What Surprised You Most About Being a Landlord?

Question

I’ve been learning a lot from conversations here and would love to hear from more experienced landlords:

What’s one thing that completely surprised you when you started managing rental properties?

Maybe it was how often tenants call, how quickly maintenance adds up, or even something that turned out to be easier than expected.

I’m all ears — your insight helps folks like me better understand what really goes on behind the scenes!

Andrew Syrios · Answer

A few things. How much turnover can cost is a big one. The maintenance items that should be done but we never hear about because some tenants just live with them. On the the other hand, the damage some tenants can do to a property in a short time. And how hard it is to get a tenant who is behind to do what's in their best interest (i.e. take cash for keys and move out early) versus forcing an eviction and making it really hard to find a new place.

Samantha Wakaruk · Answer

How often tenants don't even hear beeping smoke alarms. It astounds me still to this day.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Charoki Raposa-Luther We are primarily value-add investors and look for distressed opportunities (BRRRR) and from a management prospective it's been really easy. It's mainly due to rehabbing each property. Basically everything the tenants use including the kitchens, bathrooms, HVAC, and door locks have been repaired or replaced. We even trimmed the trees and try our best to keep branches away from the gutters. It's made it easy to self manage!

I also think the tenants are not complaining due to lower rent, and possibly fixing little issues without our knowledge. Regardless we're prepared to tack issues. If we have a turnover I'll expect a "reset" of expectations until they live there for at least a year. Ideally it's multiple years creating a win-win situation with low levels of maintenance.

Spend the money upfront, renovate/replace/repair problems, and thank yourself later.

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

What surprised me most is how little people know about real estate, numbers, and laws. Although, it is not rocket science you should understand if you are making money or not, what the tenant landlord laws are, and how real estate works.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

basically that I dont care for it at all.. so A class 700 plus fico is the only thing I like

or the NNN office type stuff we have with Doctors as our tenants..

John M. · Answer

When it comes to residential, the biggest surprise is how tenants beat up the property without a care in the world.  Upfront communication is the key....I.E. don't tell me about the leak a week later...Tell me asap.

David Peschio · Answer

Tenant Screening Is EVERYTHING

Bad tenants cost more than vacancies. Many new landlords get burned by trusting gut feelings.
Tip: Use income verification, credit, criminal, and eviction checks every time.

Henry T. · Answer

I expected everyone to call me "evil", when if fact it's about 50/50 between "evil" and "sir". It's been many years now, but I think that could still change. How about you?

Eric Gerakos · Answer

Nothing, “completely surprised” me. It’s not rocket science.

Jeremy Horton · Answer

"Passive" Income

There's not that much that's passive about it - finding properties, negotiating, analyzing, managing the rehab w/ contractors/subs and scheduling - once all this is done the management side is a lot easier I find.

I personally don't want to PM - but I like the business. Emergency number. Online portal for maintenance requests. Annual inspections. My nice places are honestly pretty quiet. The "affordable" places require the most

What Surprised You Most About Being a Landlord?

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