Here are key factors for successfully turning your rental ownership into the financial bedrock of your retirement prosperity:
- Own well-located homes, condos and apartments maintaining at least a 30% equity position.
- Pay down loans to achieve this safe equity position as quickly as possible.
- Repair and refurbish the property to maintain physical quality which attracts preferred renters that pay market rent
- Carefully qualify applications from potential renters and retain quality residents by responding to legitimate service requests via a professional manager that keeps you buffered from the daily drama, personal liability and/or premature sale.
- Keep good records to document expenditures and optimize your tax write-off.
- Protect yourself with adequate insurance and control your liability with professional property management that inspects your property and respects your renters as customers.
- Generally, rental property should be acquired, maintained, improved and held; never sold. Instead, periodically evaluate whether you should refinance existing property and purchase additional property but the end goal is rental ownership free of debt.
- Don’t lose valuable equity to selling expenses. Rather, retire with tax-favored rental income and a reserve for contingencies.
