Rental Property Investment - Finding The Properties

by: Steve Gillman

Rental property investment starts with finding the best deals. To do this, you can increase your odds by finding more deals. Who's more likely to get a cheap apartment building, an investor that looks through the MLS listings and calls it a day, or the one that uses ten resources? Here are those ten:

1. Look in old papers to find "For Rent" ads. Call if they are a few weeks old. The landlord may be ready to sell, especially if he hasn't yet rented the units out.

2. Look up old FSBO ads. Call on two-month-old "For sale By Owner" ads, and if they haven't sold, they may be ready to deal. Owners often give up the effort, but still would love to sell. Help them out!

3. Drive around looking for "For Sale By Owner" signs. Owners often don't want to pay to keep the ad in the paper every week, so you won't see all properties there.

4. Find abandoned properties. That's a pretty clear sign that the owner doesn't want to deal with the property. He might sell cheap.

5. Talk. Let people know you are looking and sometimes the properties will come to you. There are a lot of owners out there who want to sell, but haven't yet listed their property.

6. Talk to bankers. You might get a foreclosed rental property cheaper if you buy it before they list it with a real estate agent.

7. Offer someone a finder's fee. There are people that always seem to hear about the good deals. Have such people coming to you.

8. Eviction notices. If your local papers publish eviction notices, or if you can get the information at the courthouse, it can be useful. A landlord who just went through the procees of evicting tenants is a likely seller.

9. Use the internet. Go to a search engine and enter the type of real estate you are looking for, along with the city you want to invest in. You never know what you might find.

10. Put an ad in the paper. "Looking for rental properties to buy," might be sufficient to generate a few calls.

There is a lot more to learn to do it right, but finding good properties is a good place to start for rental property investment
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About The Author

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com.

Photo: Courtesy of www.Properties4Auction.com

What You Need to Know About Your Real Estate Rental

by: Nicholas Fagan

Often a rental agreement is called a lease, especially if your renting real estate or immovable property such as building. You may rent real estate to park vehicle(s), storage, office/business space, agricultural, institutional, or government use, and of course housing. Basically the rental agreement will state who, what, when, and how much.

As the tenant or lessee, you may be required to state who will be living with you, whether its a roomate, family, or others. Also, the rental agreement will have the landlord's or lessor's policy on pets. Your rental agreement will have the landlords policy on when the landlord may enter your home, usually for emergency purposes. As the renter you are in possesion of the property and If the landlord enters your home without proper notice or authority, he will be violating your rights and he would be trespassing.

Rented real property or real estate may include all or part of almost any piece of real property including land. Sometimes the rental agreement will include access to certain pools, bathrooms, laundry rooms, off-set parking, and other things if the premise is split up. If access to rooms is outlined they will define the times you are allowed to use them.

Did you know when you rent a room at a hotel for a night your signing a rental agreement? Chances are you`ve already signed one then, but sorry to dis-appoint you but long-term rental agreements are usually more in depth. Rental agreements could specify that your staying just days, weeks, months, or years. Typically a rental agreement is month to month or annually and usually the rent for annual leases are cheaper because you exclude the month to month turn-over costs. The downside of having a long-term lease is if you decide to leave early, usually you are charged with penalties. The good news is though the rental agreement can specify to automatically renew your lease so a month to month lease may be your best option.

If a tenant is unable to pay or does not follow policy, then landlord may ask you to "quit" (legal term for leave) the premises at your own will, and if the tenant refuses to do so, the landlord then will 99.9% of the time proceed to serve an eviction notice on you. In many states it is illegal for the landlord to change locks on doors, or remove any personal belongings, and extremely illegal to forcibly eject a person, without a court order of eviction. If the landlord violates any of the above contact your lawyer, you are entitled to compensation for "triple damages", plus expenses from your attorneys' fees. The landlord then could face stiff criminal penalties if you decided to press charges.

Finally your rental agreement will state how much you will be paying and on what bases, month to month, annually, aslong as you want, or even in advance. A typical "down payment" will consist of how much the first and last months rent would be and a security deposit. If you do not return your property in ordinary "wear n' tear" condition, the landlord can with-hold your security deposit to pay for the damages. If a security deposit is required, some states will require the landlord to give you the bank account number and the banks name of where your security deposit is being held. Some states also require the landlord to list pre-existing damages to the property, or the state will force them to give back the security deposit.
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About The Author

Nicholas Fagan is the proud to be an author of http://LegalFormsBank.biz providing information for legal do-it-yourselfers. We provide your state specific, do-it-yourself, Residential Lease Form for only $7.95 - http://www.legalformsbank.biz/lease.asp.

Photo: Courtesy of ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com