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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why do you want to be a landlord op?  I?m asking this in all sincerity.

We rented out one of our previous houses.

First, the tennants can and will look you up if the property manager doesn?t do his or her job. I say this because it isn?t as simple as ?you?ll never deal with the tennants?.  It may have been that way once upon a time, but it sure wasn?t as of ten years ago. 
Our property manager failed our tennants, and instead of contacting us to let us know they were not being served well (which they were not), the tennants threatened legal action? on Christmas Ev no less. My husband and I aren?t lawyers, and don?t like to fight.  This wasn?t how we wanted to spend our time, energy and money, not when a simple phone call of ?Do you realize what?s been going on over here? would have been all we needed to hear.

For those that would say ?You should have kept an eye on the place? I?d agree with that, except that is exactly why we hired a property manager, one who came highly recommended by the agent that found the tennants.

Unless you love taking care of a house, you won?t enjoy caring for a house you don?t live in.  It is stressful enough when you do live in the house, it feels like a waste of time and money, not to mention very stressful when you don?t see the bennifit of the new hot water heater, the functioning sink, the repaired dishwasher.

Our kitchen sink literally came off the wall this past weekend.  We had it fixed within 48 hours by a reputable plumber, and I was thrilled to have a functioning kitchen sink.

As a woman/wife, it can be infurating to have your husband hop to it when the tennants call, yet argue with you about the performance or lack thereof of the washing machine.  If you have a husband who thinks about money, it is sad to see your husband stressed about providing a good or service to someone other then your family.  For example, we spent quite a bit of money on restoring the kitchen sink to functionality this week.  I want to see a movie this weekend, and my husband told me we could so long as we didn?t go someplace expensive to eat later.  I am fine with this because I have tangible evidence that the money that might have been spent on an expensive meal literally went into the comfort and ease of use of the family home.

Some tennants are wonderful, and some are not. Some will try and play one of you against the other? things like ?My wife wants to stay home, we need a rent reduction? and in our marriage, my husband is the more soft-hearted.  This means that I have to be the mean b***, a role I am ok with in terms of my kids, but a role that infuriates me when another adult makes me unleash that quality.  My husband?s kind heart is wonderful in a marriage.  It made me want to kill him when we were landlords together.  It is difficult to treat someone as a beloved spouse when you have been arguing about whether or not you should accomidate a reduction in rent request, or if the tenant?s brother can move in ?just for a little while?.

There are some renters who make a career out of scamming mom-and-pop landlords.  They know you don?t have the time, desire, legal resources, or skill set to fight them.  They will do everything possible so that you are glad they are gone and not pursue anything you may be entitled from a legal standpoint to obtain.  Some tennants will ask things of you that they?d never ask of a WalMart worker, i.e. ?I really need this $20 item, but my husband is unemployed, can I just give you $5 and you can be kind and accept the rest? um? later?.  And yes, I know there are people who don?t pay their bills, all I am saying is that it feels very different when it is done at work, v. happening on your personal time when you may be having fun with your kids, enjoying time with your husband, reading a good book, whatever you do that makes you glad to get up in the morning.

I wouldn?t become landlords if you are a happily married couple. You want to spend your time, money and energy with each other and your children if you have them. Remember that owning a rental, even a home that you used to live in is a business.  Many people cannot or don?t want to get into a business mind-set during their off hours.

If being landlords sounds at all appealing to you, take a real estate course.  If you love it, maybe you?re on your way to a good career.  If you can?t stand the thought of going to the course, or you think ?I can just hire people? then this path is not right for you, at least not now.

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Our main motivation to go the rental route is because with re-fi rates so low, the rent we could reasonably get would more than cover the mortgage - we are thinking this would be a nice way to build some wealth. Also, we wouldn't have to pay transaction costs of selling a house (agent fees, transfer and recordation tax, etc.) right now while we buy another place - this also sounds quite appealing. The house is newly renovated so there wouldn't be any major issues popping up, assuming we get the rights tenants that wouldn't wreck the place.

[/quote]
You think it is a nice way to build wealth? Oh dear.[/quote]

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