Thread: I don't want to be a slumlord!

Great thread guys.


Anyone have any experience renting out condos? There are some condos in my area that are all short sales asking 25-35k. Decent working class neighborhoods, with HOA fees of 125-200 per month. The listings I have been able to find show them renting for 650-850 depending on how updated they are. The units are 2bed/2bath 900-1200 sqft.


Any opinions?

2 beds are not for me, thanks

You guys are crazy. I have 2 rental properties, and being a landlord f'ing sucks, and I have great tenants. This business is definitely not for everyone. I'm waiting for the market to turn around a little e more, and I'm dumping both properties.

Originally Posted by Vix'd

You guys are crazy. I have 2 rental properties, and being a landlord f'ing sucks, and I have great tenants. This business is definitely not for everyone. I'm waiting for the market to turn around a little e more, and I'm dumping both properties.

Care to explain why it sucks for you?

Originally Posted by surma884

Care to explain why it sucks for you?

profit margin to stress margin maybe?

Very interesting thread. Just stumbled across it, and noticed the OP was in the Bay Area, same as me.

When I got bored of being in the IT field back in 2005, I moved back to Colorado and got my real estate license, helping people buy/sell homes. But what I really wanted to do was fix/flip homes, but I didn't want to do it alone. However, none of my friends had the time or desire to get involved in it, and I was too busy trying to get cash flow going with the real estate biz. Sadly, 2005 was the WRONG year for me to get into real estate (at least the residential buying/selling part of it), so I went back into IT and moved back to California.

Now, I'm at a startup that I think is actually going to make it (after being at two that didn't, and one that did, I know better what to look for). If it does, and if they meet my valuation expectations in about three years, I hope to cash out with about $900k (after taxes). But that isn't enough to buy a house (I'm renting right now) where I want to live (SF/Marin/Berkeley) and not work, or have investment income.

I'd still like to get into fix/flip or accumulating rental properties, so it's nice to see others being able to do that still in this economy. Maybe it's something I can start doing in a few years, if I do have the cash for it. Personally, I think the real estate market will remain stagnant for another few years, and rentals will continue to increase. I know when I moved back, I didn't want to buy right away, I'd rather rent, and I know a LOT of people feel the same way. But they don't want apartments, they want single-family homes. So hopefully that investment route will remain viable until I can get into it...maybe.

Originally Posted by LoneAspen

Very interesting thread. Just stumbled across it, and noticed the OP was in the Bay Area, same as me.

When I got bored of being in the IT field back in 2005, I moved back to Colorado and got my real estate license, helping people buy/sell homes. But what I really wanted to do was fix/flip homes, but I didn't want to do it alone. However, none of my friends had the time or desire to get involved in it, and I was too busy trying to get cash flow going with the real estate biz. Sadly, 2005 was the WRONG year for me to get into real estate (at least the residential buying/selling part of it), so I went back into IT and moved back to California.

Now, I'm at a startup that I think is actually going to make it (after being at two that didn't, and one that did, I know better what to look for). If it does, and if they meet my valuation expectations in about three years, I hope to cash out with about $900k (after taxes). But that isn't enough to buy a house (I'm renting right now) where I want to live (SF/Marin/Berkeley) and not work, or have investment income.

I'd still like to get into fix/flip or accumulating rental properties, so it's nice to see others being able to do that still in this economy. Maybe it's something I can start doing in a few years, if I do have the cash for it. Personally, I think the real estate market will remain stagnant for another few years, and rentals will continue to increase. I know when I moved back, I didn't want to buy right away, I'd rather rent, and I know a LOT of people feel the same way. But they don't want apartments, they want single-family homes. So hopefully that investment route will remain viable until I can get into it...maybe.

Personally, I don't understand the philosophy of buying later and renting now. If you have enough money for a down payment, put it down on a house that is in your price range even if it isn't exactly what you're looking for. Live in it for a while and dump it when something better comes along. At least you can accumulate some equity in a house and some better credit. Even if you wanted to rent because you couldn't afford to buy in the area and you absolutely love the area, you should buy a house in a less desirable area and rent it out while you rent in an area that you like. You have to start somewhere. That's just my opinion.

Originally Posted by Vix'd

You guys are crazy. I have 2 rental properties, and being a landlord f'ing sucks, and I have great tenants. This business is definitely not for everyone. I'm waiting for the market to turn around a little e more, and I'm dumping both properties.

Being a landlord definitely isn't for everyone, but I wouldn't dump the properties if the cash flow was good. I would just get a property manager and get him to send me reports. You make the final decisions and he does the nitty gritty stuff. And when a good opportunity comes along, sell off the rentals and move on. The idea of someone paying off my mortgage is really appealing to me.

Originally Posted by RockWell

Personally, I don't understand the philosophy of buying later and renting now. If you have enough money for a down payment, put it down on a house that is in your price range even if it isn't exactly what you're looking for. Live in it for a while and dump it when something better comes along. At least you can accumulate some equity in a house and some better credit. Even if you wanted to rent because you couldn't afford to buy in the area and you absolutely love the area, you should buy a house in a less desirable area and rent it out while you rent in an area that you like. You have to start somewhere. That's just my opinion.

I don't have enough for a down payment on anything I'd remotely want to live in. I only have about $50k available, and that's my emergency fund. I don't dip into that for anything or anybody, because I don't have a 401k or any other funds to draw upon. When I left Colorado, I had nothing left after trying to keep the R/E biz going after 2.5 years. And when I say nothing, I mean I drove back from Colorado with all the belongings I had in the back of my Jeep, and with about $500 in cash to my name.

That's why I'm content to rent right now, and wait. My financial picture is better than when I left Colorado. I had to do a short-sale on a house there, which dinged my credit, but I've been rebuilding it over time. But I'm 100% focused on my job right now, which doesn't leave me the time or desire to pursue something else right now. BUT...if I'm lucky enough to have a windfall in about three years, I would look to do something else with R/E investments. But not right now.

EDIT: Just saw your last post re: being a landlord. I agree - not for everybody. And I know it wouldn't be for me. I'd want to find, fix up, and own the asset and let it generate some kind of ROI, but I don't want to deal with the tenants, nor the maintenance. I'd hire a property manager, tell them my criteria as far as background checks, rent collection, eviction, etc, and let them handle the dirty work. Yeah, it's another "x" percent of expenses, but for me it would be the only way I'd do R/E investing.

Thanks for posting, what i was going to add was even with a property manager, there is still alot to do. Remember it is your property, your Property manager does not own it, therefore you have to constantly watch waht happens with your investment, people still have to be evicted if they damage or do not pay the rent.

Originally Posted by RockWell

Personally, I don't understand the philosophy of buying later and renting now. If you have enough money for a down payment, put it down on a house that is in your price range even if it isn't exactly what you're looking for. Live in it for a while and dump it when something better comes along. At least you can accumulate some equity in a house and some better credit. Even if you wanted to rent because you couldn't afford to buy in the area and you absolutely love the area, you should buy a house in a less desirable area and rent it out while you rent in an area that you like. You have to start somewhere. That's just my opinion.