We have a lot of friends and family who are serious house flippers and landlords. And they ALL have their scary stores which sway me to not even consider renting. A lot of people don’t pay and you more than likely can’t get your money if they don’t. Where I live, you also are not allowed to kick people out (this is probably similar to a lot of places, but I don’t know).
Anyways, if we did rent, there is the potential that we could make a nice profit. We’ve thought about staying in our house for awhile, but we decided that we want more land. We live on less than 1 acre right now, and we both want more once we both have higher incomes. We don’t plan on renting or buying a new house for at least 5 years, as we’ve only lived in our current house for about 2 years.
Related: What You Need To Know About Renting A Room In Your House
What are your experiences with renters and rentals?
Rafiki says
Where I live I don't think it is close to being as bad as where you are. Given what you have said though that is scary. I've always wanted rental income but with those risks I'd probably prefer to sell and invest some of the money in stocks first.In the long run the decision will be for the both of you to make so you will have to know what you want.
Michelle P says
I think if they strengthened the laws around where we live, then I would be fine with renting, but right now at this point, the laws are too lax for renters.
Lisa says
We are renting out house that we own before we bought the house we are living in now. We have wonderful renters, and so far things are going well. And I am extremely grateful for that.
jamie says
in california, there are so many laws that protect tenants. this works out in their favor when they are not paying their rent, but it is a nightmare when you are the landlord. however, landlords have laws that protect them as well and in california if the tenant fails to pay their rent, you may give them a 60 day notice to vacate (a 90 day notice to vacate if they have resided at the property for over a year). if they rebuttal that, they can take the tenant to court. in that instance, the tenant can live at the residence until the judge makes a decision (actually, don't quote me on that one). now, if the judge orders the tenant to leave and they don't leave, then the sheriff can come out to the property and force them to leave. so yes, it can get VERY messy. when you are interviewing prospective tenants, you only get to meet them for.. what… 20 minutes? and you run their credit? but i mean come on, that doesn't tell you who they really are. which is scary. i've had my fair share of tenant woes and it was more than i could handle. it has taught me NOT to rent my property. good luck on your journey! wish you the best of luckxx
jamie says
if they rebuttal that, they can take the **landlord** to court.
The Borrower says
I am a landlord and would NOT recommend anyone do this, unless: 1. They have little emotional brain & 2. Lots of cashTenants do not care about your property and if you rely on rents to keep a float you are risking your own financial security. They automatically believe you are rich and can carry them. IN ALL states judges move in the direction of protecting the tenants 1st. Again, they believe that landlord is RICH and can assist their fellow man.If you decide this is the path, higher a management firm. Let them do all the checks and take care of the day to day's. Generally, where you might wait a few days after the due date for rent, they are pounding on the door and letting the tenants know they are around. They even regularly inspect the inside and outside.
BTHappyHomeowner says
I agree with The Borrower and that's the only way I'd go down the landlord route: hire a management company to do the dirty work. If you don't, you need to at least get credit checks, income verifications, references, etc.–but even those things can't always promise a reliable, responsible tenant. I would at some point like to rent out my current place whenever I move on, but I know I'll go with the close friends/family/co-worker route because at least those people have more of an incentive to at least pay a portion of the rent. With my current roommate, I required first, last, security, references, and had 3 interviews before I agreed (she's my first "random" roommate and so far, so good!).
Jeff says
I think if you do the proper screening you will be ok renting it out. It's something you can do. You just have to use the right resources and be very thorough.