Newbie questions! North Dallas Texas area

Newbie questions! North Dallas Texas area

Melissa, TX · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 3 votes
Hey y'all, I am a complete newbie and my husband and I are saving like crazy so we can purchase our first rental property by November of this year. I am so excited but this is all so new to me and I have a million questions. How do you find renters? How do you screen them? How do you evaluate a property? And know how much you can rent it for? Where do you get your rental contracts? Are they standard or does your attorney make them up for you? If a renter pays late how much do you charge as a late fee? Maybe there is a great book I could read that could help me starting from square one, there are so many options that I'm not sure where to start so I've primarily been just listening to the BP podcast daily and I started working full time (previously a stay at home mom) so that I can help us save as much as possible so we can get started.
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  • Real Estate Investor · Strawberry Point, IA · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 18 votes
    9y

    Hello, @Erin Rose!  Bigger pockets has many books that will give you some good guides.  @Chad Carson has written a blog on BP called "7 Absolute Must Read Real Estate Books For Beginning Investors". (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/11/13/7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors/)  I think you are going to find some good information in these.  Some of these books are going to give you actual samples of leases.  Some will also give you some guidelines on the importance of having written procedures/qualifications when screening tenants.  Each state will have different laws, but, from my research, the main thing is to have a written set of guidelines when screening tenants and don't stray from it.  

    Your real estate agent and real estate attorney will also be able to guide you!

    As far as finding renters, we use yard signs, craigslist and local bulletins. 

    To evaluate a property, I asked my realtor (who is also an investor) what the norm rental rate per bedroom.  You can also take a look at Craigslist or Zillow or the like to find out what people are asking for currently for rents.

    There are laws on late fees too!  You can only charge so much. You will have to check with your attorney (or do some research.)

    Good luck!  So exciting!

  • Real Estate Investor · Strawberry Point, IA · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 18 votes
    9y

    Hey, hey @Erin Rose!  I was just listening to the BP Podcast #229 and @Mindy Jensen mentioned the files that have been uploaded to BP!  You will find a lot of templates there that can get you started.  www.biggerpockets.com/files

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