Is being a landlord as much of a pain in the butt as people say?

Question

I'm in my mid 30's and would like to have 1 or 2 tenants. I'm not looking for immediate profit but want the rent to cover the monthly costs for this investment. Is that possible?

Answer 1

I'm in my mid 30's as well, I have over 25 units in different locations and have a lease, with a separate house rules written up, I'm fair and have tenants that respect that, and feel lucky and make sure they do not make advances towards getting themselves kicked out. I have yearly inspections, rent discounts, no pets discounts. I have a separate line, no personal time is spent, I don't take sides, the house rules, make sure that the tenants respect each others space. I do agree to do credit and/or background checks, and see what you are getting into with tenants. There are alot of things that you can expect with becoming a landlord, if you are a residential landlord, you may have your time taken by having to manage every task-big or small. There are times when you have alot of things to do, but things are mostly cut and dry, and then there is the time that you have for business trips, which can be wayyy longer than if you had a nine to five job. Its great. **If you are a commercial landlord, there is less energy, more planning, and that much more time that you can spend doing other things.
If you can handle people that is a gift, if you can't, then take a class. Learn how to read people before they read you. Learn how to be fair and people will want to stay. Learn how to stay out of people's business, and encourage people to be busy in their own lives.
Hope some of this helps. I do agree that there are some landlords that give other landlords a bad name, but the door swings both ways, looking at tenants...there are actually many more good tenants than bad. And some bad tenants, are bad because the landlord never cared about their living situation.

Think about what kind of landlord you want to be, and what kind of property you want to have, and when you buy a property, make sure that you have reserves for this property to be sustained the way you want it, and take the steps you need to in order for your tenants to respect your intentions.

Answer 2

Yes and no, it depends on if people want to live there and what type of people they are for example some people get on really well with others and some don't. My landlord is a pain in the but and he also hates being a landlord with all of the expenses he has and wishes that he just rented. But in the long term it can be finicaly rewarding.
My landlord has 5 rooms he wants to rent he said that his morgage repayments are $435 per week he rents the rooms for $100 each and he lives downstairs, at the moment there are only 3 rooms he gets rent from so did works out quite well for him and if he fills the house then he actually can make profit. But he is annoying and I want to move out he keeps coming up and pissing me off.

Answer 3

Oh you better believe it!!! In less you get lucky to get great tenants. Anything they plug up, put a hole in, or ruin YOU have to fix!! Every month they have 101 reasons why they can't pay rent on time. You are like their boss. The minute the boss is away the workers will play. So every rule you have will get broken in some shape or form. You say no kegs they get party balls. You o.k one cat they get 5. Good luck being a landlord!! Right now 3 of the 4 I have are great and I hope those 3 never leave!! If your going to be a landlord do not do it for the money!!

Answer 4

It is a pain in the behind:) You have to look at a lot of things. Is the rental property paid for? How close is it to your home? Could you maintain/repair and manage it? What shape is it in? What about high-end repairs? Roof? A/C-heat? Plumbing Issues? Insurance? Do you have a fund set up for "the investment" you want to cover if the rental income is not there? On the other hand, well screened tenants who sign a 12 month lease could be an asset. Good luck.

Answer 5

It is a pain for the small time landlord. All it takes is one pain in the butt teneant to wipe out your investment. Case in point is my current landlord. He had a renter in the upstairs apartment that decided to do some unauthorized redecorating. Landlord told him he needed to leave. Tenant than decided to do about $20,000 in remodelling to the apartment and about $15,000 to the rest of the building on his way out. He has pretty much taken off and is "flying under the radar". Landlord is eating much of the cost (insurance will pay for direct damage but not residual) and is reimbursing me for damage done to my property. While this is on the extreme end of the scale, it's hard to know how good a tenant is going to be and it's almost impossible to discriminate if you feel uncomfortable about someone.

Answer 6

My parents are landlords. My advice to you is to be careful about who you let be the tenant(s) and be sure your lease for the place is written up very well. Fixing the place up when things break can be annoying. You should have a security deposit or something like that and have some stuff in the lease about paying rent on time and what happens if it is not payed on time, etc.

Answer 7

I am a new landlord, and quite frankly, have found it easy.....My first tenants paid the move in costs - and never paid rent.....I was able to evict them in 19 days!!! No lawyers, just read all the landlord books pertinent to my state and got the proper forms from the Secretary of State website and filled in the blanks.
I followed the rules, started the "legal clock", went to court and boom....had the sheriff out to evict them......

Conversely, my second tenant is a dream.....Lesson learned have a minimum criteria that applicants must meet; for me that includes: minimum FICO score of 620, active checking account at local bank, PROOF of renter's insurance prior to occupancy....That really weeded out the riff-raff.

Just get "landlord for dummies" and then find your own state's unique requirements. and have the paperwork ready.....I didn't understand all of the pleadings, but believe me, the lightbulb kicked on when "material non-compliance" happened.

Answer 8

Be very careful who you rent to. People can trash your place in no time. If you don't know how to read a credit report, get someone who does. There are so many Fair Housing rules and laws to follow, I wouldn't do it, and I have 15 years experience in property management. But I also know people who do with no problems except for the occasional backed up john.

Answer 9

From my experience, landlords (or landlady's) are crooks. All they want is money and will not help you if something breaks, then no matter how clean you leave the apartment, they still take your deposit. Nothing but cheapskates. Be prepared to be disliked as a landlord.

Answer 10

Not sure on that, but just a piece of advice. Get a separate phone line. One for landlord between hours. Don't give out your home number.