My First Rental Property Investment

by Corey Klines
(Seattle, WA)

Making your first rental property investment can be both exciting and nerve wrecking. I can vividly remember my first rental property purchase - I was filled with every doubt you can imagine and at every point I wanted to back out of the deal.

Despite all that initial jitters, becoming a landlord was one of the best decisions I had made. In a way I wished that I had this guide with me when I was making my first purchase. It certainly cleared a lot of doubts and simplified the entire buying process into a few basic steps.

When buying a rental property investment, the most crucial thing is to get your numbers and figures all worked out before you sign on the dotted line.

Be sure to compare the prices of similar rental properties in the same neighborhood. Similar means that the property type (condo, townhouse, duplex) should be the same.

Always factor in any repair and maintenance costs that are required to get the property into a rentable condition. Of course some of the prices and costs will have to estimated at this stage so remember to be more conservative when you are making any estimates.