buy rental without risking primary residence?

[John Voychick]

I am new and looking for some advice.

I currently co own my primary residence with my wife and would never want to risk it.

Is it possible for me to invest in longterm rental without putting my primary residence at risk?

I'm looking at a 100k property renting for 1k/month. What if the market crashes/rental market crashes/ hurricane/flood?

Can I isolate that loss to just me if I had to short sale or forclose without risking my current property i co-own with my wife?

[Christine Kankowski]

There are a few things to note when minimizing risk.  Make sure you can afford it- have some savings to cover down time in rent, repairs, etc. 

If , for some reason , the market goes down for sales prices, that doesn't necessarily mean the rents will go down. Even then, instead of getting $1000 rent, you could get $850, and that still wouldn't make you short sell the property. 

You will have insurance for hurricane, flood, etc.  Make sure your renters get renters insurance for their stuff.

Property investing is for the long term, so short term decreases in market wont affect you too much, if you dont hav to sell quickly.  I held on to my properties during the major 2008/9 downturn and they have all come back very well and rents have increased.