The Successful Landlord Blog

The following is a guest post by Clint Darby of Rentals Done Right.  Check out his blog when you get a chance.

Allow me make a confession to you – I am a conservative Real Estate Investor.

I don’t make apology for it, it is what it is. That doesn’t mean I do not take risk. On the contrary, if you asked my wife, I believe she’d tell you she has to reel me in from time to time. Though I do not mind risk, my conservative nature forces me to mitigate risk as much as possible. I do that by trying to be prepared.

Let’s face it – regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, the economy smells worse than a gut truck. America is hemorrhaging jobs, incomes are down, foreclosures are up and real estate has tanked. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month, while having lunch with an old friend, we had a discussion about the merits of buying condo units as a real estate rental investment. Having been a condo owner in the past, I can positively say that I will never do that again.

This subject could easily fill a book, so here are my reasons in bullet-point form:

• Too many complaints from neighbors. Tenants usually only sign a year lease so if they annoy their neighbors, they can simply move. The neighbors then transfer their frustration and annoyance to the landlord.
• Condo Associations. If you like to invest by committee, condos are for you. Don’t want to afford that fat assessment to resurface the parking lot right now? Too bad. Pay up.
• Condo Commandos. These people are usually retired and have nothing to do all day. Nothing, except get all up in your business that is. They feel that you as a landlord are devaluing their property by renting your unit and they won’t let you forget it. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a guest post by the Calgary mortgage specialists at the Purcell Mortgage Team.  For mortgage related tips and tricks, check out their weekly-updated mortgage blog.

The real estate market has had its ups and downs, with the end result being plummeting rents and massive foreclosure rates.  For the savvy investor, this also means sweet deals on respectable properties.  This, of course, leads us to the question of the hour: should you pay off the mortgage(s) on your rental properties, or do you leverage the equity you’ve built in them to purchase new ones?

Understandably, it’s a tough call.

Read the rest of this entry »