Myers shares landlady experience in book
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Over 20 years as the owner of rental properties, Wendy Myers has learned a lot.
Now, she's sharing that knowledge in her first book, "Lessons from the Landlady."
"Each chapter is like a mistake I made and how I fixed it," Myers said.
An English major at Marietta College, Myers said writing has always been her first love.
"I really got into being a landlady by accident," she said.
She and her husband Todd purchased a property next to his office with an eye toward expanding the parking lot. They bought a couple more nearby properties in hopes of selling it to a new business coming in. When that didn't materialize, they looked at other options and Myers realized she enjoyed what she was doing.
"I liked dealing with people. I liked working on the rentals," she said.
And with her husband working long hours and three young daughters at home, the schedule of a landlady worked better than her job as an instructor of English and leadership at Marietta College.
From an initial single duplex, she now owns more than 400 units in Marietta, Belpre and Canton.
Myers actually started writing what would become "Lessons from the Landlady" around 2014. But it wasn't until earlier this year, after her daughters had all graduated from high school, that she went all out and got it finished.
"That knowledge was all in my head; it just kind of poured out," she said.
Myers shares mistakes she made so others hopefully won't do the same. For example, she put one of her first rentals in her personal name, which can open an individual to personal liability, among other issues.
"I really need to set it up separately as a company ... because it's its own entity," she said. "Being ready for growth and expansion from the beginning, preparing to be big, it's kind of easier than backtracking."
Myers advises people, even those who read her book, to learn from others but do what works for them.
"Educate yourself," Myers said. "Go your own way, definitely, but put more into it than just flying by the seat of your pants."
To promote the book, Myers started a YouTube channel earlier this year, "Ask the Landlady," where she fields submitted questions. That's also providing material for a follow-up book.
"I enjoyed the process, and there's more to say," she said.
The book can be purchased on Amazon or at Myers' website, askthelandlady.com, where she also sells spreadsheets and other resources she's developed.