostly visiting-traveling nurses and pharmaceutical reps) and did well on it. I put my personal belongings in storage and rented it furnished. When I came home from sea if it was renting well and making money I would take a short term rental or travel about for a while. I was able to reside in several off season waterfront properties that I otherwise never would have. It was great fun and a perfect compliment to a seafaring life. Auto-pay and Bill Payer apps were not as available at the time, but I use them at sea all the time now. I check up on all accounts each time we come into port. If your on a DOD contracted ship and get access to a US Naval Base proceed to Naval Federal Credit Union with your MMC and open an account. NFCU account. It is the best, they understand deployment and their Customer Service can help you no matter where you find yourself on earth. Their dashboard is the best I have ever used. I was even able to do a re-fi while at sea with them. I found biz partners did not work out so well. Well they may enjoy the initial cash you bring to the table they feel strapped or abandoned when you inevitably go to sea and may want to compensated accordingly. That leaves too much room for interputation of what is reasonable and tends to under credit what you bring to the equation when you are home from sea. It is doable but can get messy. Of course it helps to be handy yourself and know trustworthy local contractors. With all that said after all those years of skipping about nothing has been better than being married and returning from sea to the home fires burning and to my wonderful wife and daughter. But if that isn’t in the cards at the moment the resources are readily available to be a money making property owner, don’t hesitate lots of mariners do it,
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The recent run up in second home prices is very pleasant.
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Thanks for the advice. Based on the above quote, I’d like to ask a follow up question. Would you recommend this career field for a person that isn’t a young single guy? More specifically, someone who is married and in their early to mid 30’s?
Most guys in their 30’s are married, or were. This business is very hard on relationships, but many couples are successful.
Married with kids and a supportive extended family works a lot better.
Watch out for Jody!