In light of the times...ideas to get by ?? (Bath: fit in, foreclosed)

[elston]

I do believed friends and neighbors helped one another. Rent parties, sharing produce from garden, and since no one had much....there wasnt shame in being poor.

[Maine Writer]

Great story NMLM.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Thank you. This forum brings back some memories I have not thought about for a while.

[Submariner]

Both of my sets of grandparents were farmers before the Depression / dust-bowl [one set in Missouri, the other in Oklahoma]. One grandmother was a grammar school teacher. With new farm techniques coming out [petro-chem fertilizers, tractors, irrigation], they both fell into the rush to borrow money for seed and petro-chem fertilizers; neither owned a tractor. Produce production went way up, so prices went down. Just as the salt build-up in the soil [from the experimental new fertilizers] was beginning to make the soil toxic, the drought hit. Dry soil that was partially toxic to plants could not support plants so with high winds the soil blew away.

Banks closed their doors taking everyone's savings, and then they demanded mortgage payment. And foreclosed on farms.

Families came together and gave up which farms had the worst debt. Men traveled together seeking jobs. They went to the East coast, to Canada and to the West coast.

Eventually they heard about farms in California, so they gathered what was left and walked to California.

They worked fulltime on dairies, canneries and farms. They farmed, and during the wars they drove explosive trucks.

They avoided banks, and they built houses. They filled the housing with friends and relatives, and they charged just a hair above the annual taxes for each rental house they built.

Both sets of my grandparents, when they were old had accumulated lots of rental units [one set had 28 2bdrm houses, the other had a dozen 1bdrm cabins next to their dairy barn].

My parents were growing up during this, and both worked. they picked fruit, they milked. My father operated a soda pop bottling operation out of a garage when he was 16.

No debt, no credit, you live in a tent until you can buy land for a house. You live in that house, you work and at night you build more houses for others.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

They avoided banks, and they built houses. They filled the housing with friends and relatives, and they charged just a hair above the annual taxes for each rental house they built.

Both sets of my grandparents, when they were old had accumulated lots of rental units [one set had 28 2bdrm houses, the other had a dozen 1bdrm cabins next to their dairy barn].

No debt, no credit, you live in a tent until you can buy land for a house. You live in that house, you work and at night you build more houses for others.

My grandparents both came out of WWII owning lots of houses. Father's parents owned summer cottages and water rights to same, plus water rights to others' cottages. No payment, no water that summer! He was a master plumber, something I should have gone into if I'd had any sense when I was young, which I didn't!

Mother's parents received Navy pay from my uncle, out on a sub tender in the Pacific, with instructions to "buy houses!". So they did. When the war ended, Uncle came back and took 1/2 of the properties as rentals, leaving his parents with the other half to rent.

We are being given that opportunity again on a silver platter, with all the foreclosures and short sales taking place today. When the prices get a little lower, stock up! Better than a 401(k) for your retirement!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Mainah tells us:
"The powder for the guns if vacuum sealed will last about 10-15 years."

I have some HiVel #2 that is over 50 years old. It works just fine. I have DuPont 3031 and Hodgdon H-380 that was purchased in 1968 for $2.95 a pound. It works just fine too. Primers purchased in 1968 work fine also. As you probably know, primers are exposed to the air until loaded into a resized case and assembled into a cartridge.

Well if you want to use it it is certainly your business. Yes it will go boom though if you do chronograph tests and pressure tests you will undoubtedly find the powder has lost some of its initial energy. Or worse it will burn so slowly it will cause higher pressures which can ruin the gun it is being used in. The Reloader's Manufacturer's Association recommends that powder be tossed after only three years of being opened. Primers should be tossed when 5-6 years old and they recommend testing the primers for reliability by loading a number of cartridges with only the primers and taking a count of any mis fires to get a percent average of good ones in any lot. They're the experts. Powder has nitro glygerine in it as part of the nitro cellulose content. Nitro glycerine has a sweet smell to it. Powder that has lost it's sweet smell will have a musty odor to it. Old powder can be dangerous.
Powder is relatively inexpensive so I throw out the old stuff now and then and replace it.
You're certainly entitled to do as you see fit.

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

It takes me about three hours to go out and cut a half cord of hardwood from the salvage and blow downs at $10/cord. I'll put up about 10 cord by the end of June and put away an extra 10 cords by hunting season.

Seasoned wood will be $350/cord this winter. One ad on the local broadcast channel January 1st should be a good payday.

I figure this way, I am paying myself twice!

Where are you doing this, dmyankee? I'm interested in learning more.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah

... We are being given that opportunity again on a silver platter, with all the foreclosures and short sales taking place today. When the prices get a little lower, stock up! Better than a 401(k) for your retirement!

I am not certain that there is ever an economy when rental units are a 'bad' investment.

I bought them during my active duty career. We collected them at each duty station. Zero-down mortgages so we only had to pay the escrow closing fees. With rental income to cover everything [mortgage, insurance, taxes, garbage, sewer, etc], and they provided a home for my family while we are stationed there.

I have known many other landlords over the years, and I have learned that one area where my grand parents had it correct was to always charge lower rents. Most everywhere we have lived landlords had problems with high vacancies. We have never had that issue.

Charging high rents with $ signs in your eyes is greedy, and you will have empty units. Which means less profit. Charging only what you need, keeps the units filled, and everyone prospers.

The total gross annual expenses of an apartment building plus maybe 10% for repairs, divided by 12 months, divided by how many apartments should equal rent. If the rent is above 80% of the neighborhood average rent levels, then that is not the right building to buy, just keep looking for a better property it is out there.

[moughie]

Dang, those darn socks

[emu742]

Originally Posted by moughie

Dang, those darn socks

I am feeling left out here with all this sock darning, looks like I am going to need to learn a few things before coming to Maine