Ever have a renter?

[chabella]

A friend of mine is thinking about renting their extra house out since they barely use it anymore. Is it worth it to have renters and take the chance on them destroying your home? I doubt I could ever do it.

 

[sandooch]

I rented out a room in my house to a friend when my first husband moved out. This guy was a pig. And I found out that he'd use my laundry detergent and put water in the detergent bottle so I wouldn't notice the bottle getting lighter. He probably should have shook up the bottle instead of just pour the water in it and leave it. When I'd go to use after him, water comes out first and then detergent. What an idiot! Plus, he'd break things in my house and blame my 3-year-old daughter. These are things she couldn't possibly break unless she was much taller or could lift something heavy and drop it.

So, for me it was a bad experience to rent. But I'm sure that's not true for everyone.

 

[shaunche]

I wouldn't rent out a room unless it was absolutely necessary from a financial point of view because I value my privacy and I don't like the idea of sharing my house with a stranger. I have rented out a room for the weekend a few times but I wouldn't want to do it on a permanent basis.

 

[dissn_it]

It is a risk that someone can do damage to their extra house if they do decide to rent it out. They could use a property management company to screen potential tennants. They can also require references, especially from previous landlords and employment verifications. This can help to reduce the risks.

 

[iampeebs]

The key is to do credit check and every other check out there including the sex offender check. Get first and deposit or even more if your state allows. Be prepared to have to reprint or replace carpets as these are things at generally are abused by renters. There are some great ones out there, but some are your worst nightmare. Protect yourself!

 

[Aletha]

Well, I have to say I am a renter and there are certainly as many bad landlords. Our landlord still hasn't replaced our air conditioning unit in our trailer for three summers now. I have sent her a registered letter and given one to the manager as well. Our area has regulations that the landlord has to repair or replace things that are there when you move in. Either they replace it or the renter can repair it and only give the landlord up to 1/2 of the rent payment. We had to buy three window air conditioning units and during the summer months, so we only pay 1/2 of the rent. We even got Sears to come out and give her an estimate on what a new whole house A/C unit would cost. When the estimate was given they included new ducting and pouring a new concrete pad. They gave her an estimate of $200 dollars a month for 18 months. The unit that broke was 20 years old and sitting on blocks. She refused and instead lets us only pay 1/2 of the rent per month during the summer when we use the A/C. This is not the first time she has done something like this. I've replaced faucets, light fixtures, flooring, electrical plugs, washer water hoses, and have done painting and decorating in a trailer that is better than 20 years old. I have repaired doors and replaced locks and repaired windows that were ready to fall out. We had a front door that was dragging every time you opened it and one day the frame fell out with the door attached. We are currently looking for another place to rent. She wonders why she can't rent out a house that's across the road from us and nine trailers in the hollow that we live in. There is no heating or cooling system in the house and she refuses to replace them and bought space heaters and borrowed an air conditioner from us for the poor people who lived there last summer-they aren't there now and it hasn't been rented since (big shock). Two trailers were trashed beyond repair when the previous renters were evicted and they went through the trailers smashing in walls and peeing on them as well as smashing the toilets. One of the nine is used for storage because it is in such bad shape so that leaves six that someone could theoretically live in. One of the nine is the manager's trailer and she doesn't pay rent. So that leaves her four trailers, our's included that she can rent out. She wants too much rent for mobile homes that are, at best, 15 years old and in very bad repair. We have no housing commission here so we are on our own. We have one local slum lord who rents houses out that could be condemned. As a matter of fact, two of his recently were because they were health hazards. We need a total cleansing of landlords here. We have looked and looked for something to rent in our price range and they are all trash with landlords who won't deal with problems.

Always two sides to every story.

 

[claudine]

I think it's a good idea to rent a house if you don't use it. My parents house is very big and when I was a child, they rented one floor. Some students were living there and I remember playing with them . They never destroyed anything.

 

[ohiotom76]

No, but I've been a renter for the past several years. I don't know if I would want to live in someone's house though, it seems like I would have no privacy. I'm a clean person, but I cannot deal with nosy people.

 

[niceness8000]

I think renting is kind of like rolling dice. We had a really good tenant who lived with us for years before he ended up buying his own house. We didn't know him before hand. We also had a tenant who was a relative - he turned out to be a criminal. You never can tell.

 

[jovan107]

They're both horrible renters and landlords. Before purchasing my first home, I rented a two-bedroom apartment from a couple who eventually became slumlords. I have rented out one of my properties and my tenants have been great so far. I think your friend should detail what they expect from the tenant in terms of property usage and upkeep in the lease and make sure everything is in writing as far as repair requests and etc.

 

[freshfoodie]

We are landlords and while we have had some bad experiences with renters, we have learned from every single one. We do credit checks and reference checks. We do not allow pets or smoking. We have been lucky that our last two sets of tenants have been awesome. The renter pool is much bigger than it has been in the past so I say go ahead and rent.

 

[ghanashyam]

There is a proverb like this " FOOLS MAKE THE HOUSES AND WISE WOULD STAY THERE AS TENANTS"
But only luckily you will get a wise tenants, there are some strange rules about Tenancy Act here in India and getting him evicted may become difficult. Take a chance. Though if I have some extra room, I would rent it as Paying Guest, a lesser evil.

 

[Luvkenny]

I have never been a landlord and I know I would not want to be one. I just would not want the responsibility of fixing things for other people. I wouldn't worry about them trashing my place because I would check them out first before renting.

 

[beckyv1265]

I have had renters and been a landlord for several years. There are good tennents and there are people that don't respect anything that you have. Many have trashed the place. I agree that references need to be checked and also a good contract should be used. That way if they damage the property you have grounds to sue them for the damages. I would also require deposits and 3 month routine inspections. I hope that helps.

 

[ohiotom76]

I would welcome inspections, because I feel it would be a good time to bring up any issues I had that needed fixed, and also to put the landlord at ease that I'm not some psycho tenant.

 

[artistry]

I had a few properties. The best experience with them, was when I placed them in the hands of real estate agents. They collected, inspected the properties, fixed anything that needed fixing. Personal involvement as a woman, was not a good thing. It was worth the price paid, for the real estate agency to handle the rental properties.

 

[Esperahol]

There is a show on Spike about a guy and his crew who deal with tenents amongst other things. Ya'll should watch a couple of those episodes. I mean issues with weed plants, with horses being kept in the house, with house parties involving suds up to a person's knees... More importantly however, is the legal requirements that come up alot and which can easily become the landlord's responsibility if he or she isn't careful.

 

[Lena51]

Well it's kind of hard to say whether to rent or not. I would rather have an older couple than young kids rent from me. Older people don't seem to damage the property like kids do but there can be some of them also. Make sure to check them out very good and maybe you should go to where they are renting right now to see how they left the property that they are moving from and then that will give you a pretty good idea of what they will do to your property before they move in. That is my idea of what would happen if I was to rent to someone.