Review: The Book on Rental Property Investing

I earlier provided some commentary on the early chapters of Brandon’s book, but here’s some thoughts on the later chapters:

Love how he talks about giving back and cultivating an attitude of generosity. That is so tightly linked to our why of investing. I also like how he uses the term wantapreneuer for those folks who keep reading books but never get started.

Shopping for better insurance rates and calculating the impact of not charging full market rent are both great tips. Also really enjoyed the part about being willing to walk away form a house if negotiations don’t go well. We have purchased three personal residences, only one of which I was emotionally attached it; being willing to walk away is a great feeling. There have been houses I’ve really liked and wish that the deal had not fallen apart, but none we absolutely had to fight for. Some are cuter than others and some have better attributes, but they are all just investments; treat them that way. We got in a bidding war once, and are still so thankful that we stepped back and let the other investor buy it.

The chapter about property managers is sobering. Luckily our PM charges a slow rate and there are no turnover fees, but we are missing a lot of the core items Brandon mentions. We don’t’ get monthly reports, the information that comes with the check doesn’t even split rent from deposit money. We don’t get year end summaries. And she doesn’t handle things I might expect her to, like the property tax bills, lawn care, or even paying and deducting invoices for work she supervises. We keep living with that tension, sure we don’t’ have better options in this small area.