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I inherited the house!! I had all those same feelings...but let me tell you...my mother would have been so mad at me for letting those people live in "her" house...I had guilt feelings that I did rent it out. Sell it to someone who will cherish it and love it. Make you happy and the new family too.
Oh my goodness, I never looked at it that way. Thank you. (I can't rep you again for a while, but thank you just the same. )
I'm not at that point yet to let it go, but I'm double-thinking my decision now.
1) What does "this would" describe?
2) I'd be leery that this person is really a great friend or that much of a realtor.
3) Go with your (I'm hesitant) gut.
Eta:
and 4) if the rental property were right next door to you so you could monitor
everything and be there lickety split with the tools you know how to use... it's still NO.
An out of town property? Seriously, no.
Regarding the ETA you added, I think you're right. I mean, that was the case with my parent's rental property. It was a townhouse split into two apartments. One two-story apt. on the bottom where we lived, and we rented out the top-floor apartment above us. My father is very handy, and even given our close proximity to the rental property (same building) and given his handy-man-ness (is that a word? lol), it was still a nightmare a lot of the time, depending on who we had in there.
In my situation, I will be on the other side of the country, and I'm a woman that clearly knows nothing about houses (other than how to decorate them). I see this as a recipe for disaster, however, I can't see any other options right now.
I truly do wish I could board it up and let it sit there so I can return to it whenever I want. That would actually be ideal to me. But sadly, I don't think that's an option #1, by the rules that may be, #2, by the criminals that may be, and #3, because the outrageous property taxes and insurance alone would cause me to need another job (unless it was my primary residence, because then I won't have my current living expenses on top of that), hence, renting it to cover those costs to give me more time to decide.
Decisions. Worst part is, the estate lawyer is bugging me to decide now. I'm like, I don't know. Can't I think about it for a year or two or three... lol
I have rental properties in Lansing Michigan, always lived in Texas, and it's not a problem. You need to find the right property management company to handle the house for you. You'll need to sit down with them to set expectations. On mine, it's mandatory that the houses be kept in pristine condition. I will not be a slumlord. I require the agent drive by the property at least once a month for a quick inspection from the street. My rentals also come with lawn care and snow blowing of the drives in the winter. Included are the sewer and water bills. It costs me about 2 grand a year off of the rental gross to keep it like that per unit. Mine come with all appliances- frig, washer, dryer, etc. I never have to wait for a new renter as there is usually a waiting list to get in one. I only accept folks with great credit ratings and they must have good references. If you intend to keep the property, I'd suggest considering the above. If it's just an income, you can do next to nothing in repairs and take the beating when you sell it. Either way, historically, it's going to cost you one way or another. I chose the easier path by taking care of the properties which means I get better renters. Best of luck on the move.
FWIW, my independent agent does a fabulous job and he gets 12% of the rental income for his efforts.
I was an out-of-state landlord for 3 weeks, at which point the tenant burned out the house by leaving something on the stove. He was well recommended and had a great job. Relatives now help take care of the house. Lost my insurance and took a good friend to help me get new insurance, which costs a fortune. I am out of the landlord business. My advice if you are going to do it is to be prepared for anything at any time.
99% of the "drama" can be avoided by proper tenant screening. I have two rentals and manage another for my parents, no big deal. *if* you select good tenants.
Even with a property manager, the decision on who to accept is yours - and it's 1,000 times better to have a vacant house than it is to have a bad tenant. And contrary to what you may have heard, you don't have to accept anyone who meets your minimum standards - if there's any weirdness at all in an applicant's background, you can send them somewhere else.
It starts with high standards, no felons, no one with any previous eviction history, everyone over 18 in the house is checked for criminal records & credit, and they have to sign the lease. Credit score is no big deal, you're looking for a pattern of paying their important bills on time. Income at 3.5 times or 4 times rent amount , and *verifiable* references from previous landlords and their current employer, with a couple years minimum at their current job.
If you've done *all* those checks & the tenant passes, you've got a good shot at getting your rent every month, and not getting a trashed house back. If you skip steps, or let someone move in without those qualifications, you're likely to get burned.
If you dig into the "horror stories" about tenants from hell, you'll usually find a landlord who bent the rules & didn't check someone's background or credit, allowed a loser boyfriend or girlfriend to move in without checking them out, or otherwise ignored a red flag - like agreeing to accept a deposit after the tenant is in the house.
The number #1 error a new landlord can make is accepting a sob story - professional tenants from hell are accomplished liars, so they will have a believable excuse for why you should let them move in today, and they'll pay you tomorrow. They've likely told that same story to a dozen newbie landlords, and gotten *better* at it each time.
There's a lady in my area who has been evicted 30+ times in the past 10 years, she moves from new landlord to new landlord, seeking out those with a soft heart & a vacant house, and though I've never met her, I'm quite certain her delivery is excellent. It's easy to find the holes in her story if you check her out, but she's convinced thirty landlords *not* to check, and they paid for that error.
There's a forum devoted to land-lording called biggerpockets if you would like to chat with landlords in your area about finding tenants, leases that are legal in your state, & finding a decent property manager.
Please go to the "Rental" section on the Real Estate forum and read some of the posts there. Then rethink this whole thing.
Chances are if you rent it out, at some point there is going to be major drama involved which will be magnified by the fact you are not on-site to deal with it. That experience is going to overshadow all the happy memories you have associated with the place. You may even begin to hate it.
Please go to the "Rental" section on the Real Estate forum and read some of the posts there. Then rethink this whole thing.
Chances are if you rent it out, at some point there is going to be major drama involved which will be magnified by the fact you are not on-site to deal with it. That experience is going to overshadow all the happy memories you have associated with the place. You may even begin to hate it.
Sell it now and leave your memories intact.
It's like you read my mind. That is actually exactly the thought I just had today.
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