Tom Becker
Contributing Writer · First-time buyers & financing basics
BA Journalism
Biography
Tom explains the home-buying process for people living it for the first time. He believes no one should sign the biggest contract of their life without understanding line one.
Published articles (6)
- Build a Rental Operating Budget That Survives Reality
Turn a rental pro-forma into a working budget: honest expense lines, reserves, and a break-even test you can monitor against actuals.
1 min · Rentals & Management
- Vacancy Assumptions: The Number That Quietly Decides Your Deal
Every rental analysis starts with a vacancy assumption, and wishful thinking there corrupts everything downstream. Here's how to choose one honestly.
1 min · Rentals & Management
- Monthly Cash Flow Discipline: A Landlord's Operating Statement
Cash flow is what remains after the property pays all of its own bills. Build the monthly statement, keep operating costs and debt separate, and budget reserves honestly.
1 min · Rentals & Management
- BRRRR, Honestly: The Strategy, the Math, and the Risks
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat promises recycled capital. Walk the full cycle with real numbers, including what happens when the appraisal disappoints.
1 min · Investing & Returns
- The First-Time Buyer's Roadmap: From Budget to Keys
Buying your first home is a sequence of decisions, each with its own math. This roadmap walks the whole path, with the calculators to check every step.
1 min · Buying & Selling
- How Mortgage Amortization Works (With the Full Math)
Every fixed payment splits into interest and principal in a changing proportion. Follow a real loan month by month and see why extra payments are so powerful.
1 min · Financing & Mortgages