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.
For the four years before Bobby retired we lived in a travel trailer at a nudist resort in the mountains of Colorado. During this time we rented out our home in Bennett [ on the eastern plains] Our 2 sets of tenants [ who both ended up buying homes similar to ours in the same neighborhood as our house] were fantastic. They were both "fix it' families and when there was a problem they fixed whatever the problem was and sent us the bill.
After we sold the house we used the equity from our sale, and some other money to purchase 3 houses in Pueblo, Colorado [ the 3 cost about $150,000 including what it costed to fix the places up] We have had some issues with our tenants [late pays, EXTREMELY late pays] but they have all resolved happily. Our tenants are pretty poor and truly are struggling so greatly that there is no money for a financial cushion, so when a car breaks down or a kid gets sick [or they get sick] rent ccan be late and some of it can be bartered..They also have some fairly painful circumstances, the kind that many choose to judge, but these are good people.
I believe that it is because we have been understanding and accommodating, that they have been so incredibly helpful since the armed robbery. It has been 2 months, but my son has been traumatized by it so much that we only spend about half our time in pueblo [ thank god for the "nudie ranch!"] Our tenants water what is left of our garden, take care of our chickens, and keep an eye on our house for us. When we are in Pueblo, they pick my son up and take him fishing to help him calm down.
I would not say that they have taught us to be "street smart" but I am not so "street super stupid" and naive.
So, I like having rentals. I think the part I like best is seeing new tenants eyes light up when they see the huge welcome basket we prepare for them filled with all sorts of goodies. Being landlords has been an extreme win/win for us.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,348 posts, read 8,567,170 times
Reputation: 16693
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry
Selhars: would you manage the property yourself or hire a property management company? If you do it yourself be prepared for phone calls at 11:00 about a leaky water heater.
Is this something that has actually happened to you? Or are you just repeating what other naysayers say about being a landlord?
It is certainly possible that you will get a call like this, but in the 32 years that I have been a landlord for multiple properties at a time I have never gotten a call like this.
I've been a property investor and manage my own rentals for many years. If you are interested, there is a great deal of information on managing your rental properties. In 30 years, I have never gotten a call at an inappropriate hour regarding a repair issue. Its an investment I understand and find I get a reasonable return on my investment. I treat it as a business and carefully screen my tenants. I do not tolerate late payments. This is a business and my tenants are my clients. I do my best to make sure the properties are well maintained and if something breaks it is repaired immediately. I would never entrust my properties in a management company; I am capable of managing myself.
Selhars: would you manage the property yourself or hire a property management company? If you do it yourself be prepared for phone calls at 11:00 about a leaky water heater.
That's what answering machine is for. I hate scare monger.
Is this something that has actually happened to you? Or are you just repeating what other naysayers say about being a landlord?
It is certainly possible that you will get a call like this, but in the 32 years that I have been a landlord for multiple properties at a time I have never gotten a call like this.
Happened to my dad, constantly. Then of course he would have to deal with hiring the contractor. Seems to me 10% is worth eliminting all the hassles. I have zero interest in attempting to collect overdue rent.
Back to earlier posts why would you kick out good paying tennants and start over with new?
I own and self-manage vacation rentals in the beach town where I live. Cash flow is very high but so are issues. In the last month I have had to replace two air conditioners, be on standby for two days waiting for the building inspector to arrive to inspect the new units, address a leak from an upstairs unit into the unit below, emergency sewer issue in another unit, replace a cable box that ceased working and just this morning had to rush to Walmart to buy a TV to replace the one that got struck by lightning in time for the new guests' check in this afternoon. I can go for months with minimal interaction other than check-ins and cleanings but when it rains, sometimes it pours. The positive cash flow from just two units will equal my SS at 70 so I can't/shouldn't complain.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,348 posts, read 8,567,170 times
Reputation: 16693
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry
Happened to my dad, constantly. Then of course he would have to deal with hiring the contractor. Seems to me 10% is worth eliminting all the hassles. I have zero interest in attempting to collect overdue rent.
Back to earlier posts why would you kick out good paying tennants and start over with new?
It sounds like your dad wasn't doing something right. Maybe he should have repaired the item properly the first time around.
If a good paying tenant is destroying the property, that would be a good reason to end the tenancy. Or if you had major repairs to do and having it occupied would impede this. Or if you were going to sell the place or increase the rent by a huge amount.
We kinda accidentally ended up with a couple of rentals since we'd buy a new house and not sell the old one. The first house was paid off so when we moved there weren't two mortgages to pay and it was handy to not have to move all our stuff out right away. Then a friend started staying there since he couldn't get to his house due to a washout on the rural road to his home uphill. Then he started paying rent and that house became a rental.
The second house that became a rental we'd not intended on being a rental. We bought another house that was planned to be a rental, but it wasn't in good enough shape to rent, so we moved into it and rented the nice one we'd been living in. We're getting top end rent on the nice one so between the rent from the first and the second, it covers the mortgages on the two houses which still have them. In another eight years, we will be down to one mortgage and that will increase the cash flow significantly.
We may build a new house on the back of the property we'd bought as a rental and live there and then finally rent out the house we'd bought as a rental. We will see how it goes.
If you're going to get rentals, run the numbers to see if it works before jumping in. Check to see how much rentals go for in your area. If they are in high demand, you can get really picky about your renters. Have them sign an application form, check all their references. Not their current landlord, though, if they are problem tenants, the current landlord may be trying to get rid of them.
It sounds like your dad wasn't doing something right. Maybe he should have repaired the item properly the first time around.
If a good paying tenant is destroying the property, that would be a good reason to end the tenancy. Or if you had major repairs to do and having it occupied would impede this. Or if you were going to sell the place or increase the rent by a huge amount.
That's kind of a silly generalization. It was a different problem each time. He asked his tenant repeatedly to simply call a contractor and send him the bill but she didn't listen and always threw it back on him.
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.
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.
