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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Sell.

I have a home I have rented out like this for the last decade. It’s in a great school district and wonderful neighborhood. I only rent to people with decent credit, but the last tenant just trashed the place. The husband had anger issues and literally punched a dent in a steel door, holes in the walls, broke plumbing by yanking on it, etc.

I kept most of their security deposit but it took me three years to get them out. I knew they were breaking their lease but they paid so there was very little I could do.

Just be aware that this is a risk. Renting is not passive income. Tenant rights are in a major upswing in the DMV.[/quote]

Where in DMV?

It doesn't take 3 yrs to evict in VA.[/quote]

Doesn’t matter how long it takes.  Fact is the tenant could do 10k+ in damages easily and you get to keep the $3-4k deposit only. Then once tenants leave, it will take you 1-2 months to get it ready for sale or rent due to the damages.  Not worth the risk.  The market is a much safer bet[/quote]

So you are out only 6k. This can mostly be mitigated by doing thorough background/eviction/employment/criminal history checks. [/quote]

First, it's not just $6K.  You are also out the 1-2 months it is vacant and loss of rent.  So lets say $3.5K/month or $7K.  Now it's up to $13K.  Plus you have to manage the repair work/contractors.  That 1-2 months could become 2-4 months as you wait for them to do the work/get parts/etc.

Also, not always do the background checks fully help.  I know of a Doctor who rented in our luxury condo building.  On paper and with background checks, appeared to be an excellent tenant---you'd never think there would be issues. Got annoyed at several noise complaints against them.  One day turned on several faucets, closed the drains and left the building.  Did over $300K in damages (not hard to do with water damages in high rise building, it spread to 6+ units).  Since it was tenants fault/negligence, the HOA refused to use their insurance and turned it all on the owner.   
All done by a tenant who appeared to be top notch, hassle free, excellent tenant. That owner spent over a year getting it settled with their own insurance company.  Also, the HOA tells us we only typically need to have $50K in insurance (before our own belongings) as we are only responsible for the Deductible, then the condo insurance picks up the rest---howerer, that's not the case if you are negligent.  So the owner may not have had $300K+ in coverage.

That is not the only "nightmare" case I've heard of in nicer homes/condos.  Terrible tenants exist at every level.  Fact is you have to manage it all when the issues occur and could be out $$$$ and lots of hassle.

Much easier to invest and not have the hassle of being a landlord

[/quote]

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