Are you/would you be a landlord?

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Ohio USA
I was reading Lon’s thread and it reminded me of something. A friend’s son bought 2 small apt bldgs a couple yrs ago, and he’s doing quite well as a landlord. The area is quite nice, and it’s my understanding he’s had a good group of tenants.

But awhile back I was talking with someone who used to manage properties. Yes, it CAN be lucrative, but – for me – I just would not want the hassles associated with owning rental properties and being a landlord.

1) Renovations (inside and outside)
2) Replacing equipment and appliances, and carpeting if applicable
3) Showing units
4) Screening applicants (this can get tricky, even with a decent credit report).
5) Income verification, background checks…you just don’t know who you’re dealing with and what they’re going to be doing in your building. And you have to be careful about refusing to rent to people.
6) Maintenance – if you can’t do it yourself, you have to hire someone….furnace, A/C, electrical, lawn care, snow removal, pest control
7) Complaints (from tenants about other tenants)
8) Collecting rent - very important :)
9) Evicting people

Thoughts? Any current or former landlords here?
 

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Many years ago I managed my boss' apartment complex as part of my job. NEVER AGAIN!!! Horrible job -- and everyone is always mad at you! You end up having to deal with everything from backed-up toilets to too loud music to disputes over parking spaces and late rent. I quit that job as soon as I found something else.
 

25 – 30 yrs ago, maybe.
But now I don’t have the energy or patience. Then there's the issue of liability. I see more stories on the news about real estate agents being assaulted or killed while showing houses. Same things could happen to someone showing vacant apartments. Even if owner hires people to show the units, there is the issue of liability.
 
I don't think I would want to. Tenants can sure run in a range from great to horrible I guess.

I remember watching one of these renovation shows and a women rented her home to people that appeared just great. They turned her house into a grow house. When the cops raided the place they took all the pot plants leaving all the pots and dirt. The place was also rewired for all the lamps. That poor lady. I'm glad she got help from the show.

Then I knew a couple years ago whose chow puppy chewed all the living room window sills in their nice vintage home they rented. When the house was being sold and they had to move, they hired a carpenter to replace all the window sills and paint them. The landlord never knew a thing.
 
I rented out a house for about 12 years, it was great for 5 years renting to an older couple- they paid rent promptly and took good care of the house. After that, it was a pain, young couples with financial problems, drug problems, martial problems. After evicting the last tenants I left it vacant, did repairs and eventually occupied it myself, when I entered my last divorce.

The rents barely covered the mortgage and utilities, I pretty much just broke even.
 
My husband and I used to have rental properties. It was a nightmare. I have a big heart and found it hard to evict tenants. At my age, I would never survive the pressure. The tenants would walk all over me.
 
Georgia, a friend of my dad rented out rooms in her home (in the early 1990s) - different situation, but talk about a nightmare! :eek:mg1: (She needed the money, her lazy son was a moocher and emptied the frig...between jail sentences.)
 
I have never had any desire to be a landlord or to own any rental property. The apartment complex where I presently live is owned by a large corporation and is professionally managed by a full time manager and maintenance crew. Rents are paid on line and maintenance requests are done on line.
 
Years ago we bought a small 2 bedroom home unit using some money we had and a loan from a building society.
We allowed the real estate agency to act as our agent and had very little trouble as a result.
We kept the rent on the low side to encourage our tenants to stay because most wear and tear occurs when people move in and out.
When the unit was vacant we replaced blinds and carpets as required and had some painting done.
Any other maintenance needed such as a non functioning toilet etc would be organised by the agent.

Over the years the tenants paid for our investment property and when we finally sold it it became part of my retirement savings.
In those days we didn't have to pay capital gains tax.

Basically we left our tenants alone to get on with it and the agent advertised and approved any new tenants.
Only once did we strike an undesirable one and we did have to evict her. Otherwise, all was good.
 
I wouldn't rent out my house, some renters are great people who care for the property as if it were their own, and others trash it. We have a house across the street that's been rented out to different people for years now. They usually just stay a year or two, then they're gone.

Just from talking to some of the families, I've heard that the previous renters left the house a mess, tore up carpets, clogged drains which caused damage, holes in walls, and made the place filthy, and how the owner complained and had to rush to get things ready so they could move in.

It does seem that unless you had good long-term tenants, it would cost you more to rent with all the repairs and maintenance involved. If you hired someone to act as landlord/super (if you weren't close by), that would cost even more. Seems like it would be a big headache.
 
My house had been converted to a duplex when I bought it and I rented out the other half to girls for the first 3 years. They were great tenants and when one left they would arrange for another to take her place. They always paid rent on time and never were any trouble.

This was the early 80s when mortgage rates were 16%! Back then you could depreciate rental property (half the house) in just 15 years. It was probably the only way I could have afforded the high house payments until interest rates came down.

I was lucky to find such good renters. Wouldn't do it again unless I had to. The property next to me is rental and every time a tenant moves out the owner always misses several months of rent because of huge repairs.
 
Yep I rent my house in Spain out through a letting agency to a retired Norwegian couple, they have never been any problem at all. As we're in another country the letting agency deals with any repairs on our behalf after consultation with us.

Years ago we also had a tiny one bedroom one bath riverside apartment which we rented out and it was in the next village so we were able to keep our eye on it regularly, but we only ever rented to professional business people, again through a letting agency, but we did all the repairs ourselves on that property..not that it ever needed much!!!!
 
At one time, we considered in buying rental properties, but after hearing so many horror stories from people that do rent out properties, we quickly changed our minds. I know of some successful landlords that have done quite well with buying and then renting out properties, but they have the ideal situations going for them.
 
I was a landlady for 16 years.. I owned was is called a 6 flat.. (one building 6 apartments) All I can say.. is it's a lot of work.. and headache..for all the reasons SB listed.. and then some. On the plus side... I must say though that owning income property can be really handy at Tax time as you can deduct all expenses and you can claim depreciation on the building and all major improvements. But when my late husband died I sold the building after 3 years as I had to get out from under that responsibility. It was just too much and I had to hire people to do what my husband used to do to maintain the building. I'm not sorry though.. and yes... it was very lucrative.. Capital gains tax is a killer.. that's when all that depreciation comes back to bite you.. I was fortunate in a way as my capital gain tax was cut in half as I was considered to have inherited my late husband's half of the building.. so no capital gain on that portion... it still was a hefty check to write to our dear uncle.
 
Most of you probably already know all these things, but a few years ago I put together what I feel are some good tips for potential landlords.



First and foremost, know who you are renting to.

Don't be fooled by smiles, "nice" demeanor, sob stories, talk about trust funds and forthcoming inheritances/settlements, claims about how they are involved with the church, etc. etc.

1) Ask to see a valid Driver’s License or State ID to confirm identity before you show the apt, If they “don’t have it with them”, “wallet was stolen”, etc., red flag. Tell them come back if/when they do have it. But no guarantees re: availability.

2) Have them fill out an application (you can get a current, legal application online, from HUD, or even from a non-profit housing organization). Ask for rental references (although some landlords lie just to get rid of a tenant). And, a problem with a former landlord and/or neighbors doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bad risk, but try to find out all you can. Get SSN & DOB and run a police check. This costs less than a dollar at the Sheriff’s Dept. You don’t want to rent to someone with history of violent behavior or someone who is on the lam and has outstanding warrants. Don’t accept any excuses – if the person hesitates or gives excuses, say “Nice meeting you; goodbye”. Might also want to check the Sex Offender database in your area.

3) Ask to SEE PROOF of steady income. Two recent paystubs, retirement income, a disability award letter, etc. Some people work at more than 1 job. That’s fine, but ask to SEE proof.

Save yourself and all concerned some time by telling them in advance via phone or e-mail that you will require 1, 2, and 3 - no exceptions or excuses. Don't accept a dime from them until 1, 2, and 3 are done.

Different opinions re: credit reports. No harm in getting one, but some people have decent credit but are troublesome tenants and a credit report won’t reveal if they pay their rent or if the police will be at the place frequently.

You can search something called Court View on the website of your local county municipal court. Things like evictions, judgments, criminal history will usually show up.

Be upfront about your rules regarding visitors/guests (which often turn out to be additional tenants once the person gets a key). Put something in the lease having them state how many people/names, DOB are going to be living there. This gets tricky.

Ask them if they have renter’s insurance (it’s easy and cheap to get – usually costs less than $10/month). In fact, I would insist that they carry it and ask to see verification that the policy is in force.

Most importantly, get the movie "Pacific Heights" with Michael Keaton, (libraries have the DVD), fix yourself a snack and enjoy. After watching it, ask yourself if you REALLY want to be a landlord. :laugh:
 
I have been and I am now. I have had great tenants and I have had horrible tenants. Made a couple of bad decisions with a duplex we owned years ago,so we hired a property manager. he made the worst decision yet. Rented to a young couple whose parents she knew. They moved in by writing her two separate checks for $600.00 each-one for the first month`s rent,one for a security deposit. Turned out both were written off a closed account,but by the time it was discovered,they were in. They never paid a dime and it took three months to get them out. They left a dirty diaper hanging on every door in the house and then there was this "smell". It got worse as the days passed. Turned out,he obviously brought fish home from work (he worked at the local supermarket-no doubt they were willing to give him the stuff that was outdated) and dropped raw fish down each of the heat registers. Hubby had to climb under the house and remove and replace all the ducting to get rid of the smell. Took them to court and won a judgement against them,but then they turned right around and filed bankruptcy so I was never able to collect. Dirtbags.

Sold the place after that and bought another house. That one went pretty well-had good,reliable tenants for the most part. Still didn`t love being a landlord though. Now we are landlords with our commercial property that was our business for 34 years. It has been wonderful. Our tenant has been there for almost 5 years,the rent has been gradually increased from $7,300 to $9,100 over the course of that time. He takes care of all maintenance and repairs and the rent is never late. We have a property manager whom we pay $200 per month. He doesn`t really have to do anything though-just deposit the rent check that comes in every month. This person will most likely purchase the property when (and IF) the ground contamination ever cleans up (it was once a gas station,has some contamination that we have been having cleaned up for 16 years now-ugh).
 
Took them to court and won a judgement against them,but then they turned right around and filed bankruptcy so I was never able to collect.
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I didn't think bankruptcy could erase judgments. Apparently in some cases. :shrug:
 
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