I wanna be a slumlord...

Well, I have four rentals in 'working-class' neighborhoods and I'm currently dealing with the cost of fixing-up a vacant one, and another still occupied by a crazy woman I'm in the process of evicting for knocking holes in the walls and doors.
So it's not all just kicking back and watching the money roll in!

Happy Motoring, Mark

Sometimes it's telling residents they can't park in visitor spots <duck>.

Sixto
87 300D

:D You have jokes! My "slumlord" never approached me about it. It is a tenant's duty.

While no one should be charging anyone with out just cause I can see a good reason for not confronting someone in Person.

Confronting someone in person these days increases the chance of violence. The best way do avoid being a victim of violence is to avoid situations that might become violent.

So the choice is to think with your Balls and confront someone or think with your Brain and avoid any chance of an ugly conformation.

My Father found a group of People (not Tenents or Guests of Tenents) in His building shoving Printed Material under the Tenents Doors detailing how to beat the rent, live for free for several Months; scams to use to with hold Paying the rent and so on.

I would burn a house down before renting it out.

I had a house I rented out for 9 years. bought it thinking I would eventually get transferred up there, and I liked the area, and I needed to buy something or pay capitol gains on the house I sold. 3 BD RM, 2 1/2 bath about 1600sq ft on an acre. Beam celling, but a flat roof. (I would never buy a flat roof, hate them, and what do I buy?) :wallbash: had tor replace the roof, and always had a leak problem. Also had a really nice Rock Fire Place in the corner all the way up to the celling.

I had 9 different renters over that time period. And man do I have some stories. :eek:

The water bill came every 3 MO, all the water you can use for $32. they were behind 3 payments, I get wind of it. Pay it and raise the rent $50.

Lady moves in, loves the place etc... but gets angry when the oven (2 stacked) didn`t work , and was going to move out because couldn`t cook her Turkey Dinner. so replaced the ovens, and she moves anyway and leaves the place filthy.

Kitchen sink started to leak at the goose neck, and leaked all over the floor. this evidently went on for some time before they complained. dam floor got all screwed up, I got it fixed, $$$ and they moved out.

All the rooms had electric heaters which are pricy to run, so tenant is upset and is going to move. I install a Fire Place Insert, and all is well for a while. After they move out, I discover they were splitting Fire Wood on the Rock Hearth, and break the rocks.:(

Iam not getting rent (again, another tenant) so go up there to see what`s up. No one home, but see a tin pipe sticking out the back bedroom window. Peek in the window, and there sits the Insert on some bricks, sitting on the Carpet. :eek:

But the last one`s were really something. :rolleyes:
Place gets rented, so I go up to meet my new tenants. This woman comes out, Bandana tied around her head, baggy old sweater, boobs hanging down to her belt buckle, and old raggy long dress with a big Harley Davidson patch across the front of it. Boy friend looked like LiL Abner (in the comics) 6ft tall, red hair/beard, leather cap, vest, tight blue jeans, and Lumber jack Boots. he comes out of this old Bread truck, and not suppose to be living on the property, because she is under this AFDC program (welfare).

so the place is rented to her, not him. later on he kicks her out, and drags in a new girl friend, and rents out one of the bedrooms to a guy, who later got thrown in jail for drugs.

I go back up because the rent isn`t coming in (again) knock on the door, and this Pit Bull is jumping up and down barking at the window, tearing at the curtins. I haul butt back to my PU quickly. this woman come out, and I ank "who are you"? I tell her Iam the landlord. OH she is sooo happy to meet me. She met Tony (Red Beard) at a bar and said they could live there because they got kicked out of their place.

I had had it, and told her that the place is going up for sale and they would have to move along.
Went to the county and paid the Sheriffs office $35 for paper work to have these people evicted.
She had some kids living there, and now you can`t just kick them out. They can live there for free, as long as those little darlings have a roof over their heads.

I got back up a week or so later, and as I drive in, the Sheriff comes in behind me. asks who Iam, tell him, and he gives me the eviction papers and drives off. :eek: what the....

Finally get them out, but had to have 3 old cars hauled off and 2 engines, got a 20 yard dumpster and gutted the house, and filled it with all the garbage they threw all around.
patched the holes in the walls, painted the inside, got a realtor. went back to the house and a note from someone said they wanted to buy it. YES... that was easy.

It was like a 1000lbs lifted off me, got out from under it finally. Bought it in 79, sold in 88. what a learning experience. never try to be a nice guy and believe what people say.

I have been renting here for about 27 yrs, treat the place almost as we owned it. It is our home. I don`t understand how people can destroy things as they do. We have an incredible Land Lord, see them 5 - 6 times a year. Have incredible cheap rent for what we have here on 15 acres.

I really don`t think I could live in an apartment complex, with all those people stacked up on top of each other, the stupid rules, and having to be careful of every step you make, or get turned in for some stupid law/rule that was broken.

I got so long winded here, what was the original issue/problem to this Thread? :rolleyes:


Charlie :xmas:

I don't have a problem confronting people. The last time I had to confront someone is when the guy upstairs started making noise. He was yelling and stomping around and woke me up several mornings at 5AM. I came home one evening and he had some loud music on. I went up to his apartment and knocked on the door. When he opened the door, I said "Next time you wake me up, I will report you to the office. There are rules about noise here and you have neighbors all around you. I am telling you this as a courtesy." He said "OK" and scurried back into his apartment. I have not heard from him since.

My fiance tells me that I am intimidating when I talk to people in a matter-of-fact way. I never knew that or intended for it but I do notice that some people seem intimidated. I never realized it until she said something.

I hear you on the tenants! We just had one evicted but ultimately, he left on his own. The eviction was pretty useless as he appealed in court and went that route. The main problem with him was chain smoking in a 1st floor apartment, while it was clearly stated in the lease that the apartment was non-smoking, and using abusive language toward my mother (landlord as well as myself). Now we have to find another tenant, while losing rental income, as well as repair all the damage caused.

Letting is just as difficult as leasing. I would prefer neither.

The military has been no-smoking in the barracks for as long as I can remember, but now they have non-smoking apartments in the private sector? WTH?

You could probably rent out some of those old cars on your property. :cool:

Heh.

While there is pitfalls in owning rentals how does the Money verses time spent compare to owning let us say a small Store or other small Business.

My Father worked a regular Job at the Naval Shipyard and was able to keep his Apartment Building going by doing the needed repairs after work or on the Weekends.
If He had had another type of Business I think He would have had to be at that Business every day and could not have held a regular job.

I also remember when I worked in the Fuel Injection Shop My Boss most often working till 10 at night most nights and most weekends.

there ya go,
blight

I make a great tenet one of the few that makes the property better then it was when i moved in....big time landscaper....last place i moved into, I fixed all the irrigation, reseeded the lawns, plant a dozen fruit trees, a few redwoods, installed flower and vegetable gardens...I always had neighbors walk buy and thank me for the curb appeal....complement me about how i was the only one who ever took care of the property....landlord would always ask me if everything was okay in the hose, if anything need work because i would always fix anything that came up...so I am a really really rare breed....problem is not finding a slumlord....did this all to a little craftsmen bungalow i rented....came home one day and there was an auction noticed nail to the door...he rented me a foreclosure...i was there only 6mos.....needless to say the shovel and hoe came out.....everything i did came out....

I agree with you to some extent. If both people are logical, there will be no problem but this rarely happens.

Some of us do not have a choice...