How To Manage Condo Investments is a beginners guide to owning and managing a condominium unit as an investment property. The book provides examples of how two amateur landlords have self-managed a portfolio of condominiums as a side-hustle, and the lessons they learned through the process. It highlights how real estate is a unique activity that involves having a stranger pay you money for the privilege of paying down your debts. The book covers topics such as: * Selecting the right type of property and why the authors focus on condos.* Handling the operations of being a landlord including maintenance, financial, and administrative set-ups, as well as dealing with insurance and the staffs of different buildings.* Managing and turning over tenants from acquiring new ones, keeping existing good tenants, and ending leases properly.* Financing your investment, protecting it from outside influences, and keeping it up to date inexpensively.* Partnering with a team of experts including real estate agents, real estate attorneys, mortgage brokers, general contractors, and maintenance service people to further maximize your time and ensure proper expertise is applied to situations that require it.Real world examples are provided throughout the book and samples of tenant communications, leases, and guidelines are also included. The book showcases that condo investing can be a lucrative side-hustle that can easily be handled with proper planning and organization.
About the Author: Amy and Michael Kraynak are both native Midwesterners living in downtown Chicago. Each holds a Bachelors Degree in business and are employed in the financial and government sectors of the economy, respectively. While they never planned on becoming real estate investors, circumstances led them to manage a portfolio of one-bedroom condominium units located in different buildings in some of Chicago's hottest neighborhoods, including the Gold Coast, Streeterville, and the West Loop/Fulton Market District. Without prior landlord experience, Amy and Michael have developed their own processes and communications as it relates to property management, tenant retention, and tenant turnover. Through trial and error, and by benchmarking experts in the industry, they have learned to minimize their efforts in managing properties, while maximizing the returns each unit achieves in cash flow. Partnering with a great team of real estate professionals including an agent, real estate attorney, mortgage broker, and general contractors and maintenance service people, Amy and Michael fully manage their portfolio themselves, and do so successfully out of their home using everyday tools and computer equipment. They do most work on the condominium units themselves, outsourcing plumbing and some electrical work when the job becomes beyond their capabilities. Doing so has enabled them to build a knowledge base for amateur landlords that they openly share in this book.