The True Benefit of Being a Landlord

[Brian Backus]

Cable company, used car sales people, Landlords - all necessary evils in the eyes of some.  Other times you find a tenant that isn't in the position to buy a place and understands the value a landlord is bringing to their life.  

This week we started the process of filling one of my units (the unit I've personally been living in for the last 4 years as I house hacked).  It has been a bittersweet moment to be moving out of my first property.  The time has come to stretch our horizons as we move to a different state to grow our portfolio (Chicago, IL to Grand Rapids, MI). 

We haven't had to try and fill a unit since the start of COVID so I had some concerns about how that process would go.  The last unit took much longer to fill than we had hoped. This time, we made sure to price my unit right, build the interest, and show to as many people as needed.  

We were fortunate enough to have multiple people schedule to visit the unit and quickly had people interested in applying.  One person in particular stuck out during the process and her application came back with no issues.  

When we delivered the news that she had been accepted we received that attached response.

I'd be lying to you if I said the cashflow isn't one of the true reasons why I got into real estate, but that feeling of changing someone's life and getting them a roof over their head is a pretty darn good feeling too.

This type of response motivates me to continue to be a good landlord, build our reputation in a positive light, and continue to provide people with the housing they need.  I hope you too are able to build our profession in a positive manner and can appreciate the opportunity you have to change peoples lives.

Brian