First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting out a Single-Family Home

The 101 on earning rental income from a single-family home

First-Time Landlord, a consistent customer favorite, shows how to start a landlording business and maintain it in one’s spare time. Contains concise information on how to make money with a single-family home without getting into financial or legal hot water.

Readers will obtain easily digested information on how to rent out a property lawfully and safely, assess profitability before buying or committing to renting a property, find good tenants (or deal with difficult ones), prepare and sign the lease, handle repairs and maintenance, comply with state laws, and when the time is right, sell at a profit.

With timely tips and true stories from successful landlords (including some who learned tough lessons along the way), First-Time Landlord is an indispensable book for property owners who want to rent out a single-family home.

ISBN-13: 9781413331288

Media Type: Paperback(Sixth Edition)

Publisher: NOLO

Publication Date: 08-29-2023

Pages: 336

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Janet Portman, an attorney and Nolo’s executive editor, specializes in residential and commercial landlord/tenant law. She is the author or coauthor of Every Landlord's Legal Guide, Every Tenant's Legal Guide, Renters' Rights, Leases & Rental Agreements, The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and others. Portman received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford Universityand a law degree from Santa Clara University. As a practicing attorney, she specialized in Criminal defense before joining Nolo. Ilona Bray is an author and legal editor at Nolo, specializing in real estate, immigration law, and nonprofit fundraising. She is coauthor of Becoming a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Immigration Made Easy, Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home and numerous other top selling books. Bray's working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints, as well as long periods of volunteering, including an internship at Amnesty International's main legal office in London. She received her law degree and a Masters degree in East Asian (Chinese) Studies from the Universityof Washington. Bray also blogs on Nolo's Immigration Law Blog. Marcia Stewart writes and edits for Nolo on landlord-tenant law, real estate, and other consumer issues. She is the coauthor of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, Every Landlord's Legal Guide, and Rental Agreements, Renters' Rights.

Table of Contents

Your First-Time Landlord’s Companion 1. Will Landlording Bring You Money and Happiness? 2. So Happy Together: Landlording With Family or Friends 3. Preparing and Marketing Your Rental Property 4. Screening and Choosing Good Tenants 5. Preparing a Lease and Getting the Tenant Moved In 6. Manage Your Rental Income to Maximize Tax Deductions 7. Keeping Things Shipshape: Repairs and Maintenance 8. Landlord Liability for Injuries, Crimes, and More 9. Living in Perfect Harmony? Dealing With Difficult Tenants 10. Don’t Want to Do It Alone? Hiring a Property Manager 11. Ready to Quit? Exiting the Rental Property Business 12. A Slower Exit: Rent-to-Own Arrangements 13. Renting Out a Room in Your Home