Should I be a Landlord?

After a few years in the landlord business, I decided to put pen to paper and share my ideas with you in my new book, 'Landlordom, The Land of Jekyll and Hyde"  How to be a successful landlord, anyway. It will be released by mid November by XLibris and will appear on numerous on-line book stores such as Amazon and Kindle. It begins like this:

Rental properties can increase equity and provide extra income; at least this is the dream on paper. Some landowners are lucky and the dream unfolds as it should.  Others, however, are not so blessed and the experience becomes a nightmare. On the up side, owning properties for rental purposes has great potential for monetary gain, but on the down side it has many pitfalls, one being bad tenants. It is an unforgiving fact that the poor behavior of tenants has given renting out property a bad name and has provided a good reason for investors to shy away from being landlords.

There are many laws in place to protect tenants that can seem to be unfairly stacked against the landlord. An uninformed and unsuspecting landlord can be tarred and feathered by a wily tenant.

Tenants are entitled, amongst other things, to hot and cold running water.  Having to state this in law is on the level of an airline hostess telling you how to do up a seat belt, but its there, in the law. I never had to go out of my way to accommodate this requirement. If the law has to state this, you can only imagine what other hairline requirements there are.  It’s to your advantage to be aware of them.

Even though this may be true, the idea remains seductive to the young investor as he or she is lured by the prospects of additional income for their retirement, a time when the property would be clear of a mortgage and the extra income would add to one's projected comfortable retirement life style.

So you are thinking of succumbing to the temptation of 'landlordom'?  Be aware that, early in the planning stages, before you've even purchased a place, you are entering into a fear-ridden arena in which you will either be eaten up by the lions of intimidation or you will come out victorious, having kept your verve to continue your shaky adventure into the rental world of tenants, leases, loans and repairs.  

Summary

Should you be a landlord?  To help you answer this question, Christine shares, with uncloaked honesty and objectivity, her knowledge and experiences. Her book reveals what you must know before you leap, such as relevant laws and rights and obligations of both tenants and landlords. Do you have the money and where can you get it? What type of property is best for you?  Knowing the best way to deal with the tenant, the lease and the law, are just a few of the valuable tips Christine gives you on how to succeed.  Her compelling stories show both sides of the rental world: how dealing with tenants can be sometimes Jekyll, sometimes Hyde.

“Landlordom, The Land of Jekyll and Hyde” is sure to entertain, to inspire and to help the reader decide if  ‘Landlordom’ is for him/her, or not.