Buying First Rental Property -

Location is the one thing you cannot change about a property. Focus on areas with strong economic indicators.

Use services like Zillow Rental Manager to run credit and background checks. A bad tenant is more expensive than a vacant unit [20]. buying first rental property

Decide between long-term rentals (stability), short-term rentals (higher potential income, more work), or "house hacking" (living in one unit of a multi-family property while renting the others). Apply the "Rules of Thumb": Location is the one thing you cannot change about a property

Include often-overlooked costs like landlord insurance, property management fees (typically 8-12% of rent), and a "vacancy fund" (5-10% of rent) [5, 10]. A bad tenant is more expensive than a vacant unit [20]

Look for regions with low property taxes, growing job markets, and high-quality school districts.

Monthly rent should ideally be at least 1% of the purchase price [16].