Quote from bearmountain:
Thank you all for your replies. Regarding the real estate aspect of my post, unfortunatly New York City housing laws seem to favor the tenant. It takes many months and considerable amount of effort to get one evicted.
Other aspects would be the general uncertainty of our chosen profession. Setting up LLC etc aside. Most retail traders are one trade away from financial calamity. Being short crude oil when Iran decides to nuke Saudi Arabia or long stock index futures when the great California earth quake finally happens. and countless other black swans.
One other issue with traders, our livelihood tends to effect those around us. the consequences seem to spill over in other areas of our lives. I mean this trader's decision to sell their home to raise a trading stake, even though he is not profitable, doesn't seem all that prudent.
Why not stop posting here for a bit and go and do your job - researching your potential tenants? What's the couple's credit score, what are their past reference, how big a trading stake does the guy have, etc etc? Get some bank statements. Don't be yet another lazy bum half-assed amateur landlord, the world has enough of them already.
Look it's pretty simple, either he is flush with cash or he isn't. If he has a 5k piker account then forget it. If he has 200k in his account then you can rent to him. If in between, then compare it to other tenants you are likely to attract in the near future.