Dulcey Schuster's Blog

No, the answer is not let the first person who applies move in and keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best! If you find a good tenant your job as a landlord or property manager will be so much easier, the time and effort you put in at the beginning will be well worth it.As I gain experien...

Rentec is honoring our Troops for Memorial Day! I wanted to let everyone in the Active Rain community know that Rentec Direct, leading property management software and tenant screening company, is offering $10 off any Premium Screening package which brings the total to just $19.95. The Premium Sc...

I have a friend who has been trying to convince me and my husband to purchase real estate in Las Vegas, NV since the big housing bubble burst.  I enjoy investing in real estate and the potential to get a great deal in an area that has been hit hard, and would have the highest return on investment...

If you own and rent real estate as I do you have likely had a conversation with a friend, a colleague, or even a total stranger and once they hear you are a landlord they for some reason feel compelled to crack a joke or imply that you are a slumlord. When I get that kind of reaction I immediatel...

Investing in real estate is the only investment in which you can have a net positive cash flow and appreciation and still claim a loss on your taxes.  The IRS has however set limits on this deduction.  You can deduct no more then $25,000 of real estate losses per year on your tax return. This rul...

Google’s social networking website began with a relatively slow start in 2011. Since then it has picked up the pace and was at 343 million active users at the end of 2012 which is the highest used social networking site besides Facebook. As Google+'s user base continues to grow it could even sur...

I setup my first bank account with a big well known bank thinking it provided me more security for my assets and a bigger bank knew what they were doing better, right? I've recently come to some conclusions which are pushing me to re-think my decision.  Granted a lot of this has to do with the c...

I personally believe that running a tenant credit check is a must to ensure you are approving the best applicant possible.  In doing so, however, you (the landlord) are subjecting yourself to the regulations of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Housing Act. There are many require...

If you got your tenant screening report back and you note that the applicant has a felony charge would you still rent to him or her? If you said "No" you may be discriminating. When we think of discrimination we usually think of intentional acts which exclude members of certain groups from employ...

 This blog is a good reminder for anyone looking to rent a house.  With so many houses going into foreclosure you certainly wouldn't want to be forced out of a house.  It always pays to do your homework whether you're on the landlord or tenant side of the spectrum.     ---Dulcey is a member of Re...