Author Topic: My landlord story  (Read 3526 times)

studlyrs

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My landlord story
« on: March 16, 2016, 04:45:47 PM »
My job moved so I followed, about 60 miles away, Oct 2013.  Thought I would hold on to previous house as a rental.  I hired a property mgmt company to rent it out.  I didn't want to mess with all the screening and rules.  They rented to the first applicant who had a "companion" cat who they couldn't refuse.  Went into house after one week to fix one of the 38 things they complained about and the cat piss smell hit me in the face.  Since that time they complained about everything and wanted everything fixed.  Most of the stuff required a phillips screwdriver and a clockwise motion.  I held onto the house through Feb of this year and have spend the last two weeks prepping it to sell.  Went on the market yesterday, got an over asking offer today with no closing costs asked for.  The house has went up in value over the last 2.5 years roughly 25k.  I guess overall it was a good decision to hold on to it but I will not miss all of the emails and calls and I don't think I will ever be a landlord again.

Just my 2 cents I wanted to share. 

zoltani

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2016, 05:22:47 PM »
Sorry you had that experience. You were what I would call an accidental landlord. Did the property even cash flow?

studlyrs

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2016, 07:51:02 AM »
Sorry you had that experience. You were what I would call an accidental landlord. Did the property even cash flow?

Yes, roughly $200/month after mortgage, taxes, insurance, mgmt fees.  For 2015 my $2400 cash flow shrank to $600 after all repairs that were requested were made.  Not worth keeping for $50/month. 

GrowingTheGreen

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2016, 08:31:43 AM »
Ah, the importance of a "no pets" policy. Lucky for you, you had some nice appreciation!

I think this story is great in that it highlights how much maintenance costs can add up. The big property management companies out there want people to believe you just need to collect enough to cover the mortgage and insurance.

zoltani

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2016, 04:14:47 PM »
Sorry you had that experience. You were what I would call an accidental landlord. Did the property even cash flow?

Yes, roughly $200/month after mortgage, taxes, insurance, mgmt fees.  For 2015 my $2400 cash flow shrank to $600 after all repairs that were requested were made.  Not worth keeping for $50/month.

So that's a no if you include ALL costs such as vacancies, turnover, and repairs.

arebelspy

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2016, 04:44:20 PM »
Landlording, when you don't know what you're doing, can be a nightmare, unless you get very, very lucky.

It's not something one can just naturally do, even though it seems straightforward.  There's a lot to learn to do it right, and learning the things that can be done to avoid some of the issues you had is paramount.

Glad it ended up working out for you!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Another Reader

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2016, 06:05:08 AM »
A "no pets" policy cannot exclude assistive animals.  And it does not take much to meet the very fuzzy legal requirements for an "assistive animal."

arebelspy

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Re: My landlord story
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2016, 06:10:42 AM »
A "no pets" policy cannot exclude assistive animals.  And it does not take much to meet the very fuzzy legal requirements for an "assistive animal."

Indeed, especially with the recent expansion/popularity of "therapy animals."  It's no longer just seeing eye-dog type stuff, but a random cat or dog just because has become way more common, from what I've seen.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.