Journal
Guides to renting and owning, written plainly.

Featured
Renting5 min read
What to check before you sign a lease in Texas
A lease is easier to read before you sign it than after something goes wrong. Here is a practical checklist, with the Texas Property Code rules that sit behind it.
Read the guide
Owning4 min read
Screening tenants consistently, without guesswork
Good screening is less about instinct and more about writing your criteria down and following them every time. Here is a simple way to do that, and what the law expects when a consumer report is involved.

Moving4 min read
A calm moving checklist, from keys to the first night
Moving does not have to be chaos. A few weeks of light preparation, one well packed box, and a plan for the first night make the whole thing feel smaller.

Owning4 min read
Fair housing basics every small landlord should know
Fair housing law is not only for large property companies. If you rent out even one home, here is what the federal Fair Housing Act protects and the habits that keep you on the right side of it.