Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Rentals ... Not All They Are Cracked Up To Be!!

I'm currently stuck with one ... and wish it would go away.  You may have heard me speak of "The Ranch" ... or rather what's left of it.   My brother and I have lived there on and off over the years, and when my mom passed away, I moved into her house (he lived in the second house).  I totally expected to live there for the rest of my life ... I put in all new carpeting and spent a fortune on landscaping the back yard.  It was perfect for my horses with the barn and outbuildings.  Then disaster struck for me ... my brother decided at the drop of a hat, to move to Montana and sell the place at the same time I was retiring.

Long story short, I didn't retire, finally found a new place for me and my horses just as the market crashed even further, resulting in NOT selling the property ... thus the rental.  People said how lucky I was, I'd have lots of write-offs and get rich!  That hasn't been the case ... I now have a house payment and the rental is just a pain in the patooky!!

Two years later, I was able to retire, saving as much of the rent as I could.  Good thing ... because it has turned into a money pit.  Built in 1980 something, I figured the worst would be the need for a new roof.  That came to pass a few days ago and ever since I got the bid, I have been in total shock.   I admit, the roof area is large .. well over 4000 sq ft (house and garage).  The cost??  $19,000  Good thing the contractor was there to pick me up off the ground.  He felt sorry for me and agreed to do the house for $13,000 and fix the garage roof for free.

About that time the renter came over and mentioned the front wall of windows (floor to ceiling) were falling out.  OMG!!!  Sure enough, the entire sill beneath 16 feet of windows is rotten, causing the windows to slip down, leaving an open space at the top.  Another call, another contractor and another guestimate of $8,000 to rebuild the entire wall and replace all the glass.  The only redeeming factor about THIS bid, was the contractor was WAY good looking, funny and loves the outdoors as I do, hiking, camping, PHOTOGRAPHY!!!   Unfortunately he's 20 years younger!!!  DRAT!!!

While I was there, I checked out the overhanging eucalyptus trees ... one of which is a definite danger to the house.  Nothing like getting all the bad news at once!!  Another $1,400 to take out the tree.

When I said I was going to spend every dime before I die, I meant on trips, camera gear ... stuff like that.  I certainly did NOT want to spend it on a rental.  Unfortunately for me, since my brother and I own it 50-50, I'm stuck with it.  No, he won't help with the bills ... he has the OTHER ranch house as a rental, where a tree recently fell and knocked out the well.

In the end, I'm just hoping to break even between all the costs and the rent collected over the years.  My accountant says I will get some tax deductions, but that thought isn't much comfort when writing that $13,000 check!!!  Rentals just aren't what they are cracked up to be!!!


3 comments:

  1. Last year we had a rental condo and a house in which wife's son and GF lived in with the agreement that they cover utilities, which they NEVER did. The renter was late with rent a few times, and a few breakdowns which we needed to have someone go in and fix. So when we got back in November we looked things over, moved out step-son and GF in January, told renter he needed to move out in April, put house up for sale in March and it sold in a day for the price we asked for! This time out has been much more pleasent, knowing our stuff was safe in the condo that we moved into, and no rental worries. Oh, and the condo is a 55+ area, so the "kids" can't even ask to live there. :)

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  2. Know what your going thru. WE too have a house that could not sell,so it's a rental. Putting all rent in a savings account for those repairs that we are sure will be coming.

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    1. I too have put most of the money in savings, but it's not enough. In four years I'm barely breaking even, let alone all the stress!!!

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