My brother-in-law recntly laid off(cabinetmaker) like myself decided he wants to start his own business.  He is doing general contarcting now to get by.  He wants my wife and I to be partners.  He's looking to buy houses that are run down, fix them up and rent them out or sell them.  He has a finacial backer to get started and really wants to do this.  I know a couple of guys that do this and they are rolling in money.  They have ammassed a huge fortune in buying and selling real estate and small businesses.  Anyone have experience and any advice?  It sounds a lot better than being a slave making someone else rich.

You will get mixed responses on this.  This biggest issue is the tenants.  If you get screen them and get good ones things will probably work out.  If you end up with bad tenants, you will be spending every waking minute dealing with them and the problems they cause.  There is definately money to be made in the business you just need to make sure you get started on the right foot.

My ex wife was in the real estate business.....the best advice I have heard is to have them or a rental agency handle the tenant issue.  This is one time where the middle man is worth paying....

Buy, fix up and sell, yes...

Buy, fix up and rent, pain in the butt.

I've done both.  

[url]http://www.johntreed.com[/url]

Gives the straight dope on real estate investment.  He sells books online but lots of info can be learned for free from his web page.  Judging from his webpage, his books are worth the money.

-Nick Viejo.

I know a guy that does this. He runs his ass ragged about 18 hours a day. There's no end to the work. He's either busting his ass working on a house, trying to wrangle his subcontractors, meeting with the bank to finance the next go-around, or trying to get a deadbeat tenant evicted.

That said, he claims that it's the best job he's ever had. The cash flow is generally good, the property always is worth more when he decides to sell, and if push comes to shove on a tenant he just sells the place out from under them. Plus he has a legitimate excuse for buying all kinds of tools and shit.

His wife used to have a regular job in the real world, but upon the arrival of their first child, she started helping him with the property business. Now she handles the tenants and pays the subs, so his cash flow is actually much better. He just didn't have the time or patience to screw with it. She, on the other hand, is very organized and has no emotional attachment to the tenants, having never met them. I think it's better that way.

I couldn't do it, myself, as I don't have the patience to put up with all the hassle. However, for those that are dedicated to the long hours and hard work, there are benefits. Good luck.

I used to own a small apartment building.
It was my first rental property so I bought the "Landlords Handbook".
The first month there was a murder (unsolved) there and the frigging book did not have a section that covered it.
I mean jeeez...they said that they had everything covered that a new landlord might face.
While you might not encounter what I did rest assured you will be in for some surprises if you rent out property.

JFC!!!

I have a couple or six guys that call me to work on their rent houses, or "soon to become rent houses", on a fairly regular basis.

Some of them have bought and fixed up older houses to put up for rent (I did some of the fixing on  some of those).  Some of them have bought "perfect" houses to rent (I did an electrical inspection on lots of those).  Some of them have had "Daddy" say "Here...  These houses are yours"...

I have gotten nearly all of them (owners) whipped into shape.  When they have an electrical problem or need, they call me.  They tell me what they want to happen.  Sometimes, they ask how much it will cost, or how long it will take.  I make it happen. They pay me.  Period.  

None of them live in squalor, as far as I can see.  They all look better off than I am, and I work a regular job, have a house, a (semi high maintenance)wife, and charge out the ass for my time.

I guess it depends on how much $$$  you have backing you, how much time you have, how much you want to work on your investment, how much you trust your "peeps", and how much headache you want to endure.

I make good $$$ on renthouses, and I don't even own one......

If you do it, get a low rate contract with a credit service.  Then run a credit check on anyone who wants to rent.  Saves ALOT of problems.

TXL