Field Guide

Long-form, no-fluff guides on financing, accounting, and managing rental property. Written for independent landlords who do their own books.

Operations
May 7, 202610 min

Tenant Screening — A Practical Guide for Independent Landlords

A step-by-step framework for screening rental applicants the way an experienced landlord does — what to verify, what to ignore, what's actually predictive of on-time rent, and how to stay on the right side of fair-housing law while doing it.

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Tax
May 7, 202610 min

Rental Property Tax Deductions — The Full List, Plus What People Miss

Every deduction available to a small landlord, organized by where it lands on Schedule E. The line-by-line walkthrough, the gray-area items, and the deductions most independent owners forget to claim.

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Financing
May 7, 202612 min

How to Finance a Rental Property in Louisiana — A Plain-English Guide

Conventional, DSCR, portfolio, FHA house-hack, owner-financed — and which one to actually pick. A Louisiana-specific walkthrough for landlords buying their first or fifth rental.

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Tax
May 7, 202611 min

How to Legally Pay Little or No Tax on Rental Income

Rental real estate is one of the most tax-favored asset classes in the U.S. tax code — by design. Here's the playbook small landlords actually use to reduce or eliminate the tax bill on rental income, without anything cute or aggressive.

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Insurance
May 6, 20264 min

Landlord Insurance in Louisiana — What You Actually Need (and What's Optional)

Hurricane carve-outs, flood zones, named-storm deductibles, and the policy types that actually matter for Louisiana rentals. With real numbers from a 4-unit in Baton Rouge.

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Tax
May 5, 20265 min

Schedule E for Rental Property — A Bookkeeping Walkthrough

How to keep books year-round so your Schedule E is a 30-minute job in February instead of a panic. The exact account categories, what depreciation actually does, and the four mistakes that trigger IRS letters.

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