First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting out a Single-Family Home

by Janet Portman, Marcia Stewart, Michael Molinski

The “Landlording 101” course for new rental property owners who are first-time landlords by way of an inheritance, divorce, investment, purchase for a family member, difficulty in selling a property or a move to a new house.90% of small properties are owned by individual landlords, and millions in this group are balancing their landlord responsibilities with their daytime careers. First – Time Landlord provides concise information for those with little business savvy and less time and patience to become big-time real estate investors, but who wish to make money on their new property while renting it out lawfully and right! It • How to determine whether or not the property will turn a profit • Landlord business basics • Finding good tenants • Preparing and signing a lease • Handling Repairs • Complying with applicable rental laws • Dealing with problem tenants • Preparing for sale of property Containing tips, true stories, and shared first-time experiences, First – Time Landlord is an indispensable book for the new landlords of today’s dominant rental housing market.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance, Business

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

Reviews

[Matt M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book detailing the concepts of owning and renting out in the world of real estate. Taught me some key principles on leasing agreements, rental contracts, and the overall experience of finding and keeping tenants whilst minimizing your risk of vacancy or a bad tenant. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to rent a house out.

[Haoting Luo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good guide for reasoning of lots of landlord-tenant practices in real life. Was given constructive suggestions. The only place to improve is to include more worksheet for organizing trivial landlording activities.

[Scott Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is brand new territory for me and my wife, so all the information was new to us. There was a little bit of common sense information within, but there is a lot of stuff one might only learn through experience.

[Nick Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good guide. Answers pretty much everything you need to know, and does so in a clear, no-nonsense way. Even has interesting little survey boxes on some pages.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and easy to understand guide for the first-timer.

[Ryan Manganiello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic reference as to be expected when it comes to Nolo, so if you plan on being a landlord, I recommend you check it out.

[Xin Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

讲述了出租房的基本情况

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and up-to-date guide for renting a property. This book discusses many of the aspects that are often overlooked when one first considers renting or leasing out properties. It gives pointers on determining if you can make it profitable, how to select potential renters, and what responsibilities you'll face as a landlord. It goes over suggestions to ensure it's a win-win situation for you and your tenants, and even discusses tax implications. Pets, smokers, tenants running a business out of the house - it's all in here as well as making sure you don't illegally discriminate. It also has links to online help for state specific information. There's plenty of the familiar USA Today Snapshots that you see in the newspaper with survey information and graphs, although it's not always especially pertinent.

My wife and I rented out our house when we moved out of state and even though we had rented to friends it ended up in a bad situation and strained the friendship. This book discusses the pitfalls of landlording from a distance, as well as making sure to put contracts in writing to specify the responsibilities of both parties - instead of relying on verbal agreements. It's information I wish I'd known back then, as it could have saved a lot of trouble. My only quibbles with the book might be a preference not to use lawn or window signs (lets people know the house is vacant) and a preference for sites other than Craigslist, but it's a great resource.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this audio book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review. This book is for the seasoned landlord, newbie landlord and for those who are thinking about being a landlord. There are tips from buying your first house all the way to being a big landlord. Gives advice on taxes, leases, protecting investments, managers and just about everything there is to know about buying investment properties and selling them. This book is well rounded and hits just about every subject that would be related to real estate, including selling an investment and rolling it over in detail.

The authors, Janet Portman, Marcia Stewart & Michael Molinski all did a good job in their detailed research and advice for the beginner landlord, but also is great for the bigger landlord too. The advise learned from this book is mind boggling. The narrator, Jack Chekijian did a great job delivering this book flawlessly as only he can. Good job all!

[Kathryn Theulen dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Excellent Advice"
What did you love best about First-Time Landlord?
That property is a better investment for the long term financial goals.

Any additional comments?
Have you ever thought about owning and renting property? Well than this is a great book for a new land lord or before you get started. This book was well written by 3 attorney's that have collected information for investment property. I have thought many times about buying investment property. I have never been sure where to start or what to ask renters for my do's and don't list. I was very happy to have my questions answered by this book. It is prefect for listening to in your spare time or while driving trying to make the most of your limited time. The Pdf reference guide is also a very helpful tool the authors have included. When I finished the audio I felt much more confident in moving forward with plans for an investment property.

The narrator Jack Chekijian has a wonderful easy to listen to voice.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by attorneys with an aim to prepare those who have a property that they are wishing to rent out, as well as persons looking to purchase an income generating property.
There are extensive considerations in shopping for an investment property, and many tips and eye-opening factors to note, which are finely detailed here.
If the property is already owned, there are specific legal and tax issues to be aware of, and all of the factors to consider in choosing tenants apply regardless of whether landlord is on-site or not.
Use of this text and the downloadable PDFs should prepare the potential landlord to make basic decisions and know whom to contact for specific assistance.
Narrator Jack presents the material with clear voice and pronunciation, making the first reading of the material easy to assimilate.
This book was a gift

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately I've been reading a lot about buying real estate to rent out. This book provided a solid base to scare me into reality on what that would involve. The concept of being a landlord seems like a good idea when everything is working well. If you get the finances right, the tenant isn't too pushy, the property doesn't have too many issues -- well then you can probably enjoy the additional cashflow and appreciation on the property. If not, well it might be more similar to my past landlording experience where the tenant stopped paying, had a friend of his move in, had to be evicted with police. Hopefully that means I've at least seen (some of) the bad side to know what to expect.

[David Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good first-book for people considering renting out a property. If you do decide to rent, you'll probably want to refer to it again. It also mentions websites and other books (especially from NOLO, which helped create this book) where additional information can be found.

[Alexis Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic stuff, especially about the financial aspect. But there are good lists of what yo expect, how to evict, how to choose a property manager, etc. They also recommend books (by the same publisher) to cover the gappy topics more in depth.

[Terek Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main takeaway I have is that there's nothing special to being a landlord. I think the book did a good job of covering most of the bases new landlords will have to work through, yet most of it is common sense

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most comprehensive of the landlording books I've read so far.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. But glad I don't have to use the info :)

[franthormel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discusses important topics including:

1. Advantages and disadvantages of landlording
2. How to choose tenants
3. Tax deductions
4. Legal liability
5. Long-term and short-term decisions.