Becoming a Landlord

1. Find the right tenants. New landlords must select solvent, solidly employed renters capable of sending their checks in on time and must not exclude anyone protected by federal Fair Housing laws -- racial minorities, the disabled, single mothers with children, etc.

2. Set the right rent. You can easily check ads and visit comparable apartments to figure out the market rent for your unit. The tricky part is collecting enough money upfront to cover any damage the tenants cause while they're there. If you charge a security deposit equal to one month's rent, you can usually assume the tenants will use it to cover their last rent check, and you'll have nothing left to replace the carpet, repair the walls they've filled with nail holes etc. Instead, insist on a security deposit equal to two months' rent.

3. Know how to fix toilets. Or find somebody who does. hire a handyman on an hourly basis to make minor repairs and compile a list of phone numbers of professionals -- plumbers, heating and air-conditioning repairmen, etc. -- that you can keep handy in case of real emergencies.

4. Find experienced landlords who will share their mistakes -- and their successes.

5. Know the law. "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by Marcia Stewart, Janet Portman and Ralph Warner has state-by-state summaries of landlord-tenant laws, plus a CD-ROM full of all the forms and documents you'll ever need. Rules on evictions, for instance, vary from state to state and sometimes city to city.

Free downloads, forms, tenant laws, credit reports and great information is located at thelpa.comYou can also visit landlord.comYou can also view multi-family homes and investment property on my website. I hope this has been helpful.