Rental Property

Not sure where to put this, so i stuck it here.

I have a good opportunity to purchase a nice piece of rental property next week.

Already have a tenant lined up. Rent will be almost $200 over the mortgage payment.
The property needs the bathroom gutted and redone, cleaned and painted. After that its good to go.

Everything sounds like its a great opportunity for me to get into the slumlord business...But something inside of me is scared. 2 house, 2 mortgage payments...Kinda freaks me out.

I know any tool I buy, I can say its for the rental and deduct it from the taxes. Anybody chime in and tell me what advantages there are of being a landlord?

 

better investment then most other things you would be using that money for...

is that including your taxes, fees, insurance,

plan on spending additional money on maintainence, repairs, yard, pool, ect...

people who rent generally dont give a shit about the house maintainence

 

Have you ran a credit/background check? Verified employment?
Don't rent to friends/family as it will just complicate things.

Is $200/month worth running a rental property? I've seen many people in your shoes who tried to make it work (as a slumlord) but eventually had to sell their house and move into the actual house they wanted to rent out.

At my past employer I managed 40 properties in 3 counties for one individual owner. At minimum he brought in 20k a month after expenses. That obviously fluctuated though.

You will honestly get a few shitty tenants before you get someone who pays on time. Communication is key.

 

Its my first rental, I could probably rent it out for more than $200 over mortgage once this guy leaves. And its in an excellent resale area. I got first look at this one before it went on the market with a realtor. I have 3 days to decide then it gets posted.

Figured i would try my luck with this one then decide if i wanted to get a few more...

 

Do a credit / rental history check!! Its not a 100% guarantee that they will be good/great tenants but it really helps weeding out the bad ones. People with excellent credit want to keep it that way, people with bad credit usually don't give a f...k

Don't forget property taxes and insurance

When you have a good/great tenant = life is good as a landlord, when you get a lousy one then it just plain sucks. BTDT

It is a good way to build financial wealth if you can keep it rented to good people and its in an area where the property values appreciate

 

go for it. If it is in a good resale spot if it doesn't work out sell it. As long as it doesn't cause real hardship in the interm. Better to have tried and fail than not trying at all. I guess..............

 

$200 over mortgage not enough.
Even if tax and ins are escrowed in payment.
Be prepared to put money in every year.

I have a few rentals.
I also do A/C work for a few property managers.
One big repair will F*** your world up.
Plumbing, A/C, bad tenants.

Hate to be raining on your parade.
Each of our units bring in $4 to 500 over mortgage each month.
They break even.
I'm sure I could run a tighter ship and do repairs on the cheap,
I'd have some money left over at the end of the year.
Rather fix it right and forget it.
Buy rentals...... make sure they wont sink you.
Good luck.