At 72 he deserves some rest and relaxation. I'm not to that age yet and I'm already scaling back.

He's right about getting day laborers, used to be able to get truckloads of them and now they are harder to find than an honest politician.

NE, That's too bad. A couple possibilities but I'd bet he's already thought of these.

1.High school kids. There's been some awakening of this generation of high school kids to the fact that a college education is likely not worth it anymore unless they're going to specialize in being a doctor, engineer or something like that. More of them are realizing that going into the trades can be a good option. No robots replacing them (yet).

2.Piece of the action. I've offered a piece of the action to some people who looked promising. Work with me doing a certain number of rehabs and after that number is done, I will buy one and give it to you free and clear in exchange for you helping me do the others. Then you fix it up and either sell it or use it to start your rental business. They work for a discounted reasonable fee while doing the repairs on however many you agree to, maybe 10 or so, and after the last one is done, give them one. The one you give them you likely paid no more for it than the discount in the wages they agreed to, so it really did not cost you more than the higher wages would have been. Plus, you got their help for 10 places. If their wages would have been 10K for each place, they get 5K each and after they are done you give them a 50K place. It evens out. You make the profits on 10 places, less the 50K, and they have a place free and clear that they can fix up and live in or make a nice profit or use as a rental.

Every deal I suggest, DH says no. He's tired. 79 next month.

He says the same thing, we're not able and it's hard to make anything if we have to pay for everything.

Husband hired a youngster earlier this year shortly after school let out. It was a particularly warm day since summer had an early onset this year. Job was to remove demolition materials into dump truck. Kid kept remarking that he hated to sweat, he looked miserable and would stop working whenever husband stopped to use the phone.

I remember working with an Amish-man one day a week for about a year and half or so. When he turned 50 he said he wanted to slow down. I asked him what that meant. He said he was not doing any more roofs.

I am closing in on 60 now a days. Had a two man team with me two weeks ago and we got a duplex covered with a new metal roof in a single day. Last week did a metal roof on a 1.5 car garage myself and that took just over 1.25 days.

So this morning I ran up to local city's Amtrak station to pick up that original Amish neighbor of mine.....as I picked him and his wife up at 2:30 AM, I gave him a hard time about wanting to become union on me at age 50.

Congrats on having someone for so long to work with.

I have had decent people work for me in the past. I have offered them partnerships in flips. I would pay for all materials, they just supplied labor.

Never got any takers. Always too scared to try it I guess. I would pay them by the hour and they were happy enough. None would take the chance to make better money.

Then again they have all moved on. Never have they tried a flip on their own.

My husband is 70. He's in better shape than many men half his age, I know because he regularly runs our adult sons into the dust during renovation projects. But we both know a single moment can change things, so the "boys" are stepping up to learn more these days, as their turn at bat is looming.

But we have also off-loaded way more stuff onto contractors. This last reno, we hired a concrete guy to pour the floor, a carpenter to help with the framing and window installation, a roofing and siding company, a plumber, an electrician, an insulation guy, a drywall company and a painter.

A body in motion stays in motion.

We don't quit moving because we get old, we get old because we quit moving.