Prescreening prospective tenants is essential to reduce your overall turnover time commitment while still getting the best tenant possible. A quick phone call or a short survey can quickly filter out prospects that are either not eligible or aren’t a good fit (typically due to timing). So, in this a...

Managing rental properties is no different from running a small business, and it’s crucial to get the bookkeeping and accounting processes right, especially for self-managing landlords. The minimum bookkeeping standards should meet the IRS bookkeeping requirements for compliance. In addition to bein...

If your goal is to stay passive and hands-free, using a property management service would be a reasonable choice. If your goal is to become financially independent and successful in the long run, self-managing rental properties are essential. In this article, we discuss the real value proposition of...

For some, it may sound easy to be a landlord, just acquire a property, make necessary repairs and rent it out to tenants. As long as the rent covers the mortgage, tax, and insurance, you can make cash flow each month. However, the truth is that to successfully manage a rental portfolio, it takes mor...

It’s common for small residential real estate investors, especially new investors, to compare deals in terms of ROI (return on investment) and talk to other investors about their cash-on-cash return. And often, ROI is indeed the sexy attractive number, 10%-20%, investors are going for in the end, bu...

The purpose of having a good bookkeeping system in place for your real estate business is not only for tax compliance but also for becoming better informed to make any important financial decision. When you know the exact status of your portfolio and the performance of each property at any time, you...

The prospective tenant’s ability to pay is one of the most important screening criteria for landlords in any turnover. Failure to make payment is the most common reason leading up to premature termination of the lease, and sometimes, eviction.

As a new landlord who self-manages the properties, one of the first things I came across while turning over a vacant unit is the “prospective tenant no-show”. Someone probably saw my listing on Zillow or Zumper, and casually send me a message saying that he/she is interested. Then, I, being a proact...

House hacking is probably the most effective, proven, and repeatable way to build a financial runway in your early years. It’s important to point out the word “repeatable” in the adjectives I’ve added to describe house hacking. Unlike stock market investing or getting an amazing raise, which happens...

In terms of comfort level, today’s middle class will most likely surpass that of a medieval king. But it’ll be too hasty of a conclusion just to say working a 9-5 job as a middle class is better than being a medieval king. It’s an overly simplified analogy, but you get my point here: What we track a...