My father used to buy rental houses that needed some painting etc , then he had a work crew to work for free, all of the family including me. Houses appreciate especially with some improvements if the local market supports it. You don't want to own the most expensive house in a neighborhood if you want to fix it up and sell. Housing prices collapsed back in 2008 so might be a lot less people doing this. My father would rent for a few years, then sell the house for more than he bought it for. I believe mobile homes depreciate in value with time. Renters can be a problem too if they have unreliable jobs or credit history. If they tear up the house or don't pay, you'll have to deal with late payments and maybe no payments and hire a lawyer to evict them. Good renters are great to find, bad ones are a pain and can hurt your income. Plus you need a plan to deal with maintenance on the units. A tornado could strike at 3 am and make a tree fall on the house. The renter will call you to come fix it if you're responsible.
Shark some good ideas and yes trailers are like cars and do go down in value but I'm more focused on the idea of owning the land.
Read a book by Mike Summy that shows how you can get a outside company to Handel all the bull shit that comes with renting . With that in place it would feel more like just investing in stocks and after all expenses that company would direct deposit or mail my profits to me
I'm also not looking to ever sell just renting to build net worth and then residual income once each property was paid off in full
Just Now • Juice there are plenty of real-estate management people out there, but you are going to pay them a fee, plus pay for all expenses and repairs. At the end of the day you will find out it wont be profitable, if you cant handle the management and many of the repairs yourself. speaking from personal experience.
I know a go who has a trailer park. He makes money with it, not a lot, but he does make money. He also has to deal with a lot of hassles and headaches to the point that I don't think it is worth what he makes.
25 thanks for sharing some tried and true experience...I will make sure I start this business with enough over head and see f I can't find a Mr fix it guy I can hire to reduce my cost on repairs and shits.
It was another reason I was thinking trailers first because I could in theory pay cash and have no debt then the money from renting a single wide with land would at least give me $10,000 every year free to make repairs and buy other properties once I could pay cash again.
Figured if I built a solid debt free rental single wide with land game I could have 10 properties in 20 years out and be cashing in six figures a year free and clear minus fees and repairs
Land ownership is supposed to be a good way to get yourself to financial security.
After investing in yourself, and your 401K, I see some experts writing you should own real estate next. Some diverge on the advice. Some write you should own your own place, first. Some write you should own a rental property, first. Others write you should have *both* before you even think of investing in the stock market.
One thing seems clear that land ownership or real estate is one way to get financial independence and/or a ticket to the top 1% in the U.S.
Normally I'd agree with the beaver man, that Juice should invest in himself, first. But if his expenses are ~$10K (or whatever) and he makes ~$40-50K (or whatever), then he is probably financially independent enough to try this (land ownership / real estate).
Real Estate is all about leverage. If Real Estate goes up in value, as it typically does over any 10 or 20 year period, you'll do very well. If it drops in value, as we now know it can over a period of 5 or 10 years, you'll lose big. A lot of real estate investors have declared bankruptcy sine 2008.
I don't want people calling me at 3am telling me my pipes broke, or avoiding paying rent until I can finally evict them, or destroying the house with a meth lab, or suing me because they tripped on a stump on one of my properties. Some people are able to be landlords, most of us can't.
I'm a big believer in getting rich slowly through the magic of compound interest. Set aside as much as you can every year, invest in a stock index fund, and watch your money double every 8-10 years. Stocks may drop in the short run, but they always go up over a 10 year period. The same can't be said for real estate over the last 10 years.
Why be a landlord when you can be the bank!! Buy the mortgage or Notes and don't worry about the call at 2 am that the toilet is stopped up. You can be making 8-15% on your money. Believe me it works. PM me and I am happy to to tell you more about it.
I remember going to one of my father's rent houses after a tenant left without paying after a couple months or so. I never saw so much filth except on the show hoarders. There was crap stacked everywhere and cockroaches crawling all over everything. The only plus about the situation was that my father didn't have to pay a lawyer to evict the guy. I helped clean up and throw away all kinds of junk. Then the whole house was fumigated. It's possible that the carpets had to be replaced too but not sure. I remember renting a place and was getting ready to move when the hot water heater broke downstairs. The whole bottom level flooded.
I came home and wondered why I could hear my footsteps. I was walking in water. After a few hours, the landlord agency sent someone over to get the water out. Whole house stunk like a moldy smell. I moved out earlier than planned. The guy put a fan under the carpet to help dry out the stink. They weren't going to replace it. I was so glad to be moving already.
Even good renters like I was will occasionally call and complain, possibly on the weekend. Some renters will give a sob story about whatever every month and tell you why they need to wait until their next paycheck to have funds. Some will consistently not pay on time if you get enough renters. Some won't pay at all and need to be evicted.
From a renters point of view, you are the rich land lord and can afford it if they don't pay the rent on time. The ones that don't pay and need to be evicted can leave you in a cash bind if you have multiple renters doing this at the same time because local employers laid off a bunch of your renters. Recession? In cheap places, you often end up with the less desirable renters because if they could afford more, they probably would have gotten a better place to rent. At the time I did not enjoy spending summer vacations and vacation time from school helping work on extra houses. I know my other brothers and sisters would have rather watched tv or spend time with friends rather than work all the time when we weren't traveling.
I have wondered if he could have made more money just investing in index funds and let the money grow without all the hassle. My parents got lucky that they sold all the houses in the 1990's before 2008 when you couldn't sell anything and get the price back you paid for it. However they also listened to a crackpot stock broker who steered them into some crappy stocks that lost them a lot of that hard earned money. Stock broker just said he was watching everything. Some stocks do go to zero.
As a landlord or home owner, you might also have to deal with home owners associations.
They have all kinds of restrictions about what you can or can't do. In one relatives area with a bunch of townhouses, they didn't like the fact that several homes were rented. They claimed that if more than 50% of the homes were rentals, that banks would raise the rates for loans dramatically and it would be hard to sell any of the homes in the area. Apparently some truth to that. They met, added a convent to the homeowners agreement that anytime someone sold a home, it could not be rented. All this in an attempt to reduce the number of renters in the area which they deemed as not desirable. They did grandfather in existing rentals for now but if he sells the home, can't be rented. The landlord guy at the meeting wasn't happy. The other homeowners were not happy with some of the people he was renting to.
The president of that homeowners once said I could be president of both homeowners associations. You'd have to be crazy to want to do that. The above is an example of the crap you get involved in like you have nothing better to do.
Thanks for posting your family's experience with real estate and with screening and dealing with renters.
Dougster, yes not only that but also one has know real idea what the property is really worth until you sell it. Sure, one probably has a good idea what the market clearing price whould be. But you really don't know. (Or do you?).
I freely admit I'm not really knowledgable in real estate, land, or renters.
I remember hearing about someone at a previous work place had a trailer they rented to a dancer.
If a renter uses meth, I've heard about the police condemning the entire house. I do not know who owned the house. That could cost many thousands I believe to clean up all the meth in a proper way and city ordinances might require it or else they might condem the whole house. Just my suspicion. I'm not clear on the costs involved but it sounds bad. My parents never had to deal with druggies that I know of.
Dogs in the house can do extra damage as well. Smokers leave smoke smell on everything. Cleanup after a renter leaves in such situations can be more extensive unless you keep renting to people who don't care or smoke or have dogs. It makes it harder to find renters if they smell smoke and are non smokers for example.
My house I bought about 17 years ago has appreciated around 2% a year or so. That's a long term buy and hold. I have spent several thousand on maintenance in that time, most of it in the last few years. I also replaced the air conditioning and furnace and bought an extended warranty which I never did before until reading about all kinds of maintenance issues with new systems. They told me the warranty on the air and furnace could go to new owners if I ever sell. I have a small house and that was around $7k or so.
Replacing an underground broken pipe under the slab, cost me about 3900 and that involved a cheaper fix of reroute get new pvc type pipes for the hot water through the attic. Hopefully cold water pipes don't break. I did all the Sheetrock repair and cosmetic work myself to patch up the walls. Had to replace some carpet too. Ended up spending more to get new vinyl in my kitchen and bathrooms. Replacing the shingles on my roof will likely cost thousands more unless I get a hail storm but I'm sure insurance companies would prorate anything they pay for.
If you're not familiar with buying property, add in costs for monthly private mortgage insurance, fire insurance, maybe flood insurance too if your home is within 10 feet of any flood zone and for property taxes due every year. Then you will need money to fix up a house and fix any minor things missed by an inspector. I say within 10 feet of any flood zone because people keep biuilding reducing drainage where water can go and the weather is producing more and more heavy rain events. In La, people said homes flooded above the flood level by several feet, they said it was a thousand year flood but that's the same thing the SC governor said last year in South Carolina.
I did not buy earthquake insurance but I think they said the deductible was 20% of the home's value. My deductible for everything else is 1000 before insurance kicks in.
On the coast, flood or hurricane insurance can cost thousands of dollars a year.
My insurance did cover most of the hot water pipe break since I had visible water damage inside my house. Still had a 1000 deductible. Otherwise that would have been all out of my pocket. That's the drawback to concrete slabs. It costs a lot to fix water breaks under the house. Termite treatments and or insurance are another small yearly cost unless you have some good poison and use it every year yourself. Requiring a termite inspector to go inside the house and check all the walls is a good idea. People planting gardens right next to the house or trees etc right next to the house is not a good idea. The poison lasts 5 to 7 years if done by professionals and is in the soil around the house. Gardens and plants can disrupt the termite barrier and eating food where there is 7 year poison is not a great idea. Plus trees and large bushes next to houses can be a fire danger.
Ok one more small post, I remember renters of houses responsible for cutting grass but they called my father for major stuff, painting, cutting large bushes, trees etc. I remember because I ended up doing a lot of the extra work. I also remember a tornado missed the house we lived in by a few feet but across the street, the tornado knocked a big old pine tree on the house my father was renting. They called at 3 am and said the roof was leaking. My father said put a pot under it and he would look at it in the morning. They said a pot wasn't going to cover it. Two big pine trees fell on the house. Luckily the house still stood.
43 comments
Was wanting to see if some one already tried this or has reasons it want work
I have read some real estate books and got some good ideas
My thought was if I owned the land witch seems to be the main point.
Just like my plain in the stock market I'm buying low but never selling just working on compounding profits and and reinvesting as Warren Buffet
Read a book by Mike Summy that shows how you can get a outside company to Handel all the bull shit that comes with renting . With that in place it would feel more like just investing in stocks and after all expenses that company would direct deposit or mail my profits to me
I'm also not looking to ever sell just renting to build net worth and then residual income once each property was paid off in full
Reviews: 20
Just Now • Juice there are plenty of real-estate management people out there, but you are going to pay them a fee, plus pay for all expenses and repairs. At the end of the day you will find out it wont be profitable, if you cant handle the management and many of the repairs yourself. speaking from personal experience.
But if you want I can explain it in more simple terms.
It was another reason I was thinking trailers first because I could in theory pay cash and have no debt then the money from renting a single wide with land would at least give me $10,000 every year free to make repairs and buy other properties once I could pay cash again.
Figured if I built a solid debt free rental single wide with land game I could have 10 properties in 20 years out and be cashing in six figures a year free and clear minus fees and repairs
http://i.imgur.com/JGwct6z.jpg
After investing in yourself, and your 401K, I see some experts writing you should own real estate next. Some diverge on the advice. Some write you should own your own place, first. Some write you should own a rental property, first. Others write you should have *both* before you even think of investing in the stock market.
One thing seems clear that land ownership or real estate is one way to get financial independence and/or a ticket to the top 1% in the U.S.
I don't want people calling me at 3am telling me my pipes broke, or avoiding paying rent until I can finally evict them, or destroying the house with a meth lab, or suing me because they tripped on a stump on one of my properties. Some people are able to be landlords, most of us can't.
I'm a big believer in getting rich slowly through the magic of compound interest. Set aside as much as you can every year, invest in a stock index fund, and watch your money double every 8-10 years. Stocks may drop in the short run, but they always go up over a 10 year period. The same can't be said for real estate over the last 10 years.
Dominic thanks man
I came home and wondered why I could hear my footsteps. I was walking in water. After a few hours, the landlord agency sent someone over to get the water out. Whole house stunk like a moldy smell. I moved out earlier than planned. The guy put a fan under the carpet to help dry out the stink. They weren't going to replace it. I was so glad to be moving already.
Even good renters like I was will occasionally call and complain, possibly on the weekend. Some renters will give a sob story about whatever every month and tell you why they need to wait until their next paycheck to have funds. Some will consistently not pay on time if you get enough renters. Some won't pay at all and need to be evicted.
I have wondered if he could have made more money just investing in index funds and let the money grow without all the hassle. My parents got lucky that they sold all the houses in the 1990's before 2008 when you couldn't sell anything and get the price back you paid for it. However they also listened to a crackpot stock broker who steered them into some crappy stocks that lost them a lot of that hard earned money. Stock broker just said he was watching everything. Some stocks do go to zero.
They have all kinds of restrictions about what you can or can't do. In one relatives area with a bunch of townhouses, they didn't like the fact that several homes were rented. They claimed that if more than 50% of the homes were rentals, that banks would raise the rates for loans dramatically and it would be hard to sell any of the homes in the area. Apparently some truth to that. They met, added a convent to the homeowners agreement that anytime someone sold a home, it could not be rented. All this in an attempt to reduce the number of renters in the area which they deemed as not desirable. They did grandfather in existing rentals for now but if he sells the home, can't be rented. The landlord guy at the meeting wasn't happy. The other homeowners were not happy with some of the people he was renting to.
Dougster, yes not only that but also one has know real idea what the property is really worth until you sell it. Sure, one probably has a good idea what the market clearing price whould be. But you really don't know. (Or do you?).
I freely admit I'm not really knowledgable in real estate, land, or renters.
I remember hearing about someone at a previous work place had a trailer they rented to a dancer.
If a renter uses meth, I've heard about the police condemning the entire house. I do not know who owned the house. That could cost many thousands I believe to clean up all the meth in a proper way and city ordinances might require it or else they might condem the whole house. Just my suspicion. I'm not clear on the costs involved but it sounds bad. My parents never had to deal with druggies that I know of.
Replacing an underground broken pipe under the slab, cost me about 3900 and that involved a cheaper fix of reroute get new pvc type pipes for the hot water through the attic. Hopefully cold water pipes don't break. I did all the Sheetrock repair and cosmetic work myself to patch up the walls. Had to replace some carpet too. Ended up spending more to get new vinyl in my kitchen and bathrooms. Replacing the shingles on my roof will likely cost thousands more unless I get a hail storm but I'm sure insurance companies would prorate anything they pay for.
I did not buy earthquake insurance but I think they said the deductible was 20% of the home's value. My deductible for everything else is 1000 before insurance kicks in.
On the coast, flood or hurricane insurance can cost thousands of dollars a year.