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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 love this question and always get it from friends of mine. I just send them the same list of books that got me started and convinced me to pursue strictly investing in multi-family. These have all been out for some time but the fundamentals of deal analysis have pretty much stayed the same. IMO, the multi-family game is all about numbers and finding ways to add value and force appreciation.

​

In no particular order (and affiliate link free), these are all easy reads and great resources to get started;

1. Investing in Apartment Buildings
   
2. Multi-family Millions
   
3. The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings
   
4. Honorable mention (non necessary commercial re but still great for learning analysis and calculating returns) Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes & Quads
   
   ​
   
   These will all talk about why multi-family can work better than single family and will familiarize you with concepts such as capitalization rate, its importance, how to calculate it, gross rent multiplier, internal rate of return, cash on cash return etc.
   
   I've grown my re career as an investor over the past 16 years and am still learning new things everyday but for me there is no other tool like it that provides the potential for economic freedom.

I can't give you a general rule as to costs but I can tell you about my own niche, which is 6-12 unit Class B multifamilies in mid-size midwest cities. For this specific niche I can tell you that most lenders and thoughtful investors will estimate operating costs at around 35%-45% of revenues. So for example I bought a property whose combined rents were around $66k per year. In this particular case the tenants pay for water (lower ratio) and I knew vacancy rates would be very low (lower ratio) but I wanted to include expenses for management even though I knew I would self-manage (higher ratio) and I knew the plumbing and roof were old (higher ratio). So I was able to estimate a figure around 40% as a rule of thumb for operating expenses. In another case I was looking at a Class C building where I would have to pay more expenses and might not have such an easy time with the tenant base. In that case I estimated around 45-50% operating expenses. (For the purpose of this calculation I am including vacancy as an operating expense; other people will just lower the revenue.)

Note that you should NOT use these or any other ratios as your sole financial analysis. They're more like sanity checks that will enable you to quickly double-check your detailed figures. If your detailed figures come out to only 30% operating expenses but your experience tells you it's a 40% property then you may be too optimistic or overlooking something important. Conversely it can be a great way to identify a good property. If for example the current expenses are 50% but you know you can reduce them to 40% (fighting property taxes, charging tenants for parking, doing maintenance yourself or whatever else) you can raise your NOI enormously.

In your case I would talk with some lenders in your area and see what they would typically estimate as operating expenses for a 4-family. (Residential lenders may not be used to thinking this way so you might have to ask a commercial lender.) If you ask 2 or 3 and they say the same, you will know you have it about right.

All else being equal the expenses on larger properties are going to be a lower percentage than on smaller properties because you don't have as many structural and mechanical elements and because there are generally smaller internal spaces for cosmetics and appliances. This is one of the several reasons I don't invest in single families.

An important way to use the expense ratio is the DSCR (debt service coverage ratio). This is the main way a lender will look at it too. So let's say on some hypothetical property the purchase price is $300k and you put $60k (20%) into it as equity. You have revenues of $50k and expenses of 50%, giving you NOI of $25k. The lender will look at the NOI as a percentage of debt service. So if you have principal and interest payments of $20k your DSCR is 1.25 or 125% (DSCR=NOI/P+I). In the current market most lenders will look for a stable property to have DSCR of 1.2 or 1.25 as a key underwriting guideline. In our hypothetical property, the DSCR tells us that (1) if your estimations are exactly correct you (equity holder) will make $5k in cash on cash profit, that (2) you can underestimate your expenses by up to $5k and still have breakeven or positive cashflow, and that (3) your cash on cash return is anticipated to be $5k (profit) / $60k (equity) = 8.3%.

Hope this helps and isn't too much of a TLDR. I also thought of another book you may like: http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Family-Millions-Reposition-Apartments-Profits/dp/0470267607/. I didn't personally get much from it but it is generally considered one of the best multifamily books.

(Edit: Fixed the DSCR calculation)

Congratulations, this could be a great opportunity for you.

First things first, go on the county website and make sure she actually owns the place. Look for the Deed. Also see whatever mortgages or liens are on the property.

Next, make sure you are on the will. You need to see it.

Estate and Gift Tax exemptions for 2018 are $5.6MM for an individual $11MM married couple.

She could gift it to you now. Federal tax free if the value of the property is under that threshold. In that case you need to have the property appraised.

Once that is straightened out, you will have to prepare yourself to operate it yourself or turn it over to a management company to operate it for you.

Even if a management company operates it for you, you need to be educated in real estate. There are many resources and books available. I would start at Bigger Pockets, it's a great online forum for landlords and real estate investors. I also suggest the following book:

Landlording

It is #6 + your budget is holding you back assuming your area is all $235k for 2br+1bath. The #6 ties you to an area. Generally a certain area was built up all at one time and if they were all built as 2br + 1 bathroom, that is what you will find there unless someone has expanded/renovated since. Then if all those 2br + 1bath are listed at $215k-235k trying to find something outside the base (semi-renovated, extra bedroom, extra 0.5 bath, ect), is going to cost more.

My advice, try to find #1, #2, #4 (at least a decent layout, does not need to be updated), #6 and ideally #5.

3 is not important. Actually crappy carpet can be a positive because many people can't see past it and the house sells cheaper. Pulling out carpet and putting in wood/engineered is not a big deal.

4 If you have decent layout and the cabinet boxes are ok, getting your cabinet doors refinished/painted/replaced and a new counter put down is an easy fix to make a BIG improvement.

Trying to add a 3rd bedroom or 0.5 bath can open up a huge can of worms with permits/electrical/plumbing so best to avoid if possible.

Find something with good bones in the area you like and the rest can be slowly improved as budget permits. Be sure to have a good home inspector but it is also not a bad idea to read up yourself and look for red flags as well (https://www.amazon.ca/Holmes-Inspection-Essential-Homeowner-Seller/dp/1603209298)

Good luck.

Solid plan. I think this is how a lot of Canadian investors get started.

Whatever province you're in, read the Residential Tenancies Act (or your equivalent) and have a good understanding of it. Even if you're going to eventually hire a property manager, look after the first property yourself so you get a good feel for what you're doing and build some experience.

Always screen all your tenants including getting a credit check. Don't ever, ever, EVER skip the credit check.

If you have clean rental properties in OK areas that are well looked after, you'll have no trouble finding good tenants. Treat them fairly and with respect and you'll minimize (or eliminate) nightmare tenant stories.

When I got started, I read Real Estate Investing in Canada by Don R Campbell. Good little book that's not intimidating. Well worth the $20 investment.

http://www.amazon.ca/Real-Estate-Investing-Canada-Creating/dp/0470158891

I LOVE this deal but I haven't run the numbers. What does it net a month? Cash flow above the mortgage?
You didn't say what the expenses are but the mortgage would be about $28,000 a year and the gross rent is about $82,000 a year so it looks like a winner.

My biggest concern is property management but keeping the PM is a great move.

I love it. Read this book: David Lindahl's "Multi-Family Millions."

https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Family-Millions-Reposition-Apartments-Profits/dp/0470267607

http://www.amazon.com/Journal-Complete-Real-Estate-Investing-Guidebook/dp/0307345629

It's the WSJ RE guide. Of all the books I read before I bought my first property - this was the most useful in terms of walking you through the process. Honestly though this sub has some super useful threads - buyers describing their first purchase (like a timeline of day-by-day) that a FTB would definitely benefit from. Sometimes the personal accounts you read here from industry professionals and investors are way better than what's passed through a publisher.

I cannot remember the exact numbers but you can get some write-offs living in a property that you also rent out if it isn't commercial property. Src: this book. I would totally recommend that book. I have been looking into real estate as a side gig and this book has been awesome for good advice without any bullshit. It is an easy read.


**edit: second part was for OP

I'd recommend reading a few books. Before I got started, I found these particularly helpful:
Sell with Soul by Jennifer Allan
21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me by Frank Cook
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller- everyone swears by this one, but I didn't find it that helpful.

Good Luck

The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income Through Intelligent Buy & Hold Real Estate Investing! https://www.amazon.com/dp/099071179X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gzbrDb6QRAYFY

Also aside from reading this, check out the authors channel on YouTube he has some very informative videos about real estate. It’s called bigger pockets.

Also Graham Stephan on YouTube as well is another very knowledgeable and successful real estate investor.

I started out reading rich dad poor dad and it was my gateway drug. Now I’m on a mission to know everything about money.

I happen to like Dave - both his events and him personally the times we've met. I think he's got a good story and he's done a fair amount. IMHO Multifamily Millions is one of the best real estate books out there.

I've never bought any actual product though my partner has. We've both attended a couple of his events. I'll go on record here - and I've told Dave this - he's the reason my partner got motivated about multi-family and he's the reason my wife quit her job.

That's a good list, BUT they should be secondary reading, sure you can get insights from them that can relate to any type of investing but you want to be RE specific right? Here is a list I would look into.

Private Real Estate Investment: Data Analysis and Decision Making

Real Estate Finance & Investments

Multifamily Housing Development Handbook

Real Estate Market Analysis: Methods and Case Studies, Second Edition

The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings

How to Pay Little or No Taxes on Your Real Estate Investments: What Smart Investors Need to Know

Investing in Real Estate

Real Estate Investing, Cash Flows, and Due Diligence: Making Better Investment Decisions (Volume 2)

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures

That's a lot, also info in those books may over lap so pick which ones you would want to answer your specific questions. Hope this helps.

Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Estimating-Rehab-Costs-BiggerPockets/dp/0988973715

You can probably check it out from the library. You don't need all of it, just skip to the chapter on writing a Statement of Work. It will help you communicate with your contractor, and greatly reduce the chance of overages (but you should still plan for them of course).

Other than that, the best thing you can do is network a bit to find an awesome contractor.

J Scott wrote one a few years back. "How to Flip Houses" or something like that. TBH though I didn't think that it was that great. A lot of it was either very obvious stuff or directly related to his personal experience in his location.

I like to recommend this book:https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Real-Estate-Investing-Introduction/dp/0981893562

It's massively simplistic, but at the same time does a great job of introducing the basic concepts and ideas.

i cannot recommend this book more highly, yes it is old, but it is very straightforward and gives great answers to all of the questions you are asking and more....send me a pm if interested

http://www.amazon.com/Turned-into-Million-Estate-Spare/dp/0671253689

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.

>How much work would I be looking at?

Quite a bit. That's 8 rooms I'm assuming? If you have a full-time job, then you are going to be having a lot of work on your plate. Expect problems like a sink being backed up quite frequently, especially if you have college kids in there. The main halls would have to be cleaned frequently. Any landscaping? That's all your responsibility or you could pay someone to do it, which will cut into your profits. Then there's collecting the rent every month, getting new tenants and evicting deadbeat tenants. You could pay a property management company, but again, that will cut into your profits.

>Teach me everything.

Commercial property isn't that simple. It can't be taught in a few paragraphs.

http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Family-Millions-Reposition-Apartments-Profits/dp/0470267607/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_T1?ie=UTF8&coliid=I18T4B88QO616J&colid=1ETOZ16L1GY7H

http://www.amazon.com/Investor-Flow-Financial-Measures-ebook/dp/B004BKIEUS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS?ie=UTF8&coliid=IHFWIUNLSDD2D&colid=1ETOZ16L1GY7H

These are both highly recommended books by most people. Read them first before you start dropping serious cash on property. BiggerPockets.com is also a great resource for information.

Released just last year, I really like Bigger Pocket's book on rental property investing. Very specific when it needs to be with an active investor who is walking the walk as the author.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Intelligent/dp/099071179X?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

Also the Bigger Pockets podcast is an excellent resource.

I'm one of those that think the Rich Dad series are crap. That goes for both author and content.

If you want a great intro to real estate investing book read The Skinny on Real Estate Investing: An Introduction to the Subject by Jim Randel

Read Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads...they talk about doing exactly what you're talking about. You buy a duplex/triplex, reside in one, and rent the other space. Basically you end up living for free while someone else pays your mortgage. The benefit is that you don't get hit with all the requirements/taxes/etc that you'd get hit with if you bought a rental

Investing in real estate really requires that you know a little about a lot of things. These are the books I used when starting up:

General Overview:

• The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook
  
• The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
  
  Multi-Family Introduction:
  
  
• Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads
  
  Flipping Introduction:
  
  
• FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit
  
  Real Estate Formula Primer:
  
  
• What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow
  
  Landlord Tax Basics:
  
  
• Every Landlords Tax Deduction Guide
  
  
  That is a good intro for books...BiggerPockets is always good too. However, most investors will tell you that there is only so much you can read about real estate. Read some books, get a feel and then go for it. It's the only way you can really learn.

You're 23, it is understandable that you can't afford it. You also desire a property in an "expensive" area.

-

Here is a good book. https://www.amazon.com/Journal-Complete-Real-Estate-Investing-Guidebook/dp/0307345629

Sell with Soul by Jennifer Allan was pretty refreshing. I have a huge stack of RE books by my desk and that one stood out first.

Have you read this one? I'm assuming you have since you've recommended it?

investing in Canadian real estate is something I've been seriously looking at lately as well. Would you also recommend Don Campbell's other book?

yea, biggerpockets [the book] (https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Intelligent/dp/099071179X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525098461&sr=8-1&keywords=BiggerPockets) is the beginner book of choice these days. Site has some valuable blogs as well

Millionaire Real Estate Investor, Gary Keller.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Millionaire-Real-Estate-Investor/dp/0071446370

There might be better "beginner books", but I think this does start at the basics and does an even better job at the more thorough and practical levels. By far the best overall book on RE investing that I have read. No nonsense approach, which is hard to come by in a world where every slick haired dude ever bought anything is trying to sell a book on "how to be a billionaire overnight with no money or assets at all!".

Beyond that there are a list of other books that hit on more specific or detailed topics, and when you need those just let me know. I could think of a few.

Great book: "Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide"

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Tax-Deduction-Guide/dp/1413317685

I'm reading Trumps "The Best Real Estate Advice I Have Ever Received", which is a book with advice from 100 well known and respected Real Estate professionals. In the book, "How I turned $1,000 into a Million in Real Estate - In My Spare Time" by William Nickerson is held in very high esteem. I just purchased it recently and haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but it's widely considered one of the most practical Real Estate books of all time.

The title of the book has been updated over time to reflect inflation, so now it's 5 million: http://www.amazon.com/Turned-into-Million-Estate-Spare/dp/0671253689

I’m reading Brandon Turner’s The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and low) Money Down: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Investing-Real-Estate-Money/dp/0990711714

Really good so far and has good tips for financing.

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/

It is, but I would maybe buy one of the earlier versions as it is like $5 shipped. Check them here

This

Especially this

I found a copy of each of these in a book drive I participated in for charity-- paid 25 cents each. Well worth it.

Read a book, HOLD: How to Find, Buy, and Rent Houses for Wealth is a good one.

I recommend this book: Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads

I bought this book a few months ago and I think it has exactly what you're looking for:

300 Ways to Buy, Sell, or Exchange Real Estate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/098951904X

Hope this helps. I don't stand to benefit from your purchase.

I highly recommend this book, it will answer all of your tax questions. It's worth the $30 (and if you do go ahead with this plan, you can deduct the cost of the book itself).

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Landlords-Tax-Deduction-Guide/dp/1413317685/

And as others have noted, if you're not planning to live in it personally you need to get a mortgage for it as an investment property. The fact that you're planning to rent it to a relative is no different than if you were renting it to a stranger. It's unlikely there would be much scrutiny after the loan is made so long as you're not delinquent, but technically it would be mortgage fraud as you'll need to sign a document that it's intended as a primary residence.

All that being said, if the numbers work this can be a great setup.

found this book... thinking about ordering it just to understand the essentials:

http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Inspection-Essential-Homeowner-Seller/dp/1603209298/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KA0C0JH157ZXYERQM3R

http://www.amazon.com/HOLD-Find-Rent-Houses-Wealth/dp/0071797041/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377522043&sr=1-1&keywords=hold

This?

http://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Handymanual-Scrupulous-Landladies-Themselves/dp/0932956254

Is it this one?

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/098951904X

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

I saw in your comments that you area fellow canuck. Do not invest until you have read this book. All of your questions will be answered. For the types of joint venturing you are looking at, you should read this.

I suggest reading this. It's a good introduction to the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981893562/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Loopholes-Successful-Investing/dp/0446691356/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Is this the book you were referring to? If not, could you link me? I can't find any exactly titled 'Loopholes in Real Estate'.

You are asking a bloated question. No one here is going to be able to answer this whale of a question. Suggest picking up this book, save yourself the trouble.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990711714/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_jWfTAbWF02H2Z