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

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Brian Backus Many Congrats! Being able to give you only one vote is so inadequate!

[Mike Dymski]

Nice!  Almost all of my resident experiences (that did not involve outright fraudulent acts) have been positive ones...and the negative ones can be dealt with unemotionally (when you buy right and/or add value).

[Nathan Gesner]

As long as "love" isn't a euphemism for "collectable china dolls, tupperware, and old magazines" then I would call this a win.

[Crystal Smith]

Quote from @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

Love your post. 

[Jonathan Klemm]

@Brian Backus - Thanks for sharing, this is awesome.  Just curious, are you shifting your investing from Chicago to Grand Rapids or just moving your family and continuing to invest in Chicago?

Finding awesome tenants like the one you did is priceless, great job!

[Denny Mears]

Hate to be cynical … Check back in a year after the honeymoon wears off . The first time her “radiator goes out “or she “was off sick last week “ both of you will have a different feeling !