Any landlords here?

[SillyMe]

I am considering looking at a 2 unit to purchase. I would occupy one unit and rent the other out (there is already a tenant there). I know that financially it would be a smart move, but being a landlord scares me to death. I've heard so many horror stories about bad tenants.

If you own a rental unit or have owned one in the past, do you regret it or are you happy with it? Any positive or negative feedback?

 

[WonderfulDreamer2]

Doing the "BUMP" for ya sista!

 

[L107ANGEL]

Doing the "BUMP" for ya sista!

Nah, too easy!! Silly DH's family is in this business. First of all you will be living there so thats a grat plus!! You will know if they are wrecking the place and what type of people are there. I say go for it!

 

[SillyMe]

It's the "not paying the rent" part and then trying to evict that scares me. If the rent isn't paid, that's one mighty big mortgage payment to make.

 

[SillyMe]

 

[4formickey]

It all depends on your location and the location of the unit. Some of these people out here will scare you ,whil others are as nice as they can be. Most long term renters know their rights better than you and will use the law for their advantage. During an interview they will come across sounding good but be prepared for the worse. It may never happen but you will be prepared. Location is the key.

 

[LoraJ]

I was a landlord once. My tenants were a nightmare. They were the family of a friend of mine, which made it even harder for me to be tough on them. They paid the rent in a timely manor, but they did a lot of damage to my home. Grandpa fell on, and broke the toilet 3 times. They misused the shower causing it to leak and damage the kitchen ceiling. The sump pump was making noise so they would turn it off and flood the basement. This happened twice. And each time I would need a new water heater.

I think you being in the same building would make a world of difference. Also, since you don't know the tenant, you would have less problems. I just couldn't evict my friends family. I was feeling so awful about everything. I ended up just selling the place. So glad I did.

If I ever do the landlord thing again, I will make sure it's either a condo, or a home with a maintenance company.

 

[Luv'sTink]

The thing is you get good tenants and bad tenants. My parents rented their cottage for 20 years, it sits right next to their house, after the last two tenants they decided it wasn't worth it anymore and sold it.

In all the years they had mostly good tenants but three that come to mind.

One let his brother, who just got out of prison, stay with him and then the brother went back to settle an old score and the people came to the cottage and killed him and a guy that was visiting him. The police had the house tied up for a long time and we had to clean up the mess that was left.

Second, A girl that lived there somehow broke the faucet in the tub and she let the water run for over a month. My parents paid the water and sewer bill, one bill it was $300, the next it was over $500 dollars. When they called her and asked her if she was doing something out of the ordinary with the water she said "No" but the water is dripping in the bathtub, it wasn't dripping it was actually running!

Third couple, we are still not sure what they did but when they moved out the entire bathroom was filled with mold ceiling, walls, tub, toilet even the reserve tank that the clean water sits in before you flush it had mold in it! It was so gross.

They really didn't have a lot of trouble with people not paying rent except these three. First one felt that once the cops took over the house he should get a refund on his rent for that month.

Second one was a young girl that was just kinda dumb. My parents even worked with her on her deposit and rent to help her out.

Third one wanted their full deposit back even though we had to paint, replace curtains and bomb for fleas.

There were numerous other tennants over 20 -25 years of renting that wear really great tenants. You just never know what your gonna get. Even with screening somtimes you still don't know.

 

[TallyLassie]

We are also thinking of becoming tenants. You can run someone credit report with their permission which might show dependability, but there is no check for stupidty.

States vary on tenant rights, some it is a long process even if they are not paying the rent.

 

[SillyMe]

Thanks for the replies. I really have to give it some thought.

 

[kimisabella]

We owned a two family home for several years - we lived in the downstairs part of the house and the tenants were upstairs - I have to say, we were not cut out to be landlords - I think because we lived there we could see and hear what was going on and it just annoyed me. The few tenants we had were nightmares the last one really being the worst. She lied to us about her employment and left out her previous residence's information - even though I did check employment and references, I think she gave me phony numbers. We sold the house and now live in a one family house and I am much calmer and relaxed even though our mortgage payment is alot higher

 

[rayelias]

Just remember, whether you're renting one unit or one thousand units, it is a business. Treat it that way. You're not "neighbors", you're not "friends".

There is a VERY good real estate investing website that will keep you occupied for many, many hours. The discussion boards over there are extremely informative. www.creonline.com

Good luck!

 

[disneylizzy]

We have had a two family for 21 years. The above advice about not being "friends" with a tenant is excellent.

That being said, we (actually I because we are going thru a divorce) have had the same woman and her daughter for 15 years. We probably get a little bit less rent than we could, but I figure the steady income and prompt payment make up for that. They have been great, never complained about my four kids upstairs, always paid on time, etc.

We went through a reputable real estate agent who screened people.

Keep careful track of your home repairs and use an accountant at tax time.

Its been good for me.

 

[summerrluvv]

Besides doing a credit check, I would also do a criminal background check on them and also check out your county's court website for any future appearances for crimes they haven't actually been found guilty of yet.

Like someone else said, it takes a very long time to get someone evicted for non-payment of rent. If you can't pay the mortgage without the renter's assistance, it's probably not a good idea to become a landlord.

 

[grlpwrd]

kimisabella, I have always loved your family pic in your siggy!

Good advice has already been given.

We have been landlords since 1997. At one point we did hire a property manager. I thought they were doing their job until we did a physical inspection. Now we are back to managing our place. Be sure to brush up on your state laws because they do vary.

GL!

 

[Ginamarie]

I just spent part of today working on an eviction proceeding for a client. Her tenant's lease ended, he stopped paying rent and he's refusing to leave the apartment. It will take several months before she gets him out of the apartment. This is in NY, I know things may go faster in other states.

I would never advise someone to become a landlord if you couldn't afford the mortgage payment without their rent payment for at least 4-5 months, because eviction proceedings last that long around here. There are some really good tenants and some really BAD tenants. So, like any other business venture, there are risks. I know some people who have had great tenants that stick around for years, but most of the time the people who come to me are there because they have problems with their tenants, so I see a lot more bad stuff than good stuff.

 

[kimisabella]

kimisabella, I have always loved your family pic in your siggy!

Thanks!