renting??

hi all,
i'm looking @ maybe buying a 4 plex to rent out and was wondering if there is much demand to rent in this day and age where interest is low and the bank almost gives anybody with a heartbeat a mortgage. 0% down,40 year mortgage,and low interest rates, why would anyone rent?

just looking for some insight.

Lots of people still rent because they dont have a down payment for a house

Some individuals just don't want the financial responsibility of owning a house. Others may only be in the area for a couple of years before being transfered. If you are a great landlord and have excellent tenants, everybody wins. I've been in both places and it's always been a positive experience.
If purchasing a four plex, I assume the tenants are already there, so that could be a bonus.

Quote :

If purchasing a four plex, I assume the tenants are already there, so that could be a bonus.

Or the reason it is for sale...

Leslie wrote:

Lots of people still rent because they dont have a down payment for a house

there is 0% down payment mortgages these days.. it's not necessary to have a down payment. All you need is closing costs which isn't much more then what rent is for some people

That's very funny Katzz! But, in reality, it's not...if it's the truth.

Renting is a very risky venture. The laws right now are all in favour of the tenant.

You should really get familiar with the Landlord/Tenant laws before you go down this road. There are always people who want to rent...but do you want to rent TO them?? There seems to be an epidemic of people these days who don't ever intend to pay their rent. It's a "crap shoot" as they say.

personally I'd be scared to death to rent to someone.. i'd be worried about damages and non payment of rent..

I have had the pleasure or should I say Grief of being a landlord. It was one of the most frustrating times of my life. We did our research and rented to a young family who came with excellant references, good jobs, in their mid 20's and a young family. I thought this would be perfect we painted throughout ( 3 bedroom unit) and replaced flooring. It was all new when they moved in. The lady was wonderful polite and had a knack for decorating and the place looked wonderful until her husband began punching through doors windows and walls on every floor. They moved out 6 mths later and the place was demolished. We rented to a family after all of the repairs, The husband worked away from home, mom had 2 school aged kids..perfect we thought until a dog appeared ( we said no pets in the lease) Then his two teenagers from his first marriage moved in..3 bedroom home with now 4 kids and two parents when dad was home..very cramped but I could live with it..Then came a new baby..5 kids and 2 adults. The place had to be bursting at the seams, then came 2 more teenagers, again his from another relationship leaving us with 7 kids and 2 adults in a 3 bedroom place. We got them out after a year of little rent and little regard for our property. They were to be out on the first of the month, but decided to stay until the middle, they left us with enough trash and junk to fill a pick up truck box to go to the dump 10 times. The place was destroyed, carpet had dog feces mashed into it, no housework had been done at all and you needed a gas mask to enter it. We fixed it up for the 3rd time and sold it, I simply could not deal with it anymore and the laws definately are on the side of the tenant and it is very hard to evict someone even if they rarely pay rent. We were owed rent money which we never did collect and had to spend a few thousand to fix it up just so we could sell it. I have heard since our experience that many people just go from one place to another doing this...I do however know some landlords who have wonderful tenants.

Twice we have rented. Once to really great tenants and once to really horrible tenants. They had "finger painted" ketchup on the walls, the vents were full of cheerios and milk, human feces in the furnace room..got the picture?

I also know of a situation where the tenant gave first and last with a cheque. Tenant moved in...cheque bounced..thru the tribunal the landlord got the tenant out after 6 or 7 months and not one cent in rent.

Be careful and check references and pop in to the house they are currently at with an excuse of some sort and see what the living conditions are like where they are

Some people are self employed and cannot qualify for a mortgage.

Some people have bad credit, or no credit, and cannot get a mortgate.


Btw, I am a renter and never miss a payment, the walls have a few pinholes in them from misplaced darts around the dartboard hahaha but really, nothing major....we've kept the place as nice as it was when we got here.

springerhill wrote:

hi all,
i'm looking @ maybe buying a 4 plex to rent out and was wondering if there is much demand to rent in this day and age where interest is low and the bank almost gives anybody with a heartbeat a mortgage. 0% down,40 year mortgage,and low interest rates, why would anyone rent?

just looking for some insight.

If you're looking at zero down because you don't have the cash for a deposit then I suggest you stay away. As noted in previous messages you WILL have other costs just to get operating. Even if you find the perfect tenants you will still be required to fix anything that doesn't work properly, usually at the most inopportune time financially. Since it's a 4 plex, multiply your work by 4.

Most people I know in the rental business make most of their money two ways:

1- through losses and thus tax breaks on other income.

2- through increase in property values over time.

Now if you have the money to put down a deposit AND you like to gamble away your money, time and patience, by all means, join the amatuer landlord club.

I know that there are many good renters out there, and it is unfortunate that the bad ones seem to ruin it for people starting out who would be good renters. I have spoken to other landlords and they all say check and recheck references, get damage deposits and definately first and last. They do say however that some landlords will give a glowing reference to horrible tenants so that they can get them out of their place, this has happened alot so I am told. I was also told that age has nothing to do with good or bad tenants. They have had horrible ones at all ages, even seniors. I would also pay attention to see how often these people move, some seem to move frequently getting evicted after not paying rent and moving on. Most people do not move yearly so this might be a red flag, also looking back I would have checked out where the family was living as you can tell alot by how the property is kept on the outside. I wish anyone doing this good luck, I know there are some very good tenants out there and if you can weed out the bad ones you might have a positive experience. Good luck but keep in mind this can be a very frustrating and costly adventure, definately not for the faint of heart.