Product Description
First-time landlord? Learn landlording fundamentals in this primer.
The declining U.S. economy has forced many homeowners to make tough decisions about their property. If you’re one of the millions of Americans affected by the credit crisis, struggling to make your mortgage payments, and are considering renting out your home to make ends meet, you’ll need to learn the basics of being a landlord.
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First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting out a Single-Family Home
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My credit card was charged on August 14, 2009. Today is September 16, 2009 and I still have NOT RECEIVED THE BOOK. I contacted the seller and received NO RESPONSE. I found NO LINKS TO THE SELLER or AMAZON when trying to get my money back. I am now convinced to BUY LOCAL to avoid the hassle. This was to be a gift and now the moment is lost. I am disputing the charge with my credit card company. This is a TOTAL WASTE of time and I’ve been TOTALLY RIPPED OFF!!! First-Time Landlord: Renting out a Single-Family Home (USA Today/Nolo Series)
Rating: 1 / 5
In 1972 we bought our first duplex (living in 1/2). When we bought a house, keep the duplex for several yrs. It became a nucance. Even a call a year was one to many. We sold (had a so-so) CPA. And got a tax bil which totally floored us. He told us we should have known we’d pay capital gains & recapture (a fancy word for paying back the depreciation we’d taken. We could have sold the duplex using a 1031 Exchange & bought the new house-no taxes
I then announced that I was going to buy more houses & make it a business. I had as many as 50 at one time & needless to say, we rarely paid any taxes. I love this business.
I read this book because I can always learn something. This book is chocked full of information, it’s easy to read & covers most of the information that a first timer will find beneficial. It also has websites available for forms.
He mentions using professtionals. A lawyer who specializes in real estate ( especially if you plan to buy or sell without a broker. You don’t have to pay top dollar for a CPA, ask other landlords. I started with an accountant ( found many errors). A CPA will be with you if you tangle with the IRS. Make sure they do a lot of real estate
I’m now 61, divorced & still in the business. When leaving Florida to move to Oklahoma, in 2000. I sold a few properties with tenants I wasn’t comfortable leaving. Told the other good tenants as long as they kept in touch & sent there rent on time, they could stay. I hired a realtor & as they became vacant, I sold 2 at a time on a 1031 exchange & purchased 1 newer house here with the proceeds. I had at least a 30 – 40% down pay’t due to the exchange & they are financed on a 10 yr mortgage. I sold the last 5 buildings & exchanged it for my home – the proceeds from the exchange gave me a $ 300,00 dn pay’t & a a 5 yr -$ 50,000 mortgage .
It can be work but the book also helps you with a good system.
PS: I didn’t make any money in the stock market.
Rating: 5 / 5
“First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting Out a Single-Family Home” by Attorney Janet Portman, Marcia Stewart, and Michael Molinski is one of the NOLO/USA TODAY collaborations that are described as the leading publisher of legal information for consumers teamed with the nation’s largest circulation newspaper, to produce great books that feature up-to-date legal and financial expertise, a reader-friendly style, and USA Today’s famous graphics. I find these books to be just that, a great series of books and this one is no exception. I liked it and found it very practical.
“First-Time Landlord” provides a very good overview of being a landlord of a single-family home, and much of the information is relevant for other types of properties as well. The book is easy to read, organized well, and contains all of the basic topics you should know if you desire to be a landlord. However, for some topics, you will want more detailed and in-depth information and will have to look to other resources. In fact, there are several places in this book where they refer the reader to “Every Landlord’s Legal Guide” also published by Nolo. (I own and have reviewed that book and think it would be an excellent companion to this one)
This book covers the following topics:
One: Is Owning Rental Property for You? This chapter focuses on the good and bad parts of being a landlord and gets you thinking about why you want to be a landlord, what kind of property, what your profit may be, and what your goals are.
Two: So Happy Together: Landlording With Family or Friends. Should you be a landlord with a friend or family member? This chapter will help you decide, and provide guidance on how to do it.
Three: Preparing and Marketing Your Rental Property. This chapter is an overview on making sure your property is in rentable or better condition and then how you should go about advertising and showing it.
Four: Screening and Choosing Good Tenants. Remember the movie “Pacific Heights” where Michael Keaton terrorized his landlords Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine? You don’t need a tenant that bad to realize the difference good tenants and bad can have on you being a landlord. This chapter will help you find good ones.
Five: Preparing a Lease and getting the Tenant Moved In. This chapter provides some information on lease and rental agreements but is one of the chapters that refers you elsewhere for assistance in drafting the document you choose. Good chapter for introduction to topic.
Six: Manage Your Rental Income to Maximize Tax Deductions. Because tax laws change so often, I recommend you use this chapter, which has some good advice, as a starting point to know what to talk about with your tax adviser. It is good basic advice, but you should seek professional advice from someone in your state and who keeps on top of all of the changes.
Seven: Keeping Things Shipshape: Repairs and Maintenance. If you own it, you are going to have to deal with fixing it. This chapter provides some good advice on the legalities of your obligations as well as some suggestions on adopting a good maintenance and repair system. For those not into handyman activities, the provide some information on hiring someone else to do the work.
Eight: Landlord Liability for Injuries, Crimes, and More. This chapter provides some basic information regarding liability for tenant injuries, environmental health hazards, crimes and some guidance on insurance. Every landlord need to be aware of these issues and unfortunately may have to seek further information if something bad happens.
Nine: Living in Perfect Harmony? Dealing With Difficult Tenants. You will not always have ideal tenants, and even if you do some problems may arise. This chapter has some good basic information on common problems and some suggestions on methods to resolve disputes. I’m glad they listed mediation, because as a mediator, I feel this is a great way for disputes to be resolved, rather than entering more expensive litigation. I would suggest learning more about the topics in this chapter from other resources since it could be very important during your time as a landlord.
Ten: Don’t Want to Do It Alone? Hiring a Property Manager. This chapter explains what a property manager does, and helps you determine if hiring a property manager is right for you. If it is, this chapter provides some guidance on how to find a good one.
Eleven: Read to Quit? Exiting the Rental Property Business. All good things come to an end, and this final chapter will help you plan your exit strategy. Good things to consider when you are ready to sell.
No one book has everything you need to know about the real estate business. However, if you are thinking about becoming a landlord, this is an excellent starter text to provide you with solid basic information. After reading this book you will be able to determine if you really want to be a landlord and will have the knowledge to get started. You will then probably want to invest in more real estate/landlord resources. This one is an excellent start!
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series and articles including a regular column on negotiation for The Montana Lawyer. Alain Also wrote a series of articles called Lessons From The Apprentice.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a GREAT handbook for the first time landlord, and well worth the price. It’s practical, fair, and very accurate about what a new (or veteran!) landlord can and should expect.
The first section is a very realistic picture of what it means to own property someone else is paying to live in and quickly debunks the myth that all an owner does is cash rent checks. Owning property is a 24/7 obligation, it costs money and time and not everyone is cut out for it. There’s a great checklist to gauge a prospective landlord’s emotional, financial and physical readiness that include things most people don’t think about and a very helpful formula to evaluate whether or not a rental makes economic sense. Although the housing market hadn’t yet crashed when this book went to press, informative features such as the checklists in every section and the print boxes containing excerpts from USA Today articles on an variety of issues important to property owners make this book timely.
Subsequent sections cover leases, how to attract and weed out prospective tenants (always get a credit report), how to handle complaints and repairs, how to kindly but firmly deal with problem tenants (the section on late payers is great), and even coping with bedbugs(!) Everything you need to know about the business end is addressed, from partnerships to taxes and record keeping to security deposits and then finally, tax liability when the property is sold. The overall tone is upbeat and encouraging, even the sections dealing with stuff that’s every landlord’s nightmare (criminal activity, major repairs) are calm and matter of fact. This book is packed with advice on how to be proactive, keep tenants happy and everybody out of court while still protecting the landlord’s interests. If there’s something the landlord shouldn’t try to handle alone, it’ll let you know, and where to go for information and what questions to ask.
For someone who’s contemplating purchasing investment property or is simply waiting out the housing market, this is a well-organized, easy to understand and comprehensive resource.
Rating: 5 / 5
True to the Nolo Series of books, First-Time Landlord has relevant, complete information in straighforward language that any one who has a property to rent can understand. It covers a wide variety of topics including landlord business basics, preparing and signing leases, handling repairs, finding and complying with state rental laws, how to run credit checks, the difference between a good tenant and a bad tenant, and insurance needs for the landlord. Websites of organizations and companies to use as resources are also included along with statistics and stories from successful landlords.
For first time landlords or prospective landlords, this book can be useful to educate but shouldn’t be used as a replacement for an attorney or a broker.
Rating: 4 / 5
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