Tanya in KS Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Okay.... so we are trying to sell our home. Most homes in our area take a VERY long time to sell (a year or more) so I am considering renting out our current home so we can get moved to the town where my husband has moved to for his job. Anyone do this successfully without regret? Thanks! Tanya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I've never rented out a home, BUT I have friends who do and they emphatically recommend to everyone to pay the money and go to an attorney to make sure the lease is so air tight and clear and covers your hiney that there is NO way a tenant can rip you off. They said a real estate atty here offers a class for landlords. It might be a good idea to see if there in something similar in your area before taking the leap. It might save you in $$ and heartache, either by helping you be aware of pitfalls and prevent them, or helping you determine that renting is not something you want to pursue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 it honestly depends on the tenant. We have had rental property with wonderful tenants and little work/stress on our part. And we had tenants who didn't pay on time, ran down the house, took advantage of us, lied to us, drove the other tenants crazy (we owned a duplex and had planned to keep it indefinitely, adding to our rentals as we could.) and even almost caused us to lose tenants. We also rented out my mil's house which is next door the the duplex. We had ONE wonderful tenant who eventually bought our duplex. We sold because we were tired of the late rent, rent not being paid in full, calls to come spray for ants (literally with Raid!), calls for LITTLE things, as well as big. It was wearing dh out. I could go on and on. We even had bonfires in a NEIGHBORHOOD with loud music and parties. It nearly drove our other tenants away. I'm so glad to be out of the rental business. It was stressful and WORK. We're trying to sell mil's house now. If your tenant doesn't have the rent money, we paid the mortgage. Something to consider. Of course you very well could end up with a good tenant. There's a 50/50 chance either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I've never rented out a home, BUT I have friends who do and they emphatically recommend to everyone to pay the money and go to an attorney to make sure the lease is so air tight and clear and covers your hiney that there is NO way a tenant can rip you off. They said a real estate atty here offers a class for landlords. It might be a good idea to see if there in something similar in your area before taking the leap. It might save you in $$ and heartache, either by helping you be aware of pitfalls and prevent them, or helping you determine that renting is not something you want to pursue. EXCELLENT point. Dh is VERY smart and LOVES tons and tons of details. :001_huh: His rental agreement was a few pages long and covered us very, very well. His lawyer was impressed. But you need to get just the right lease for you in your state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alte Veste Academy Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 If your tenant doesn't have the rent money, we paid the mortgage. Something to consider. This is the cruddy part for me. We're debating the same thing as the possibility of a PCS has come up. I do know you can find a property manager to handle the whole thing for you, from finding a tenant and doing background/credit checks to handling the fix-its and pest control. Of course, you will pay for that but given the headache it could be to deal with it yourself, it could be a good option. The thing you need to find out (and I do too!) is how much you could charge for rent in the current market vs how much your mortgage is every month. I know I could charge more than our mortgage. The question is how much more and would it cover the cost of the property manager? The other question is how long the house could go without a tenant before our savings runs out. We can't afford to maintain two house payments. Think hard about all this and call a property manager who can at least answer some of these questions for you. Then get back to me with the info! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofuscramble Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Did it once and got ripped off pretty badly. Dh says he never wants to rent out again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 We own a rent house and hire a property manager. We pay them 8% of our rent. They do everything from picking the renters to writing out the contract and take care of everything. All we do is approve their decisions and collect the money. I wouldn't rent without a property manager I trusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 We own a rent house and hire a property manager. We pay them 8% of our rent. They do everything from picking the renters to writing out the contract and take care of everything. All we do is approve their decisions and collect the money. I wouldn't rent without a property manager I trusted. Same as above - 8% (the norm is 10% around here, but our manager gives a military discount). We JUST got a renter TODAY!!! WOO HOO! I'm so relieved. We know quite a few people who are in the same boat -- own a home that has depreciated so much as to make selling a bad financial decision. All have succesfully and quickly rented out. Are you, perchance, close to a military base? If so, you might consider finding a management company that really caters to a military clientele. It's a steady and predictible stream of renters with relatively stable employment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 We have rented. Rule #1. Get a good property manager, it will cost you 6-10% but it is well spent. This also takes much of the stress out of the issue. Rule #2. Understand that there may be periods when the house is empty and put some money aside for this. Rule #3. Only rent if you can be reasonably certain that the tenants are reliable. See rule #1 In the long run you should have a situation where someone is paying your entire mortguage or at least a high percentage of it. There are some nice tax deductions you can get as well. When the house is paid off then you are looking at pure profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Where is it located :D We are looking to move and are looking for a rental! :) We have paid out rent on time (well ok I was late twice) for 13 years. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 (edited) We just had our first renters sign their lease today, and have entered the rental business. So I have no experience of which to speak! But I do have a couple of comments -- In our state there's a landlord association that provides legal forms (dozens of them) specific to our state for all aspects of renting, from the lease to addendums to eviction notices, and more. They also have a screening service where they do an initial screening of applicants. My parents, who have had rental properties for years, recommended this organization as did others we know. So we joined this group instead of hiring a lawyer. I have been very pleased. As for the idea of renting in general, yes I think it's going to be a lot of work. We're not hiring a property manager for the time being but may in the future. My parents credit their buying of rentals when I was in high school with the lifestyle they are living now (they own three homes and travel at will), and our basic goal is for the rental house to pay off the house we just purchased in a number of years. We TRIED to sell the rental house for more than a year, and didn't -- now I'm glad. I think in the long run it will be more beneficial for our family to have kept the house in town. For now, the rents basically cover the mortgage payment. Edited July 1, 2010 by milovaný Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 We just did this. We found a house in a different area that we wanted to buy, and while we optimistically thought we could sell our house, we didn't want to lose what equity we have to a realtor. We have a property manager with whom we've dealt in the past and who works for a reputable firm. Yes, there are risks, and we are barely breaking even. We have no regrets, BUT we just moved earlier this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 There is a horror story on the http://www.getrichslowly.org blog a couple of days ago. I would read that story before renting any home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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