Field Guide
Long-form, no-fluff guides on financing, accounting, and managing rental property. Written for independent landlords who do their own books.
Rental Property Depreciation — How It Actually Works, and What It Costs You Later
Depreciation is the biggest deduction most landlords get and the one they understand least. What the 27.5-year clock actually does, how to split land from building, what happens to bonus depreciation, and the recapture bill waiting at sale.
Bank Reconciliation for Rental Property — The Monthly Habit That Catches Everything
If you only do one bookkeeping task a month, do this one. What reconciliation actually proves, the four discrepancies it catches, and why "the bank feed imported fine" is not the same as reconciled.
Cash vs Accrual Accounting for Landlords — Which One Your CPA Actually Wants
Most small landlords file cash basis and should. But your month-to-month reporting probably shouldn't match your tax return — and confusing the two is why your P&L says you made money in a month you didn't collect any.
Security Deposit Accounting — It's a Liability, Not Income
The most common bookkeeping error in small-landlord rentals, and the one most likely to cost you in court. How to book a deposit, hold it, apply deductions at move-out, and keep the trust math clean.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.