Why a Book on Rental Property Now?

Why self-publish a book about investing in real estate when home prices are skyrocketing, interest rates are rising, and a general economic uncertainty grips the land? I will share my two cents on these concerns but certainly don’t pretend to offer definite solutions. It is truly unique times we are living in!

As I completed Collect Rent, Don’t Pay It, we entered the third calendar year of a global pandemic that took millions of lives globally and impacted us all in many ways. “Normal” will be defined completely different than it was just a few years ago.

Similarly, our economy is in an unusual spot. Rents are skyrocketing but salaries certainly aren’t. Even though my wife and I don’t rent gouge as some landlords are doing presently, we’ve been forced to increase our rents in order for our properties to remain within their rental market class.

As far as real estate values go, most markets are experiencing an incredible boom. In our particular area, homes stay on the market literally for a few hours before an offer is accepted. This is despite sales prices which are sometimes 20 to 30 percent higher than they were just a few years ago.

Rentals fly off the market equally fast. We can’t rent vacant apartments fast enough. When we list a home for rent, we receive an overwhelming response from dozens of qualified prospective tenants. There is a housing shortage in many areas of our nation. How long will this last? Will the bottom fall out on the real estate and rental market?

I’ve previously shared our scar tissue with building a new investment property. It took us two years to build a relatively simple duplex design. While the root cause may have been poor project management, there were some very real supply chain and labor shortages also contributing to the delays. Demand for materials and workers is far exceeding supply despite inflation, increasing unemployment and a global pandemic. How the heck does that work?

The answers to these questions are certainly beyond my level of economics understanding. My son is starting college in the fall and chose to major in economics. I am hoping he will gain the knowledge to answer some of these questions for me!

Yet, with all these unanswered questions and uncertainty about our nation’s socio-economic future, my wife and I keep plugging away at real estate. Why? Shouldn’t we just cash in while the getting is good? More importantly, why should someone who hasn’t taken the plunge into real estate even consider doing so now?

I’ll go back to my realist world view to answer these rhetorical questions. Real estate can be touched and held. It is the antithesis of “crypto currency” or whatever they call it these days. Real estate is almost guaranteed to appreciate over time whereas the newest trend in smartphones, vehicles or any other technology will inevitably depreciate or perhaps disappear altogether. Real estate is not a passing fancy. 

Even if our nation is entering another real estate bubble and home values or rents go down, they won’t go away. At a very base level, the real estate investor will always possess shelter for themselves and others to live.  Even in the worst case, if a property burns to the ground, the dirt the home is built on won’t burn. Real estate is a physical constant, unlike crypto, stocks or other investments.

It all comes down to where do you place your trust? In the earth and the basic human need of shelter or in those fleeting wants, and desires devised by society? These are the fundamental attributes of rental property investing which provides a level of comfort to my wife and me in these uncertain times.

But what about those aspiring rental investors who haven’t taken the plunge yet? Agreeably, it will be harder for the new investor to get into the real estate market today. How can the worker do it?

Today’s real estate market may require a little more skillful condition setting to include a few more years of building capital to make that first purchase. Home prices and rents may shape an investor’s macro level market analysis, influencing what part of the nation they chose to invest or even live.

The principles I share and that we’ve used to some success in my book still hold true, even within the current market conditions. Now, and indeed any time, is the time to invest in real estate if the conditions are set!  

So to answer the question posed in the title of this blog, why a book on rental now, my hope is sharing the experiences we’ve learned from our 14 year investing adventure will help a reader to make an informed decision. Hopefully, our story will serve as both an inspiration and useful how-to for those seeking to invest in rental properties and reach their financial goals.

To learn more about the lessons we’ve learned from investing in rental properties, check Collect Rent, Don’t Pay It! A Beginner’s Guide to Rental Property Investing, for sale now on Amazon!

The commentary provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a source of financial or investing advice.

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