Operating system · Real Estate & Property

Run the home you kept as a rental like a real business — the right insurance, a legal lease, and a tenant screen that keeps you out of court.

An operating system for the accidental landlord: the owner who kept a former home, is letting the rent cover the mortgage, and is banking on appreciation. What almost all of them get wrong is running it on autopilot — a homeowner's policy that won't pay a tenant-related claim, a handshake lease, and no reserves — until one bad tenant, one uncovered loss, or one Schedule E surprise erases a year of rent.

What's inside

A banker-grade business plan covering the landlord-tenant, insurance, and tax spine most owners skip: switching from a homeowner's policy to a landlord DP-3 dwelling-fire policy (the coverage gap that quietly voids claims), fair-housing-compliant written screening and a state-compliant lease, security-deposit return windows and the implied warranty of habitability, the eviction process (self-help lockouts are illegal in every state), lead-paint disclosure on pre-1978 homes, and the Schedule E tax switch with 27.5-year depreciation.

An editable Excel financial model — real, changeable assumptions (your rent against the mortgage P&I, ~3% annual appreciation, and the principal paydown that builds equity while monthly cash flow stays thin), not a static PDF. It shows the real return isn't the ~$268/mo that hits your account — it's amortization, appreciation, and the depreciation tax shield stacked on top.

Up to 17 operations playbooks — tenant screening to consistent written criteria (income 3x rent, verified references), dated move-in/move-out documentation that is your single best defense in a deposit dispute, turnover economics and how to minimize the costliest recurring event, and the self-manage-vs-hire-a-PM decision with the real fee math (8–10% management plus a 50–100%-of-one-month placement fee).

Who it's for

Built for the accidental landlord — the owner who kept one former home and wants to run it deliberately as a business, not chase a portfolio. Delivered instantly at checkout; single-buyer license. Editions differ by how many playbooks are included — compare the tiers below.

Choose your edition

Edition	What's included	Price
Starter	Business plan + financial model + essential playbooks	$149	At launch
StandardMost popular	Plan + model + all 12 core operations playbooks	$299	At launch
Premium	Plan + model + all 17 playbooks (core + growth & scale)	$499	At launch

Please read before purchasing. This product is an informational and educational operating system — a research-grounded business plan, operations playbooks, and an editable financial model. It is not legal, tax, accounting, financial, or investment advice, and using it does not create a professional-client relationship. Bytell Press does not guarantee any specific business, funding, or financial outcome. You are responsible for your own decisions and for consulting a qualified professional licensed in your jurisdiction before acting.