[quote=svelte]After helping my father with his rentals when we were college students, my wife and I decided we never wanted to own rental units. The crap my dad put up with was unbelievable. I actually ended up serving papers for him a few times. And the filth people left behind I wouldn’t have believed if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.
As it turns out now, if we had them I think relatives would have been wanting to rent if we owned one, then things would get even stickier if they fell behind on rent/maintaining the premises.
Reflecting on it all, I think I might have owned rentals if my wife wouldnt/couldnt work full time. Having her deal with the phone calls to rent and maintain the properties would be a way to have her earn money while being at home. As it is, she works full time like I do so neither of us want to deal with rental hassles.[/quote]
Rentals aren’t for everyone. And I use to think the same way. But after lengthy conversations with sdrealtor in the past, it really got me thinking on a few things, and I changed my mind a bit. I think what helped me out a lot is where the clientele is and the type of property, because with the right property, the “pain in the ass” factor drops off significantly.
There’s probably an inverse relationship between maximizing cash flow/rental returns versus “tenant pain in the ass factor”. And for me, it was trying to figure out where I felt comfortable playing in my own little world.
From what I’m experiencing, renting small condos in a good prime location with a lot of professionals helps out a lot to reduce the PITA factor. First for small condos, there’s not a lot of things that can go wrong. And renting to professionals, one typically doesn’t have to deal with people who aren’t going to pay. The cashflow isn’t as good as if you can get a good SFH, just because of the higher costs with a condo (HOA/etc)…But, the SFH is a bigger pain in the ass for me, because especially if prices get really high, tenants expect the world from you, but fortunately it’s in a decent place of professionals, so there is less of a problem with people not paying.
Some people here have claim that there isbetter cash flowing property in other areas, areas that I would consider to have a much bigger PITA factor than I am comfortable with, so I’m not interested. So as long as your honest with yourself as to the level of “pain in the ass” you’re willing to deal with, it’s all good. That level might be 0% for some people, which is fine.
The other thing that helps out a lot is if you use a trustworthy property manager. Sure it costs money, but it saves you a lot time and saves you a lot in the PITA factor too.
sdrealtor has been great for helping find good properties and spotting opportunity. He’s been a great friend and advisor. For that, I am thankful for the opportunities I have now.
urbanrealtor has been great for helping me manage the condo that I don’t want to deal with logistically. And I am thankful that I don’t have to go deal with everything that breaks or needs attention down south.
