Anyone own a home in another state & rent it out?

[jkovick]

DH and I are tossing around the idea of purchasing a home in another state and renting it out until the time when we can move there. The pluses are that it belongs to a relative who would sell it at a very good price. It is a nice home in a nice subdivision. We would love to live in this area eventually, but could not move for at least 2-3 years as DH is back in school right now. So the question is this-- has anyone bought a place and rented it out for a few years before moving in to it? What are the +/- ? Thanks for your input!

 

[Hillbeans]

We own a home in another state, that was just renovated and we're actually trying to sell it, not move into it. I can tell you now that we had thought about renting it out, however we had replaced all the carpeting, renovated the bathrooms, etc., and we were afraid to rent it out since we put so much work into it. I think the pro's are that you can "pay" for the house while someone else is living in it. The cons, unfortunately, outweigh the pro's in my opinion. Consider if the people have pets, etc.

It can be a win-win situation if you get the right renters in. I'd check, and recheck references. Get a month's security deposit. I tend to be very skeptical, especially if this is a place you plan on moving into in the future. Sometimes people renting don't care a heck about the place since it's not owned by them.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We've done it once and might have to do it again. The first time we moved to Texas and rented out the house in NY. We ended up moving back to NY. I am glad we rented it out because the real estate market just keeps going up around here with no end in sight. We could have never afforded to repurchase the house. That would be your biggest consideration too. If your relatives are offering it at a good price, you may never see that again. And in the mean time if you see something better, you can always sell it. Also the tenant situation. The first tenants we had were angels. The 2nd ones didnt even cut the grass etc. Now we are in another situation. We may rent out fil house in NJ if we cant sell it or if ds decides to go to college there he would have a free place to live etc. I do hate being a landlord, too many problems you have to try and solve from a distance. You might want to look into a real estate company who would manage the place for you etc. Also you might want to consider any tax issues involved etc.

 

[AirForceRocks]

We own a home in Alabama that we've had rented out since we moved to DC almost 4 years ago, and we've had no problems at all. We hired a property management company in Montgomery, and they take care of screening potential renters, collecting the rent, making small repairs, maintenance, etc. It's worked out great for us - even after the management company takes out their 10% of the rent, we still have enough to make the mortgage payment and pocket about $120/month.