Rookie Landlord

[Clodfobble]

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.

[xoxoxoBruce]

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.

[glatt]

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.

[glatt]

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.

[Gravdigr]

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

In a 10-page “guidance” issued on April 4, [The Department of Housing and Urban Development] announced that any landlord with a blanket policy of not renting to people with a criminal conviction is effectively discriminating on the basis of race or national origin.

Is that not a racist statement in itself?

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

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by glatt

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.

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.

[glatt]

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.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by glatt

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.

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."