We did get the idea from the Total Money Makeover, we just weren't sure if it applied to income properties as well as for our personal residence.In these uncertain economic times, I "feel" more secure by owing less.

After Nasdaq crashed and my partner lost $3 million (he was the money guy and was not on my system), I decided that I should learn the securities and bond side of the business.

There are many ideas out there - don't just 'advertise' - do something of value that is associated with you.I recommend Neighborhood websites as a method for building relationships.

In the lease, can you reserve the right to sue the tenant for any loss it seems that they have caused, like fire or other damage, something that goes past the amount of the security deposit?

In addition to what Ned mentioned, you will also have advertising, entity maintenance, legal fees, evictions, court costs, periods of high vacancy, damage done by tenants (in excess of the security deposit), lawsuits, utilities (at least during vacancies), etc, etc, etc.

There is another California law that applies to any company that offers advice or assistance to consumers in credit related transactions – called CSO’s – for unsecured or secured loans.

Has anyone secured equity from a hedge fund?

For example, significant damage done by tenants in excess of the security deposit (often thousands of dollars), is an expense that may only occur once in a many years.

I'm very secure knowing that my house won't be losing value any time soon.As an aside, I will note that the few RE investments I have made are not out here and I would never buy a rental out here - there's absolutely no way to cash flow it.

By that time, you'll have learned a number of "non-bank" methods for acquiring rental properties.Good Luck!