Reddit reviews Landlording: A Handymanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves

Here's my recommendations for property management books I enjoyed that were factual and not a bunch of get-rich-quick BS:

https://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Handymanual-Scrupulous-Landladies-Themselves/dp/0932956378/

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Legal-Marcia-Stewart/dp/1413322832/

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Guide-Managing-Property/dp/1413322158/

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Tax-Deduction-Guide/dp/1413322395/

https://www.amazon.com/Leases-Rental-Agreements-Marcia-Stewart/dp/1413321801/

First things first, I'm impressed that you're already thinking about retirement at your age. A lot of people think about it too late and have to work that much harder to save for it. I've always maxed 401k's and saved since I was in my early 20's and can't believe how far ahead of the curve I am now at 40.

I live in Austin and have two properties. I've owned one in Austin for about 5 years that is a long term rental (1 year leases) and one in Port Aransas for a year, that is a short term lease (weekend, week, month, etc...).

I manage the one in Austin myself and use a property manager for the one in Port A.

• It will be more expensive than you expect (sometimes depending on your tenant). Have you ever owned a house before? Between down payment and closing costs, $50k may not be enough to get into the rental market and have comfortable security in the property. I have a similar plan to yours in that when I retire (hopefully early) I hope to have 7+ properties each generating monthly income and to also be selling them off for equity every 5 years or so. The way I started was by buying my first house at 30 and living in it for 5 years, then buying a second house at 35, moving into the new one, and turning the original into a rental. That way I was able to keep my rate lower (owner occupied homes get better lending rates than investment property) and I knew the house quite well by the time I put a tenant in it. If you currently own and live in a house, you could consider turning THAT into your rental and buying a new house for yourself ($50k may stretch farther that way).
  
  
• The rent for my LTR was about $300 over my monthly mortgage and expenses on the property. I barely broke even for the first 3 years because of expenses that came up. While the AC worked, it ran non-stop (barely keeping the house in the mid to high 70s) and would break down during the summer. I wound up replacing it to keep the tenants happy. That combined with other random expenses, and all my income was going straight back into the property.
  
  
• Which brings me to: If your handy, you'll save a ton of money. I've had to replace faucets, lights & outlets, a new front door, toilet flaps, and other general wear and tear on my Austin house. It's literally saved me thousands. I've also had to call in professional tradesmen when something was out of my comfort zone or I was too busy. As someone else suggested, find a good plumber, electrician, and general handyman that are reliable and trustworthy.
  
  
• Personally, a Property Manager isn't worth it with one LTR property. My Port A house, which is run by a property manager, gets nickle and dimed every time they have to send someone over for silly things like changing a light bulb (around $25-$35). If we decided to get another Austin property, I may consider a management company.
  
  
• I used a Realtor to help find my first long term tenants in Austin. They charge around half a month's rent. My current tenants were found by myself through Craigslist for free. There's advantage and disadvantages to both. If you find them yourself, there's lots leases available online to use. There are also credit and background check companies that will charge around $25-$35. I charge it back to the tenants as an application fee.
  
  
• Keep your real estate investment property money separate from your personal money. Putting a security deposit check in your personal bank account is a no-no. A separate account will also help you keep track of expenses on your properties.
  
  Looking at the short novel I just wrote, I could go on and on about it, but I'll stop here for now and directly answer your previous questions to the best of my ability.
  
  > What are some basics that every rental owner needs to know?
  Everything above. :D
  
  > Is it a good idea for me to get into owning rental properties?
  That's up to you. I love it.
  
  > Is there any major issue with purchasing a home and working to pay it off before investing in more homes in order to significantly decrease risk?
  Major issue? No, but you will own fewer properties this way, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
  
  > If there is, what is the alternative? I assume it's inefficient and would take too long to do it the super safe way, but how would I reasonably go about getting loans to purchase several properties at once with very little in terms of assets?
  You may not be able to purchase multiple at once. Talk to a lender to find out what your income to debt ratio is. Until you can prove a property will generate income to pay for itself, many lenders will only give you a loan if you can cover the cost of the mortgage without renting it. If a property has existing renters or has been rented for a period of time, it can be calculated into your income to debt ratio. But if you've never owned a rental and the property has never been a rental, some lenders won't count it in their income assessment.
  
  > Is this feasible even while using a rental management property?
  For a LTR, I don't think one is necessary. For a STR, they're invaluable.
  
  > What are risks/upsides that I'm not thinking about?
  Especially in the beginning, be less concerned about the monthly income and see the value in the appreciation. It's harder to see because it's not a tangible number, like a bank account, but it's where the "real" money/value is.
  
  > Is the 1% rule a set in stone rule? When is it ok to go below this? Is the one main goal to be cash flow positive after assuming some vacancy and repairs?
  Not a fan. I think it's too low and doesn't take into account enough wiggle room for random expenses. Someone else mentioned 2%, but I think 1.5 would be my minimum.
  
  I bought this book and use it regularly whenever I have a question about landlording. It's a good book for answer questions when they arise.
  amazon.com/Landlording-Handymanual-Scrupulous-Landladies-Themselves/dp/0932956378/

I'm registered at biggerpockets.com but honestly haven't looked into it much. I just sort of winged it by doing my own market research. However, I only have 3 doors (about $300/month/door cash flow), so I'm not sure you'd want to do it my way.

Good books I recommend:

• What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures - I have the slightly older version.
  
• Landlording: A Handymanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves
  
• Some version of tax/legal advice. I like the one from NOLO, but you should make it local to where your property is.

There are legal publishing companies in most states that provide legal forms (rental agreements/leases) that you can purchase. We get ours from a local book store that sells legal forms.

Follow your state laws to the letter, most landlord-tenant laws are skewed to the benefit of the tenant. That is not a bad thing.

Decide if you are going to manage the place yourself or hire property management. In our experience a property manager doesn't look out for your interests nearly as diligently as you will, so we self manage.

There are lots of books out there. One called Landlording is excellent.

I recommend the book [Landlording: A Handymanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves] (https://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Handymanual-Scrupulous-Landladies-Themselves/dp/0932956378/) - it is pretty much the "bible" for making money from self-managed rental properties.

Good luck!