The Truth and Stresses of Being a Landlord
A lot of times there are visions of grandeur that come with owning properties and being a real estate investor. The idea of owning a house and renting it to somebody, or owning an apartment complex and renting it out, is very exciting and very rewarding. However, the reality is that few people count the cost of being a true landlord or investor before they jump into buying a property. Maybe you’re already there or you are seriously considering getting into the arena of Real Estate, either way here are some truths to be aware of.
Number 1 The Amount of Work.
Unless you’re sitting on millions and millions of dollars it’s likely that you’re going to be buying an old beat-up property and fixing it to get it rent ready for your renters and not buying abrand new move in ready house. That is neither easy nor cheap. Most people getting started in real estate have to put in their own Sweat Equity and labor in order to make a deal or a property make sense. While you may get lucky and just need a fresh coat of paint, it’s a lot more likely that you will me to tear out tile, or a bathroom, or a kitchen and replace them entirely or at least partially. Make sure that if you are interested in being a landlord that you realize that there is an insane amount of work that goes into it.
Number 2 The Amount of Time
Another thing to consider is the amount of time these properties are going to take away from you. This is not a passive job. A lot of people think you get into it so you can create passive income and that means there’s no longer a need to work ever again. The reality of it is, that most often, the way to make sense of owning multiple properties is hiring a property manager and a good property manager is expensive. But they earn it because they are putting in a LOT of hours to keep your properties taken care of. Whether it be a midnight call on a water heater, a 10 a.m. call on an AC, evictions, new tenants, whatever the case, be sure you consider how much time these properties will be taking away from you or the cost to hire someone to be there for you.
Number 3 The Cost Associated
Without getting too detailed the one thing that tends to catch landlords off guard is the cost associated with owning all this property. Think about this for a second the average small roof in El Paso cost between 2500 and 3500 if you’re lucky. That being said it’s no longer your renters job to worry about a roof leak… its also not their job to fix a broken window, a leaky faucet, damaged plumbing, that’s all your job. Sure you can charge your tenant for breaking the toilet, but the property that’s being damaged by the leak is ultimately yours, so whether he decides he’s going to pay or not, your life/livelihood is the one that’s actually on the line. People often times don’t think about the cost associated with owning real estate because again it sounds like a foolproof deal. It’s expensive, just know that.
Number 4 The Stress Involved
We don’t have to go much further than this year to explain the stress that can be involved in being a landlord. If you’re lucky on a non – 2020 / coronavirus year, you’ll have tenants that pay on time, all the time, or very close to on time, most of the time. But on a year like this where more than half of one of my apartment complexes didn’t pay rent for 6 months 7 months because of Coronavirus (AND exemptions for them in regards to evictions.) It now became my problem to pay my mortgages on time so I didn’t lose the properties even though they were making no money and actually costing me money in the process. The stresses were obviously multiplied by coronavirus but it proves my point, that you have to be tough enough to deal with the stress of the human factor of being a landlord.
Lastly, if you’re in this position because you didn’t foresee these issues, or maybe you inherited properties from your parents or grandparents Etc. And they’re becoming an overwhelming mess, I’m interested in helping you out. We have helped guide hundreds of landlords in El Paso out of their stress. If you need to sell a property fast, as is, even if your tenant trashed it, we can set up a free / no obligation property assessment and give you a cash offer on the spot.
Give us a call at 915-593-3300 or visit our website at www.quiksellbuyers.com and we’ll get in touch with you to set up an appointment ASAP