anyone own any rental homes?

[halemach1]

Ok, I'll try to keep the story short. My wife and I have been renting sence I left the airforce a little over a year ago. I've been interested in owning land and homes, because there will ALWAYS be a market for them. I've found a good job and the wife has recently started working. We really want to build a house, but I've been thinking about buying a Mobile home and a small piece of land to put it on, living there for a few years till its payed off, renting it out and buying another and doing the same thing for 3 homes or so. Then being able to build what I want and make money in the end. Seems from talking to many dealers I'll be looking at around 50k total for a new mobile home and land, everything hooked up, ready for someone to live in. That can be payed off in 4 years or so at our current income and expensives.

So anything I'm not thinking of?
How do you pick a good renter?
Or is this whole idea just ******* stupid?

This is just something I started looking into Two weeks ago, really have no idea what I'm getting into so take it easy on me if this is the most retarded thing I could do, lol. But I bet some people on here have a few rental properties. And some info to share.

 

[2004TBV]

I rent my 4 bedroom house out. Its not a stupid idea, but I don't have much experience. Only suggestion I have is have a company manage it for you, this way if you run into legal issues, they will handle it. I say this because I had a renter stop paying and get evicted last April and I still haven't got my money yet. It would be even worse if I had to deal with it myself. Another suggestion is make sure you have enough money in the bank to cover 6 months if rent just incase the remnants fail to pay. Also have another chunk of money set aside for repairs. Good luck.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I'm not sure this market will allow you to do that, back in the 80s a friend of mine bought 15 acres, then built a house on one, sold it, did it again then he kept the last house. He was good enough to do most of the work himself so he did it fairly cheaply, but
I'm afraid today you'll end up sitting on the houses for too long. You could just do the mobile home (I'd recommend a "manufactured home" which will hold it's value a little better than a mobile), live their and build your house, or you could build a nice garage , with a shower and bathroom, live their and build the house, I know a guy that did that as well. Whatever you do, good luck with it home ownership is a great American dream.

 

[halemach1]

Thanks for the replys, my number one concern is a dead beat renter.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Thanks for the replys, my number one concern is a dead beat renter.

It should be the guy that destroys your house and then leaves, personally I hate renters, I know there are some good people out there, but generally I get the feeling that renters have the "It's not mine so who cares" attitude. I had this beautiful old house, wood floors, fireplace, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc it was built in the 20s. The renter disconnected the detectors because they would go off when they cooked, the kid set fire to the bed, the detectors didn't go off, they forgot about the extinguishers, dumped a 25 gallon fish tank on the fire destroying the wood floors...I hate renters.

 

[jbs$]

There was a long thread on this subject a few weeks back. May be someone can remember the thread's title. Anyway, it's worth finding and reading.

 

[ford fanatic]

We approved an application for new renters for our townhouse last night. It's only the second year that we had renters, and my wife worked with the first couple we had in there, so they were great renters. We decided to have a realtor list the house this time because they show it, run background and credit checks.

My only real issue is having a deadbeat renter in there or someone who tears the place up.

Also be prepared to deal with renters calling you at the worst time because of issues at the property. Last year we were on a 10 vacation and our renters called to say the washing machine flooded the basement. Good luck.

 

[Chris!]

I own a summer rental- constant turnover- constant headaches- alot of juggling.

A long term rental won't be as much work. BUT I would highly reccomend against a trailer.

A modular home- sure. Pour a foundation- back up 4 trucks- drop the house on it.

Trailers attract a certain clientele that you won't want to deal with. No offense to anyone that lives in a trailer- you must be different. But it's usually the case

 

[Outlaw99]

a few years back....i had 3 rental homes. i looked for people going thru a divorce, lost job...people that wre in serious financial trouble so i could pick up a house cheap. with in 5 years i was able to pay off 2 of them. the income generated from the rentals paid the mortgage on my big home.

i was very selective in who i rented to. I was an LEO at the time and had access to backgrounds records and such. i would make them provide me a credit report and it helped that i just happened to be in uniform when i interviewed them. put everything in writing. allow a minimum of 2 walk thru inspections a year and dont rent to singles or a guy and a girl shacked up together. rent to older married couples that are stable. never take the " we are engaged" line.

have a bank account aside from your personal account for deposits and expenses. its not cheap.

good luck.

 

[broke7]

I own a home in FL that I bought in 2004 which was our 1st home right after we got married. I was stationed there, and got PCS'd non voluntarily due to military. Had no choice but to rent.


Moved back to Alaska, and we just bought our 2nd house. Refinanced the 1st house at today's APR % (3.21%) vs 2004's good rate @ (5.45%), and dropped the payment close to 300/mo. I also went with a 20 year term. Im now making money on it. I have no intentions on moving back to the area, but I was not putting my dream house on hold in Alaska for something the military moved me from.


My only suggestion is either have a good renter, someone you know/trust. Or hire a property manager to manage it for you, and you set the guidelines. Credit check, inspections, before/after agreements etc. My original realtor who sold us the house also runs a property management company, and does our management for 8% of the rent. Its a convenience factor for us living 5000 miles away.

Only drawback is NOT having a renter. I went close to 18 months, at 1st it was scary, but we prepared for the possibility. We have a seperate account set aside with close to 1 years for rent/mortgage there so we dont touch our normal income incase the renters vacate. Our lending institution for the 2nd house required 18 months min, which was really no biggie.

Also, you can use the rental home as a deduction for travel expenses/improvements. We write-off as home improvement expenses when we travel down to Disney. We stop at the house, do some paint, and other small improvements. Rental, lodging, and expenses are a writeoff. Works out good for us because we frequent Disney alot from Alaska since we are geographically separated from the 2004 house.

 

[CCS_56_EX]

Rent to old people. Choose your location in an older community. They are retired, have a fixed income, and are much much much less likely to trash the place. They are also less likely to move every year or two.

Downsides to renting - be prepared to spend some nights and Saturdays fixing things. Likewise, make sure you're have the finances to fix unexpected things - washers, heaters, etc.

 

[PDubs]

We have a couple rentals and it can be hit-or-miss with the tenants. Definitely be prepared to be able to learn how to repair/remodel a home, be on call, and deal with the drama.

 

[WireEater]

I couldn't imagine renting something from someone and not take care of it. All my rentals have been returned in the shape they gave them to me, minus wear n tear. I'm in the process of moving out of my apartment. I steamed cleaned the carpets every 2-3 months (kids, dogs). I might have 2 small stains from the dog getting sick but that's it. I filled in any holes I put in the wall from mounts/pictures. I had a piece of molding that got broke accidently because my little girl slammed her door and a picture feel off the wall and broke it. I took wood putty and filled/smoothed it out. You can't even tell now.

The house I am about to rent, I owned a house right beside it a few years ago so the owners know me which is why the decided to go with me because they always seen me outside power washing or keeping things clean/fixed.

 

[Blackness03]

dont rent to singles or a guy and a girl shacked up together. rent to older married couples that are stable. never take the " we are engaged" line.



.

Care to explain? I'm single and live with another girl and we are both "stable"

 

[VerySneaky]

Care to explain? I'm single and live with another girl and we are both "stable"

This. When my fiancee moved in with me, she rented her townhouse out. She went through Century 21 to find the renters but it was ultimately her choice from potential renters. The kids... 21ish year old guy and girl.. that are in there now are good. They pay their rent on time and take care of the place. Haven't had any issues with them. They both drive mustangs too!

 

[stangposse]

I manage a 24 unit apartment building. It sounds nuts, but the Section 8 tenants give me the least problems. It could be that my building is the nicest, BY FAR, that accepts it. Most are coming from much smaller apartments in much crappier neighborhoods, so maybe that's why they kiss my ass so much and keep their places nice because the alternatives can't compare. But most of them live simple lives, are on fixed incomes and DO NOT want to get kicked out of the program, so they tow the line pretty well.

Oh....the checks NEVER bounce and are always on time!

I'm not sure if mobile homes qualify.