Teri B. Clark - The Complete Guide to Your First Rental Property: A Step-by-Step Plan from the Experts Who Do It Every Day

The Complete Guide to Your First Rental Property:
A Step-by-Step Plan from the Experts Who Do It Every Day
Revised 2nd Edition

Copyright 2016 Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 SW 6th Avenue Ocala, Florida 34471 Phone 800-814-1132 Fax 352-622-1875
Website: www.atlantic-pub.com Email: sales@atlantic-pub.com
SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34471.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Clark, Teri B., author.

Title: The complete guide to your first rental property : a step-by-step plan

from the experts who do it every day / Teri B. Clark.

Description: Revised 2nd edition. | Ocala, Florida : Atlantic Publishing

Group, Inc., [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016042275 (print) | LCCN 2016050994 (ebook) | ISBN

9781620230596 (alk. paper) | ISBN 1620230593 (alk. paper) | ISBN

9781620230756 (ebook-)

Subjects: LCSH: Rental housing--United States--Management. | Real estate

investment--United States. | Real estate management--United States.

Classification: LCC HD1394.5.U6 C63 2016 (print) | LCC HD1394.5.U6 (ebook) |

DDC 643/.2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016042275

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners and are used only to directly describe the products being provided. Every effort has been made to properly capitalize, punctuate, identify, and attribute trademarks and trade names to their respective owners, including the use of and wherever possible and practical. Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. is not a partner, affiliate, or licensee with the holders of said trademarks.

Printed in the United States

PROJECT MANAGER AND EDITOR: Rebekah Sack rsack@atlantic-pub.com
INTERIOR LAYOUT AND JACKET DESIGN: Antoinette DAmore addesign@videotron.ca
COVER DESIGN: Meg Buchner meg@megbuchner.com

Foreword

F or years, decades even, the American Dream held steady: House in the suburbs. Two-car garage. A white picket fence.

But this being America, that dream did not remain static. We are a country of strivers and climbers. We were founded by people who struck out in the hope no, in the belief that they could do more and better than their forbearers. And consistently, we do. This refusal to stand still has helped cement Americas place as a haven for those who refuse to settle for what they currently have.

And so the American Dream has evolved. No longer is the house with the two-car garage what we want. Rather, we want to acquire and accumulate wealth in order to obtain a new dream. By obtaining more assets and not just assets to sit on, but assets we can make work for us more and more people are achieving the truest of American dreams: passive income.

If you are reading this book, you already know the appeal of passive income. It is the idea that you have money coming in that requires little or no work on your part. What could be better? In particular, you likely understand the added appeal of that passive income coming from a tangible asset such as real estate. Besides the income stream itself, the asset holds real value in which you can invest. If that real value can earn a healthy return on an ongoing basis via rental income, all the better.

Now, you are ready to take the plunge. You are ready to move from the American Dream of the 1950s to that of the 21st century. But how to do it? Fortunately, with this book, you have a roadmap. At every step in the process, at every juncture and decision point you will come across, this book pulls from experts across the industry to ensure you have the tools you need to succeed.

One thing that will likely strike you is that it looks like a lot of work. I thought passive was the opposite of active, you are likely thinking. And you are right. Yes, there is a lot of work on the frontend . You see, passive income only works when it is set up properly from the beginning. If you dont do the legwork at the start, not only will your income not be passive, but it will likely turn out to be a bad investment overall.

For example, with any real estate investment, the single biggest lever you can pull to make it a good or bad investment is the price you pay to purchase the real estate. But what is a good price? What is a bad price? To know these things requires you to do your homework; it requires in-depth analysis of the market and trends prior to even looking at an individual property. Do your work at the beginning, and more will fall into place down the line.

One thing you will learn as you work your way through the process is that though there are guiding principles, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to investing and managing rental property. The price points you want to target, the level of activity and engagement you want to maintain throughout the rental process, how many properties you ultimately want to obtain no book or expert will be able to make those decisions for you. Go in knowing what you want to achieve, and this book will help you achieve it.

In many ways, this is a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Like those books, this one can help take you to places you dream about. Unlike those books, this is one for adults who want their dreams achieved in real life, not just on the page.