StanleyandIris
Louisiana
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Joined: 06/17/2007
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I have rental property. When a unit is ready to be rented, I go to visit the applicants where they presently live. You can tell a lot, sometimes without having to go inside. It has saved me a lot of headaches.
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bobofthenorth
Nipawin, SK
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Joined: 03/10/2008
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We have rental property as well. We still have our home - sitting empty - waiting for us to decide what to do with it. Its in a hot real estate market so that is influencing our decision whether to hold it or sell it. The most important lesson we have learned with rentals is to screen your tenants VERY carefully. On the rare occasions when we switch tenants we have a process that has served us well. We advertise and hold an open house. On the night of the open house we tell everybody who is interested in renting that the first step in our process is to have them fill out a rental application. That application, once signed, gives us the legal right to do a very thorough credit and personal investigation. It also includes three rental references. The combination of that information plus our first impressions from their visit to the house in question gives us a very good basis for establishing a long term tenancy. We still get caught once in a while but not very often anymore. Above all - trust your instincts - if it doesn't feel 100% right then don't rent to them.
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trkrhelp
On The Road
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Joined: 06/20/2003
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So you do all the checks, they're stellar people - they rent and for the first couple months everything is fine. Then he take a hike and leaves her, 6 months along and the 2 year old behind. You find this out whent the rents late and of course she's not working - but she says she's got a court date next month and he'll have to pay support and she'll have the rent then. Next month comes and goes - no rent. She has support ordered but he's not paying it, but they're going back to court to get a garnishment on his wages next month.
So do you throw this now 8 month pregnant woman and her two year old out on the street?? This is a no win situation and it's the kind of situation that you can end up in (I know from experience renting a house out several years ago). 6 months later the sheriff finally evicts her, the house is a mess, she's left a truckload of junk, old clothes, etc. behind.
Sell it or leave it empty and go for your trial run. Go for a 2 month trip - when it's time to go home are you happy to be going or dreading it? If happy, keep the house and take 2 to 6 month trips. If you don't really want to go home, go anyway and stay a month or two then go for a 4 month trip. Same question at the end of the trip - are you dreading going home or looking forward to it. The answer to that question is the answer to whether you should sell the house and hit the road.
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BarbaraOK
Livingston, Texas, USA
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Joined: 10/27/2003
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We couldn't sell a house in '83 when we moved from Akron, Ohio to Flint, Michigan. So we rented it out - was ok for the first 8 months or so and then she lost her job. It took 6 months to get her out (court costs, etc.) and then we had a trashed house to clean. They had stopped using garbage service and were burning it in the fireplace!
It took us 3 months to get it fit to put on the market - and all of this involved driving 6 hrs from Flint to Akron on Friday night, working the weekend cleaning, painting, etc., then driving back Sunday night. Finally sold it for about what was left on the mortgage and we had put 25% down when we purchased it. Never again would I do that.
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sfprop
San Francisco
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Joined: 11/22/2006
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Trkrhelp - you outlined a TERRIFIC plan for anyone considering full timing. Don't cut the apron strings until you are sure!
You're a wise sage...
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Working toward "long timing".
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SGTJOE
Utah
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Joined: 01/12/2006
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One thing you may want to check out before you rent it and sell later. Unless the tax codes have changed you may have to pay capital gains on the profits unless you have lived in the home for the past two years prior to sale.
My thoughts on renting--NO WAY- We rented to very close friends (daughters God Parents) while overseas two years. Their home was clean and well kept, so when they sold we had no problem renting to them. I replaced doors, repainted, and replanted front and rear grass. House was less then two years old and our "friends" said it was fair wear and tear. Oh, they left 5 months early, all they paid was our house pmt which was about half of the local going rental rate. Would we rent again? Not in this life time, not even to our children. No one takes care of your home like you. If you can swing it, leave it vacant with someone to check on it and if you want a little more piece of mind install an alarm system.
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DianneOK
Sioux Falls, SD
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We are facing that dilemma as we speak. We bought a house for my DH's Mom to live in. She pays no rent. She is now unable to live on her own and we are moving her to an assisted living facility.
We bought when the market was rising, and may not get what we paid for it. We will not rent it out and be absentee landlords, even with a property manager. If we take a loss...so be it. We don't need the stress or anything else that goes with renting.
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newk
Gillette, WY
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Joined: 08/18/2007
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I also think Trkrhelp has a great plan for you.
I've had many rentals and renters over the years. Most work out just fine, but every now and then you get one that totally junks the place -- flooring, window coverings, walls, cabinetry, lawn, appliances and even plumbing. And those are the same people who quit paying rent and fight eviction. If your home is small, old and in disrepair, maybe. If it's a nice home, I wouldn't take the chance with anyone other than a handful of people who I know well, and they're not going to be wanting to rent my house.
Button it up, turn off the water, have a nice time on the road with no worries about your renters.
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bobofthenorth
Nipawin, SK
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Joined: 03/10/2008
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We've BTDT with the deadbeat tenants - there are no guarantees no matter how much homework you do. The real question is "where do you want to have that money invested?" In our case the answer right now is "residential real estate". That pretty well guarantees that we are going to have tenants either directly or indirectly. If you are in a market where you would rather have the money invested in something else then its time to put up a for sale sign.
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Earl E
Klamath Falls, Oregon
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Joined: 04/16/2007
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RVcrazy wrote:
It sounds like most of you so far are saying no? If it was the only way you could afford to go?
Then I don't think you can afford to full time. I'm not a full timer so am no authority. But we have been on the road now for two months and my gut level is that we are not spending any more money than if we were home. And that's with 5000 miles worth of gas. I may be totally wrong. I haven't made any attempt to keep track of our expenses.
But if you are so tight on $$ that you can't lock up the house for a year, then I would be worried that any big emergency would turn in to a catastrophe.
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