Dustan Marshall

With all the news about lead in public water supplies, is anyone else concerned it may soon become the landlord's problem to deal with? I'm starting to wonder what happens if they find lead in the water coming into one (or all) of my properties. Would my landlord policy or umbrella cover me if I get sued for poisoning somebody's child? Guess I'll be calling the agent in the morning.

I buy houses in the $18,000-$23,000 range, typically put $3,000-$5,000 in them and then rent them for $650 a month. @Matt R. is right about the roof and furnace, they are profit delayers. The key is to know the area or work with someone who does. There is more to investing in any house than just working the numbers ahead of time to see if it will have positive cash flow and those are the factors that will kill you. 1.