{"id":465,"date":"2006-09-26T15:58:42","date_gmt":"2006-09-26T22:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=465"},"modified":"2006-09-26T19:09:06","modified_gmt":"2006-09-27T02:09:06","slug":"blogoff-post-88-rental-house-smart-opportunity-if-set-up-as-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/465\/blogoff-post-88-rental-house-smart-opportunity-if-set-up-as-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogoff Post #88: Rental house smart opportunity if set up as business . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one of my personal favorites from my Arizona Republic<\/i> column<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I’m helping a young friend buy his first home. I’ve known him since he was in high school. I admired his decision to defer college for an arduous tour of duty in Iraq. He’s back in school now and he and his mother are buying a three-bedroom home to use as his staging ground for his assault on ASU.<\/p>\n

I think this is very smart by itself, but here is the stroke of genius: He is going to rent his two spare bedrooms to other students, using their rent to help amortize the property. The house will be his starter home, but it will also be his first foray into real estate investment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is my young friend Andy<\/a>. Here is the advice I gave him:<\/p>\n

1. Form a limited liability corporation to own the property. God forbid something tragic should happen in the home, but, if it does, you want to limit your liability to the home itself, not the rest of your assets.<\/p>\n

2. A verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. In Arizona, a lease of less than 12 months does not have to be in writing, but if you take your verbal lease before a judge, he will treat you to equally verbal laughter. A written lease protects both parties, the landlord and the tenant.<\/p>\n

3. The past is prologue. If a prospective tenant cheated his last three landlords, he’ll cheat you, too. Credit and rental history matter, and the most important part of being a happy landlord is mastering tenant selection.<\/p>\n

4. Pay your own rent. Since the home will be owned by an LLC, pay the corporation the same rent your tenants are paying. If there is a surplus on costs, you’ll be able to use it for maintenance and improvements – or as capital for future investments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The bottom line: “Owning a rental home is the smallest of small businesses – but it is a business. Treat it that way and it will enrich you now and for years to come.”
\n<\/p>\n

Technorati Tags: arizona<\/a>, arizona real estate<\/a>, phoenix<\/a>, Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is one of my personal favorites from my Arizona Republic column: I’m helping a young friend buy his first home. I’ve known him since he was in high school. I admired his decision to defer college for an arduous tour of duty in Iraq. He’s back in school now and he and his mother […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,5,10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-marketing","8":"category-real-estate","9":"category-realty-reality","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":224,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/224\/realty-reality-my-friend-andy-is-a-student-a-landlord-and-an-american-hero\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":0},"title":"Realty reality: My friend Andy is a student, a landlord — and an American hero . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I've known Andy since he was a teenager, and Cathy has known his mother, Sally, since before Andy was a gleam in anyone's eye. I've always liked him, and it's not always easy for me to like teenage boys. But Andy has been an earnest young man for as long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2512,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2512\/tuition-is-expensive-at-the-school-of-hard-knocks\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":1},"title":"Tuition Is Expensive At The School Of Hard Knocks","author":"Doug Quance","date":"January 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Another Episode Of \"It Doesn't Pay To Be A Cheap Bastard\" In times like these, real estate investors often search for the corners to be cut. While many of the corners should be cut - others should not. Such is the case of adequate insurance. Many sellers are having to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13288,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/13288\/real-estate-investment-tips\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":2},"title":"Real Estate Investment Tips","author":"Tony Sena","date":"September 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Finding a \u201cbargain\u201d property to purchase for rental purposes takes some analytical skills, market knowledge, and a real estate agent who is in sync with your investment goals. Some investors would consider the ideal rental property to be a three- bedroom, two-bath house in good repair, or needing minor touch-ups\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Investment"","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18693,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/18693\/am-i-charging-enough-rent-for-my-investment-property\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":3},"title":"Am I charging enough rent for my investment property?","author":"Brian Brady","date":"April 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't need to tell you that housing inventory is tight. Buyer agents are having a hard time earning a living today while listing agents are finding more and more competition. . One thing you can do is to prospect out-of-state investors and offer one free service for them-- comparable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":508,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/508\/hotpadscom-a-for-rent-by-owner-site-based-on-a-whimsical-map-mash-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":4},"title":"HotPads.com: A for-rent-by-owner site based on a whimsical map mash-up . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"October 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the map search screen from HotPads.com, a for-rent-by-owner site launching tonight: This is the most whimsical map mash-up I've seen yet, and the site is a treat if only for the cartoony graphics. In Phoenix, at least, they're aggregating listings from local property management companies, although landlords can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9645,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/9645\/the-government-takeover-of-real-estate-is-well-underway\/","url_meta":{"origin":465,"position":5},"title":"The Government takeover of Real Estate is well underway","author":"Al Lorenz","date":"September 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier, there was a discussion of the possibility of a government takeover of real estate brokerages. We had a bit of a lively discussion about the possibility of a governmental takeover of real estate brokerages.\u00a0 But I'm here to tell you, it will never happen because in the end, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}