Any landlords here?

[Mark R]

I rent out a prime city center apartment. I used to live in it when I worked in the town, but moved for work.

Nowadays, there are thousands of international students who come to study at the University. The Chinese and Malaysians absolutely love the block, and will sign a 1 year lease, paid in full up-front, offering 10% over asking rent without even seeing it.

I had been revamping the place after a set of tenants (students) had left, and I phoned the agent to instruct them at 2pm. At 3 pm, they phoned back, saying that they've got a couple in the office ready to sign with the conditions above.

I used to manage the place myself, and got welcome packs and stuff translated into Mandarin. But, these students were a bit needy (probably because they were super-rich where they came from, and had servants for everything). I had a pair of dudes in who were doing PhDs in electrical engineering - they phoned my for some help with the electricity. It turned out that the light bulbs had blown (regular screw-fit bulbs) and they didn't know how to change them.

These days, I can't be bothered with that, and let an agent deal with that.

 

[edro]

Only rent to young professionals or old widows.
DO NOT rent to families.

 

[Sluggo]

Wife and I have 3 rental houses, looking to add more soon, to me it's easy money. I do the DIY landlord, and don't think it's too big of a hassle. The biggest keys for me are screening the tenants, which my wife does a great job of, and having a good set of contractors to choose from if repairs needed.

Since we are already in the construction business, we have excellent contractors willing to help. Just a couple of weeks back someone's heater was on the fritz on a cold Sunday morning. Just took a few calls to find one of our HVAC guys who wanted to earn some extra cash, and he ran out to take care of it. I didn't even have to put on pants.

You should have a stash of cash to do it, just to be on the safe side. And even with paid for houses, you really only get 10 months of rent every year. Taxes and insurance eat up about 2 months worth of rent on every property. I haven't really done the math on the ROI after income taxes, depreciation, and other expenses, but it's probably right about 8 or 9%

 

[Stifko]

Always use a management company. Always.

Why ? Sure it is a hassle but there is no easy money. I take care of a building with 14 apartments and 7 stores in a bad section of a little city. It is a pain in the a$$ but I keep on top of things. I am getting some people to help me slowly, but I was doing it all for a while. I have been taking care of the building for over 8 years now, and it has been getting easier as time goes on. I would not want to pay a mgmt company to do this. I have built relationships and developed a reputation in the area. People are always asking me if I have any available apartments and the stores are all rented too. The neighborhood is very run down and there are a huge amount of commercial spaces vacant. Since I can charge whatever I want to for the store I rent them very cheaply for a year or two and then do 10 or 15% increases. Everyone has to eat and it is a struggle out there. So I try to keep that in mind. However the mortgage, insurance and all the taxes have to be paid. I look for cheap sources of number 2 heating oil which I used a lot of this past winter. I do barter deals when I can too. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me and I take great pride in that place. I am very hands on and still bag up the garbage myself usually.

 

[brianmanahan]

I don't know how it works in commie land. Down here in the US the day they don't pay on time you slap them with an eviction notice. Then you file the eviction, get a court date, go to court, get a judgement(its not that hard). Then set a date to meet them with court baliffs and you set all there shit to the curb.

lol, good luck with that

by the time my grandpa got people to move out, they had already trashed everything beyond repair. 3 different people, 3 different times.

 

[Slew Foot]

Always use a management company. Always.

This. No dogs or large animals. Rent to working professionals, or older retirees only.

 

[Red Squirrel]

lol, good luck with that

by the time my grandpa got people to move out, they had already trashed everything beyond repair. 3 different people, 3 different times.

Yeah the actual process takes very long and there's always ifs and butts that delay it further.

If they can't find another place and they're kicked out they'll literally freeze to death so they have to find a place and in most cases they're not motivated to, they rather just stay there and not pay a dime and keep putting more holes in the walls.

 

[Blackjack200]

Yeah the actual process takes very long and there's always ifs and butts that delay it further.

If they can't find another place and they're kicked out they'll literally freeze to death so they have to find a place and in most cases they're not motivated to, they rather just stay there and not pay a dime and keep putting more holes in the walls.

I'm sure there are legitimate cases where hellish tenants have been able to remain in their unit long after eviction proceedings have begun, but the whole concept has taken on an urban legend kind of charachter.

I spoke with a real-estate lawyer before I bought my first rental, he told me that if I have tenants that don't pay rent, I can get a judgement and eviction quickly, and forceful ejection of the tenants won't take much longer than that. When you think about it, it makes sense. The city doesn't want lots of rent-delinquent households destroying their homes and blighting the neighborhoods.

If it was so easy to remain in a house without paying rent, why would anyone pay it at all?

 

[Jimzz]

I'm sure there are legitimate cases where hellish tenants have been able to remain in their unit long after eviction proceedings have begun, but the whole concept has taken on an urban legend kind of charachter.

I spoke with a real-estate lawyer before I bought my first rental, he told me that if I have tenants that don't pay rent, I can get a judgement and eviction quickly, and forceful ejection of the tenants won't take much longer than that. When you think about it, it makes sense. The city doesn't want lots of rent-delinquent households destroying their homes and blighting the neighborhoods.

If it was so easy to remain in a house without paying rent, why would anyone pay it at all?

Depends on the city/state. Some are more friendlier to landlords/owners while others are more favorable to tenants.

Its just another thing to review before getting into the rental game. Taxs and insurance are another one many skip as well. Let alone if you have a HOA fee as well.

 

[Genx87]

Been renting my house out for 2 years. Make sure to do a background check. If they have been in court for not paying bills find somebody else.

As for the crazy renters. They are out there. But try to weed them out. When i first put my house on the market in Jan 2012 a couple showed up from 3 doors down. They had a song and dance about how the owner of the house didnt pay the mortgage and they had to get out blah. I did a background check. The guy was in civil court 26 times in 15 years and had two criminal convictions for writing bad checks lmao. And they were hassling me about the damage deposit. I called them and left a VM wanting to discuss something that came up on the background check. Never heard from them lol

Anyways my first renter was perfect. A single 40 year old woman with two children. She ended up buying a house for herself and moving out last Fall. I now have a family of 4 in there. No problems so far and the check comes on time every time.

And you dont need a lawyer. Just make sure the lease spells out everything you want.

 

[Genx87]

Always use a management company. Always.

The depends. If you are fine with paying for things without your consent and be hands off. Then a management company is a good deal.

But I can tell you horror stories about management companies that authorize thousands of dollars in repairs and mismanage tenants.

 

[highland145]

The depends. If you are fine with paying for things without your consent and be hands off. Then a management company is a good deal.

But I can tell you horror stories about management companies that authorize thousands of dollars in repairs and mismanage tenants.

I had one that wouldn't collect the rent....wth?

 

[Genx87]

I had one that wouldn't collect the rent....wth?

Haha.

 

[debian0001]

I'd be willing to take a stab without a management company at first. If I was managing more than a couple places, I could see the benefit.