Rentors

[pasound]

I've lived in the same rental apartment for 27 years. When I moved in, I was married, had just sold my mother's house from her estate, and we were looking to buy a house as soon as we could. Then my wife lost her good paying industrial sales job. I started working at the State Museum, only a quarter mile away. My car was parked and I walked to work. My wife went back to school and got her Masters in Social Work, specializing in senior care. Financed her college expenses until she made Dean's List and got scholarships. She graduated Cum Laud.

But we separated after she joined (what I learned was) a snake handler church. After some time, we divorced, and she ended up marrying a friend from the club I used to work at. I stayed here, because the rent is still the same, and I could walk to work every day. Still here, a year after retirement.

I guess it's now always been home. My pity on the landlord to clean it out after my friends (authorized) clean out my gun collection.

 

[Kevin J.]

Also, perhaps they are Minnesota Vikings fans?

Easy now. 4-0 against 3 of the leagues "best teams".

 

[rockquarry]

My Dad was a successful businessman for many years and had dealt with many different kinds of investments, but had never tried being a landlord. In the '80s he wound up with a nice windfall (source I don't know) and he paid cash for a home that had not previously been rental property in a nice neighborhood. He kept it rented for years.

My Mother kept the property after my Dad's death for some reason. I don't know the details and never inquired but my Dad commented one time that it was the worst investment he had ever made. I would assume he didn't make much from the property.

 

[Muss Muggins]

If you read this post for content, the tenant left the property with a filled up 40 yard dumpster. You never said that you filled it. And the pics you posted were just little piles of junk and a clean room.

I know from previous threads that many of you have had a positive experience with your rental properties and I'm sure many of you are ideal rentors as well. I've never had any and have avoided them for years.

My brother and I inherited one from my father and I've been in the liquidation process with it. The tenants were there for 8-9 years and my father never raised the rent. I contacted them and asked to do a walk through. The tenant's wife is a hoarder. Only two of them in a 1700 sq ft house and it was packed--closets, cabinets, shelves, floor, everything was 4' deep.

I told the tenant that my brother and I were going to sell the house and gave them an option to buy as well. I served them later that week (in person) with a lease cancellation notice and gave them 2 1/2 months to either purchase or vacate. I felt I was being more than fair.

Here's how they left the property. A filled up a 40 yard dumpster with the trash and the old tin building.

LSU fans...typical.

I gave the pool to the yard man.

They hit the roof backing up the U-Haul truck. No truck insurance. U-Haul was less than cooperative.

 

[ladder13]

Easy now. 4-0 against 3 of the leagues "best teams".

Darnold is having quite a year for a reject.

 

[Golddollar]

Back in 1960 my dad took a new job east of Cleveland, and our house was west of Cleveland. So we moved east of Cleveland and my parents rented out our house west of Cleveland for a good while until it could be sold. I used to ride with Pop on the numerous trips to chase down deadbeat tenants. That was in the pre-freeway days so it was a LONG trip. I learned two lessons from this:
1) I was never going to be a landlord, and
2) When I owe somebody money I pay them promptly so they don't have to track me down to get it and/or worry about getting paid. A by-product of this lesson is that I have checks made up with DC superheroes, Cleveland Indians or Elvis Presley on them so people will remember I paid them.

 

[Greyman50]

Depends on how one was raised. One learns how to clean up and take care of house, car, boat or any other rental. Have rented for several years and keep place clean and do not damage property. At my age I've decided not to buy another home, just way to much headache.

 

[llowry61]

Depends on how one was raised. One learns how to clean up and take care of house, car, boat or any other rental. Have rented for several years and keep place clean and do not damage property. At my age I've decided not to buy another home, just way to much headache.

I like your attitude and live by the same rules, leave something better than how you found it.

With that being said you would be surprised at how many people look at it differently even though they know better. If it is a rental, they do things they would never do to something they owned. In some instances, it seems malicious.

 

[Yendor357]

When my son was at Elgin AFB, Ft Walton Beach Fl, he rented a small house. The previous tenants had a cat that used the back room, carpeted, as its bathroom. My son removed the old carpet and replaced the flooring with the do-it yourself vinyl. It looked nice.
I trimmed trees, bushes, and hauled off an old broken down fence. We left that place nicer than when he moved in, and still didn't get his deposit back. Landlords can be jerks, too.

I agree with Warren Buffet. Why would anyone want to deal with tenants when you can buy an ETF and be on auto pilot.
*Ticker symbol VOO, boring, safe, and out performs the S&P, and BRKB.

 

[Kevin J.]

Depends on how one was raised. One learns how to clean up and take care of house, car, boat or any other rental. Have rented for several years and keep place clean and do not damage property. At my age I've decided not to buy another home, just way to much headache.

Exactly. I even half way make up the bed, put all the trash in trash can, and the making sure things are tidied up before leaving a hotel room.

 

[SMSgt]

I serve rent and possession papers. That place is immaculate . . .

I was thinking he got off easy.

 

[Farmer17]

I had an old guy living in one of my rentals and he wasn't in very good health and he was late on rent and I tried calling but couldn't get a hold of him and finally called his boss. Found out that his son couldn't get a hold of him and called the police and when they knocked on the door they heard a voice yelling Help, Help! They kicked my front door in and he was in the bathtub where he had a stroke and had been there for 3 days. He was in the hospital and not expected to last much longer. His son cleaned the poop out of the bathtub and took a lot of his good stuff, Alligator boots, Stetson hats, guns, but left furniture, TVs, kitchen items, tools, stereo, etc. I told my Mexican construction workers they could take anything they wanted and they took a lot but they still filled a 40 dumpster. The house had never been rehabbed since it was built in 2008 so I had them put in new flooring, paint, some light fixtures, door hardware, trim trees, and make repairs and spent about 9 grand. I wasn't upset because the old guy had been a pretty good tenant for 13 years and had paid way more rent than I paid for the house. I have a new tenant now that I'm charging a higher rent because the house looks so good and its value has gone up about 35% in the last 5 years.

 

[1sailor]

When Covid hit, the govt. decided it was just fine for them to tell all landlords that they couldn't collect rent. How many folks lost what was going to be or was their retirement income. Everyone seems to think that the evil landlords had it coming and could afford it because they're all rich. It's like being told you have to keep your job but your employer didn't have to pay you anymore. If they can strip you of your property rights that quickly, what else can they do. Renting has become a dangerous game.

 

[rockquarry]

When Covid hit, the govt. decided it was just fine for them to tell all landlords that they couldn't collect rent. How many folks lost what was going to be or was their retirement income. Everyone seems to think that the evil landlords had it coming and could afford it because they're all rich. It's like being told you have to keep your job but your employer didn't have to pay you anymore. If they can strip you of your property rights that quickly, what else can they do. Renting has become a dangerous game.

Headaches that many would choose not to deal with. There are lots of ways to make and invest money; all have drawbacks, some more than others.

 

[Farmer17]

When Covid hit, the govt. decided it was just fine for them to tell all landlords that they couldn't collect rent. How many folks lost what was going to be or was their retirement income. Everyone seems to think that the evil landlords had it coming and could afford it because they're all rich. It's like being told you have to keep your job but your employer didn't have to pay you anymore. If they can strip you of your property rights that quickly, what else can they do. Renting has become a dangerous game.

When the government said people don't have to pay rent during Covid that's because they gave the Landlords money from the Community Cares program. You had to have eviction papers filed against you which I did on some tenants that didn't pay, then we went to the Community Cares table in the courthouse and the tenant filled out a form, I signed it, and a few days later I went to a building downtown to pick up my check. It paid the back rent and 5 months of future rent, almost $10,000! Easy peasy. A couple months after that govt rent money ran out we had to go to the courthouse and do the same thing again so that tenant got a total of one years free rent and didn't have to show any proof of income or lack of it or any attempt to find a job. I know several people who got the Community Cares govt money and they never had any reduction in income from their jobs during Covid. It worked out great for landlords and tenants but probably cost the taxpayers a trillion or two. I tried to Google the actual dollar amount but mysteriously that information was difficult to find.