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Any Landlords out there?
 

Just wondering if any of you own rental property, if so how much of a headache is it for you? Have you ever ran into any sort of legal issues?
There is a foreclosure property that has come on the market nearby and its a rural area and there are not a lot of rental homes, I am always seeing posts on facebook of people needing a place to rent, The home is priced extremely cheap and its in good shape just outdated and dirty. Looking at the estimated mortgage payment it is about half of what rent on a home that size averages so it could pay for its self and generate a couple hundred per month in income. I've never owned rental property before though so just curious if anyone else has any advice to share.

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

depends on the area and type of people you will rent to. I would say you will get 10% plus interest on your investment if paid for outright, or pay the mortgage with the rent with some to spare but there is alot of hassle and lost rental with non-payers, squatters etc...alot are serial abusers and you need real references that you follow up and a real reason why they left their last place if applicable. The good side is if the property market goes up, as I has been doing over here then the property makes money even unoccupied in the long-run...

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Might be good to state the general State you are looking at...makes a huge different for types of renters.

It can be quite the headache if you dont screen for the renters...credit checks etc...posts on fb for people needing to rent would need HEAVY scrutinizing

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

what blows is having to evict people that can take so much time

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

That bothers me too!!!

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

And spamming the forum is a worry too

:violin:

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

D*mn rental boards protect these loser renters too much

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

I have 5 apartments I rent out, and the most important thing is to try your best to screen all future tenants.

If you have a good tenant that pays every Month even if their behind a couple weeks , but they pay every month than everything is so much easier

You have bad tenants , it's going to be a tough road ahead, because it takes a long time to get them out, you can't legally just kick them to the curb.

And than you will have all your normal issues, the hot water is out, the sink leaks, this is broke that doesn't work and so on, but as long as the rent is coming in it's worth it.

So be cold blooded, get a credit report , and don't ignore your gut feeling, but make sure on paper everything is good and get references, do your due diligence

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

will be closing on our first investment property in a couple weeks, live in a big military community and will list with military housing, have a friend who works there, helping military find good housing. have a couple of friends who have rentals and prefer military, always have the ability to go back to their command if needed, and they don't like to risk their credit or they will lose their security clearance..........

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

I own several properties that I rent out and in general I enjoy doing it. There are those renters that pay on time every month and others who are always late. I have had better luck with real-estate then I have had with the stockmarket.. it's a bit safer as long as you have good tenants. Oh and you make your money on the buy.. foreclosed all cash buys are the best buys! I bought a property last year that is now double what I paid for it and it came with a good renter! My goal is to get a new property every 1-2 years. It's a fun side project.

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Yes that's all true, property can be good to own as long as you cover all the bases, obviously it needs to rewired probably replumbed, redecorated to look good to potential tenants, then it depends how good and reliable the tenants are you can if you are unlucky get some some tenants who, to quote a phrase when asked why they did not pay the tv licence they 'don't do bills'!

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

I have one tenant right now that I had to send a 'Pay or Quit' notice about a week back.. it's the first time I have had to do that but I think it scared him.. he has paid most of what he owes and he's working on coming up with the rest.. it's how it goes.

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

It's sad to say but if they pay almost up to date than that's still ok, because there are a lot of really bad tenants that you could get, and wind up 3 months behind and it takes months to evict someone, and those tenants usually trash the place.

I had one circumstance where rather than go through due process and remove the tenant , my lawyer set it up where I paid him $2000 and he took the money and was out within one day, just took the clothes on his back

But paying he 2K to get him out right away actual saved me thousands more potentially

The place was just trashed it's amazing how some people live, and than just leave all there stuff behind I don't get it, but within a week the place was cleaned and painted and 2 weeks later rented and by tenants that are the best , always on time and good people

Sometimes it's better to get property from an auction, in a bad neighborhood, usually u can get something for between $30-$80 K and hopefully it's not a complete shell, u won't know until you win the auction, u just see the outside, but you fix it up , make everything to code and Section 8 it and you get a nice government rent check and that's always on time and you can get a few hundred more than normal

It's nice when the checks come from the government , you never need to worry

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Think my tenants for one condo are leaving in December...pain to find new ones

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Unfortunately that is quite a universal repercussion of renting out, sooner or later it seems to happen to all who rent out !

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

True - I think they had indicated leaving in July though so that changed abruptly

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

So?

You choose to be a landlord.

:violin:

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

In Chicago they can live rent free and it can take OVER a year to get them out. Worse place to be a landlord! :nono:

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

I haven't myself but know people who have.

In your calculations don't forget to fit in monthly taxes and any potential bills (garbage, water ,etc) you will be responisible! It can be hard and risky with rural areas to keep them occupied. You might get a great deal.. but if you have low vacancy it can destroy any modes of profit you will see and put you in a hole wishing you had never seen the place before.

The best thing if your starting out in rentals is in the suburb or city areas of single family homes or multiplexes. Ideally you could find a duplex or 2-flat (or other multi-unit) live in one side and rent out the others. This way you get "homestead" taxes (very low compared to if you didn't live there) which rock btw. There is no regulations on them checking to see if you live there so techincally you can say you do and then rent it out after closing. Also you will live usually with someone else paying your mortgage for you (always a great thing).

Also rentals are a gold mine when taxes come around (depreciation, repairs, etc) time.

Last but not least if you DO decide this deal is worth it. ALWAYS after you close on it either get an LLC to transfer the property into or an umbrella policy to protect your assets before renting it out. Basically if you do not have one of these and something happens to your tenant they can sue YOU (taking your property, cash, and much more) which you do not want. This rarely happens but not worth the risk. But with an LLC or Umb policy you are protecting yourself and your assets so either the LLC assets can be gone after or the policy covers whatever happened.

Read up on real estate/ investing and also get to know the market in these areas (zillow or realtor.com) before you decide anything. If you don't have a lot of experience have someone (home inspector or contractor) check out the property with you (or for you) that way your not left with a house that looks great.. but in all reality is falling apart inside due to termites or foundation damage.

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Nice post jboone733

Re: Any Landlords out there?
 

Thanks ..Hah if only I had seen it was from 2014 :bump: