Subleasing Pros & Cons?

[Cyrus Baiz]

Good Day All,

I am currently dibble dabbling with the idea of renting out whole homes here in Southern California and subleasing the rooms out. Please put your input on whether or not this seems feasible, I need the good comments and the criticism so I know exactly what to expect in the worst case scenario. 

I am currently eyeing a rental property here in a great city with an ideal location close to San Diego and Los Angeles that is a 5 Bd 3 Ba 2,700 sqft beauty for $2,200 a month. In this area, a room rents for an easy 1,000-1,200 a month. If I were able to pitch the idea and get the Owner on board with my idea, what are the Pros & Cons of this? If every room rented out for $1,000 and the master for $1,200 minus the rent, that is a $3,000 a month cash flow. Now lets say I go through the formal renting process of credit checks, reference checks, former landlord checks, income verification and job verification on every prospective tenant. Also, lets say I have a 6 month reserve saved up in the case of a worst case scenario. Does this seem like something you would pull the trigger on if you had the opportunity? 

[Will Gaston]

@Cyrus Baiz This is going to sound like I'm a wet blanket but, as an owner, I would be pretty hesitant to do this. Particularly if you had no experience in doing this type of RE.

Just some questions that come to my mind:

-Who is going to manage interpersonal problems between tenants (believe me, this will happen...)?

-Will zoning allow what you're trying to do? (It would not in my market)

-Do you have enough parking for that many cars? What about their guests?

-How are you going to enforce overnight stays w/ boyfriends, girlfriends, etc?

-Do you have the ability to pay the rent without subleasing?

I like your creativity but I'm not a huge fan of subletting on the residential side. I think this would work much easier and cleaner if you owned the property.