Renting a spot to a fulltimer

[cameront120]

There's always a risk that you might get a bad apple, but you reduce that chance if you do your due diligence. Check references, do a credit check and criminal record check, interview the prospects and look for any red flags. I've had good luck so far renting my property and have even made some good friends out of it. The extra income is a bonus, too.

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by DanielB

I've had some experience with dirty hippies. I don't think they can be trusted.

And I've had bad dealings with clean cut, self-professed "Christians" more than any other group. There are good and bad in every segment of society. Generalizing about a group doesn't really help anybody or benefit this discussion. Peace.

[overlander64]

My family has been in the rental property business since 1912, and I have been a landlord for more than 20 years myself. In my area, I have noticed a HUGE increase in problems over the past three years. I suspect that it is likely closely related to the local economy . . . more than 10% unemployment with many having been unemployed for more than two years like myself. I went for 19 years without any evictions and have had two in the past two years . . . and afraid that a third may be just around the corner. . . . in each of the first two cases the tennants had been with me for more than 5 years with one having been in the unit for more than 20 years. My recent experience is why I recommended the checks on zoning, insurance, and the rental agreement/lease - - I have learned the great value of these items through my recent evictions. Even a comparatively straight-forward eviction is going to be costly even if a court battle isn't involved. Neither of my recent evictions included court battles but each included expensive structural damage as well as significant clean-up expense.

The potential damage is less when it is just lot rental, but eviction costs can still be significant.

Kevin

[DaveFL]

Didn't see whether or not you are living on the property, if not do you drive by every day?
In your state can you remove abandoned vehicles?
Do you have to pay to clean up an oil spill?{changing oil with no place else to dump}
Are there any trees?(cash crop to some)
We have a 3 day warning letter and a 7 day eviction notice, but all contested cases goes thru the court system.
You might want to check tenants bill of rights by googling your state rental info.
Personal and even business letters of recommendation mean zero to your contract.
Are they over 25, as that seems to be a good age of changing attitudes toward other peoples property and adults in general, including our kids.
Good luck, hope you don't need the money seriously, as an extra, it is doable.

[DanielB]

Originally Posted by cameront120

And I've had bad dealings with clean cut, self-professed "Christians" more than any other group. There are good and bad in every segment of society. Generalizing about a group doesn't really help anybody or benefit this discussion. Peace.

I've had bad dealings with clean cut, self-professed "Christians". I don't think they can be trusted. Peace.

[summerkid]

Wow, some seriously jaundiced folks here. Needing or wanting to rent is not a character flaw.

Stef, on the bright side, millions of people in this country are landlords & make money at it. Like pretty much any endeavor, it comes with annoyances.

Last winter I rented one of my far-flung bedrooms to a guy I met off Craigslist. He only stayed a couple of months before moving into town for logistical reasons, but Will recently tracked me down at the bar I hang out at to ask whether I'd be interested in having him back. He had a proposal that addressed the things I misliked about having a roommate & the couple aspects that were hard on him since I'm the homeowner & it wasn't an equal-roommate situation.

I thought about it & said sure. It's nicer to have total privacy, but I missed the company & his dog. Plus, the rent will pay for my next trip to France.

The deciding factor for me is that I travel a lot & it is comforting to know someone is here who knows the place & takes good care of the animals. So that might be a consideration for you as well.

Before him I had a gal living here for 3 months & she was kind of a total aggravation -- a middle-aged screwup with a minor criminal record who was a terrible slob & kind of beaten down. I felt sorry for her. But giving her a safe place to live did not change her life! She moved in with 5 cats (!!!) instead of 2, and a garage full of stuff instead of a truckload, and her b'friend would call here at 6 a.m. when they were fighting. And she put a LOT of holes in the wall because she's never been a homeowner & doesn't understand about needing to find a stud to hang shelves & of course she's never had to stick around & patch them.

So she had to go. But it was no big deal, I gave her 2 weeks to find a place & off she went. I kept one of the cats, even, and Fosie is an utter joy.

I didn't have a rental agreement with either of these 2, aside from emails summing everything up. I wish I had gotten a damage deposit from Christie so did with Will & then didn't need it.

All this nattering to make the point that, dire predictions aside, sometimes renting works out & sometimes it doesn't and there are probably a lot of middle-ground experiences.

On a counterpoint to what Kevin said about the economy, my good friend Sharlene has owned multiple units for many years, and she says the housing crisis has been a boon for her -- during the years that everyone with a checking account could qualify for a home loan, she had trouble getting quality renters. But now all those people are back in the pool so she can be choosier.

In a way, your potential tenants already are homeowners if they have a rig, right? So they know the value of property. And they have a composting toilet -- that evinces thinking ahead (not needing a site with sewer, thereby increasing their flexibility) and perhaps concern for their environment. And eviction would be EASY! Just like me, where if I wanted, all their stuff could be dumped at the bottom of the hill & what would they tell the sheriff then (no written agreement, remember, and they always paid in cash). You could simply tow them off the property!

I think you should do it.

[pmclemore]

I would do it. Get a good rental agreement, be clear on your rules and follow up.

Pat

[clancy_boy]

We had a renter in a 2nd home (right across the street) for 5 years until we sold both properties (weeks after he moved out to a house he built). Worked out great - all the stories about potential issues aside there are benefits to renting. I have a couple of issues with your question. Composting toilets work and at times work well, they still need cleaning out - WHERE does that go? Will they always abide by the "use your own facilities" and not just do an occasional flush of the black tank on the property? Short term renters can be an issue - will you get YOUR investment from the deal by the time they leave? Will you rent again if you get burned? Driveway improvements, traffic, clean-up, lot improvements to level trailer, POWER setup and use (power sharing in rent fees), water useage (car wash to make money on the side......).

If this is a one time thing and they are there only for a semester than can you reclaim the costs?

BTW: I had a $1,000,000 liabiliy insurance added to the homeowners policy that costs very little - just to be safe.

[Stefrobrts]

Sounds like it's a non-issue, since the potential renter quit communicating. Maybe they found someplace else. But I appreciate the advice, it's all good info in case it comes up again.

[27fb2freedom]

Also in the line of background check (100% neccessary) lots of people claim to be "college students". If that is the case i would want a copy of their transcript.

At least 12+credit hours a semester and a 3.0 is a college student

Under 12 or 3.0 and they are something else

[Phrunes]

Yes...a part-time college student with mediocre grades.

As a landlord myself, I look for two things when I run a prospective tenants credit and rental history:

1. Do they have any evictions or judgements for non payment of rent.

2. References (at least 3 from previous landlords) I ask two questions:
a) what were their move out costs, did you return the entire deposit?
b) would you rent to them again?

I have chosen tenants with really bad credit over A credit folks based upon the responses to those two questions.

I have never been burned.

My position is, I don't really care if they pay their credit card bill or not, as long as they take care of my investment as if it were their own and that they pay the rent on time.