When I started landlording, I made a conscious effort not to "appear" wealthy to tenants. We've never been into status...no Rolex, wife's handbag costs $50, no designer clothes, no tuxedo parties, drove mostly Honda cars during my life...and will always be that way.

However, I think it's wise to go one extra step when dealing with tenants...for two reasons:

1) Don't want to flaunt wealth to ANYONE, just rude IMO

2) Showing wealth will only fuel some people's thoughts about those "greedy landlords"

3) May cause tenants to believe they can ask for extra things or have resentment towards the LL ("You are rich, you can afford it")

Many people don't care to understand HOW you gained your wealth, only judging that you have it. To the ignorant person, someone who worked 2 jobs all their life, went to college for years, paid off student loans, lived below their means for decades, and never inherited any money "appears" the same as a person who simply inherited a fortune.

As a result, we don't drive our Lexus to the rentals. I don't wear expensive clothes or jewelry when visiting the houses, and don't talk about our cruises, hobbies, or other vacations. Don't get me wrong, I never lie about things, but rather choose to keep that part of our personal life separate from the rental business interactions.

I'm sure this translates to other parts of life as well...do you think the grass-cutting guy/gal charges more for a 1/2 acre lot in a neighborhood where the houses are worth $600k than a 1/2 acre lot in a neighborhood where the houses are worth $150k?

I take my 2016 Hyundai Sonata to the rentals on the rare occasions I drop by. It's a humble "family" vehicle. Nothing fancy. Several small scratches and scuffs to make it appears like nothing north of $10,000.

But then last week my sons had to borrow my car and so I had to ride by the place in my wife's Mercedes SUV. Oh well... *grins.

Those that do,

I'm a 'Hands-On' property manager and always inform new residents of that. I drive a 20 year old pickup and wear working clothes when I choose to perform small fix-its.

Small town landlord here, over time our tenants and their friends and our contractors and THEIR friends have come to know us and our properties. Nothing we can do about that. Plus ANYONE can google us, a property address, anything. So we don't try to hide.

But we are also not extravagant people anyway. My husband drives an extremely dirty work van, pulls an old rattle-y trailer and shows up in questionably clean "work" clothes to perform maintenance or repairs. EVERYONE knows he works harder than they do. 99% of our tenants are extremely considerate and thankful for his work ethic.

When I go to the rentals, I drive my GMC Terrain. Doesn't look flashy or anything -- which I like. I make sure to NOT drive my wife's Charger with the racing stripes. :)

The funny part is that the Terrain we bought used for like $18k and the Charger used for under $12k. But the Charger LOOKS like an expensive car. heh.

wealthy people are excellent targets to sue.

So even if I pay off a place, I make sure to have a HELOC against it.

I have five mortgages that are each under $5,000 now that all started out as six figures. I want to make min payments on these loans as the interest on a $5,000 is nothing and if an accident occurs it looks like there is another 15 years of payments due on these places........and there is. The payments adjust every five years and are now about $45/mo.

You ever hear of accelerated banking to pay off places? Well it works well, but I don't want the places absolutely paid off, just ever so close. I am paying under $200 a year in interest.

I've never been big on having flashy cars, clothes, or jewelry. I'm perfectly happy in my 8 year old F-150 wearing ratty old blue jeans and boots. As far as with tenants, I don't want them to think I have money. I'd rather them think I am retired and living off of a few rentals so their conscience kicks them in the tail if they think about taking the wrong path. We have intentionally set up our business where they will never know we are in town or in Europe on an A+ vacation, they simply have no need to know.

My husband and I own rental properties and take care of my fathers ( i guess you can say property managers but we don't get paid for it LOL )

Tenants know us to be the landscapers - painters - gutter cleaners - apartment cleaners - Mr. and Mrs. Handy especially my Dad's tenants you be surprised what you learn and or see ( illegal pets - vehicles repair in yard - extra tenants )

Get a call my father asks us to look for a leak for outside faucet dripping as the water bill if $100+ more this quarter.

We find nothing ... week later we are there cutting lawn - I see a guy get out of car and carry five large re-usable bags [big stripped ones they sell at flea market ] well later in the day he's back to pick up the freshly washed & dried laundry as well as the tenant's 20 something daughter. It was her boyfriend and she does his laundry and the older sister does the same for her boyfriend too.

If I ever do become wealthy, wait, let me rephrase that, when I do become wealthy, I will continue to be frugal and most likely become even more so, after all, I am now stuck in my ways that I developed in order to leave the welfare house as a kid and not be like my elder as an adult. So, I will keep my vehicles as long as I can, wear my clothes until they have holes in them and wear them some more, keep my 19 gallon hot water heater, or go smaller, and things of that nature. I also like to reuse, reduce, recycle, and repurpose, if reasonable to do so. I also like a simpler life style and keep to my self as I tend to be introverted just a little.

I appear to be the cobbler with no shoes to people. My house looks lousy on the outside (don't want them to raise my taxes casue it looks shiny). Any tenants dropping off in my lock box see it in all its' glory. Do have nice gardens though. Jim in OC , I'm still driving my '06 Taco around, the '18 TRD doesn't see dirt (yet, lol). Still rocking shorts and tee shirt.

The bigger thing is not to ever accept cash.

Ray-n-Pa that's a great idea thank you. I'm thinking about paying off some properties and have some free and clear. That's a great way to still have a lien on the property so it looks mortgaged.

Hoosier,

Good stuff.

Being known as the manager makes a big difference.

We have nice homes, keep them up, and treat people fairly so...

I don't have any problem showing up in my red Porsche 911.

I'm the manager and I'm there to help them.

Side note: everybody LOVES the car and comments how they had a poster on their wall or their Uncle had one. If I showed up in a Lamborghini I would get a different reaction.

I decided trying to look like a poor paint splattered LL worked against me. I did not look professional and did not gain ANY respect.

With a nicer appearance they believe me when I say "This is the price" and they don't argue about lease terms. I say "3 days to pay" or " Early Lease Termination Fee" and they believe me.

All that said, I have a little restraint - I do not drive the Porsche to eviction court.

Hoosier,

Good stuff.

Being known as the manager makes a big difference.

We have nice homes, keep them up, and treat people fairly so...

I don't have any problem showing up in my red Porsche 911.

I'm the manager and I'm there to help them.

Side note: everybody LOVES the car and comments how they had a poster on their wall or their Uncle had one. If I showed up in a Lamborghini I would get a different reaction.

I decided trying to look like a poor paint splattered LL worked against me. I did not look professional and did not gain ANY respect.

With a nicer appearance they believe me when I say "This is the price" and they don't argue about lease terms. I say "3 days to pay" or " Early Lease Termination Fee" and they believe me.

All that said, I have a little restraint - I do not drive the Porsche to eviction court.

Well one thing I do is what I HAD to do when I first started,..when A tenant wanted something, (non emergency) I tell them that they may have to wait for a little while until I have the funds for it as I just paid the insurance and the buildings property tax has to be paid, maybe a few other fixed bills, like if we pay for heat in that building. Snow plowing if its that time of year, dumpster fees etc,etc, I might even say that I'm still paying off some of the older repairs,.this was true in the old days,.(I have a letter that I can copy and send with just filling in a few things like their name to personalize this,.., I have one that just talks about this in general, and another that lists some of these costs,.depending on if I want to show the outgo in a certain building..

I think that because tenants do see or, directly pay for operating costs, they think if they pay you a hundred dollars, you can light your firewood or cigar if you smoke, with the 100 bill,.or wait for a few more of them and take a vacation to Cancun in winter,.

Anyway from those very lean days, I still show that I'm just scraping by, and hopefully we can get to their request soon.

No I don't show up in my Lincoln and arrive when rarely I do, in an older Honda.

Also these days I am no longer much of a hands on LL. ( I did that for many years,.I noticed that previously thats the properties that I purchased because the person was finally sick of doing that, and sometimes so sick of doing it, they sold them pretty cheap.

.

I don't answer the phone and have service people (deductible) tom do the dirty work.I call them.

Cash flow now is nice, less strain, and tenants don't think I am rolling in money.

BTW have you ever seen the house that Warren Buffet (I think around 90 billion dollars) lives in,..very modest,.we have bigger grander homes in my town,

I remember reading that the wealthiest man in NYC lived in a modest home and always bought a car that was a year or two old and drove himself around the city,.(Much like billionaire Sam Walton did of Walmart) and he frequently would stop in to the local small town cafe to have breakfast with the guys there.

BTW the 2nd wealthiest man in NYC, lived a super grandiose place always dressed to the nines, and had a paid entourage that followed him around the city attending to his security and his needs.

I'm always late to the party anymore.

Actually Hollis, Warren Buffett had TWO multi million dollar homes in Emerald Bay a couple miles down the coast from my beach house. That's where he really lived for a number of years.

I thought we were wealthy. But apparently they moved the goalposts. I sure don't feel wealthy.

I shop at Walmart and the 99 cent store, oh excuse me, the $2.99 store now... Of course there's no place else left in town to shop. Thanks Amazon.

I still drive the last car I actually bought new, in 2001. Mainly because I'm afraid to leave our nice cars unguarded in public anymore. If someone doesn't scratch them out of spite, or steal the cat, they'll just take the whole thing. My tweaker-beater doesn't get a second glance. If they steal the cat maybe my check engine light will go out. ;)

Our newest car is a 2019 pickup that we bought with 12,000 miles on it for less than half what they sell for today. We live in a modest ranch home in a nice HOA with an amazing view, but it's not the fanciest neighborhood in town, mid 500's, at the moment. Might be worth 20k soon, if the river dries up and we all blow away in the desert sands of lost dreams...

I don't even have an airplane anymore. I do wear a Rolex. One last memory of the world that once was.

The way things are going I may have to hock my shovel soon! ;)

-

"Be authentic; IF they know you care and treat them like adults, it will not matter what you drive. People who think I do not have to pay my rent because you have nice things will always find another reason not to pay you."

Well,. I have to disagree, it's not only paying the rent, its about how they regard you and treat you with many other things that landlords often have to endure.

Some of the things they not only ask for, but demand. Much like Hollis has said.

I swear that tenants are not the same as they were years ago. Now they think it's a class war, You are the "man" and its OK to stick it to the man. I see this both in poor tenants,..and in richer ones.

You ARE treated differently if they perceive you as better off than they are, so why can't they have new appliances, bathroom floor ,repaint every two years etc.

Maybe you can treat them like "adults" but for many that doesn't matter. I wish I had the money that I have been cheated out over the years. BTW there ARE books out there about how to cheat your landlord, with orchestrating things to-do it legally or illegally. (try to collect from them) Some of the things that are suggested are pretty creative and will generally work, at your expense.

Hi LTD,

Yes I. aware of his two houses, I believe the Lauaga Beach one was sold in 2018 for 7.5 million,

The one in Omaha is listed recently in a news article,

"He lives in the same residence in Omaha, Neb., that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, the equivalent of roughly $285,000 in 2020 dollars.:

The house and the property may now be worth millions and is nice but generally not thought be multi billionaire nice, In fact the house I live in is probably 60% as big and nice, but because of the old "location, location thing only worth a fraction as much.

Buffet still eats lunch at a cheap bbq place in Omaha sometimes. If you are lucky, you can be there at the same time and sit down with him.

Pmh, you beat me to it. I don't even carry a purse, but if I did, it would be from a thrift store!

I loved my old beater that we sold to the neighbor next door. Could park anywhere and it was always there when I came out of the grocery car. If it had another ding in it, no sweat.

At age 18, I began to buy Single Family Homes for rentals. I could NOT appear Wealthy to my applicants or tenants. When asked how I was able to buy the house, I told them so long as I used it as a rental and got some tax breaks, I could afford to own it, but not live in it. Each month I had to pull out of my pocket around $100 to cover my monthly losses. They didn't know that my depreciation annual write off more than covered my monthly contributions towards ownership.

Having said that at 28, I was working as the contractor/handyman for several apartment properties. At 30 something I had the opportunity to buy from the owners their buildings. They were getting up there on age and wanted out of their "worst" properties.

WE AGREED that since all of the tenants had my pager number to alert me to any needed repair, WE WOULD TELL ALL TENANTS that I'm now the Manager AND Contractor for the property and NOT to contact the owners unless absolutely necessary.

For almost the first year as the owner tenants refrained from asking me for upgrades, knowing the owners would never approve it.

So when a tenants dishwasher stopped working, I agreed to fix it, the owners would never approve a new one. My expenses were kept to a minimum because the "Handyman" had no budget from the "owners" to make expensive upgrades. Also we kept the rents low.

Then one day a tenant was downtown and looked up the ownership of this property and found I was the owner. Within a day all the tenants knew the Manager/Handyman was the owner.

So the request for new carpeting, painting and appliances started. From spending around $7000 on repairs the first year, it now went to over $20,000.

So being rich or wealthy has some drawbacks.

But then again, when a tenant in a single family house said, "If I didn't reduce the rent by 25%, because a roommate moved out unexpectedly, the tenants would stop paying their rent altogether". I replied, "If your not going to pay the rent then I will evict everyone and file a judgment on your credit reports. Now you auto insurance will be raised due to poor chooses and you ability to get employed by any of the local aerospace companies will dry up -- they don't like deadbeats who don't pay their bills."