Rental homes: how to do it the right way

[RobbyMaQ]

Been there done that. Did thorough background checks, etc...
People just don't treat it like it's their own... wait forever to notify you of a problem... and the good ones never stick around for long.
Overall, it helped a ton to pay down the mortgage (I converted my first home purchase to a rental), and it was nice when you had a tenant that took care of the place... it only meant going in and cleaning/painting/freshening up for a couple days.

Honestly, I'd look into an air BnB market property. I half wish I would have kept my place to get into that market, with it's proximity to downtown/convention center... and two weeks worth of rental would have paid a normal month of rental income (with less background check hassle)

 

[Tactically Fat]

Center Grove needs another self-storage area!!!

Borrow, borrow, borrow! Build, build build!

(My folks own a small self-storage rental place in their town. It, too, is a headache. And also heartbreaking when they have to clean out/throw away/burn the contents for non-payment.)

 

[Big Rigger]

Doc, not sure if it's been mentioned here before, but there is a gigantic website/forum full of all kinds of info on everything you can imagine regarding real estate investing. Biggerpockets.com

I've found it very useful for any questions I had on rental property.

 

[PistolBob]

We had four rental homes. We didn't rent to smokers, single parents with kids, and we always did a credit check. Our lease had a solid NO PETS clause...no fish, no cats, no dogs, no brothers in law on the couch. The lease said we could do an in home inspection any time we wanted with a 3 day notice. We did home inspections no less than every three months. Check screens, check plumbing, check the water heater, check the furnace and AC, check to make sure they are not sub letting and have no stay relatives living with them. We rented ours with a rent to buy option if they wanted the house and had a non refundable deposit of at least $3000.000....rent never applied to purchase price. Third happiest day of my life was selling the last one.