Rental Property>

QuiltingNurse

I've been considering the possibility for a while now, but I'm not sure if it would work out well. I've been looking at some town homes pretty close by to our old rental house. It doesn't have a reputation for being the best neighbourhood in town, but we always felt safe there and never had problems. It is a lower income area, close to schools, shopping, and there is a high demand for rental units there. They are priced so low (townhouses aren't in high demand here, most of town is single houses), and I would easily be approved for a mortgage. We were paying more in a much smaller townhouse than we do for our current mortgage and all utilities here, so I imagine we would be able to make a profit off of it every month.

My question is, would you invest in something like this? I am not on the mortgage for our home, and the rental would go under my name only. I do have a small amount of debt, but even with that I would be able to afford the monthly payments on my own if we weren't able to rent it out. Anyone been in a situation like this before and have any tips or advice on it? Thanks!

karlee4ever

Yes I would. Just try to chose the best tenent for the situation. It sounds like you will get a lot of applicants. You might get a lot of flaky ones, but take your time to find one who seems like they will be the most loyal tenent, has good rental history and solid job/income (if that even exists anymore )

Hazel_B

I've never done the rental thing or figured out if it is worthwhile. My parents rented my grandma's old house and based on their experiences, my question is are you prepared to be a landlord? Cause for them it really really sucked due to bad tenants.

Hazel_B

I should add that these tenants came at the recommedation of people known to my parents.

Beads921

I would. I'd like to become a landlord someday. I actually wanted to buy a place in the city with the intention of renting it out once we'd outgrown it before we bought our house. BF wasn't really game at the time, but I still haven't ruled out the possibility of buying a rental property (or two) in the future.

It will probably be a lot of work and you might end up with crappy tenants. Being a landlord probably isn't the easiest thing in the world, but I still think it's probably worthwhile in the long run.

TheMutleys

There are all sorts of financial calculations that go into having a rental property, and it is much more involved than getting a profit after the mortgage is paid.  I would meet with someone who is knowledgeable about the rental market in your area.  I would also meet with someone who could run the financials for you. 

I have never been a landlord, but my husband had several properties before we were together and we will be purchasing our own rental properties in the coming years.  In fact, we bought our current house knowing that it would become an income property in the future. 

I think that people can have a rosy idea of what it takes to be a landlord.  I would not feel comfortable doing it if my husband didn't already have the experience.