Being a landlord

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever done it? I see properties online that are tenant-occupied already, or that could cater to traveling nurses...Some are very very cheap and in my budget. Is this a foolish idea?

[Anonymous]

IMO, yes. Unless you want to (And actually can) do the repairs yourself, and have the time and energy to invest, you can get better returns elsewhere.

House has no heat or a burst pipe, it's on you to fix it and the damages quickly. What if the tenants leave and it takes you 2-3 months to fix it up and find new tenants. You are out the rental income from those months.

I seriously don't know anyone who was happy with becoming a landlord (most chose to rent out their home when purchasing a new one). It's a lot of work and rarely nets you the profits you want/expect

[Anonymous]

I've had success as a landlord for over 20 years.
I do think it's harder now because the prices are higher. I have low mortgages and high rents. I've also been fortunate that I had only one major replacement (roof) that I was able to cover with money saved from the rent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMO, yes. Unless you want to (And actually can) do the repairs yourself, and have the time and energy to invest, you can get better returns elsewhere.

House has no heat or a burst pipe, it's on you to fix it and the damages quickly. What if the tenants leave and it takes you 2-3 months to fix it up and find new tenants. You are out the rental income from those months.

I seriously don't know anyone who was happy with becoming a landlord (most chose to rent out their home when purchasing a new one). It's a lot of work and rarely nets you the profits you want/expect

+1 to all of this. At best it's a low paying side hustle and at worst it's a money pit. It's a lot of stress too worrying if someone will keep paying rent of damage the house or if it will need expensive repairs.

[Anonymous]

There are several videos on Tiktok and I'm sure on YT and Insta about squatters and the shape they leave the house in. All it takes is for one tenant to decide they are not going to vacate, or hand over the keys to 'that' relative and walk away. Good luck getting them out. Collecting rent would be the least of your problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had success as a landlord for over 20 years.
I do think it's harder now because the prices are higher. I have low mortgages and high rents. I've also been fortunate that I had only one major replacement (roof) that I was able to cover with money saved from the rent.

Same here. But it's a long term commitment and it's next to impossible to break even, especially at current prices. So overall, can't really recommend. And I probably wouldn't use tik tok if you are looking for perspective/advice lol

[Anonymous]

I've been a landlord for 27 years and it was tough at first but now I know the in/out of finding good tenants and have a list of handyman I can call. Retired and living off rental income w/o touching my iras/401k, and will leave the rentals to my kids with step up basis. We took advantage of the prices after the housing crash and the really low mortgage rate at the time to add 4 houses to our original rental, probably hard to find decent deals anymore.

[Anonymous]

I was a landlord for about 15 years. It sucked. Sold all the rentals, took the cash I had tied up in those properties and put it in the stock market. Now I have more liquid cash than I can spend. Selling the rentals is the best decision I ever made.

[Anonymous]

i don’t know about the traveling nurse thing. Sounds like a hassle. I have 2 rental properties both in NoVA and both occupied with long term tenants who never bother me. constant turn over would be expensive and annoying.

[Anonymous]

If you have no experience and want to get rich quick, yes, it’s a terrible idea.

I’ve done this for decades and I’m here to tell you it’s another job. Even with a property manager, when things go sideways (and they always do with tenants), that’s on you. It’s a lot of liability and headache. If I had another job, I would not want to do this, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i don’t know about the traveling nurse thing. Sounds like a hassle. I have 2 rental properties both in NoVA and both occupied with long term tenants who never bother me. constant turn over would be expensive and annoying.

Wait until you get them out and see the properties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a landlord for about 15 years. It sucked. Sold all the rentals, took the cash I had tied up in those properties and put it in the stock market. Now I have more liquid cash than I can spend. Selling the rentals is the best decision I ever made.

Vow, did I write this? I did that also, and retired as every stock went up. I also learned to trade them.
OP, if you give me the price, down payment, interest rate, rent, taxes and HOA, I can calculate the difference between being landlord vs money in the market.

[Anonymous]

Don't do it, particularly if the property is in DC.