Do you not find that being a landlord can be a headache? How do you screen your tenants so they do not become deadbeats or ruin your property?

When I first moved to Long Island in 1974, there were no rentals in my neighborhood. As the years passed, I noticed several homes on my street that were rentals. One of them rented to multiple parties (which is strictly forbidden by the town).

With prices topping $900K, I don't know how young people can buy a house. And I don't know how they pay the rent, which is topping $5,000 a month. I think a lot of the sales are to people who are cashing out of an old house, with accumulated equity, and reinvesting in a new house. That's exactly what we did. We actually bought a house that was less expensive than the one we sold. The new house was a better house, but the school district was not nearly as good as the old school district (an issue you refer to in your blog). Meanwhile, the couple that bought our old house left an undesirable school district and paid a premium to get into our district. They had a two-year-old son. It's like house musical chairs. I guess you just have to know when to jump out of your chair.