I agree with pretty much everything in this thread so far. We bought at house in 1999 that was a two-on-one. We weren’t looking to be landlords, but we loved the house and the location.
We’ve been lucky with our tenants, but also very diligent during the screening process. The original tenants stayed on for a year or so. They moved out to buy a house, and at that time we took care of a bunch of deferred maintenance, put in new tile, redid a bunch of stuff. We offered it at a premium, and waited for the right tenant to come along. It was vacant for maybe 2-3 additional months but it was worth it. A nice couple moved in, both professionals, and they lived there for about 8 years.
Screening tenants is super important to begin with, but there is an additional kind of an oddness to being both a neighbor and landlord. So far we’ve managed to keep that line in a reasonable place, but we’re still able to stop by for a glass of wine, etc. Anyway, this couple moved away, and by this time several people in the neighborhood already had their eye on the place, including the couple next door who we knew and liked. So it’s all been great. As before, we’ve very friendly with the tenants but also maintain a distance. It’s a balancing act.
Slightly off topic, a long time ago I was given a piece of advice that you should avoid raising the rent on a good tenant. So after the first vacancy, we raised the rent to premium levels, but then we never raised it again until after they left. The theory is that you lose way more money on the turnover than you get back by nickle and diming people for another $50 a month, or whatever.
I ended up keeping my old house (about a mile away) and that same strategy has worked well there too. Last tenants were there 9 years.
