FUNDAMENTALS
SINGLE-FAMILY
Profiting from Single-Family Rentals
FOLLOW THIS FORMULA FOR HIGHER PROFITS AND FEWER HEADACHES
by W. J. Mencarow
A
means minimal return on invest - ment. People who rent them are often building or planning to buy a house, and they typically want a six-month lease. We lost money with short-term tenancies. So, we now stay in the middle price range. Looking to get into sin - gle-family rental investing or looking to pivot from market to another within the SFR space? If so, here are some things to look for:
fter over 30 years owning sin - gle-family rentals, my wife Ali-
about taking a walk, we don’t buy.
These are also on the list: • Kids playing, moms pushing strollers • Well-kept yards and houses • Quiet street • Good school district • Close to shopping If you are looking in a neighbor - hood where you feel you need a gun for protection, don’t buy there. And know that the government can seize your house under civil forfeiture laws if your tenants are convicted of a drug crime. This can happen in any class of neighborhood.
son and I have painfully learned the truth of the saying, “good judgment comes from experience, and expe - rience comes from bad judgment.” Here are some of the most important things we have learned from “expe - rience.” We started by buying cheap houses in sketchy neighborhoods. We had trouble finding desirable tenants, we had lots of repairs and vacancies, and we chased tenants for rent. On the other hand, we found that high-end houses often have high tenant turnover, take a long time to rent, and the price-to-rent ratio
WHATTO LOOK FOR INA NEIGHBORHOOD
First thing to consider in a neigh - borhood is safety. If we would worry
28 | think realty magazine :: december 2020
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