Need rental advice from people who have investment properties..?

Hello...I just put an ad for my 3 bedroom townhouse on rent..this was our first house,very well maintained,only 4 yrs old..let's say.... I am really attached to this house. I have been getting interested people who get rental assistance from the county which means they are either disabled,low income families,etc.the family pays the security deposit but the county pays their entire rent...which I think would be a good thing so the payment will be on time but what happens to the house,do these people trash the place??.Anybody experienced with rental assistance tenants...please advise!!!

The key to your question is "I am really attached to the house..." I too was attached to a house. That is why I stay away from rental assistance programs. They are great, for someone else's property. The potential problems far out-weigh the benefit of getting your check on time. If you invest some due diligence into finding good, stable, working tenants, then your concern about a rent check should be all but squashed...Good Luck

My friends parents did this with their old house and the people that lived there completly trashed it. While having the rent on time may sound great, most of the time when the low income families move in, they don't care what happens to the house because they aren't paying for it - and you will have to put alot of money into it when they leave to either rent it out again or sell it.

And, I've seen it happen first hand to my parents. They rented out their first house when they bought their new one. The people that lived here trashed it and it would cost too much to fix it up for the next tenants. My parents decided to sell the house rather than rent it out again because the costs were too high. I couldn't bare to see the house leave the family so I bought it. Its been 5 yrs and I'm still cleaning up the mess that one family left!

Well, if you rent to someone, then you should be counting the income on your taxes... i.e. set it up as a business. If for some reason your place gets trashed and you have to spend money to get it all fixed, then you should be able to write that off as a business expense to refurbish the property. Also, you will need to check with your insurance agent to find out what your insurance will and won't cover in case of damages to the dwelling or property, whether man-made or weather related, while you are not living there and a renter is.

Tenants are tenants. Just because they are on assistance does not meant they will care any more or less for your property. I knew someone who used this theory: OK, you want to rent my house, lets' go to your house or apartment and write up the agreement. If they would not agree to that he figured they did not want him to see how they have cared for their current home, so he did not want them to rent his.
Again, I do no think being on assistance makes a difference and you are right, the rent will be on time.

I am a owner of four individual flats in my native place and staying with my daughter in USA. I have very bitter experience with people of letting my house and with the result I make at least one trip to my native place to set right things. You should be very choosy to select a tenant and you can compromise with rent and advance but not the maintenance part of it. You have already mentioned in your letter that your house is the first house you have constructed and four years old and sentiment attachments you have. So, you take your own time to give that house for rental purpose, If you get a good and decent party you give it for rent or otherwise put everything under black and white in writing and then part with the house. This information is valid where ever you have a house and whenever you give it for rent. All the best. God has to save you and your House. Yours VRVRAO

Some are good, some are bad. There is a much higher percentage of low-income, government assisted tenants who will be problem renters than for higher end.

The key is to do thorough screening of the tenants. Especially important is contacting their last 2-3 landlords and talking to them. When screening, I didn't put as much weight on what their current landlord might say as much as previous landlords. Sometimes the current landlords will say anything to get rid of them! Prior landlords generally have no such ax to grind.

Ask the previous landlords if they had a history of paying on time. Where there any problems with them. Did they get all or part of their deposit back when they moved out. Listen to what tjhe landlord says.

One thing I would say is it is never a good idea to rent a property that you are "attached to." The reason is, no tenant will keep up with the property the way you would. The townhouse where you lived for so long has memories. Well, it can be a place of fond memories, or it can be an investment. they can't be both.

i would never suggest that someone rent out a property they have an emotional attachment to. It is an investment, like buying IBM stock or a mutual fund. If you can';t treat it like that, then this will be hell for you. i would either sell it and invest the proceeds into another property, or hire a property manager to take care of the property for you. Look for a CPM (Certified Property Manager). They will probably charge 10% to manage the property but it will keep your emotion out of business (hopefully). You'll keep your sanity, if nothing else.

The first house I bought I turned into a rental when we moved, putting it under property management when I did so. It was the smartest move I ever made.

Chuck is not exactly right.

It has been my experience that those who invest nothing of their own care very little about the investments you have made to create a good living environment.

Renting to subsidized tenants bring different rules. It take 3 times longer to get them out. Evicting is hard because obviously you wouldn't be evicting for nonpayment of rent......usually for nuisance issue which require a log of cops being called, picutures and video of the way they keep the property etc.
When you do get them out and it is trashed, the subsididy program will NOT cover the damages. (they used to but obviously the cost was overwhelming which only speaks to the issue louder than my experience)
I finally decided no more subsidized housing when I spoke with a section 8 worker who was telling me I had to lie to get the renters out. When I told her that the practices of the section 8 program was not to help or protect landlords, she said "Well, that's exactly why I dont accept section 8 on my rental properties".
So If section 8 social workers, with more knowledge about the program than I wont accept it...............why on earth would I?
I agree.......doing a walk thru of their current property would be a requirement.Yes it is nice to get rents paid regularly but not if it costs 20K to put back in liviable condition. It's not unheard of for tenants to poor quick cement down the toilet bowl............20k is conservative.
And everyone has a sob story........every negative was not their fault........heard em all.

Good Luck

open book advisors answer is great.

Stay away from section 8, Most of them are losers!!!! Looking for a free ride, I've also known people that were section 8 tenants, 75% of them were deadbeats!!!

ANd it is much harder to evict them

Hi,
I have eleven rentals units and presently I have two tenants that receive help from the State. One unit is getting trashed, and the other is still OK. My experience is most of the time the units get trashed, and I now I look for working people to rent my units. They know what it's like to work for something, and keep the units in good condition.