Rookie Landlord
 

I've recently agreed to rent my house out.

This is a *big* deal for me, emotionally, financially, logistically, relationally. Twil and I live together now. Since I got a (real) job, not working at J-Lube anymore, it's been more practical and more pleasant to live with her in her house. But that means we're living in one and paying for two. I have a good job I love, but the pay has left me just a little under-solvent. And when you're losing a dollar a unit, you can't really make it up on volume.

The emotional component is largely due to the fact that this is my first house, my only house (I don't even have a Monopoly yet!). Tink and I bought this house in 1993. It's been the only house I've ever owned. And I raised a family in it for a couple decades. It's *full* of stuff. Not just my stuff, but I have kids that have moved out, moved back, moved out, and back, etc, etc. Not everything in the house actually belongs to me. So I have to get all that taken care of.

Speaking of "things in the house that are not mine" there are four people living there, my son, my sister, my brother and his girlfriend. They have to go, too. The conversations have all been opened, but no one has a new place yet.

Yeah.... I think I covered all those bases.

Right now, it's just a GIANT pile of work, with a hard end date/move in date. I'll be moving back to the house, starting tomorrow night, so I can work at work all day and then come home and work until I drop so I can get up and do it all over again.

I wanted to start this thread to get youse guyz up to date and to give me a place to put my works-in-progress photos. Also, anyone who's got good advice to be a successful landlord, speak up. I'm a rookie and it's the end of spring training almost. Opening day is almost here.

I leased out a home in NC for several years before selling it. Realtors there did property management cheap in hopes of clients eventually selling with them. They already have the apparatus in place for showings and background checks. They also have the connections to promptly take care of any fair wear and tear repairs, which are the landlord's responsibility, that have to be done for the tenants. Those expenses are simply deducted from the rent proceeds. It was a good deal since I had moved to TX.

So you're not renting a room in the house you're living in, right? You're staying in Twil's house, and kicking out (politely) all the people who are still in your old house but paying no rent? Sounds like a good idea.

As far as being a landlord, all I can say is choose your renters very, very carefully. I've seen some really horrendous damage done to houses by renters who just didn't give a shit.

I'm with sexo, at least talk to some of the real estate property managers in your area and get a handle on cost, advantages and disadvantages. I can't see any disadvantages except cost, and of course not dealing directly with the tenants, no chance of getting a penalty blowjob if they are a day late with the rent. ;)

Oh, and decide if you want to restrict renters, like no cats, or no dogs, maybe no Boa Constrictors, or children.

The renters you get will make all the difference. Seriously. I know of landlords who have literally paid renters to leave they were so bad and the system is so slow to get rid of them.

I am POA for my elderly cousin with dementia. He had a rental property in another state. Rented it to a father and son. The father died, and he let the son take over the lease and continue living there. To say the son trashed the house is like saying the titanic bumped into a snowball floating in the ocean. We ended up getting the son evicted after 6 months of no rent payments, but the house sustained so much damage that when I sold it to raise money for nursing home expenses, the property with an $80k assessed value could only fetch $32k. It needed to be gutted by the new owners. Down to the floor joists and wall studs. It was TRASHED. Son had no money, so no use going after him. No money on the books anyway.

Neighbors told me the son had 3 dogs, and never let them outside. The animal feces was piled up inside on the floors. Soaked into the floors. Fleas. Urine damage swelled the floorboards so much, the back door couldn't swing open. Every window broken. Furnace literally smashed apart. Junk everywhere.

I need to stop typing about this. I spent $2K hiring people to clean it up enough to sell "as is" to someone who planned to gut it and leave it all winter with the windows open to air out before he tried to fix it back up again.

Chose your renters wisely, and keep an eye on the place. But be friendly about it.

Also, there are fairly complicated IRS rules for rental property. You'll want to depreciate the property over time on your taxes to take those deductions, and those rules are complicated. My cousin was an accountant and understood them well before he got dementia, and this year I hired an accountant and showed her what he had done in years past, and she seemed to understand it as well, but I had no freaking clue. People build careers around understanding this complicated stuff. You can either educate yourself enough to be confident in your ability to DIY, or hire someone.

If you don’t rent to criminals, are you a racist?

Is that not a racist statement in itself?:eyebrow:

It essentially says that if you're a criminal, you are apparently non-white, and/or non-American.

It's more of an admission of racial bias in the criminal justice system.

Ditto.

A friend would get rid of tenants by offering them $1000 to be out in a week. He said the cost of eviction would run to $5000 not including the 6 months it would take and the lost income. It was a win-win. For a grand everyone can find a couch to crash on. He also pointed out that having dozens of rental properties spreads the loss out, when you've only got one, the impact of a non paying tenant is acute.

Another thought is if you have to evict the family, why not offer to rent it to them? If they move they'll have to pay rent where ever they go, might as well pay it to you and save them the cost of moving.

Could also be a recipe for disaster.

I just realized that the bad renters are always getting kicked out, so always are looking for a new landlord to take advantage of. I bet that during any given time, a very significant portion of the rental seekers are bad renters. Look for renters who have a good story. Military family being transferred to the area. Somebody who stayed at their previous apartment for ten years, but the landlord died and kids are selling to property. Something like that. If somebody is moving after 6 months in the same town, you have to wonder why.

I have no idea what the law allows in the way of discrimination of various renters.

When we lived in a duplex, the other half was rented out to at least 3 or 4 different people during the year (maaaaybe two?) that we were there. It sat empty a fair amount, and any time it was up for rent there was a "first month's rent free!" deal involved. One family of Way Too Many was there only two months: the free month, then a month of not paying, then they disappeared again in the middle of the night. They traveled very light and you could tell this was standard practice for them, to just crash for 2-3 months free everywhere they went.

I watched my friend in action one time. He never asked any questions directly, he was just very conversational and chatty as if the question of renting to them had already been settled and they were just shooting the breeze. In the course of the conversation he'd found out pretty much everything he needed to know and he'd end by saying, "I'll be in touch."

Use an agent. Several of my friend have rental properties, they all reckon an agent is worth it. You can usually still elect to be in control of property maintenance to keep their cut down and retain more control. those who started off without an agent got one pretty pronto. If nothing else, renters are often wary of landlords who rent privately

Let an agent handle it, then after they've been there a couple weeks show up in Hells angel's gear, preferably with some friends dressed alike. Tell them you're the owner and just checking on your property. Minimize the interaction, then ride off into the sunset.

Who was that, Dear?
Says he's the owner.
Hey kids, get your hands off the woodwork... and wipe your feet.

Hi.

I'm so tired.

To bed last night at about 1130, alarm goes off at 450, letting me get on this ferry, the 610.

I'm going to ask my boss if I can shift and shorten my work schedule, say, 700 to 1200. Right now, I'm getting home at about 600 and that's not enough time, daytime, to get this job done.

Whoops, wrong button.

I am very grateful for the work my brother, B, has done. Lots of boxing shit up, lots of landscaping, he was the brains behind the repair of the wall in the bathroom. Lots more too. Thanks B!

I've had to spent a lot of time and energy, imperative, really, being a plumber. Fuck. Lots, lots of snaking about, rebuilt the drain under the kitchen sink, new basket, just... God.

Last night I installed the two lights, GFCI outlet, and switch in the bathroom. It worked and nobody died. I did have to turn the switch over so toggle up turned the lights on. Hey, I had a 50 / 50 chance.

Have enlisted BelovedDaughter to come get her stuff, her stuff that reminds her of her mom, and generally help. I'm happy for her help.

SonofV told me he got a job as a dishwasher. Wonderful. But it only paid 11/hr. And was only 4-10 hours per week, and 20 miles away and no car, so, bus ride over the lake. *sigh*

A few days later, he announced he got on with the local supermarket / general merchandise chain, 14/hr.,20 hrs week to start, moving rapidly to 40hrs, and it's a ten minute walk from the house. And as freight clerk, his shift is from 1200 am to 800 am. That is *perfect* for him, he's probably part vampire.

Well, we're docking now, more later.

Minimal plumbing work this weekend, only replaced one valve cartridge and repaired another. I have to make and install a backing surface behind the escutcheons to hide the ugly broken-ass holes behind them.

Much more packing this weekend, and three 700-800 pound trips to the dump using nephew's 1973 F-350. This last week has had record breaking heat. Never before has the Seattle area had two days in a row of 80 degrees or higher, this week we had three or four. And highs nearly 90 degrees.

The day I have to carry trash to the truck--steady rain, except when it was hailing. Thanks.

Anyhow, I have a LOT more yard now, and importantly, more space. Including mental space. Seeing that mountain of trash bags and yard waste and fucking junk really blocked my ability to see beyond it. I'm relieved to be able to *see* the next phase of work.

Which really is getting lined up with a storage unit outfit. I have many many boxes of belongings that B has boxed for me. Those neat-ish stacks have got to go.i

Good Job V. keep at it. By the time you're done - you'll want to keep the place.

Thanks man. I want to keep it now, I just don't want to live in it or pay for it. The last zillow check showed a value of, and I'm glad I was sitting down when I learned this, $597k, and deals in this area commonly turning out multiple cash offers, waiving all contingencies, and the winner paying $100k over asking price. W. T. F.

In other news, yesterday I did find a storage unit I like. $403/month for a 15x15 with probably 9-10 ft ceiling, drive up outdoor access. It's about five miles from the house, and the prospect of continuously processing the stuff in the boxes to reduce the size unit I need, they let me change units for a ten dollar transfer fee, and my rent just gets pro rated for the new unit. I fully expect my storage costs to decline, hopefully to zero.

I need the storage unit NOW because of the impending move in. But I don't think I'll need to keep anything I won't be able to just live with wherever I'm living.

My goal is to have the upstairs of the house three bedrooms, kitchen dining room, living room, bathroom, three, no, six closets EMPTY by this Sunday.

Selling it would be a hell of a lot easier than renting it out.

Great job on the progress.

Thanks glatt. What you say is true, it's a gross understatement. But like I said, I do want to keep it. And both paths still require work, even the shit work of "moving". So, I'm not reducing my immediate workload.

We'll see how this renting deal works out. At the moment, I don't see much profit. No loss, just about break even, not counting the equity gain for me.

Ultimately, I'd like to have it become a income generating going concern. That's not a stretch, lots and lots of examples here and everywhere of doing this successfully. The hardest part, I imagine, is this period. The first time, and the startup. Like I said, I'm a rookie. I'm almost certainly doing things, maybe most things, the hard way.

[fuckingastounded]JFC!!!!!!!!!!!![/fuckingastounded]

Occasionally, I'm reminded why I'm happy to live where I live.

My credit card agreed with you, then quit. I hope like hell I can coast across this finish line on a cash basis.

I paid the coming month with cash, made two trips to the storage unit after work, finished the night with boxing up more stuff.

SonofV got a call from new gig and was asked if he was willing / interested in coming in a week earlier. He said YES. He's stoked, I'm stoked.

Sister has officially moved out. There's still some dressers, bookcases, chairs, desk, etc still in the room, but it's clean and in good condition. Minor touch up painting needed, have to patch a hole in the wall in the closet used for access to the bathroom tub shower faucet /pipes. I had to cut a hole in the wall years ago when I replaced the faucets.

Still need to find the title to the Cadillac so they'll tow it away. I have a tank of gas and sixteen more rides left on my ferry ticket. Have cancelled trave plans for this weekend (made long before the rental plan, Christmas gift), coworker has volunteered to come over this weekend to help move shit.


I can catch another ten minutes of rest if I start now, so....


Zzzzzzzz

Overslept and missed my ferry today. I'll be about fifteen minutes late to work.

Shit.

How is the house coming along?

Got a message from renters indicating the washer quit working.

Headed over there today to try to isolate the problem. I'm certain I won't be able to fix it today because the appliance parts store I use is closed on Sundays.

I suspect that the belt has broken. The motor makes motor sounds, the machine pumps water out, sporadically. But it won't spin. So, belt or clutch. Each seems pretty easy, but not the same repair, obviously.

Renters moved in on 01 June 2016. Each month's rent has been paid in full, right on time. We've agreed to electronic payments and so far that's working out fine.

SonofV and I worked on getting the washer working, we worked for hours. We identified the faulty part but could not free the washtub from the rearmost suspension rods. Impossible access.

Fuck. That. Shit.

OK, Google, find me a used washing machine. Which, it did. $20 later, and a fair bit of grunting and straining, we got it transported across town and installed, tested and working.

We cleaned up our mess, but, unfortunately, it was too late to take the carcass of the old one to the dump. It's in the (fenced) backyard, and we'll come take it to the dump next weekend. I might scavenge the motor before I heave it into the metal recycling bin.

So if I'm reading this thread correctly, V, you have non-relatives now renting your place?

BigV, I've been in the same apartment for coming up nine years the middle of this October.

If you don't use a property manager to screen tenants, here is my advice:

1. Get and check rental references. If they're youngsters without a solid history, get and check character references as allowed by local landlord-tenant laws.

2. DO NOT allow subletting. Ever. Look up AirBnB horror stories to learn why.

3. Consider pets carefully! A well-behaved dog or cat is no big deal...but if someone has 3 enormous dogs, you can probably kiss any fancy landscaping goodbye. If someone has more than maybe 3 cats, odds are there will be litterbox usage failures (a/k/a the "Say It With Pee" school of communication). Medium and large parrots are extremely loud and can be astonishingly destructive. Even cage/tank pets should be considered carefully; rodents can get loose and wreak havoc on wiring. Fish tanks that aren't properly assembled & maintained can start fires or break and ruin carpets and the flooring under them--I'm allowed to have my small snakes without a pet deposit, but the complex does not allow birds or any size of fish tank at all and requires a pet deposit on rodents last I checked. I could get evicted if I got caught with a betta in a nano-tank on my computer desk!

4. Be especially careful to check references and stories and such during the summer! Families with kids often won't move during a school year. Also, be careful about how many kids vs. how many rooms--many states have laws establishing at what age mixed-gender kids can no longer share a room. When I lived in Seattle-ish years ago, when one kid hit 5 they could no longer share a room with a sibling of the other gender. And kids can be every bit as destructive as pets, but you'll get NO sympathy evicting a family with little kids no matter the damage they do to the property.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.

Quoting:

$403/month for a 15x15

DUDE! When did storage space get STUPID expensive??? I may not have lived in Seattle a while, but when I did I was finding 10x10 units for well under $100 a month. That's just terrifying, especially in a city full of low-income people and which has a sincerely noticeable sales tax.

I shudder to think what you'll get charged! My 5-year-old washer recently blew its clutch; the repairman said I have the easiest one to fix, his favorite model to work on because they're super easy but he hardly sees any since they hold together well. $110 for a new clutch, but I live in a county whose entire population is less than half what Lynnwood was when I moved out of it and Washington, and in a state with no sales tax on the parts the repair folks have to buy!

Self-storage rates are a factor of land value so it always pays to drive well out of town. Plus you can then forget your stuff is there and just pay forever. I'm trying to ditch my locker by the end of next month.

I think I paid $73 a month for a 6x6 a few years ago, and I thought that was high.

I'm seriously thinking about buying a big shed. I've been looking at this place that will deliver a fully constructed one. I could make one myself, but it would take me 6 months of weekends, and cost almost as much in materials as one built out in the boonies and delivered on a flatbed truck.

I'm considering a 10x18 one for about $4,200. Not sure if that includes delivery. They claim it does.

http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/72859/im...esized-173.jpg

I have too much damn stuff cluttering up the place, but don't want to get rid of any of it.

Our house came with a barn, so I think we're good on storage now. Of course, I'm all about minimizing the amount of stuff we have. The Mrs is on board too. Now if we could get our son on...