In my previous blog post, I shared the five major mistakes I made with my first long-term rental investment, hoping you can learn from my experience. This week, I’ll outline the key traits I seek in every long-term rental property I invest in or recommend to my clients.

Reality was utterly different from paper analysis.

I opt for long-term rentals in rapidly appreciating markets that attract reliable tenants. This strategy allows me to build my retirement portfolio with minimal capital while ensuring steady income—even during economic downturns.

If your goal is financial independence, the property type is not relevant. What matters is the tenant who occupies the property. So, find a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people, determine what and where they rent today, and buy similar properties. Forget about guru dogma.

The era of browsing Redfin and Zillow to find good investment properties manually has passed. Today, you need specialized software and a team of experts to sift through the vast ocean of available properties and identify the few gems worth investing in.

To maintain your standard of living, your rental income must outpace inflation, providing the extra funds needed to cover rising costs due to inflation. If rents don’t outpace inflation, you’ll quickly be back in the soul-crushing monotony of the daily grind. In this post, you will find three tips for finding the right location.

A client recently asked me how many properties they’d need to achieve financial independence. The answer depends on the rent growth rate of your properties, as I will explain in this post.

There are two methods for acquiring multiple properties. The first requires millions in after-tax savings, while the second needs only a fraction of that amount. In this post, you’ll learn about both approaches.

Always have the property inspected by an experienced and knowledgeable inspector. If there are high-risk items, either resolve the risk with secondary inspections or cancel the purchase. You cannot afford to buy a property with high-risk repairs.

Our business relies on repeat clients, meaning our clients consistently make money. This requires properties that remain occupied by reliable tenants and have low operating costs. As a result, we’ve delivered more than 500 properties to clients worldwide, and our repeat business rate is over 90%.

Will it happen? What does it mean for the Las Vegas housing market?

I started my investment career by reading every investing article I could find. I talked to others and wrote software to determine the best property to buy. I decided a C (D?) Class multi-family property was the best option based on my research. It was a nightmare.

Success in real estate does not require securing “great deals.” It requires great fundamentals.

The key to financial freedom is the tenant segment, not the property. No property has ever paid the rent, so focusing on selecting properties first is looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

The location (city) determines all long-term income characteristics.

Buy or wait. A constant question in the current high interest rate environment. In this article, I talk abou the tradeoffs of waiting.

We’ve renovated over 500 rental properties and learned some expensive lessons before adopting our current renovation process and renovation partner.

The cost of preparing a property to re-rent largely depends on how “hardened” the property was when it was put into service and how the tenant takes care of it.

Over the past 16 years, I’ve worked with nearly 200 first-time investors. From my experience, until they go through our training, most are completely focused on ROI and cash flow. I will offer some essential tips for first-time investors in this article.

I initially focused on cash flow, investing in a 4-plex property in Houston that appeared profitable on paper. However, after a year of tenant issues and high maintenance costs, I discovered it was a money pit.

Renovation can be a minefield of potential problems. This article provides essential information and concepts for ensuring a smooth renovation process.

Choosing the right market to invest in is your most important investment decision. The location determines all long-term income characteristics essential for achieving and maintaining financial freedom. In this article, I discuss the tools that I use.

Sometimes, the only way to win is to avoid playing the game, which applies to litigation. In this post, I outline 15 preventative measures we use to minimize litigation risk that may arise from rental properties.

There has never been a case where an investment property itself paid rent. The tenant pays the rent. Therefore, instead of focusing solely on purchasing a property, focus on who will be paying the rent—the tenant.

In this post, I answer the question, “Why should I buy in Las Vegas when there are locations with lower-cost properties?”

Creating a teaming agreement today will save friendships and legal fees in the future.

In this article, I explain why maintenance costs are not the critical factor for profitability. What matters is attracting and retaining the right tenants.

Tile roofs are easy to inspect and have a long lifespan, which is why we only consider properties with tile roofs. In this post you will learn how to inspect and the general repair process.

Are condos a good investment property in Las Vegas? In this article, I will cover the pros and cons of condos as investments in Las Vegas.