***Think You Don't Want to Be a Landlord? Maybe You Should Think Again

In the eyes of many potential investors, owning rental properties entails too much hassle. “I’d never invest in property,” some say. “Who wants to get called out at 2 a.m. to fix a stopped-up toilet?” No doubt, if you self-manage real estate, you will get those unpleasant calls. You will put in tons of time and effort, so unless you’re a glutton for punishment, you will set up systems and trade persons to maintain and repair your properties. Yet in my experience, self-management need not create an undue burden. In my early years, I self-managed dozens of my low- to moderate-income rentals. Yet at the same time, I held a full-time university faculty position and also enrolled full-time in a rigorous PhD program in business. To focus on negatives such as cleaning toilets, mowing lawns, or cajolingnnwayward tenants to pay their rent misses the more significant point:nnProperty management offers a lucrative opportunity to craft a market strategy for your properties. Rather than a burden, self-management presents a blessing. The key is to think not like a landlord but like an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneurial owner, you figure out how to maximize your net income by tailoring your property’s features and benefits to match the intense, unsatisfied needs and wants of a specific market segment of tenants. Yes, you can steer clear of property management if you choose to, by delegating operational duties to a property management firm or to employees. But keep in mind that in our society, entrepreneurs earn the largest rewards -- a bounty that lies out of reach for those less involved people who invest passively and expect to watch their money grow from afar.nnThis article is adapted from the new book Trump University Wealth Building 101: Your First 90 Days on the Path to Prosperity. Available October 2 at your bookseller.nnn

---

nGary W. Eldred, PhD, has been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions as buyer, seller and consultant. He is author of many best-selling books on real estate. Dr. Eldred created The Real Estate Investor Training Program for Trump University.