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Updated about 5 years ago,
The best part of being a landlord.
All my units are in class C areas, and one is closer to C-/D+
As I rehab and fix up properties, it is nice to help out the neighborhood, hopefully provide good housing for those who often get overlooked, and help individuals and families as you go. In my less desirable areas I tend to get a lot more applications from those who are struggling in some way or another. They just went through a divorce, they have a felony on their record, their credit sucks, they a section 8 single mother of 5 kids. Watching people in similar situations have a hard time finding a safe and honest place to live, and getting taken advantage of with overpriced short term situations, they have an even harder time pulling themselves of the lack of savings and building of credit.
It is always a risk, and it can definitely come back to bite you, but when I get to have a conversation with a guy who is really trying to rebuild his life, has the income to pay the rent, but maybe has a few past mistakes that he is still paying for years later, or a section 8 condo with a woman who has too many kids in a market where the demand greatly exceeds the supply, I know she would have no where else to go if I kicked her out.
There is a real humanitarian side of being a landlord, a real ability to help people, to get them back on their feet or to give them a place to raise their kids in a safe and clean environment. I know we are not running charities, and we do this for investment and cash flow reasons, but I also know many who do not take in as much rent as they possibly can, or who build relationships with their tenants, etc. We hear about the dark side of real estate investing, and the dirt landlord or even slumlord stories are a plenty. But I also know there are plenty of great landlords and tenants who sing their praises.
When I invest in stock I have no personal connection to actually helping someone, but in real estate this is so tangible and it is an often not talked about great part of owning rentals.