The combination of tax reform and low mortgage rates makes real estate -- in particular owner-managed income-producing properties -- a profitable investment choice for millions of consumers, according to real estate experts Daniel Goodwin and Richard Rusdorf, co-authors of the revised "The Landlord's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Managing Small Residential Properties," 2nd Edition (Real Estate Education Company, $29.95). A series of proven insider techniques in this comprehensive guide teaches landlords how to maximize their investments and turn a profit. The book provides real estate investors with sample forms, ads, worksheets, and sage advice from two experts with decades of experience.

Authors Daniel L. Goodwin (Chicago, Ill.) and Richard F. Rusdorf, CPM, (Phoenix, Ariz.) have more than 50 years of combined experience in managing income-producing real estate. Goodwin, chairman and CEO of the Inland Group of Real Estate Companies, has been involved in more than 1,200 separate real estate transactions nationwide, as well as the sale of more than $2 billion worth of income-producing residential properties. Rusdorf, a real estate broker, consultant, writer, architectural photographer, and certified property manager, is past president of the Chicago chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management. The authors guide landlord-investors through every step of managing income-producing properties, including:

• Finding stable tenants who will renew their leases
• Collecting rent on time to increase profits
• Maintaining the property to enhance its value
• Dealing with tenants professionally for mutual respect
• Selecting the best insurance without breaking the bank
• Understanding tax and accounting issues for the best return on your investment

The active management techniques revealed throughout the book help landlords maximize their tax deductions while increasing their bottom lines. One of the book's primary strategies for maximizing your profits: Minimize your amount of involvement with tenants. Minimize? Wouldn't that stoke the fires of a shaky tenant-landlord relationship? Not necessarily, Rusdorf says. "If the property is properly maintained, the tenant won't have to call you," he says. "And if you find a tenant who's responsible and financially stable, they'll pay their rent and won't destroy the property."

Rusdorf advises landlords to do all of their own labor -- electricity, window and door repairs, plumbing, and landscaping, for example. "If you call professional repair companies to do the job, you'll lose money," he says. "Landlords would be well-advised to learn how to do these things themselves."

On the surface, being a landlord seems like a rather thankless job. But Rusdorf says if handled properly, it's an extremely profitable one. "I know people who own 70 houses. It's a full-time job," he says. "But homes can be more profitable because they appreciate more in value than apartments do. And you spread the risk out among several houses."

"The Landlord's Handbook" is being promoted by the Real Estate Education Company.

Published: March 18, 1998

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