Rental Property 101: Basics You Should Know Before Becoming a Landlord

Before you dive into the landlording game, you should have a good grasp of what’s involved in the rental property business.

There is a lot involved in every business endeavor under the sun, and this certainly holds true for becoming a rental property owner.

There is a tremendous amount of promise in becoming a rental property owner and many reasons why the trend of landlords as skyrocketed over the last decade.

Market Shift

Since the financial meltdown, triggered by the sub-prime real estate mortgage crisis of 2008, the top area of growth in the housing market has been towards single-family rental units. This is a unique trend.

The growth in single family rentals outpaced the growth of single-family home purchases and apartment style living rentals.

In fact, as the number of U.S. households have continued to increase, most of the demand has been for single-family rental units instead of home purchases.

Perhaps some of the under-pinning factors that contribute to this growing trend have been tighter lending practices, which have created greater barriers for the home buying process. Other factors including student loan debt and stagnant income raises contributed to this need for rental housing as well.

To add to that, renting a home provides the benefits of less maintenance, less commitment, and more flexibility for renters than for homebuyers.

Rental Property Market Players

When Warren Buffet was asked several years ago what he thought was a good investment after the market crash, he said, “I’d be a couple hundred thousand single-family homes if it were practical to do so.”

Still, you should not shy away from the opportunity of investing in rental properties just because some bigger players have entered the game.

After all, institutional investors only make up a very small percentage of the single-family rental market. In fact only about 200,000 of the 15 million single-family rental units in America are owned by institutional investors.

The number of investors who own just one rental property stands around 45%. 87% of the landlords in the US on 10 or less rental homes.

This means that you have a wide-open opportunity to become the next growing player in this lucrative market.

About This Series

this is a multi-part series that will outline what you need to know about becoming a rental property investor.

This multi-part guide will the important areas of

becoming a landlord,
abiding by the laws,
responsibilities you will have,
finding great tenants and hiring the best property manager in Westminster, Maryland

to help you run your lucrative single-family property rental business and investment.

If you want to take your knowledge to the next level, download our Real Estate Investor Starter Kit here.

If you would like to start your business as a rental property investor or speak with one of the best property management companies in Westminster, schedule your free Profitable Portfolio Strategy Session today.