Teach me on being a slumlord

I have a friend who is a small time landlord. There's lots to know about the tricks of the trade. He has a small group of local landlords who get together and trade experiences. Sort of an old fashion beeb.

 

recently did away with accepting dogs.. most are fine, but 1 outa 5 turned out to be a nightmare. A couple times residents would complain of the dog barking ALL day long.. when the owner was gone of course, to which, owner always said " are you sure it's barking?? it never barks when i'm home".. one tenant snuck one in under the "therapy dog" bullshit (she had the paperwork all in order). so of course, a few other tenants hit me up with "she just got a dog, how come i can't get one".. LOL . Just more trouble than worth when ya have a lot of tenants looking for a nice place in a reasonable price range. Still taking cats for now. ONE time i had a horrible situation where tenant wouldn't clean the litter box, she just kept putting new litter and paper over OLD shit and litter. That smell was there a long time.

 

I haven't looked at it in a couple months, but the "no evictions" doesn't apply to private landlords and tenants. It is my understanding, and I would defer to @MELK-MAN , but that applies only if it is section 8 or gov't subsidized housing.

 

Exactly why I just say No. Fuck it....I'm not dealing with that BS.

 

i have been lucky, and haven't ever gone through with a full eviction in my 20 years of owning property (had to get nasty a few times but never came to an actual eviction).. but a quick search brought up this article.. ALL residential landlords must comply with no eviction IF their state has it in effect.. there's a chart showing which states do and don't have this policy. https://www.nolo.com/evictions-ban

 

As a landlord, I've learned [from movies] that you are offered sex for rent all the time. You must film it and sell it to pornhub to get your rent money back. Win/win!

 

you would be incorrect.

 

Good location and screening tenants is a key, as people have stated above. Having a credit line, or backup money in case people move out and repairs need to be done, plus rental income lost, is important. And I believe in treating people well, and always communicating. Rentals is not something you want to just let go, passive income, as it is considered, is actually alot of work. Short term rentals are different than long term, we have both.

 

oh ohhh... gotcha. thanks.

 

Quick numbers said monthly income from tenants is 1450 a month. Mortgage payment give or take a few bucks right around 7-800. So if the unit pays for itself, and put some aside for repairs and it isn't gonna "cost" me money! Why not?


If its empty for 6 months I would be ok .

 

Mortgage

 

can you live in it to close? Last 4 plex I sold the buyers had all kinds of financing trouble because they had shakey income ratios or didnt qualify for good rates. Wouldnt be suprised if the lender comes in and wants the serial #s off the appliances...lol

 

If you buy now, wouldn't it be at market peak? So the value has nowhere to go but down?

Where is it located?

I can't recall for sure, but were you the guy that moved several times to completely different places in a short period of time? That is not a good thing if you want to be a land slumlord.

 

No living in it. And shouldn't have any trouble with lender. Already called our lender and said, he doesn't see why there would be any issues at all if we wanted to do it.

 

Located in Ohio

I haven't moved in 13 years.

 

Why is the current owner selling?

 

Bought a semi truck to start trucking full time and isn't home alot anymore and just one thing he doesn't have to worry about while he's on the road.

 

Sounds like a great ratio to me and I would probably do it in your situation.

I still own the first house I ever bought and it is in Texas. It has been rented for over 30 years now. I pulled the equity out in 2013 to help me buy a commercial building for work, so I do still have a loan on the house.

I haven't lived near it since I moved away in 1989, so I hired a real estate agent who deals with finding the tenant, all repairs with approval, collecting the check and mailing me my money. I think I'm paying about 8% per month for that. When a new tenant comes in, the agent gets half of first months rent.

Over time, I think it can be a good investment. I paid 68k in 1987 and in 2013 when I went to refinance it, it was worth $140K. So in 25 years it doubled.....nothing like California real estate.

My parents house in Illinois has only doubled from when they bought it in 1979 until now, over 40 years. I have no idea what Ohio property appreciation is, but even if it does nothing, you are getting a huge positive cash flow and can either pay the place off quicker or let it ride and when you get older you own an asset someone else paid for.

 

what kind of rates/terms? Is the seller open to financing?

 

I only rent to good looking single moms.

That way if they can't pay you.....they can still pay you