Anyone know about buying homes to rent?

[Fairy Dust]

My friend and I are considering buying like 10 houses and renting them out. We bought one from his mom and it is going ok, but it has only been 1 month so far.

Obviously this is a big decision, so we are trying to gather all of the pros and cons to doing this.

Any advise from the forum????

 

[2muchchalk]

if u have the $$$ it is a win win. Real estate never really goes down despite what some ppl say. If you can afford to the buy them, the rent your tenants pay should cover most of the per month payments. You can live in one of them and rent the others. You might have to consider hiring a part time handy man though w/ that many units.

 

[The Boys]

Get advise from your CPA and Attorney before you do anything, just to many variables.........

 

[Mjolnir]

get as much advice as possible. i know alot of people who believe in doing this. as long as everything goes ok its a great idea. i on the other hand don't. you can get property management services to look after your properties for a fee. i know of someone who went to rent out his $ 500,000 home in so cal, was careful who moved in, then next thing you know, over 10 other people moved in, and then they stopped paying rent. the owner had to obviously keep making mortgage payments without getting his rent . this went on for 6 months. can you imagine making payments of about $ 3,000.00 a month while a bunch of scumbags do lord knows what to your house?
the laws are created to protect the renter, NOT THE OWNER.
it took 6 months for this poor bastard to get his house back.
good luck and be very careful with the screening process.

 

[dawgball]

Here are three books that I feel are required reading before getting too heavy into it:

Cashflow Quadrant by Kiyosaki
Real estate Riches by De Roos
Unlmited Real Estate Profits by Garrison and Tripp-Garrison

 

[SixFive]

headache city, but lots of money to be made doing it. Not worth it to me; got rid of mine.

 

[Fairy Dust]

Thanks for the input so far guys. Keep it coming if you have any more!!!

That is my biggest concern mjolner, I don't hold a lot of faith in people as it is....let alone getting it stuck to me.

 

[Agent 0659]

I have 2 customers that have around 10-20 rentals a piece. Working pretty well for them but lots of headaches and lowlife renters. Still come retirement it will be worth it.

 

[BahamaMama]

headache city, but lots of money to be made doing it. Not worth it to me; got rid of mine.

agree fully with this!!!!! the past 6 months are the first time since i was 18 that i'm not dealing with renters/roommates, and it is FANTASTIC not to have to deal with anymore.

 

[SixFive]

agree fully with this!!!!! the past 6 months are the first time since i was 18 that i'm not dealing with renters/roommates, and it is FANTASTIC not to have to deal with anymore.

yep. Fairy, if you do try this venture, I wouldn't go buying 10 at a time. Buy 1, keep it for a while, build up a little bit of an emergency/contigency account, then procede. You can also shop for good deals in this way.

 

[Fairy Dust]

SixFive,

Yeah we were talking about 10 over the next 4-5 years. Sorry, didn't mean to sound like all at once.

 

[AR182]

i have been doing this a few years.....the only thing i would tell you, & i think it's very important, is make sure you know the tenant/landlord law in your state...some states are landlord friendly & some are tenant friendly....

for instance when i lived in nyc i had many opportunities to buy rentals but didn't because the laws favor the tenant......on the other hand when i moved to arizona i bought a rentals because arizona is landlord friendly......

good luck.

 

[AL FARR]

If you do it, save yourself
about 10 yrs. of your life
and many sleepless nights,
by giving it to a realtor for
the 10-20% of rent. They
will take care of rent, repairs
and any legal problems. Its
the only way to go. Wish i
had done a long time ago. Best
of luck with it. One more thing
the type of house you buy, expect
that type of renter. Shit house, expect
that type renter. You get what you pay
for, same goes for the area.

 

[flapjack]

Al Farr is dead on. I've got 8 of them and it just is not worth the headache dealing with it yourself. Let a management company or realator deal with the day in day out. Make sure you research the management company as hard as you do the place you buy. Best to buy in one area so you have one company to handle all your houses. Also, much like the house purchase, keep in mind all management fees are negotiable - upfront of course.

I feel it was a great decision for me, I've got a company I trust running it, I can't wait to buy more, but if I had to deal with the renters myself, I would burn them all down!

 

[LUX]

but if I had to deal with the renters myself, I would burn them all down!

:iagree:

 

[Franky Wright]

I can't wait to buy more, but if I had to deal with the renters myself, I would burn them all down!

:clap:
Flapjack, Im curious where you are if you dont mind?
Franky

 

[flapjack]

I live in LA, but my rentals are in Texas - Austin area.

 

[60 SEC ASSASSIN]

I live in LA, but my rentals are in Texas - Austin area.

Flapjack,

I'm looking into purchasing some rental property in the North Austin area of Round Rock and possibly Pflugerville. I was hoping you wouldn't mind sharing the property management company that you use since you trust them very much. Also, if you have real estate agent you would recommend that would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance. :SIB

PS..if it's easier to talk via email you can get my email addy from fom Jack. Thanks again.

 

[Axle]

If you do the management yourself...as has been stated, find out the laws in your state regarding landlords/tenents.

Some areas have landlord associations, pay a few bucks and join, attend meetings and share information...like a landlords network. Also, these associations usually have developed useful documents for dealing with certain unpleasant things.

Rentals are a hassle...but yes, when time comes to sell and cash out, it becomes worth it, if you haven't thrown in the towel in about the first 3 years.

p.s. Check references and get credit reports...this alone will help reduce your hassles.

 

[Hokie Fan]

Sold mine..
Maybe I did it wrong but one of the rentors I had actually painted FOOT PRINTS on the ceiling through out the house..
Also. any problems (pipes, leakage, cutting grass every week)
It was a pain in the ass.. chasing rent each month
You still have to pay taxes and upkeep and the like...
Just my nightmare
Hope yours is better