Being a Part-time Landlord

The Part-time Landlord

I'm a busy person. I work 60+ hours a week at my full-time job. I am happily married and have a 5 month old daughter. I am dedicated to my family as well as my career and they will often take priority over real estate. 

I don't work within the real estate industry full-time. I am not constantly looking to buy deals. I don't want to have hundreds of properties. I have limited financial resources and do not want to work with partners. I do not want to try more risky methods such as house flipping or development. 

I believe in slow, steady, and sustainable growth over a long period of time. I'm not in a rush. I have steadily bought rentals over the last 6 years doing this the slow and boring way.

The Slow and Boring Way 

I buy real estate off the MLS. I don't use wholesalers, direct mail, or look for off-market deals. I simply analyze the deals I see and if the numbers work I go for it. Sometimes it takes months of searching and multiple offers before I finally get an offer accepted. That's okay though since I only buy one property a year.

There is no unique type of financing that I use. I simply use conventional 30 year mortgages and put 15-20% down. I get the down payment money the old-fashioned way, by saving it over a long period of time. I work over-time, do odd jobs, and I cut expenses to save the money faster.

When I buy a property I do a great deal of the work myself. I am a quasi-handyman and can do a lot of home maintenance, repairs, and upgrades on my own. I self-manage, but I am not opposed to property management if I can find a good manager. 

The Working Class Landlord

I'm definitely a working class person. I'm not some tech engineer with a high paying career who decided to invest their extra income in some far away Midwest rental property. I like getting my hands dirty and I realize that I am not the glamorous image of the real estate investor that is portrayed on sites like this one. However, I am happy with the way I do things.

I believe that real estate investing should be accessible to everyone. Regardless of where you are starting. For those starting out with less money, that means that we have to do more of the work ourselves.

Being a part-time landlord isn't easy. Yes it is like having a second job. The difference is that you have control. In that respect it really is a business. So in a sense I am a small business owner. I'm out there every day competing with the larger businesses for my piece of the pie. The good news is that it's a really big pie and there is enough for everyone.