I'm currently renting a house, but I'm actively looking to become a homeowner. I may have found the perfect house, and that house also has a rental unit. I might be going straight from renter to landlord!
The rental unit is a 846 square foot, 1 bed 1 bath with a private driveway and entrance on the opposite side from my driveway and entrance. It has separate electric from the main house and from my understanding was used as a rental unit for the entire time it has existed. It does use the same well/septic. The floors are in good condition and it has been recently painted since they were getting the whole house ready to sell. I will be specifically asking the home inspector to look for any repairs that would be needed. It is attached to the main house on one side, nowhere near where my bedroom would be.
If I buy the house, I could afford the mortgage and everything without a renter. I would never want to be in a situation where I needed that money to live off of since there is no guarantee that someone will always be there. Any rent money would be deposited into a savings account with the express purpose of future repairs/upgrades to the property. Without that, the savings account would grow slowly and increase the risk of something happening before I have the money set aside to fix it. The rent money would bring peace of mind to a very anxious person.
I have no experience in these matters, so I'm reaching out to people who do. The advice I've found online so far has been aimed at those who are considering being a full time landlord, or owning multiple properties. While advice about background and credit checks are helpful, a good chunk of the other advice doesn't seem to apply. What advice do you have for me? What am I overlooking?
