Becoming a Landlord: What Are The Disadvantages?

The reason why most people don’t invest in real estate and then rent it out is due to the fact that they might’ve have heard about all the disadvantages that are attached to being a landlord. Although there are lots of reasons why you shouldn’t try to become a landlord, you must also bear in mind that most of what you hear are many of the things that you hear are strongly amplified.

One of the biggest downfalls of becoming a landlord is that you’ll be responsible for the maintenance of all of the units that you decide to rent out. This might be a large problem if you are renting an older property, which is barely passing code. But the finest way to stay away from this is by only investing in properties that won’t cause you a lot of problems. Although you can’t avoid every issue that arises, you can at least reduce them by renting out a high quality property that won’t require often fixing.

Another disadvantage to becoming a landlord is that many people are afraid of not getting paid in time. Don’t forget that a lot of landlord rely on incoming rent checks in order to get by each month. If they don’t show up on time, or worse if they don’t show up at all, you will be in a bad situation. Along with this, becoming a landlord also entails that you will have to turn into a collector.

This implies that at anytime somebody is late with their rent, you will need to find them and keep contacting them to try and get the money that is owed to you. Sometimes this will be as easy as a phone call, but in other cases it may take you weeks or even months to get your due.

Being a landlord also means that you are responsible for your tenant’s safety. This doesn’t mean that you have to watch what they do 24/7, but it does mean that you will be responsible if an accident occurs due to negligence on your part. This is the reason why it is essential to have good knowledge of what you need to do as a landlord, and follow the rules exactly as they are outlined.

There are many drawbacks to becoming a landlord; which have never been debated. However, a lot of the myths that surround this industry make the landlord function more complicated than it really seems.

The best thing you should do if you want to become a landlord is to have knowledge of what you are getting yourself into. This can be done by researching the industry, and talking to others informed people.


Wendy Pritchard is a contributing editor at RealEstatePropertyArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

Is Seattle Real Estate A Safe Investment?

With economists trying to speculate about the real estate bubble bust, several people have been asking themselves if the Seattle real estate market is still a safe investment for buyers. Previously, inventors have seen very important financial gains through investments in Seattle real estate.

Due to the mortgage rate increases and the idea that the average salary in the city remains unaltered, many people ask themselves if some profits can still be made from Seattle real estate.

In spite of of what happens in the economy, real estate will always be necessary, as people will always require some kind of roof over their heads. The question then is what kind of housing are these people looking for. Despite the economic forces that many believe will break Seattle real estate investments, the average home price in Seattle amplified to $338,000 in the first quarter of 2006. This is a growth of 16.4% for the city. These numbers reveal that the Seattle real estate market is in constant growth.

One method to invest in Seattle real estate is by purchasing foreclosed homes. Foreclosed homes have basically been repossessed by the bank due to nonpayment from the homeowner. Foreclosed homes are often auctioned off as a means for the bank to recover some of what it has lost.

The positive aspect on foreclosed homes is that they can often be bought below the value of the market. This lower price will give the investor the possibility to make an important gain through property reselling.

For it to be possible to buy foreclosed Seattle real estate, it is best to be as familiar as possible with the auction procedure before you attempt to buy a foreclosure home. The procedure can be quite delicate and even good investors can make big losses with the purchase of foreclosed homes.

It will be necessary to have fast access to the capital for the purchase of Seattle real estate in the event that the investor wins the auction over. Bear in mind that in some cases, lawyer costs can be linked with the transfer of the title when you deal with foreclosed Seattle real estate.

Once you have invested in Seattle real estate whether the purchase was through a foreclosure auction or by any other means, you can choose if you would like to resell the property or keep it in your portfolio and try to rent it out to someone. There are advantages and risks linked with each decision.

Although it might be true that Seattle real estate is in some ways calming down, it is not completely dead yet. Not only is it a lot safer to invest in Seattle real estate, but there will still be a lot of financial gain left over for the investors.


Ann Sommers is a contributing editor at RealEstatePropertyArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.