Trouble in Paradise
ReturnOfKuus
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
XP from WW: We're considering buying the house next door to us.
It's currently owned by this artist hippie who lives out of town, who is
kind od an assh*le, and is itching to sell the place. She never
maintains the place - it's the one I've mentioned before, whose tenants
and owner were so lazy a few years back that people thought it was a
derelict house and tried to break in while they were freaking home, and
they were so high they didn't even notice until we knocked on the door
and told them (after the police left, whose presence they also didn't
notice).
Anyway, the current bunch who rents there now that the owner is elsewhere is pretty nice. They even mow the lawn and cut the trees, and they want to fix up the place inside. Problem is, there are some code violations that need to be addressed, and when one of the tenants brought it up to the owner, she first refused to fix it, and then after being asked again is now trying to evict that tenant (no, she still didn't do any repairs). Did I mention that the landlord is so shifty that they only have a cell phone number for her, no address, and they pay rent by leaving a check on the mantel and it myseriously disappears when they're not home?
All of these people are very low income, nontraditional students and the like who have limited options. It makes my robotic heart make a sound like a can crushing that some assh*le hippie is taking advantage of them, especially as she was one of them not ten whole years ago. Sooooo, we're considering just buying the damn place and making it safe, and leaving their rent as-is (not the mantel thing - they can just head right next door and give it to us in person).
Are we totally nuts? Of course we'd get a thorough assessment and inspection first, before making any big moves. But is this crazy?
Anyway, the current bunch who rents there now that the owner is elsewhere is pretty nice. They even mow the lawn and cut the trees, and they want to fix up the place inside. Problem is, there are some code violations that need to be addressed, and when one of the tenants brought it up to the owner, she first refused to fix it, and then after being asked again is now trying to evict that tenant (no, she still didn't do any repairs). Did I mention that the landlord is so shifty that they only have a cell phone number for her, no address, and they pay rent by leaving a check on the mantel and it myseriously disappears when they're not home?
All of these people are very low income, nontraditional students and the like who have limited options. It makes my robotic heart make a sound like a can crushing that some assh*le hippie is taking advantage of them, especially as she was one of them not ten whole years ago. Sooooo, we're considering just buying the damn place and making it safe, and leaving their rent as-is (not the mantel thing - they can just head right next door and give it to us in person).
Are we totally nuts? Of course we'd get a thorough assessment and inspection first, before making any big moves. But is this crazy?
Re: XP from WW: We're considering buying the house next door to us.
I think it's a great idea if you can afford it comfortably. The house across the street from us is for sale now that its 93-year-old owner broke her hip and had to move into assisted living. They are desperate to sell and would take about half of what we paid for our house for theirs. We've seriously considered buying it, but decided to refinance our own house instead.
I've wondered if I would want to see my rental property every day and if I'd be able to bite my tongue if there was a loud party or some questionable judgment being exercised by tenants. I might just not want to see it at all times, you know?
My Lunch Blog
ETA: the whole check on the mantle thing is WEIRD.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
The advice I always give people thinking of purchasing an investment property (to rent out) is that they need to assess whether they can afford to pay their own mortgage and the investment mortgage, even without renters. I can't tell you how many landlords own property they cannot afford unless they get X amount of rent every month. You have to plan for the worst scenario, that scenario being that you have a vacant house for a while.
The other scenario I've seen is one where you get a crappy tenant who tears the place up. Then the landlord is on the hook for damages to the property and can't afford to fix it up for the next renter.
So, I'd make sure the finances support that.
The other consideration I usually bring up is the aggravation of being a landlord. I personally wouldn't be too happy to get a call about a broken toilet at 2 a.m. Some tenants are high maintenance and some are low. Sounds like the current crowd would be pretty low maintenance, but you never know if they'd become high maintenance having the landlords live next door.
But, not really crazy. It's a buyer's market right now. It seems like a promising investment, especially if it's in a college community where you'd have a steady stream of renters.
Maybe she lives in the attic? And they don't know it? Hmmmm....
I don't think it is a bad move, as long as you can get it at a price that will make it profitable, or you are wealthy and can afford to lose/break even.
Just keep in mind that you are the landlord, not their parent. As long as they pay their rent on time and aren't destroying the property, you really can't tell them to take their shoes off at the door or keep off the grass. KWIM?
For half of a second I thought about renting out my condo. Then I realized I didn't want to deal with being a landlord.
If you don't mind possible phone calls or knocks on the door in the middle of the night when something breaks down, or late rent payments, or ruined floors or walls, then go for it!