[Krista Reuther]

I’m excited to use the Forum!

[Krista Reuther]

I love this question! We just published an episode of our Be a Better Landlord podcast all about helping veterans and active duty military members leverage their VA loans to build wealth – check it out:

[Krista Reuther]

Congrats on being close to getting your first renter for this property, Kat!

You’re asking great questions about LLCs, also known as limited liability companies. This legal entity is a favorite amongst landlords – in TurboTenant’s October 2024 survey, 44% of landlords said they used an LLC to structure their rental property management business.

But why?

According to TRUiC, “Since real estate investing involves plenty of capital (i.e., the property) and unique risks, an LLC crucially separates your private and business dealings. Creating an LLC for your rental property business can reduce your liability, minimize your risks, and ensure that your real estate investment keeps running smoothly.”

In other words, an LLC limits your liability by separating your business risks from your personal assets. It’s also relatively easy to set up, especially compared to other complex corporate structures.

As far as tax implications go, I’m happy to share my research though I must stress that I am not a tax expert! With that disclaimer out of the way, many folks enjoy LLCs because they automatically benefit from pass-through taxation – aka, the LLC’s profits pass through to each owner’s individual tax return without the LLC being taxed as a business entity.

I’m curious about what everyone else thinks, too! What’s been your experience with LLCs?

[Krista Reuther]

Hey Luciano!

First off, congrats to you and your wife for being curious about rental property investments. Also, I applaud your foresight in looking for a real estate agent who’s well-versed in rental property – that can make all the difference in your house hunt.

I’d recommend finding an agent who holds Real Estate Investing (REI) certification from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).

This certification indicates the agent has taken additional coursework to understand the unique demands of rental property. Click here to find their directory, or contact your local NAR office for more information.

While you’re on the hunt for your first rental property, leverage our free Getting Started as a Landlord ebook to set yourself up for success.

nar.realtor

Real Estate Investing (REI)

The Real Estate Investing certification program is for REALTORS® who want to master the ins and outs of working with investors and those who are establishing themselves as real estate investors.

[Krista Reuther]

HOAs are like extended car warranty salesmen – it’s getting harder to escape them. Approximately 30% of the US population live in HOA communities, and monthly dues are $200-$300 on average.

When you’re looking to purchase property within an HOA, I highly recommend:

• Requesting the HOA’s charge schedule. This document should outline historical HOA due increases over a given period of time. If given the option, I’d look at the last three to five years to see how often HOA dues have increased.
• Fully understanding what amenities the HOA provides. Paying a monthly fee may be worth it if they cover things like snow removal, depending on where your properties are located.
• Asking what their most frequently broken rules are. This can give you a sense of the HOA’s rigidity.
• Requesting to speak to other investors whose rentals are a part of this specific HOA. They can offer you greater insights into the hassle (or benefits) this particular organization offers.

Best of luck out there!

[Krista Reuther]

Turning an inherited property into an income stream is a great move, Rachel, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness regarding the condo community.

Fostering positive relationships between your prospective tenants and the neighbors starts with setting clear expectations from the get-go. When you’re listing your property on a site like TurboTenant, make sure you specify that your condo is part of a quiet community – but don’t run afoul of the Fair Housing Act by banning people based on protected classes that you think will be noisier than others, like a family with young children.

As you screen tenants, reach out to their previous landlords and ask if they have a history of noise complaints. Make sure that there’s language in your lease about quiet hours and the consequences of noise complaints, and highlight that section (verbally or otherwise) when it comes time to sign the lease.

Remind your renters at all stages that your goal is to facilitate a peaceful, respectful community and you appreciate their help to that end.

testwpstaging.turbotenant.com

Rental Marketing - Advertise Your Rental Property

Boost your rental business with our property management marketing solutions. Easily list rental properties and attract quality tenants!

[Krista Reuther]

Great questions, Sarah!

The best time to get into your first rental varies person to person – but from my seat, it’s best to hop in when you have the means, bandwidth, and enthusiasm to do so!

I’ll share quite a few thoughts on this below, but if you want to skip my wall of text, I’ll encourage you to download our free Getting Started as a Landlord ebook! It walks you through setting business goals, finding/financing rental property, sourcing your first tenant, and everything else aspiring landlords need to succeed.

From a business perspective, make sure you build up your savings. Even the best tenants could miss a month of rent, and you need to have plenty in the tank or risk undue stress. Personally, I’d recommend saving up at least six months’ worth of mortgage payments in a high-yield savings account (or your favorite easily accessible account of choice) before getting started. While you build up that buffer, consider what you’re working with.

Some folks start with house hacking (aka they live alongside their tenant in the same property). If you currently own a home, this strategy allows you to continue building equity, try out property management, and save on mortgage costs in one fell swoop.

If you don’t currently own a home but want to house hack, I’d recommend looking at small multifamily property like a duplex. You could occupy one half and rent out the other, reaping all the benefits listed above while maintaining greater privacy.

Be sure to tell your lender that you intend to rent out a portion of your property, whether you’re a homeowner already or shopping around.

From there, start learning about how to set up good business processes and experiment with tools – particularly free solutions like TurboTenant. We offer the industry-leading all-in-one property management platform that over 700,000 landlords trust – and best of all, it’s free to sign up.

In terms of checks and balances, I highly recommend leveraging our free calculators. You can determine the potential ROI of a property, optimize your profits, discover how much rent you should charge, and so much more on our calculators page.

And the goodies don’t stop there! We have blogs, on-demand webinars, videos, and more to empower you to build a lasting investment portfolio. Check out all of our educational offerings here, including our guide to becoming a great landlord.

turbotenant.com

TurboTenant: Property Management Software for Landlords

700,000+ landlords use TurboTenant’s property management software to screen tenants, generate leases, and collect rent. Try it for free today.

It’s so tough when noise complaints pop up! If you’d like some advice, I have thoughts – but no pressure.

[Krista Reuther]

If you’re curious about insurance options, including whether or not you’re properly covered, register for our upcoming webinar with Steadily here!

turbotenant.zoom.us

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Protect Your Rental With Landlord Insurance - 10 PT/11 MT/12 CT/1 ET. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Landlord insurance is the best way to bet on your investment properties - but unfortunately, 41% of landlords are using the WRONG type of insurance, which they'll only find out when they attempt to file a claim. So, what types … Continue reading

[Krista Reuther]

Tenant screening is the best way to protect your rental property, so kudos to you for asking this question.

First and foremost, you need to know that tenant screening is straightforward at its core – as a landlord, you’re required to accept the first applicant who meets your criteria. But what is tenant screening criteria, and how should you define it?

Your tenant screening criteria is a list of qualifications based on empirical evidence. In other words, it’s a set of requirements that help you choose an applicant who’s going to pay rent on time and treat your property well based on data. Tenant screening is NOT an area where you should rely on your gut; that can get you in major trouble with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Why? Well, tenant screening is one of the interactions between a landlord and renters that can easily slip into fair housing violation territory if you’re not mindful and procedural in your approach.

If you didn’t know, the Fair Housing Act protects those in pursuit of housing from undue discrimination based on seven classes (on a national level – your local area may have additional protected classes):

• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
• Familial Status
• Disability

That means that you can’t ban applicants from your rental based on these characteristics – and it also means you have to be thoughtful about what your tenant screening requirements are to ensure no one is disadvantaged through the process.

When we talk about tenant screening, there are some tried-and-true starting points to consider, such as requiring:

• A credit score between 560-850
• A rent-to-income ratio of 30% (though this requirement is getting more challenging as rent increases but wages don’t match pace)

But what about criminal history? And eviction history? Can you blanket ban anyone who has a criminal background or evictions on their record?

The answer is no, you can’t – check out our webinar on crime, evictions, and tenant screening to learn more!

hud.gov

Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act

Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act

[Krista Reuther]

Understanding key concepts like actual cash value vs. replacement costs is critical! I’m glad you have a great handle on your coverage.

If you happen to have any lingering insurance questions, I’d love for you to join our landlord insurance webinar on 12/12 at 11 am MT with the experts from Steadily. You can find more info here.

[Krista Reuther]

Thanks for sharing your story, Raveendra! It sounds like you’ve worked hard, and I’m confident you’re in the right place to learn how to self-manage your rentals like a pro.

[Krista Reuther]

Thanks for sharing your story, Lexi! I’m sorry about the loss of your dad, but I’m sure he’d be proud of how hard you’ve worked to build your rental property portfolio.

[Krista Reuther]

You can catch the full webinar and download the slide deck here!

[Krista Reuther]

Hey Chris!

The link I sent over was to join this very Forum thread, so you made it!

We’ll send the webinar recording and a copy of the deck within two business days 🙂