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The Top 5 Tips To Selling Your House Fast For Cash

November 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Whenever a person decides to sell a house, there are two things they want the most. One, they want to clear a good amount of cash so that they can meet some financial goal, like paying off debt or putting a down payment on another property. And two, they want the property to sell quickly, the faster the better (as long as number one is also true).

There are some things that you can do to help facilitate the sale of your property. If the house can attract more buyers, you stand a better chance of selling it fast and at a better price. Buyer competition over a property is a good thing. So, if you ever said I need to sell my house fast, you are going to have to spruce it up to make it attractive. 

To do this, for starters you will need to source the right real estate agent to help manage the selling process. A good real estate agent is worth his or her weight in gold. They see things that you as the seller don’t see. They are also less emotional about the process because they have experience doing deals well. So that will help keep you from making a mistake in the selling process. 

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Our Nightmare on Rental Street: Lessons From Evicting a Tenant

February 7, 2022 by 44 Comments

My wife and I have long enjoyed the benefits that come with owning rental real estate. The extra income each month has given us freedom within our monthly budget to fund things like our personal mortgage payoff, vacations and other investments. Granted it hasn’t been the easiest side hustle and we have learned many lessons along the way. One of those was the process we had to go through while evicting a tenant.evicting a tenant

Evicting a tenant is one of rental real estate’s darker sides. No one ever thinks they will have to do this when a tenant signs the rental agreement. We trust our background research and intuition about the person we’ve selected to fill the property. And we expect the tenant to honor their part of the rental agreement.

We provide them with quality lodging. They pay us for that service. That’s how this business is supposed to work. So, what could possible go wrong with such a simple arrangement?

Actually, plenty can go wrong. Especially when the tenant sees an opening they feel like they can take advantage of.

This is our story of how we dealt with a tenant who refused to pay his rent, how we went about evicting him and the lessons we learned from it.

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Home Maintenance Items Landlords Should Do Between Tenants

July 19, 2021 by 50 Comments

As a landlord, I would love to keep tenants in my properties forever. While some stay a long time, most eventually leave to seek housing elsewhere. This is either by personal choice or through an eviction. Whenever that time comes, it’s the landlord’s responsibility to conduct some home maintenance and get the unit ready for the new tenant.

home maintenanceTurning a rental house around for the new tenants can be a time consuming and financially draining time. Hopefully, as a conscientious and aware landlord, you’ve kept track of what is going on at the property and have a good idea of what to expect in terms of potential home maintenance. There really shouldn’t be any surprises, but it seems like there always is.

Because even minor renovations will cost money and require time to complete, some landlords choose to skimp on or refuse to complete repairs. I disagree with this philosophy. As much as possible, I want the property to be in really good condition for the new tenants so that our relationship begins on the right foot.

Tenants need to know that you are a landlord that prides themselves in the condition of the unit and wants to treat them well. Hopefully your attention to detail and professionalism will bleed into the tenant’s mind and they will in turn do their best to keep the property as clean and damage free as can be expected.

Home Maintenance to Conduct Between Tenants

Some repairs and home maintenance will obviously be required before the new tenant moves in. While all facets of the house need inspection, these five areas are a must for any landlord to address:

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Why Millennials Are The Best Renters and How Landlords Can Attract Them

April 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The number of people renting properties instead of buying them is still at a historically high level. Increasing house prices and stagnating wages make it more difficult to put together the necessary down payment. That down payment is important if you are looking to avoid extra costs of homeownership like mortgage insurance.

This leave many people in a position it makes the most sense to rent. And as a property investors, that is good news for you. It provides an excellent opportunity to make money as a landlord because it’s easier than ever to find tenants. 

making a bedOf all the age demographics, millennials (defined as young adults between 25 and 40 years old)  are the group most likely to live in a rental property right now. They are also set to become the largest living generation in a matter of years, so if you are investing in a rental property, they are your target market.

Unfortunately, a lot of landlords do not realize this. When they are buying and renovating properties, they don’t take specific steps to attract millennials. So, if you want to maximize your profits and reduce any issues with tenant turnover, these are the best ways to attract millennials. 

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9 Things To Consider Before Relocating

March 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment

My wife and I have moved 5 times in our adult life. Two of those moves were into and out of apartments. The three others were into and out of residential homes. Each was necessary at the time as we were entering a new stage of our lives together. 

But wow – how much work it took! Way more than we thought. From the time the thought of moving entered our minds, to the time we had finished unpacking in our new place, so much effort went into the move.

Moving into a new home will be more work and commitment than it seems. Although you may have moved before, or multiple times, each move is different. Each property requires different attention, time, money and effort. 

So before you move, it is important to weigh the pros and cons. Relocating takes many shapes and sizes, whether you are moving to a new city, across the country or to a new country altogether. It’s a big commitment and there are many things to consider. Here are just a few. 

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4 Reasons Why Paying Off the Mortgage Early Was Right for Us

March 14, 2021 by 32 Comments

Paying off the mortgage early is a hot topic when it comes to money management. There seems to be a good amount of quality logic for keeping it and equally valid logic for paying it off early. So what’s a homeowner to do?

paying off the mortgage earlyAfter we bought our first house, I began to look into this issue. I read many opinions and ended up agreeing with the major arguments for NOT paying off the mortgage early. These points seemed solid to me. The logic goes like this:

“You have such a low interest rate.”

“You could invest instead and get a better rate of return on your money than putting into extra mortgage payments.”

“More of your money is tied up in your house and you can’t get to it for a big emergency.”

“You are getting tax breaks for carrying a mortgage.”

“A mortgage is a hedge (protection) against inflation, especially with a fixed rate mortgage.”

Then during 2010, my wife and I went through some life changes. We began to rethink many money related things including our mortgage. After a lot of back and forth, we decided to pay off the mortgage early. The reasons may surprise you because only one of them is based on a mathematical concept or equation.

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The 5 Most Important Concerns When You Are Flipping Houses

February 19, 2021 by Leave a Comment

I’ve written a lot on this site about owning rental property and being a landlord. For me, it’s one of the best ways to earn passive income. There is a good deal of work that goes into purchasing and renovating the home. But once that is done, for the most part, owning rental property can be a hands-off side hustle, especially if you hire a professional management company to take care of it for you. 

A not-so-hands-off side hustle would be flipping a house. For those that may not be familiar with this practice, the term “flipping” refers to a short-term ownership of the home. The buyer (investor) purchases the property with the intent of renovating it and then selling it for a profit. This is done in as short a time frame as possible so that income can be realized to pour into the next flip. 

Flipping isn’t easy. I have some friends who do this and have had some measure of success. But if you are looking to make money from buying and selling property, you will need to be fully aware of what is in store for you. Some of the concerns with buying and long-term ownership of rental homes also applies to flipping homes. However, there are a few additional concerns in particularly related to flipping homes. 

So today, I’m going to take a look at what those concerns are and discuss what you can do to deal with them properly. If you do the following, you will find this is much easier to do.

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Should I Hire An Apartment Rental Manager For My Property?

September 6, 2020 by Leave a Comment

As I have mentioned here many times before, having a rental property is one of the most lucrative businesses that you can have. It doesn’t matter if it is your full-time passion or a business you do on the side. Owning property and renting it out to others is a great way to bring in income. 

First and foremost, you must always set good strategies to ensure the properties you choose are outstanding. The key strategy with this is finding the ideal locations where you can buy property. Look for areas with good neighborhoods, outstanding school systems, convenient distances from goods and services and easy access to major travel routes. In this way, it will be easy to convince tenants of the value of moving into your property.

As great a business as it can be, managing rental properties or apartments can be hectic, especially if you lack the skills of management. If you feel overwhelmed, I would advise you to use a rental manager who can help you run your property. Of course that comes with a fee for their services. But in the end, it may be a wise move to help you relieve stress, free up your time and actually make you more money. 

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How to Increase Your Number of Rental Properties Without Losing Your Mind

August 25, 2020 by 2 Comments

rental propertiesI’ve written here from time to time about the advantages of owning rental properties. Owning property that other people pay you to use is a great investment that can have significant long-term benefits. Not only do you get extra cash flowing into your monthly budget, but the diversity it brings to your investing portfolio can be very comforting. While stock markets can fluctuate wildly, property generally maintains its value over time.

There comes a time though, when you might be ready to expand the number of rental properties in your portfolio. That first one is the hardest to get. But once you get comfortable with knowing how to run a rental business and have more cash on hand, you may want to increase your number of rental properties.

That sounds like a solid plan in theory. However, with more homes comes more responsibility. The added properties can mean an uptick in maintenance costs, more time spent supervising your rental business and more headaches from problem tenants. These issues can add additional stress to your already busy life.

If this seems overwhelming and gives you pause, never fear. You can successfully add properties to your portfolio. Below are some tips for keeping you sane while building up your rental portfolio.

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How to Be a Successful Landlord: 5 Best Practices

June 17, 2020 by 35 Comments

I love owning rental real estate! When I purchased my first property eleven years ago, I mistakenly payed a bit too much for it. Initially, didn’t know how to be a successful landlord and I let my excitement cloud my judgment when buying that first property. But I simply wanted to get started – that was all I cared about.

how to be a successful landlordI’ve learned many things since then and survived my share of dark moments as a landlord, including living through my first eviction. Ending up in front of the county judge to settle that dispute was frustrating but valuable all at the same time.

Nobody should become a landlord without doing some serious reading on the subject. That will help eliminate some mistakes you could easily make.

Related Content: 5 Common Rental Real Estate Mistakes You will Make

But head knowledge can only take you so far. Some things are only learned through experience. So based on what I’ve been through, here are my best practices for how to be a successful landlord. If you follow these, your experience will be much more enjoyable and profitable.

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6 Ways We Survive the Dark Side of Rental Real Estate

April 3, 2017 by 42 Comments

My wife and I purchased our first home to be used as a rental property seven years ago. That move was the culmination of several years’ worth of reading about and planning to own rental real estate. It took us that long to feel knowledgeable and confident enough to put a plan into action that would earn us a steady income stream aside from our normal careers.

For the most part, our experience has been a positive one. In fact, I’d say overall it has been great. However, we have had our share of challenges along the way, like:

rental real estate…an unexpected new well we had to drill and install (that was pricey!)

…leaky copper pipes that had to be replaced in an entire house

…a dual tenant situation where one roommate left, leaving us with half the monthly revenue stream on that property until another roommate could be found

…tenants who don’t inform you of repair issues in a timely manner (“Really? It’s been leaking how long?”)

…tenants who won’t pay on time, or ever

…tenants, who by their actions force you into court (that’s a post in itself!)

…managing the finances to account for repairs, taxes and the house that sits vacant for months while you do said repairs or find a new tenant

…dealing with the emotions that come when facing these tough circumstances

…the time it took away from our already busy schedule to take care of all this

Are you prepared for all that and more? If you are game, then I have five suggestions that will help you manage through some of the dark times that will inevitably come. And I’ll tell you the sixth thing we’ve done recently that has taken our rental real estate business to the next level.

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