New to Real Estate · Philadelphia · Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
As I've listened to BiggerPockets over the last 2 years I've heard horror stories of investors dealing with renters.
I'm a college student looking forward to investing in real estate and wanted to ask, What are the biggest challenges faced by being a solo real estate investor? I imagine a solo investor as someone who doesn't use a property manager or any other service to help them manage the day to day activities of real estate investing.
I hope this sheds some light on the day to day activities that are the most time consuming and frustrating that a new investor may not know about.
Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 61 posts · 86 votes
6y
Hi Jack! That's a really good question and a broad question. I think fear is the biggest challenge. As a newbie, I felt like if I made a bad decision then I was doomed. But buying my first property and just forcing myself to learn is was the best thing I could do. I think finding a good tenant is probably the hardest, but you can either find your own tenant OR hire someone to place a tenant for you. My placement agency charges one time placement fee equivilent to first month rent, and I am ok with that bc they do background check, gather everything, screen tenant and deal with it all. I collect rent and handle any repairs. I think its quite easy to be your own property manager and its not too bad if you dont have annoying tenants. But most tenants are annoying. LOL. Best wishes on your future investing and also awesome that you are thinking about this so early in life! I wish I had!
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
6y
@Jack Porter as a self managing LL I have no problem with properties or tenants (20). As long as you screen diligently and are responsive to maintenance etc it is not that hard. My difficulty is finding properties that meet my investment criteria and make me money. All the best!
Real Estate Investor · Hayward, CA · Member since 2015 · 134 posts · 88 votes
6y
I am a solo Property Manager for my own properties... Highly recommend purchasing LANDLORDING, by Leigh Robinson to start out. This book has been like a PM bible for me through the years...check it out. A used copy is fine...I think the 12th edition is the most recent.