The Clues I Look For Before I Buy a Rental (That Have Nothing to Do With the Numbers)

After years of buying single family rentals, I've learned that the numbers are only the first filter.

They tell you if a deal can work.

They don't tell you if it should.

In this episode, I'm walking through the clues I look for once the spreadsheet checks out.

Hoarder houses next door that no fence can hide.

Neighborhoods where pride of ownership is missing and the whole block would need renovating, not just the house.

Streets so narrow that parked cars turn a duplex into a daily traffic jam.

I talk about why I stay away from properties near open, undeveloped land, and what happened when I found out a property near a firehouse got me a real discount on insurance.

I also share two properties I walked away from for reasons that had nothing to do with price.

One sat on a busy thoroughfare with a bedroom facing the noise.

Another backed up to railroad tracks with no fence between the yard and the rails. Both were good deals on paper.

Neither made the cut once I stood outside and actually looked.

None of these clues are dealbreakers on their own.

But they belong in your due diligence right alongside your comps and your cash flow numbers, because they are exactly what will affect your exit, whether that is renting the property long term or selling it down the road.

If you want help with the number side of due diligence, our  property analyzer is in the resource center. MMM Resource Center

What is Money Makin' Mamas Show?

You work hard. You earn good money. And yet something still feels uncertain about depending on that one paycheck forever.
Welcome to the Money Makin Mamas Show — the podcast for professional women who are ready to transition from paycheck dependency into single family real estate investing without quitting their jobs.
Hosted by mother-daughter duo Nancy Wallace-Laabs, a real estate investor and Realtor with 20 years of experience, and her daughter Kelcie Leka, a former corporate manager turned real estate investor and mom of two — this show gives you the honest conversations, practical strategies, and real world proof that this path is possible for women exactly like you.
Every episode covers the real stuff — how to find your first deal, how to analyze a property, how to find off market opportunities nobody else is chasing, and how to build wealth one single family home at a time while still showing up for your career and your family.
One property can change everything. Let us show you how.