Wouldn’t you like to wring out more money from your rentals? Some call it ancillary income others call it auxiliary income, but it really doesn’t matter. We all want more of it.

 

You want it even more if you own a multifamily rental whose value is a function of income. An additional $200 each month might increase your property’s value by $24,000.

 

As subscribers know, I failed the $100 income challenge in 2012 and but found $190 in monthly expense reductions 2013. So at the beginning of 2014 I have a mixed track record.

Putting Up or Shutting Up

 

I’ve licked my wounds and I’m ready to charge the hill again. Diana Nyad’s TED Talk “Never, ever give up” has really inspired me.

 

This time I’m doubling down and trying to find a way to generate $200 per month doing something that doesn’t involve rent increases.

 

Admittedly, I have no idea how to accomplish this task but I’m starting by:

 

1 –  Assembling a team. 2012 was a solo quest. This time I’m going to rely on others.

 

2 – Leveraging the brain power of online communities. I know of a few online communities like BiggerPockets and REIOnline  have active landlord communities, but you might know of others. Please let me know.  

 

3 – Running bench-scale experiments and Monte Carlo Simulations. There’s no need for me to take an expensive loss again.

What I Need From You

 

I need your ideas and insights. I want you on my team.

 

Are you with me?

 

After Party Comments

I have no idea how I’m going to meet this challenge. I just believe my imagination will open if I pursue this quest. I work best when I push myself out of my comfort zone, but it’s scary.

 

I’m free writing here as a way to deal with my fear. I want to look at it, but I don’t want it to stop me.

 

I going to seed my mind with ideas. I’ll start by looking closely at what my tenants are buying and how they’re spending their money. If I can give them more value or more convince, then I should be able to increase the amount of business I do with existing customers.  Solid concept.

 

I also need to run Monte Carlos on all ideas to reduce the chance of having to explain another expensive failure to my wife. I’ve already learned the hard way that minimum viable products are great (aka the lean startup), but simulations are really the first step. Ok, I’ll come back to this after taking a few steps (1.6.2014)

6.14.14 – Funny how things turned out. I repositioned one of my 1 bedroom units to be all inclusive housing for the local medical center. Doing so allow me to charge $300 more per month. After utility expenses, I expect to next slightly over $200 per month. No Monte Carlo simulation needed to analysis this venture, it’s a lease agreement.