When I was younger, my Grandfather once suggested that I learn about stocks, maybe invest, and
hopefully even make some money. But stocks were never the subject of much discussion in my family,
and I was more confused than interested in them. Buildings made sense to me, though. They're real,
they're tangible, you can touch them, go inside them - they're more than just words and numbers on
paper, and they're not dependent on other peoples' behavior or emotions for their well being. Stocks
seemed like risky gambling to me, while real estate felt like a secure long term investment. Plus, I find
that I actually enjoy working on buildings, and stepping back to admire the results after a good day's
work can be very rewarding. So, as soon as I was able, which turned out to be the age of twenty five,
tired of roommates and moving, I bought the house pictured above. I've done a lot of work  since I
bought it, though. The addition above the garage wasn't there, nor was the single bay on the far right,
and the siding has been completely replaced. The main garage had a flat roof, which is not a good thing
in New York. I spent way too much time sweeping water and shoveling snow off that roof. A lot of
work has been done on the inside too, with more planned.
 
 

 When I bought my house, there was an empty field where this this trailer is now parked, which is only about a
hundred yards from my house. There were no other houses in sight, and I had both nature and privacy just five miles
from Ithaca. Less than a year later, this trailer appeared! Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. I planted a double row
of pine trees between my house and the trailer, and the owners turned out to be a pleasant retired couple who didn't
make a lot of noise or throw a lot of wild parties, so it wasn't such a tragedy after all. Some years later they moved
to Florida,  and I was able to buy the trailer along with the six acres and pond that came with it.. It's nice to have
some control over your immediate surroundings. The last thing I needed was someone who behaved like my friends
and me when we were kids, living next door to me! Dirt and street bikes with no mufflers, field cars with open
exhausts, loud late night parties, shooting, explosions. No -  now it's time to be quiet, mellow, and relaxed...
 
 

 This is a "spec" house that was built by a close friend and me in 1990. A spec house is a house built on the wild
speculation that you'll be able to sell it and make some money when it's finished. We contracted out the excavation,
the foundation, the wiring, the plumbing, the sheet rock, and the fireplace. Morgan and I, with the help of a few laborers,
did the rest. All the framing, the baseboard hot water heating system, the roof, the siding, the decks (in back), the
ceramic tile and hardwood floors, the  stair cases, and the finish trim work. Morgan has serious talents with wood,
which is one reason I agreed to take on this project with him. He had an awesome table saw and router set up, plus a
bunch of other woodworking tools, so he was able to make all the doors, all the kitchen cabinets, and the staircase out
of  black walnut, which he finished with multiple coats of sprayed lacquer. I know his woodwork helped sell the house.
Below is the walnut entrance. Notice the raised panels on the door. Morgan is such a perfectionist, that when he
tightened the screws that hold the hinges in their perfect fitting, jig routed reliefs, he made sure that all the brass phillips
head screws are tightened to the same final position, with the slots horizontal and vertical. When I jokingly laughed
about it, he said, "why not, it doesn't take much extra effort, and it looks more professional." Couldn't argue with that.
 We thought it would take about 6-8 months to build it, but it took almost year and a half. Building a house is a lot of
work, and the framing on this one was complicated for first time builders. But, we hung in there and pulled it off.
Hell, we even managed to remain friends and turn a  profit for our efforts!.
 
 
 
 

 The walnut entrance door. If memory serves me correctly, that door is about two inches thick and over three
feet wide. I do know that even with two people, it's incredibly heavy.
 
 
 

  I used my half of the profit from the spec house for a down payment on this four unit rental property in Ithaca. This
one is in a very desirable Ithaca neighborhood, within walking distance to Cornell, but it needed some attention, mostly
on the inside. One of the few benefits of buying a building with hard partying tenants, was that they usually had an unfinished
keg of beer out back when I showed up to work on weekends. Now it's looking good and running smoothly, and keg parties
are a thing of the past! I'm one of the few property owners in the Ithaca area to choose a metal roof at replacement time,
but I like the look, and it's supposed to hold up well. Time will tell...
 
 
 
 

 This three unit is in the same section of town, and  was my second rental purchase. It didn't need a
lot of work, and it has a huge garage/barn out back that I use for storage. It's had the same three
tenants for over five years now. Good people, too.
 
 
 

 Here's my next purchase, which is another three unit, but considerably bigger. This place was in foreclosure and
really trashed when I bought it, but I liked the location and the style of the house. Only one of the three apartments
was rented, and the guys living there were barely paying their rent. Their fridge quit working before the deal closed,
so I bought them a new one even before I owned the place so they wouldn't move out and leave me with zero rent
income. The main structure was pretty solid, but the entire lower porch along with the roof above it was shot, and
the main entrance was starting to drop and pull away from the house. The almost hundred year old stone foundation
under it was crumbling. I had to crawl under it, jack the thing up, dig holes while lying on my stomach, drag eighty
pound bags of concrete mix under there, mix 'em up in the holes, and set up some pressure treated six by sixes and
four by fours. The entire lower porch had to be rebuilt from the ground up, including the roof, right down to the rafters.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but the lower porch railing is composed of a lot of small spindles, all of which were
removed, scraped, painted, and reassembled. I replaced all the windows with thermal pane, plus lots, lots more.
This building required a hell of a lot of work, but now that it's done, I think it was worth the effort.
 
 

 A nine unit building, and my favorite from a business point of view. This one was also neglected by
the previous owner and needed lots of inside work, but the outside wasn't bad. I removed and
replaced stoves, refrigerators, and flooring that looked like it was the original equipment - from the
sixties. I've remodeled eight of  the nine kitchens, most of the bathrooms, did lots of painting, and
laid a lot of ceramic tiles. Now it's a respectable place to live, and finding good people to live there
is much easier. This place is within walking distance to Cornell, which is a big plus, too.
 
 

 My latest purchase, another four unit, and also badly neglected by the previous owner. I replaced all
windows, the  garage door, and paid someone else to replace the siding. On the inside, some painting and
updating, plus a  lot of ceramic tiles on the lower floor. Believe me, it's a huge improvement. Quality
buildings attract quality tenants, which equates to fewer problems and happier people. I guess one of
the things I like about this business is that hard work is rewarded in many ways, and it will help create
a comfortable retirement someday...