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Thanks for this. It is timely for me as we just bought a another home and I am wrestling daily to sell our current one when new one is ready, or rent it out. We

Thanks for this. It is timely for me as we just bought a another home and I am wrestling daily to sell our current one when new one is ready, or rent it out. We are half way into a 30yr mortgage on it and I have grand visions of renting it to have other people pay off my mortgage for next 14 years and hate to let it go. From the few in our circle of friends who have been landlords before, none of them have had any stories remotely like yours. They've all seemed to have had model tenants from what I've gathered. Worst cases are just a few have had their leases broken early and they are having to carry double mortgage payments for a month or two scrambling for another tenant. Or some have been late paying rent once in while and you have to chase them down. They've all just told me it isn't that bad. Just make sure to do a thorough job in screening the applicants. Check credit history, job stabilty/length, etc. Some have even recommended to just pay a property management company to handle renting it out and such as the fee is well worth it. I thought owning and accumulating real estate was the way to wealth and comfortable retirements so I wresting with letting my 1st house go so deep into a mortgage. I have some friends who own 3-4 homes. But reading this thread and story though, I am just not sure it is worth the trouble and risk of trying to rent it out. Unless of course I knew ahead of time prices would continue to rise unrealistically in my city forever.

dbg31415 9y ago
You can make your own call... I mean... I'm still renting it out... it's financially beneficial. Just you can't have an emotional investment in the property. The tenant family I have in there now is OK... they have kids who draw on walls and that sort of thing... and the Dad calls me to tell me he's "fixed" things instead of telling me they are broken... Who knows if he's fixing them correctly or just enough so they hold... but I like the guy. "Oh, you fixed this thing I didn't know was broken, that wasn't broken before you moved in, and now you want money off your rent? Uh... um..." (What's the appropriate response? Ha.) Worst thing he's done is tell the gardener not to mow the lawn because they had a baby sleeping... so for a few months my gardener was charging me and not doing anything... I got a fine from the HOA that alerted me the lawn needed to be taken care of. (I haven't been in the property though so I don't know what it's really like inside.) But I think I've got a good contact with them, and I've covered my bases with what it looked like before, I have like 300 images of every wall in room and every faucet and every cupboard... so... I guess worst case I just ding them for repairs. But look... the contract and the photos -- an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I never want to have to sue a tenant again. It's a lot easier said than done "screening the applicants" -- the first time you meet someone, they could drive a BMW, have good credit, have a nice education, and a respectable job, seemingly have well-behaved kids... but you never know what they're going to be like. You get references from past landlords... you never know if it's a real person or if it's just someone keen on getting rid of them... It's all just luck. By far the worst tenant I had was the first one (and I found them because they were friends with one of my neighbors who I trusted). There are many less stressful ways to make a buck... but sure, if you can get the right tenant... it should in theory be passive income. Good luck!

dbg31415 9y ago

You can make your own call... I mean... I'm still renting it out... it's financially beneficial. Just you can't have an emotional investment in the property. The tenant family I have in there now is OK... they have kids who draw on walls and that sort of thing... and the Dad calls me to tell me he's "fixed" things instead of telling me they are broken... Who knows if he's fixing them correctly or just enough so they hold... but I like the guy. "Oh, you fixed this thing I didn't know was broken, that wasn't broken before you moved in, and now you want money off your rent? Uh... um..." (What's the appropriate response? Ha.) Worst thing he's done is tell the gardener not to mow the lawn because they had a baby sleeping... so for a few months my gardener was charging me and not doing anything... I got a fine from the HOA that alerted me the lawn needed to be taken care of. (I haven't been in the property though so I don't know what it's really like inside.) But I think I've got a good contact with them, and I've covered my bases with what it looked like before, I have like 300 images of every wall in room and every faucet and every cupboard... so... I guess worst case I just ding them for repairs. But look... the contract and the photos -- an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I never want to have to sue a tenant again. It's a lot easier said than done "screening the applicants" -- the first time you meet someone, they could drive a BMW, have good credit, have a nice education, and a respectable job, seemingly have well-behaved kids... but you never know what they're going to be like. You get references from past landlords... you never know if it's a real person or if it's just someone keen on getting rid of them... It's all just luck. By far the worst tenant I had was the first one (and I found them because they were friends with one of my neighbors who I trusted). There are many less stressful ways to make a buck... but sure, if you can get the right tenant... it should in theory be passive income. Good luck!