Residential Rental Investing
Lessons from owning and operating properties with 1-4 units, including short-, mid-, and long-term rentals. I share the decisions behind my own properties and what happened after we made them.
What I Write About
Buying & Deal Analysis
How I evaluate a rental before buying it, from expected income and expenses to the assumptions that can make a deal look better than it is. My own purchases provide the examples, including the ones I would approach differently today.
Renovation & Value-Add
Deciding what a property needs and whether to do the work yourself or hire it out. I draw on my own renovations and experience running a home improvement business, including projects that cost more than I expected.
Rental Operations
Our duplex has a long-term rental on one side and a furnished rental for shorter stays on the other. I write about the work each approach requires, what it costs, and why we have changed how we rent the property over time.
I’m Andy Shulkosky
I own a duplex in San Antonio and previously owned a rental condo in San Diego. I also ran a handyman and home improvement business and earned an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Finance and Development from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Brick & Yield is where I share what those experiences have taught me, including the expensive lessons.
Latest Insights
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Our Long-Term Rental Playbook: Building Predictable Income
Texas isn’t exactly known for its accommodating weather. In our first full summer in San Antonio, 2021, back when we were still renting, the HVAC…
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How to Choose a Contractor, From Someone Who Used to Be One
I was recently talking with my dad about painting one side of the exterior of his home and he was asking me about how to…
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Cash Flow vs. Appreciation: What Owning Both Taught Me
If I am completely honest, my entire investment strategy has been formed through getting my butt destroyed over the past 5 to 6 years. My…
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DIY or Hire It Out? How I Decide: Skill, Time, and True Cost
I was done with ripping up the carpet, I leveled the floor with some self-leveler, and I was ready to install the vinyl plank flooring…
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Becoming an Incidental Landlord During Covid
I had just landed in San Diego and was checking into my hotel to begin shifting my strategy from selling to becoming a landlord. I…
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My Duplex Investment: From Accidental to Intentional
Building our own home meant countless hours in the design center, and that’s what led us to our first duplex investment. What followed was a…
Start Here
Our duplex started as a house hack. How we bought it, rented it, and changed our approach is a useful place to start if you want to understand how I think about investing.