All Forum Posts by: Miranda Crown

I currently have roommates "with privacy."  They basically occupy two bedrooms with a bath in between, one of the rooms converted into a modest kitchenette.  We have a door between our "units".  I set up a lease (similar to what we used for a separate house rental) while I was married and am now divorced with 2 young children.  I am realizing how lucky I am to have the tenants I do after hearing so many horror stories.  Obviously it's bad news with any rental situation but I believe it could be much worse if you share the same home.  In any case, once they leave, likely next spring, I want to make sure I am protecting myself as much as possible.  In the case of non-payment, breaking rules, etc., do I have to follow the same eviction proceedings as with any other tenant or can I just kick someone out?  I am not sure if it's wise to continue renting out at all considering my family situation, unsure as to whether the income is worth the potential hassle.  I welcome any and all advice and shared experiences!

Good points, will consider all! We are in no way interested in moving, we have a tiny mortgage left on a home on 1/2 acre with a river wrapping around it near everything in town. I'm not sure if something has no value when you can rent it for more than your expenses but I do think the price is too steep to offset the negatives. Might just sit tight, continue paying down our mortgage and see if the bottom falls out again around here. Then we would be set to finance an affordable SFH.

We definitely cannot get financing, it would be cash/equity line combo and we would convert the equity line to a fixed rate loan.

What is the general real estate situation in Knoxville?  Where we are the median home is about $400k, $250k for a not-so-great neighborhood/location and/or fixer-upper.

Mobile homes in parks with space rental fees are selling for $30-50k

I only think the land would hold it's value if there is a possibility for future SFH build, something we are looking into.

Is there an easy calculator/spreadsheet available for calculating a detailed ROI? Lots to learn! Thanks!

We are looking at a 1972 2bd, 1ba 1100sq ft mobile home on 0.25acre with detached garage and storage building in a unique neighborhood as a rental property. It has brand new roof, windows, flooring, furnace, paint, window coverings. It is very close to the center of town, on one side of the neighborhood is a full mobile home park, on the other side, older 1/2 acre properties with well-maintained SFH's. We would be buying with cash/equity line.

Our town is in a major upswing, it is rapidly turning into a have's/have-not's mountain town with sky-rocketing real estate prices. Lots of trust-fund lifestyles, lots of vacation homes and 2nd homes. Any SFH below $250k has multiple offers/bidding wars, etc. Opportunities for "affordable" rental investments are severely limited. The upside is a <1% rental vacancy, people are desperate to find places to live, just not enough homes to go around for the population growth and many renters are being displaced by owners wanting to cash out in the up market. I suspect a bubble is coming but the population will likely to continue to grow as we will have a 4-yr college starting in 2016.

The problem is the cost, they are asking $124,000 which is the lowest in the area(!) but still high, we would definitely make a significantly lower offer. We believe we can get between $1000 and $1200/mo (still need to calculate the actual return based on other expenses). It would be a longterm rental but we think this neighborhood may actually convert to a SFH area eventually and we could build a home later on.

Pros/cons, any thoughts, advice?  Also, can you direct me to a good calculator or spreadsheet to input our expenses?  Thank you!

I love this website, thank you all for sharing your thoughts, very helpful! We don't really have the time or know-how to navigate a real estate transaction so I think it would suit us to keep the realtor involved for a lower commission. The tenants know we are serious about selling and their lease is up 5/31 so if they don't move fairly quickly, we are moving on. Thanks again!

Seems reasonable...and yes, we did mention to the tenants that we were meeting with our real estate agent...they admit to being undecided but now don't know why they would move if they could own the house themselves! Life is timing...phew

After a brief stint on the sales market last fall, we opted to rent out our home for 6 months and then return to the market this spring (our tenants were/are fully aware of these circumstances). In any case, we just met with our realtor, signed a contract to place it on the market 4/1/14 and the tenants are now interested in buying. Obviously, we would all love to avoid paying commissions but I assume we are too late? Any suggestions on how to navigate benefit both parties? I always appreciate the wealth of advice on this site! Thanks

They(we) live in a very tight rental market, especially for those looking at $800 or less a month. They simply don't have many options and they are now worried about being blamed for damage when they move out... I am hoping they can have a city inspector come out. Thanks again!

Thanks, all!