Quote:
Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge
Because one major catastrophe by the renters and you'll be out the entire profit.
My BIL's rental the toilet fell through from the second floor to first floor on top of the first floor toilet. Besides the flooding, imagine if it had fallen on one of the renters????!! YIKES!
They were gone for Christmas break thankfully so none of the 3 boys were hurt, but they also weren't around to shut off the water. Well the neighbor called the HOA and the HOA called the owner. The OWNER had to drive 3 hours from his house to fix the problem.
Then he did the repairs. THEN he paid for a hotel for my BIL and the other renters. THEN he had to deal with all the contractors. Then he had to deal with insurance and claims for all my BIL and he roomie's possessions.
The end of their lease came and they were kicked out because he was selling the place. Said it was TOO MUCH MONEY to have to deal with repairs. It ate into the profits.
So what happens if something breaks? Or a fire breaks out? Or any other liability? Even some friend visiting and slipping down the stairs? They can sue you. But besides that say the furnance breaks or the hot water heater.
You pay a premium for repairs done NOW, not tomorrow, not when you have time, not when you can get estimates from 3 different people. NOW, NOW, NOW. And when the repairs are going on don't expect rent.
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All very valid points. I will admit I think I got too sucked into David Bach's "Automatic Millionaire Homeowner" scheme that I guess I never considered those points. I thought that was why there was insurance. Which reminds me... I have to call the PM to find out if she ever found a dryer vent cleaning company cause the tenants dryer seems to be taking longer to dry clothes. Sometimes I wonder what I'm paying for... she told me it should only cost $65 for the repair to the A/C they just did, but my deposit this month was $150 less than the usual. So the invoice was 2x what I expected.
Anyhow, you've convinced me. But I do wonder, how do other people be landlords successfully? Again, I'm trying REAL hard to get the whole David Bach mindset of becoming a landlord out of my head... but I value your insight as its making me realize a few things I don't remember his book ever touching on.