Rental Property Information (Los Angeles, San Diego: rentals, credit score, townhome)

[CAtransplant]

We (myself, wife and 2 little kids) are thinking of going back to CA, either to San Diego preferably or Los Angeles area where we have lived for almost 18 years. I am interested in buying a townhome and rent it out in order to use current low interest rates and then, in a few years, to move to it when we are ready and economic conditions improve in CA.
Some of our friends advise us not to do it citing issues with bad tenants, and CA law protecting those in case they do not pay. I am sure majority of tenants are great but under current economic conditions in CA, if they cannot afford rent what is the maximum time they can stay before evicted?
Thank you!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by CAtransplant

We (myself, wife and 2 little kids) are thinking of going back to CA, either to San Diego preferably or Los Angeles area where we have lived for almost 18 years. I am interested in buying a townhome and rent it out in order to use current low interest rates and then, in a few years, to move to it when we are ready and economic conditions improve in CA.
Some of our friends advise us not to do it citing issues with bad tenants, and CA law protecting those in case they do not pay. I am sure majority of tenants are great but under current economic conditions in CA, if they cannot afford rent what is the maximum time they can stay before evicted?
Thank you!

SDInsider would probably have some good info for you.

Do you know anything about San Diego? If not, going in blindly can be a challenge.

I suppose if you were to buy something and have a rental management company take care of the property for you, it would not be too bad. At least with a management company, I am sure there is some legal recourse you would have vs just going in by yourself and collecting the checks.

Good luck

[mgott]

Originally Posted by CAtransplant

We (myself, wife and 2 little kids) are thinking of going back to CA, either to San Diego preferably or Los Angeles area where we have lived for almost 18 years. I am interested in buying a townhome and rent it out in order to use current low interest rates and then, in a few years, to move to it when we are ready and economic conditions improve in CA.
Some of our friends advise us not to do it citing issues with bad tenants, and CA law protecting those in case they do not pay. I am sure majority of tenants are great but under current economic conditions in CA, if they cannot afford rent what is the maximum time they can stay before evicted?
Thank you!

usually 6-8 weeks but if they know how to milk the system, it could take up to another month. There is no guarantee but you can reduce the risk by screening intensively before entering into a contract. It begins with the phone interview to extract as much info as possible before showing the property.

Credit scores are way down from 5 years ago but you can weigh it against the employment history, rental history and credit history. a good property manager does all of the above when trying to match a property with a tenant, for the owner. Hope that helps!

[SoCalCenteroftheUniverse]

The California Department of Consumer Affairs website has a ton of information for landlords and tenants on California rental housing law. I use it all the time (as a landlord).

[mgott]

I use the www.HUD.gov site for rental guidelines/laws for my own business and knowledge. try it, there is a lot of information from the government on this site so I would think it's more accurate than other sites. take care, MG

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by CAtransplant

We (myself, wife and 2 little kids) are thinking of going back to CA, either to San Diego preferably or Los Angeles area where we have lived for almost 18 years. I am interested in buying a townhome and rent it out in order to use current low interest rates and then, in a few years, to move to it when we are ready and economic conditions improve in CA.
Some of our friends advise us not to do it citing issues with bad tenants, and CA law protecting those in case they do not pay. I am sure majority of tenants are great but under current economic conditions in CA, if they cannot afford rent what is the maximum time they can stay before evicted?
Thank you!

Your plans on the surface make really good sense, but I have been both a landlady with rental property and a landlady who, for various reasons have rented out the property that was really home. As a basic rental landlady everything has worked, but yes, I have had problems with damage, late rent payments, no payments, whatever. That is why I just sold my last piece of property. The few times I have rented out our main home for whatever reaason it has been a disaster as it is different if your tnenants ruin what you consider yours. A business deal is very different and yes, we have found, the laws in Ca very much favor the tenants.

Nita

[earlyretirement]

I own several rental properties and it's not always an easy business. I much prefer short-term rentals and rent my properties off of VRBO.com and have had a lot of luck over the years. I'm not sure that will work unless you are planning to buy a higher end property in a good area.

Just research the area well before you buy and don't leverage yourself too much on the purchase. Good luck.