BiggerPockets Daily

Effective rental property management is essential to your long-term success. Without a defined strategy, there’s a greater chance of making mistakes that cost you time and money.

Here’s a property management checklist that tells you two things:

1. What needs to be done

2. When it needs to be done

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Depending on the college, students nationwide looking to live at school have recently found themselves staying in luxury hotels, trailers, on friends’ couches, or Zooming in to class from their parents’ homes. That’s because available student housing is becoming as rare as a full-ride acceptance letter from an Ivy League university.

The shortage has created a massive opportunity for private developers and landlords, who know that housing doesn’t have to be paid for out of pocket but can be borrowed, along with student loans that cover tuition and food.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I don’t invest in Bitcoin because I am betting on the continuation of Western civilization, not its collapse or decline. If I did believe my government would collapse, I’d invest in guns, ammo, and canned corn. And if I believed that Bitcoin could peacefully replace my country’s currency, I’d still rather own real estate, businesses, stocks, or other alternative assets than a currency like Bitcoin.

At $1.3 trillion in market capitalization as of April 2024 and a price of $65,000 per Bitcoin, enthusiasts of the cryptocurrency, who I will refer to going forward as “Bitcoin Maximalists,” may think that they have another conclusive proof point validating their thesis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I don’t invest in Bitcoin because I am betting on the continuation of Western civilization, not its collapse or decline. If I did believe my government would collapse, I’d invest in guns, ammo, and canned corn. And if I believed that Bitcoin could peacefully replace my country’s currency, I’d still rather own real estate, businesses, stocks, or other alternative assets than a currency like Bitcoin.

At $1.3 trillion in market capitalization as of April 2024 and a price of $65,000 per Bitcoin, enthusiasts of the cryptocurrency, who I will refer to going forward as “Bitcoin Maximalists,” may think that they have another conclusive proof point validating their thesis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you haven’t heard, Henry Washington and I are doing something special in honor of the 200th episode of On the Market. We are competing in a Flip/Off, battling against each other to see who can score the highest return. 

We described our deals on the podcast and what we hoped to achieve, but I want to keep everyone up to speed on how my flip is progressing. So, every week, I’ll update this diary so you can see how my property transforms into the high-cash-flow deal I know it will become.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year’s hurricane season is expected to be one of the busiest on record, with a potential for 25 named storms. How much risk is your property at? Meanwhile, home prices fell in 7% of markets, but some stand out as cities that, on paper, shouldn’t be showing declines. Is this indicative of a larger trend? Or is it just an outlier?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/14-cities-facing-highest-property-damage-risk-during-hurricane-season

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/crash-or-correction-home-prices-are-falling-in-these-cities

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With median house prices in the U.S. inching towards half a million dollars and mortgage rates back over 7%, homebuyers and investors alike are getting choked out of the market. Although there are several cities in the Midwest and South where you can still buy homes for $100,000, they tend to be the exception rather than the norm. 

Despite the shortage of houses, according to Realtor.com, there are several markets where you can buy a quality home in a good neighborhood for under $300,000. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A record 300,000 migrants entered the U.S. through the southern border in December. Rather than trying to sneak past border agents, many surrendered to apply for asylum. 

Overwhelmed immigration courts take years to process these claims, and migrants are protected from deportation in the meantime. They hope to stay, work, and build a life here. But achieving legal status in the U.S. is a complicated process. Meanwhile, some Americans are fearful of the impact of increased immigration rates on U.S. citizens and communities, which has led politicians to consider immigration policy reforms. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taxes and regulations impact your bottom line as an investor—and not always in direct or obvious ways. Unfortunately, as soon as you start talking about either one, the average person closes their mind, circling the wagons around their existing worldview and only hearing data points that support it. Look no further than this Yale study, which shows that people perform worse on math problems if the correct answers conflict with their political ideology. 

I’ll get it out of the way now: I find both major political parties reprehensible and hypocritical. I’ve voted for each roughly equally over my life.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you find and hire a property manager, there’s something you need to know: Not all property management companies structure their costs the same way. 

Knowing how much property managers generally charge—including their fee structure—allows you to determine if it’s the right fit for you. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices