Do you rent or own?

[CountDeMoney]

Depends on where;  I doubt Otto would have the same level of success in east Baltimore as he does in Frednecksburg.

Depends...what are the gun laws in Baltimore? 

Although I've never done it, you can actually make pretty solid money off of poor people if you rent to Section 8 people; you receive your rent payments from HUD, are insulated from the vagaries of poor person finances, and because HUD actually helps place people into homes you essentially have free marketing/tenant searching.

Problem is, Maryland--and Baltimore in particular--make it ungodly difficult to evict shitty tenants, and it's a process that takes forever.

I've known bail bondsmen that tried their hand at rental properties with Section 8, and it's telling when they'd rather get back into bail bonds because the income is more reliable.   

[Tonitrus]

I've been looking at condos in the Annapolis area (in case I get moved out there), and I'd much rather buy than rent...but Maryland seems like a dangerous area to be stuck with a property I couldn't rent out if I move again.

[Sheilbh]

As far as I can tell, the best tenant demographic are foreign students. They are often willing to pay above-market rates as they don't know better, leave again by themselves after 6 to 12 months, and you can rent out places that are badly maintained and would need renovation for a proper local tenant.

If I was to rent properties I'd target students in somewhere like Bristol.  They pay above-market rates (student housing was about double the cost of normal housing in Bristol) and many students are being paid for by very rich parents which means it can be even higher.

As you say most students care less about maintenance too.  My housemates and I are the only people I know who always got our deposits back in full - by obsessive week-long cleaning - almost everyone else got money taken off.

Edit:  I rent though.  I know people who pay about as much as I do on a mortgage but the chance of me being able to get a mortgage this side of 30 are nil

[OttoVonBismarck]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

[garbon]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Really? We're only at what - the 9th year of this place?

[Ideologue]

Yeah, at least Sheilbh, g, and me are under 30.  (For now. )  Actually, I think HMBob is too.  Ortiz is 30, but he's, well, he's young at heart.

[Warspite]

I'm also under 30.

[The Brain]

I'm still fairly sprightly.

[Martinus]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

I put that down to his aristocratic upbringing 

[Sheilbh]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

I put that down to his aristocratic upbringing 

The castle does have an exceptional library

[Phillip V]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

I put that down to his aristocratic upbringing 

The castle does have an exceptional library

You live in a castle?

[CountDeMoney]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

That's because he's British.

[CountDeMoney]

Are you under 30 Sheilbh??? I can't believe any of the people who have been posting here since the beginning are under 35 

Yeah, I think he started posting on Paradox when he was 17. In Sheilbh's case it's doubly surprising, as he has always sounded so mature.

I put that down to his aristocratic upbringing 

The castle does have an exceptional library

You live in a castle?

That's because he's British.

[Grey Fox]

Yeah, at least Sheilbh, g, and me are under 30.  (For now. )  Actually, I think HMBob is too.  Ortiz is 30, but he's, well, he's young at heart.

HVC & I are still a couple of years away from being 30.