Should I rent out a fixer upper ?

[Edna Rajan]

We own a small 2 br 1 br home in a very small town in MS . It needs a bit of work. A person came by and was interested in renting it out and was willing to put some work in it. I'm not sure if I can secure insurance for this house with the condition it is in. 

This would be my first time being a landlord and I will run a background check. Looking for advice on if I should consider this and what risks come with this .

[Nathan Gesner]

1. What kind of tenant is willing to rent a run-down property? Not a good one.

2. Don't let tenants perform maintenance, particularly when they are complete strangers and you know nothing about them. They will offer to do maintenance and then do it poorly, if at all.

If you want to rent the property, do the right thing and fix it up. Then rent it to a qualified applicant willing to pay market rates.