Little Rock Arkansas is one of the most landlord-friendly markets in America!

Securing property in landlord friendly markets can be a challenge, but a critical decision that will make your life easier as a real estate investor. Sure it would be nice to invest in property near the place of your home residence, however not all homes reside in a landlord friendly market causing more challenges than you want as a landlord. Overcome these challenges using the following tips on where to find a landlord friendly market and how to avoid the unfriendly markets.

The well-known properties that reside in the “landlord friendly market” include states like Texas and Arkansas which are on the friendly list, whereas California and New York housing markets are on the unfriendly list.

A few challenges for landlords in California include the requirements of specific languages that must be included in lease agreements along with restrictions on nearly everything such as security deposit amounts and how quickly they must be returned. As for New York, there is only one crucial factor an investor needs to look at to make up their mind on this investment opportunity, and that one factor is the right to evict a tenant. This action can only be served if a landlord sue’s the tenant and take this case to court and wins. By the time you’re done losing money on lost rent and lawyers, the landlord could be out a whole year of cash flow, setting your ROI even further back.

As for the landlord friendly markets, in Little Rock, Arkansas and states like Texas and Indiana real estate is an investors dream location because of their laws which highly support landlords and housing rights. In Arkansas a landlord may give notice of termination for any reason (even if the tenant is perfect) which helps the landlord dismiss a tenant for not paying rent on time, causing damage to the property and other common problems landlords run into with tenants. Also, when a tenant moves in to a property in Arkansas they will likely agree to take it “as is“, meaning the landlord does not have to do any repairs, besides meeting state health and safety codes.

In the state of Indiana rental laws definitely favor landlords rather than tenants. For example, InvestRent reports that before 2002 it was completely legal for landlords to withhold tenants’ security deposits past the standard 45 days, securing their money and rights as a landlord. In Colorado their rental laws for tenants are strict and have little tolerance for delinquent tenants, allowing landlords to enter the tenants property at any time even without a notice to the tenant, giving full authority to the landlord and access to their land.
 
Finding a landlord friendly market is one of the most important things an investor should consider when buying into real estate properties. These markets offer better control for landlords and their land, offering a sense of relief and comfort knowing you have more control to your property and tenants. Once you have chosen a “landlord friendly” market to start your investments, it’s time to focus on the cash flow and earnings.

Though the rental market has been booming in markets over the past several years, with many landlords earning double-digit returns of 10% or more, take precaution. Homes prices are continuing to rise, effecting returns for landlords in some markets where other markets still offer plenty of profits, according to reports from RealtyTrac. The report analyzed rental market conditions in 370 major U.S. counties including median home prices, average rents and unemployment rates. Keep in mind these profits are typically occurring in the landlord friendly markets, where control is on the side of the homeowners.

Jason Hartman and Adam start the episode today discussing landlord friendly markets. Specifically, how you can determine whether you’re investing in markets that are. Jason explains an easy (but not foolproof) way to figure out if a market is friendly to investors, as well as another way to find out the difficulties of evicting tenants in your potential market.

[3:49] How to find landlord friendly states

[8:03] The most landlord friendly state in the country is Arkansas

[10:47] Ask a few property managers to find out how eviction laws in the state/city work