Why does real estate get such bad press?

Question

my sister had renter out a house for some time and she said it was an absolute  headache and people would call her over stupid simple things at ridiculous times of the day and in her opinion she doesn't recommend it also I talked to a guy who's family owns a six unit apartment and he said the city made up a lie about the building having a slow leak somewhere and demanded $10.000 payment  (weter bill) his opinion real he would not recommend real estate rental property. These are two real people who were are really renting to people and they both said it's not worth the headache...what do you make of this?

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

My parents were accidental landlord 25 years ago and just kept the town house. They managed it them selves over the years. Trust me I heard all the same stories over the past 3 years. Especially when people hear that we have acquired 5 houses in 3 years and are 26 ;)

My parents were very successful and it was a great source of second income especially since my mom was a stay at home mom! I would take everyone's "sorties" with a grain of salt. All of this horror stories, honestly after hearing them I usually had a no duh you failed thought in my head. There is a reason why you do your due diligence, run your numbers and flow the market.

Real estate is work! You have to deal with people repairs and watch the market! For some it's a great option and there's prefer the market!

William R. · Answer

Sounds like they would be great motivated sellers to pick up deals from....
	
	Landlording, regardless of what people say, is not for the part time mom, or the guy who wants to make a fortune overnight. This is an actual business with professionals who handle various aspects that often time people think they are capable of doing with little education or experience. It's also not a business for people with little to no capital.

Maintenance and watching your expenses are a part of the game.

Successful landlords have systems in place to deal with problems that come up and they SCREEN tough as your tenant is essentially your business partner.

Another thing, you make your money when you buy correctly... applies even to landlording... certain areas and price points will attract certain tenant quality. I don't know if he took the proper precautions and tested the pressure on the water pipes before he purchased nor do we know if he just let this bill just pile up after watching a significant jump. When problems happen you need to problem solve and negotiate.

Rolanda Eldridge · Answer

1.Flexibility

2. Freedom

3. Financial wealth

There are days/weeks/months when it's flowing.  Then the pouring rain comes.. But I take the good with the bad and keep it moving!!!.. It's a journey!!

Anthony Gayden · Answer

@David Espinoza I heard all of the horror stories, but rather than just blow these people off, I listened to them. They are after all perfect examples of what NOT to do.

The majority of the time, a person's first rental property is one they lived in before. Well a lot of people don't buy homes with an investor's mindset when they intend on living there. The result is that it is very hard or impossible to make money renting the homes. Always run the numbers of a home, even one where you plan on living, like an investor.

In terms of headaches from phone calls and stupid problems, I realized after listening to those stories, I did not want to deal with it, so I use a property manager. After all, I am an investor, not a landlord. I don't need a second job.

Another problem is that when your single family unit is vacant, the owner has to pay 100% of the rent. That fact alone has caused several of my acquaintances who are accidental landlords to swear that real estate is too hard, and a money loser. Multi-family properties can ease the impact of losing a single tenant, so that is part of the reason I invest in multi-family.

Others complain about repairs and maintenance eating them alive. On that issue, I have large cash reserves, and when buying a property, I look for those without a lot of deferred maintenance, and that have a lot of recent updates. I also don't look at properties over a certain age. Yes it may cost more in the beginning, but you will have less issues.

Rachel H. · Answer

Everyone has different experiences. What distinguishes the successful folks from the ones that are not is the passion to keep going despite the obstacles. It is our mistakes where we learn the most. Getting over the mistakes and learning from them from experience is the key to success.

Hope that helps!

Darron Stewart · Answer

@David Espinoza

Nearly anything you can find to make money can have pros and cons.  I get silly phone calls and usually take care of them all while reminding myself they are paying me over $12,000 a year to pay for the house and repair it while my wealth grows.  If I were to find I don't like the phone calls, then can just pay a property manager $1,000 or so a year and still take home roughly $11,000 per year.

If you think that you might like it, just look up the lists of wealthy people and see how many of those have real estate listed as the prime or secondary source of that wealth!

If you don't like rentals, many other ways to build wealth in real estate, tax liens or certificates, etc. can bring in big money too or try something other than real estate...

Either way, best of luck in your decision, just remember you asked on a real estate site so you will get response from those that are pro-real estate!

Martin Scherer · Answer

Everybody has a story from their sister, brother in law , mom, dad. Typically they are people trying to operate with no knowledge or systems in place.  It is a business and most people who bought a rental or couldn't sell their house whatever and became landlords just want to get rich with their real estate and want do not really want to work at it.

It can be really hard work and have lots of ups and downs but I certainly wouldn't trade owning real estate for other methods of creating wealth

Joseph Caracappa · Answer

@David Espinoza

Real Estate is like anything else, you have people that have done one or two deals and hated every second and you have the pros that built a large business. Real Estate is not for every one, but in my opinion if you are interested I would spend my time listening to the pros here on bigger pockets. Best of luck!!!

David Espinoza · Answer

sorry about the typos I can actually spell water and renter ha ha....where is auto correct when you need it?

Why does real estate get such bad press?

Most Popular Reply