This is the next installment of a 7 part series exploring ideas of why real estate is such a good investment. The focus will be on single family and multifamily real estate, but a good idea is a good idea, enjoy.  Today we are exploring using real estate as a rental property. It is the most common use for investment residential real estate, the first question is whether to go with short-term rentals, or long term (fixed term) rentals. For short-term rentals (Airbnb or similar), first make sure about city ordinances, for example,  City of Anaheim  has extremely restrictive rules relating to short term rentals. The rules can be many, burdensome and ever-updating, in fact, I would not recommend doing short term rentals in Anaheim at all. In addition to cities, HOAs (Homeowner's Associations) are common in areas that have high Airbnb demand, and  they have not been friendly to it either . Secondly, please note that short-term rentals have the primary com...

Recently, I was walking through a house for a first time buyer and going through a couple things that have always been on my "Checklists" of sorts. As I was walking through with the family and  explaining to them everything on the checklist, I realized it would be a great thing to teach others and to get in writing. One of the biggest ways this list will have value for you, is that you can take this list and fill it out per property (if you were looking at and deciding between multiple properties) and get a black and white comparison of how much value the house has, and from there make a decision to buy/not buy and how much money to do so with. I am thus calling this list: 10 Things of Hidden Value in Your Home. 1. Water Heater: When was the last time the water heater was replaced? How old or new is it? Old Water heaters will need to be replaced, while new or newer water heaters won't need to be replaced for a couple of years. New or Newer water heaters are +1. 2. W...