Hammond Habitats

I started Hammond Habitats after buying our house and deciding to convert our Condo into a rental. After doing the math and realizing I would rather own and operate real estate than try to invest in a REIT or something, I took the plunge. In 2025 I expanded to a second unit, and the goal is to get one more in the next few years.

I did a spreadsheet a few years ago to calculate the maximal returns from investment properties, its kinda neat. You plug in a few numbers like interest rate, expected appreciation, and upkeep, and then it shows you a debt ratio matrix of returns. Its been used by 4 investors now, neat! I find the sweet spot for returns for my risk appetite sits at around 50%.

Real estate isn’t for everyone but its nice. Its not quite as passive as something like VTI and die. But, it only really requires effort because I do both tenant placement and maintence. This concentrates a time commitment around tenant turnover, but its been worth it.

I have no desire to be a slum lord or anything like that. And honestly, ethically rental properties is a bit of a grey area for me. But, I try to do better than those large corporate farms. I think there is something wrong with the fact that they can make more money by artificially inflating rent by keeping units empty. Or, by charging a unit substantially more just because they were there previously. I do my best to be reasonable, while at the same time recognizing its an investment. One of my tenants had terrible credit, but they were honest with me and discussed alternative ways to make sure I got paid. They were a young couple down on their luck, and I am glad I was able to help them get back on their feet and build up some good credit.