Being A Landlord

1. Find the right tenants. New landlords must select solvent,solidly employed renters capable of sending their checks in ontime and must not exclude anyone protected by federal FairHousing laws -- racial minorities, the disabled, single motherswith children, etc.2. Set the right rent. You can easily check ads and visitcomparable apartments to figure out the market rent for yourunit. The tricky part is collecting enough money upfront tocover any damage the tenants cause while they're there. If youcharge a security deposit equal to one month's rent, you canusually assume the tenants will use it ...

...to cover their last rentcheck, 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 ahandyman on an hourly basis to make minor repairs and compile alist of phone numbers of professionals -- plumbers, heating andair-conditioning repairmen, etc. -- that you can keep handy incase of real emergencies.4. Find experienced landlords who will share their mistakes --and their successes. 5. Know the law. "Every Landlord's Legal Guid...

..." by MarciaStewart, Janet Portman and Ralph Warner has state-by-statesummaries of landlord-tenant laws, plus a CD-ROM full of all theforms and documents you'll ever need. Rules on evictions, forinstance, vary from state to state and sometimes city to city.Free downloads, forms, tenant laws, credit reports and greatinformation is located at thelpa.com You can also visit landlord.comI hope this has been helpful. If you are currently a landlord orare thinking of becoming one, please post comments or questions!Hopefully someone will benefit from your story or experience.http://www.youshouldown.com