Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Business
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-24-2007, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Michigan
29,391 posts, read 55,587,071 times
Reputation: 22044

Advertisements

Hi, I'm a landlord for a rental house and I rent to college students. Do you have rental property?

Thanks, John
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-24-2007, 05:52 PM
 
Location: CA
2,464 posts, read 6,467,954 times
Reputation: 2641
Quote:
Originally Posted by John1960 View Post
Hi, I'm a landlord for a rental house and I rent to college students. Do you have rental property?

Thanks, John
You rent to college students? Yikes. I've heard that's a good market but I prefer tenants with jobs... I own rental prop. in so. cal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2007, 06:01 PM
 
Location: Michigan
29,391 posts, read 55,587,071 times
Reputation: 22044
My renters had to put down a 1600.00 deposit because I'm renting to four college boys and you know they love to party.

John
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2007, 08:36 PM
 
Location: CA
2,464 posts, read 6,467,954 times
Reputation: 2641
Yes, I've seen what they can do. I would always do the maximum deposit allowed by law for college kids (boys or girls).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2007, 08:18 PM
 
423 posts, read 1,959,382 times
Reputation: 123
I am getting ready to buy a couple of rentals. Do you think they are worth all the work? Got any pointers?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2007, 10:15 AM
 
11,555 posts, read 53,171,880 times
Reputation: 16349
Yes, I own & manage my own rental properties; residential and commercial.

Treat it as a business. Don't fall "in love" with any rental property, or you'll be disappointed more often than not.

Collect, up front, all of the deposits and damage deposits. The folks who cannot come up with all of the money in a timely manner will most likely be the ones who never do, and cause the most damage and expenses to you.

Obtain and check references.

Don't get greedy. Buy right so that your cash flow can carry the overhead and debt service and a modest ROI with some compensation for your time that may be needed to maintain a place.

Don't hesitate to evict with cause to cut your losses on a place. Even if that means an interruption to your cash flow. You'll save money in the short and long run.

If you don't have a lot of people contact skills, consider an independent property manager for your portfolio. You simply must have the time, energy, and outlook to deal with all the situations and stuff that comes with this business. A cast iron stomach helps ....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2007, 10:37 AM
 
423 posts, read 1,959,382 times
Reputation: 123
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit View Post
Yes, I own & manage my own rental properties; residential and commercial.

Treat it as a business. Don't fall "in love" with any rental property, or you'll be disappointed more often than not.

Collect, up front, all of the deposits and damage deposits. The folks who cannot come up with all of the money in a timely manner will most likely be the ones who never do, and cause the most damage and expenses to you.

Obtain and check references.

Don't get greedy. Buy right so that your cash flow can carry the overhead and debt service and a modest ROI with some compensation for your time that may be needed to maintain a place.

Don't hesitate to evict with cause to cut your losses on a place. Even if that means an interruption to your cash flow. You'll save money in the short and long run.

If you don't have a lot of people contact skills, consider an independent property manager for your portfolio. You simply must have the time, energy, and outlook to deal with all the situations and stuff that comes with this business. A cast iron stomach helps ....
Thanks for the advise.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2007, 12:29 PM
 
Location: Kirkwood, DE and beautiful SXM!
12,054 posts, read 23,347,049 times
Reputation: 31918
I am considering renting a home that I have inherited. What is the percent of rent that a property manager usually receives? I live over 400 miles from this house, and the reason that I don't want to sell is that I would virtually make no profit after paying a realtor. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2007, 12:54 PM
dgz
 
806 posts, read 3,392,708 times
Reputation: 707
I had some rental properties for a while (duplexes), and no, I would not rent to college students, unless perhaps they were graduate or doctoral students.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2007, 03:42 PM
 
11,555 posts, read 53,171,880 times
Reputation: 16349
SXMGirl ... I'm assuming that you inheirited a house that has a substantial mortgage against it with very little equity in it for you.

Unless it's in a "hot" rental market where you can forsee a good positive cash flow over your costs/expenses (debt service, insurance, maintenance and repairs, etc.) after also paying a local property manager .... you'll be better off selling this property now for whatever nominal asset value it has for you.

The only way you'll justify taking the "loss" on this property by converting it to a rental ... that's losses due to typical damage to the place, running down of it's condition due to tenant abuse ... is if you need the tax deductions that the property can give you. If you don't need those deductions, don't rent this house out.

Even with a property manager, there's a lot of work and "headaches" associated with a single family rental house for the absentee owner. If you don't have the time and ability now to deal with this, having a property manager won't be justified for you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Business

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:13 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top