One of the first questions I hear from new real estate investors is: “Should I create an LLC for rental properties, rather than owning them under my personal name?” It’s…

I love animals. I have almost always had at least one pet in my home. Pets enrich our lives and provide unmatched companionship and unconditional love. Except for my cat,…

Rare is the departing tenant who leaves their unit in truly pristine condition. More often, the situation falls somewhere between “Fine” and “What happened?” — with the occasional “What the…?”…

I have a theory that nobody likes insurance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important and often required by law or by lenders. But insurance is just so psychologically unsatisfying. I…

Almost half of California’s residents live in rentals. The cost of living, especially rental rates, has risen dramatically over the last two decades, creating some of the least affordable rental…

What is a skip tracer? It sounds like some kind of cool, futuristic sci-fi job — like a cyberpunk private eye who tracks people down through a network of intergalactic…

“At what point should I hire a property manager?” Sooner or later, most real estate investors question whether to hire property management to make their rental income truly passive. I…

Becoming a landlord is stressful enough without getting nickeled and dimed by property managers. When you hire a property manager, you delegate the labor of advertising vacant rentals, screening tenants,…

Chocolate or caramel? Rock or hip hop? Passive or active investing in real estate? Some investors love buying rental properties directly and owning them in their entirety. Others prefer buying…

When I first started buying rental properties, I had no idea how to calculate rental cash flow. I just assumed the cash flow was “the rent minus the mortgage payment.”…