pc95 wrote: . . .
Those of you who have been or are landlords, what is your feelings on being a landlord? Too much work, great experience,
not worth it, great tenants, awful tenants, investing in repairs, draining,too much time, easy etc?
Thanks.
It's like anything else, it largely depends on what your put into it and your personality.
Done properly, it doesn't require an inordinate amount of time and you can attain relatively high returns. However, unlesss you want to count on luck, it's not something you can do well without putting some effort into. Almost every horror story I've ever hear is just an example of someone in over their head without a plan.
You need to operate it as a business.
Here is a nonexhaustive list of matters to consider: (1) how do you screen tenants, (2) what is the max security deposit you can demand, do you want security deposits, what are the alternatives, (3) how to locate quality cost effective plumbers/electricians/etc., (4) do you want a month to month or long-term lease, (5) how do you develop a landlord favorable lease form, (6) what do you do if someone is late on the rent, (7) what is the process of eviction and how do you execute it, (8) what do you do if a tenant physically intemidates/threatens you, (9) its midnight and the tenant calls saying the garbage disposal is clogged . . . what do you do, (10) where and how is the rent paid, and how do you verify payment in a timely fashion, (11) do you want/need an LLC, (12) what type of insurance to you need, (13) the neighbor's house two doors down just exploded, it blew some of the windows out of your rental, there is debris all over the place, and the officials are evacuating the area . . . what do you do (this happened in an fairly upscale neighborhood btw), (14) a tenant moved out in the middle of the night what do you do, (15) tenant is moving at the end of the lease, what do you do?
If you'd enjoy solving these problems (and there are fairly simple efficient solutions to all of them); maybe you'd enjoy your experience and it might be financially rewarding. If you look at this list and hesitate, it's likely not for you. Once you get the right "systems" in place for handling the business operations, it is not very time intensive.
Caveat - I own rentals, and they've been very financially rewarding for me.