Commute from hell

[Deleted]

I think having a rental is a bad idea in your situation. You've posted about having troubles with "budget busters" in your own expenses causing hardship and having renters will make that way worse, especially during months when the place sits empty and you're not drawing rent.

[finnime]

So you can change your life to be much better for approximately $20,000. That's a choice I'd make. Renting it out promises to increase the misery, not reduce it.

[debthaven]

It's true, renting IS a risk. Ask me how I know.

But 20K isn't insignificant either. I would definitely use a good property manager if you rent.

 

[Ava]

Considering the cost of selling, renting is the best option.

The condo is about 20K underwater, without considering closing costs and realtors' fees.

I don't know when I am going to move, but hopefully within the next 24 months. That's what I am aiming for. The condo will be turned into a rental with a management company. I know that doesn't solve all the issues, but it's better than dealing with it myself.

If I had the 25K I would probably need to sell, I would be traveling through Europe instead. No way would I sink that kind of money to get rid of a property.

These condos rent fast. About half or more have been turned into rentals and they are all occupied. The cash flow would be enough to cover expenses, including a management company.

I know there will be extra expenses at some point, like a tenant trashing the property or not paying, etc. Still, cheaper and easier than selling.

[Shooby]

May 20, 2018 13:36:39 GMT -5 Ava said:

Considering the cost of selling, renting is the best option.

The condo is about 20K underwater, without considering closing costs and realtors' fees.

I don't know when I am going to move, but hopefully within the next 24 months. That's what I am aiming for. The condo will be turned into a rental with a management company. I know that doesn't solve all the issues, but it's better than dealing with it myself.

If I had the 25K I would probably need to sell, I would be traveling through Europe instead. No way would I sink that kind of money to get rid of a property.

These condos rent fast. About half or more have been turned into rentals and they are all occupied. The cash flow would be enough to cover expenses, including a management company.

I know there will be extra expenses at some point, like a tenant trashing the property or not paying, etc. Still, cheaper and easier than selling.

I don't agree but YMMV.  

[Shooby]

But, why not give it a go?  You can always sell it later.  However, personally, if I was tight on cash flow, i would not do it.  It may sit empty for months, you still have to cover the taxes and upkeep and for the little you  make after all that, doesnt' seem particularly worth it to me but you don't know until you try.  Your area may have very good rental incomes.

[Deleted]

Are you 100% positive you're that underwater?  How about list it at a price that you break even with realtor fees and see what happens?  If the area is so hot that rentals never sit empty you might be surprised. 

[countrygirl2]

Prices are up right now but interest rates are rising, if you are going to sell you need to sell.


Take it from me, if we did not have hubs to do all our work and had to hire it done we would make nothing on our rentals.  He and I have talked about it, we think 10 more years if we are lucky.  Once he is not able to do the maintenance we will sell them.  You have no idea the stress of renting, I have done well, but I look at my renters now and know each is one paycheck from not being able to pay. Every rental I have has had his credit ruined by lack of health insurance and medical bills.  People are hurting and many ruined because of insurance issues, how sad is that?

I am very very careful whom I rent to, haven't messed up yet, but its going to happen someday I would bet.  Then what do you do?  I hear some states its very difficult to get them out.  If the condo hasn't recouped by now I doubt it ever well.  I would bite the bullet and sell it and not try having 2 places.

[resolution]

Talk to a property manager before you spend anything to modernize your appliances. My property manager told me that if I left the fridge, washer and dryer in my rental I would be responsible to repair/replace them, but if I took them with me the tenant would be responsible to supply their own. I am still responsible for the stove and dishwasher though. There were no problems finding a tenant with their own appliances in my area. 

[countrygirl2]

We furnish appliances, moving stuff like that in and out is hard on floors and walls.  Also we want to repair them.  We don't want faulty stoves, or leaking washers or fridges, can really mess up the place  I rarely have had to replace or repair them as we buy new for the units when we put them in service.  And we have never had one stolen.

[Ryan]

I would probably opt for either staying put or trying to find a job closer to your house.  

In my neck of the woods, 45 minutes is not too bad of a commute (or even an hour).  I think people here consider it to be par for the course and wouldn't really think of moving.

Having said all that, my wife and I were both commuting about an hour to essentially the same area.  We ended up moving , which put my wife within 5 minutes of work and me within 15 minutes.  It IS amazing to live that close, but we also had other reasons...like wanting to live in the area and being close to family.  If I didn't have those other factors at work, I probably would've stayed put.

[Ava]

Selling is not an option for me. Trust me; I know the condo is 20K underwater. I see the price similar units are selling for, and I even received a couple of letters from local realtors looking for condos to sell; both letters had the possible asking price as... you guessed it 20K less than what I owe.

I am not afraid of turning the condo into a rental, as long as I have a good management company in place.

I think the idea of talking to a management agency before buying appliances and doing projects to the condo is a good idea.

I am starting to think I want this done sooner rather than later.

May contact a few management companies next month after I finish the online class.

If I don't have to put too much money on it, I may just go ahead.

[Ava]

May 22, 2018 22:44:53 GMT -5 Ryan said:

I would probably opt for either staying put or trying to find a job closer to your house.  

In my neck of the woods, 45 minutes is not too bad of a commute (or even an hour).  I think people here consider it to be par for the course and wouldn't really think of moving.

Having said all that, my wife and I were both commuting about an hour to essentially the same area.  We ended up moving , which put my wife within 5 minutes of work and me within 15 minutes.  It IS amazing to live that close, but we also had other reasons...like wanting to live in the area and being close to family.  If I didn't have those other factors at work, I probably would've stayed put.

Same in my neck of the woods. There are no accounting, finance, professional jobs unless you drive 45 minutes, an hour, or even a little more.

A short commute would reduce stress, and bring back 1 or 1 1/2 hours back daily to my life. It's a quality of life issue.

[Shooby]

May 23, 2018 21:26:12 GMT -5 Ava said:

May 22, 2018 22:44:53 GMT -5 Ryan said:

I would probably opt for either staying put or trying to find a job closer to your house.  

In my neck of the woods, 45 minutes is not too bad of a commute (or even an hour).  I think people here consider it to be par for the course and wouldn't really think of moving.

Having said all that, my wife and I were both commuting about an hour to essentially the same area.  We ended up moving , which put my wife within 5 minutes of work and me within 15 minutes.  It IS amazing to live that close, but we also had other reasons...like wanting to live in the area and being close to family.  If I didn't have those other factors at work, I probably would've stayed put.

Same in my neck of the woods. There are no accounting, finance, professional jobs unless you drive 45 minutes, an hour, or even a little more.

A short commute would reduce stress, and bring back 1 or 1 1/2 hours back daily to my life. It's a quality of life issue.

Then, it's worth $20k.

[Shooby]

May 23, 2018 21:24:01 GMT -5 Ava said:

Selling is not an option for me. Trust me; I know the condo is 20K underwater. I see the price similar units are selling for, and I even received a couple of letters from local realtors looking for condos to sell; both letters had the possible asking price as... you guessed it 20K less than what I owe.

I am not afraid of turning the condo into a rental, as long as I have a good management company in place.

I think the idea of talking to a management agency before buying appliances and doing projects to the condo is a good idea.

I am starting to think I want this done sooner rather than later.

May contact a few management companies next month after I finish the online class.

If I don't have to put too much money on it, I may just go ahead.

I would much more afraid of turning it into a rental.  Why do you fear selling and taking a small loss potentially versus the losses you could take as a landlord?  If your finances are tight that seems a bit risky to me, because even if you do move, you are going to the have costs of moving, on top of the costs of your time and money into this becoming a rental.  However, i have never rented property so take that with a grain of salt.  I do have friends renting a home now and it seems like pure misery for them and I know what rents they are collecting and with all the time and effort, sure would not be worth it to me. And, they don't have a property manager, which you would have to pay on top of that.

[countrygirl2]

Because you hear all this hype about how easy it is and you can make all this money, its not.

[Shooby]

Jun 14, 2018 10:15:42 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

Because you hear all this hype about how easy it is and you can make all this money, its not.

Well, i know that you work very hard on your rentals.  It takes both time and money.   

[countrygirl2]

It does, we are making money, but need to complete this last one, then hope our current renters will stay. We just have one that will be iffy, she had surgery, we gave her half months rent for 2 months, but since she is losing a source of income I don't know if she can continue or not. No matter how sorry we may feel for her we are not a charity and it will have to end. She is all over face book, saying how much she loves her current boyfriend, did that last one she had. And he has a small house in town, maybe her having a hysterectomy and knowing no more kids for sure he might take her in. But he raised 2 girls by himself and her daughter is just 16 and he has been single all those years. Will see, but she is after him hot and heavy. That's sad, I have encouraged her to go to school and get even a 2 year skill for something. She is not yet 40 and is not dumb so she could have while her daughter was  getting this money all these years, I assume from her husbands accidental death. The last guy told us she spent him to death, he couldn't keep up with her. Who knows.

So you end up knowing more about peoples personal lives then you want to.  All the rest are solid and I only have one more to raise the rent on. We have one house that we are going to put new laminate in the kitchen when he is done with the next rental.  And one we need to power wash and paint the front.  One we need new carpets or laminate in and kitchen flooring.  Then everything is in good condition for some time we hope.

It helps to not have turnover, we could get more rents but not worth all the continued cleaning, fixing, etc to rerent, so taking a bit less is well worth it.  I think we do need a couple more, but we will see if hubs is up to it.

[Shooby]

  If one's finances are thin, jumping into the rental market would seem ill advised to me.  

[stillmovingforward]

I've had rentals. You'll need to make sure you have a good emergency fund just for the rentals. In my state, yoy only have so many days that a renter has to go without something. 24 hours for heat, 48 hours for hot water, etc. Just be aware and ask your rental management company about it. They should know. If they don't, find someone else.

[Ava]

Looks like I have found a possible solution.

There is someone in my community (from the same country) who works as a handy man on the side.

He's isn't cheap but he's professional and reliable. We have established an excellent commercial relationship.

He's been doing work at my condo that had been postponed because I didn't have anybody to do it.

He owns three condos as investment and also manages someone else's condo, a person who lives out of state.

I have decided to put my condo for rental in February after I come back from vacation, and he's going to administer it and take care of maintenance and repairs.

He has told me that the biggest risk is that the condo stays empty between tenants. He said I should save the extra money I get monthly from the fist renter, in order to cover costs while we find a new tenant.