{"product_id":"9780996035804","title":"80\/20 Landlording: Learn how to Increase your 80% \u0026 Decrease your 20","description":"Introduction\u003cp\u003eIt usually takes a significant emotional event or epiphany to enable someone to make a permanent change. The authors of this book experienced such events that launched them into the world of Real Estate Investing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSheamus Clarke was working for a privately held company when the executive team underwent significant changes that Sheamus was not happy with and did not want to be a part of. Sheamus looked at what he could do to best secure his and his family's future. He decided to change his employment as well as invest in a rental property.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis new job in software development allowed him to work from home, doing training and support for a small software company. He spent nights and weekends setting up a rental company, reading up on real estate investing and looking at available properties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe and his wife purchased a fourplex that had been vacant for some time. Over the next few years, they acquired more properties and now manage and maintain 25 properties.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScott Stellhorn's in-laws were landlords in the 1980s and introduced him to the concept of rental income. His father-in-law did 95% of the repairs on the units, from plumbing to electrical to roofing. Scott gained his training in maintenance from him, which saved him tremendous money in the future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile in college, Scott purchased his first fixer-upper to rent and sold it the first year to the tenants who occupied the home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe graduated college in 1983 with an Associate's Degree in computer science and started his computer technology career writing COBOL for a distribution company in Fort Wayne.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile working full-time, he increased his holdings on fixer-upper multi-unit buildings and, in turn, increased his rental income. As you will read in the upcoming chapters, there were times of joy mixed with \"What am I doing?\" In the end, the benefits of being an Independent Rental Owner outweighed the issues he encountered.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is written so that you can focus more on the 20% of your work that matters and less on the 20% of your tenants that cause all the headaches.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe've learned a lot over our 45 combined years. We've found tricks and tools that work. We'll refer to one again and again-Real Tenant History (www.realtenanthistory.com). But there are plenty of others, from legal processes to hard-won knowledge. It's all here to aid you whatever might come.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeing a landlord is not easy, but it is rewarding. We hope our experiences, written by landlords, for landlords, can make your work that much easier and that much more rewarding.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is a Tenant Predator?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to Real Tenant History, a tenant predator is someone who moves from apartment to apartment every two to three months, paying very little rent or utilities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt happens like this:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I need a place,\" the person says, and he needs it now. \"Can you work with me about the deposit?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou're in the business of providing places for people to live, so you say, \"Yes.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe person moves in, paying only a month, or perhaps only a week, of rent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the first of the month rolls around, he confesses, \"I've had lots of bills lately. The rent's coming. It'll just be a little late.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou decide to check into things. You find the tenant put the utilities in his name, but he hasn't bothered to pay those either.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMid-month rolls around. No rent. You call him up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExcuses, excuses.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Night Hawk Systems, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47008944226544,"sku":"9780996035804","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780996035804_p0.jpg?v=1763901837","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780996035804","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}