Buying a Rental is pretty easy, Keeping it is another story

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Many questions on here is in regards to buying property.  The first thing people think of when deciding to become a Landlord is buying the property.  Once they buy the property then what? Oh my gosh, there's a lot of work to be done to the property.  Then, Oh my gosh, how do I find a tenant?  Then Oh my Gosh, now what?

So you need to have plan that goes way beyond buying that rental. 

It's easy to purchase a rental, but can you keep it?  That is the question.

My husband was the handyman (well we had a work crew, but hubby was the ultimate handyman, perfectionist to an annoying fault...even to this day everything has to be perfect)  

I on the other hand, was the Zoo Keeper, oops I mean I took care of the nasty stuff, like tenant complaints, accounting, court scenes, making the tenants comply to their lease agreement.  I was the bad guy, and my husband was the good guy. But....without each other, we wouldn't have succeeded.  We wouldn't have been able to Keep our rentals. 

He was good at what he did and still does.  This enabled us to KEEP OUR BUSINESS.

I am good at what I do.  This enabled us to KEEP OUR BUSINESS

Where we good when we first began?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  Dumb and Dumber!!!!

But with embarrassment and lots of goofs it forced ME to study, and finally I  became good! 

So...for you young whipper snappers out there,  there's more to buying a rental property.  If you want to Keep it, you've got to learn what it takes.  Sometimes you need a Good guy and a Bad Guy, even if you have to be both at one time!

Just a little tip from this old gal....Nancy Neville

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I must be in a writing mood.  I have a story for you.

We purchased a 4plex for $10,000.00 and put 100 grand into it.  Great neighborhood and a great apartment building.  All new Anderson windows in every room, not to mention furnaces and water heaters and walls!

Tenant moves in the upper unit.  It's winter.  He calls us and says the house is drafty.  Lots of wind blowing through the windows.  My husband and I tell him that we just put in new windows, Anderson Windows, and he insisted wind was coming through the windows and he was cold. 

We told him we would be out the next day to take a look, but before we got there he had called the City on us.  (Little does he know that we had to have it inspected and get a C of A and a C of O before we could even rent it out so no violations were filed against, but this guy didn't know that).  We asked him why since we said we'd be there this morning.  He said because we were slumlords. 

He started cussing us out about the drafty windows and acting like the big guy.    Now this guy is 6' 5" and now he is going off on my husband.  (Now one thing tenants should never do, is make my husband mad.  He is the type that will make them offer they can't refuse, if you know what I mean, that's why my husband has me.  So I knew I had to do something and quick).  So...  I ran to the car, grabbed my portable voice recorded, shoved it under the tenants nose, (I'm 5"2", so I had a long way to reach) and said, "you have something to say, you say it in this.   His wife ran up the stairs crying, and the tenant  began to stutter, and had nothing more to say.  So hubby and I and the tenant go upstairs to check out these windows, only to find out that they were opened!!!!

Ya just gotta love this stuff.   They ended up moving.  

Nancy