House sitter or long term rent ?

If you find good people to pay good rent it can be a good business. Plan to stay on the road until they move out and that could be a decade or longer. If you don't have experience or know someone in the business you are probably better getting a manager. Never make the deposit the same as the rent. If you are going to panic over a few broken items or a periodic clog you better stay away from the business. There are always dramatic stories of trouble and it can happen but mostly it works out well.

Lynnmor wrote:
This morning I'm shopping for a replacement shower head, drain cleaner, drain tool, dishwasher cleaner and assorted floor cleaners. This is after just four months (last month not paid) of a renter with great references. But that is just this morning, I have been at it all week. Enjoy your day, and forget about being a landlord!

I only keep the property because it is next door and selling it might bring worse problems.

Ah yes, the reference. In the rental business they are about as good as a reference in the employment arena. You can bet when they rent again, your property will not be on the list of references. They will just say they stayed with friends or traveled for those 4 months.
If they give you as a reference and you say they were terrible, be prepared to be sued. Their idea of a good renter and yours (and mine) can vary immensely. To some renters, paying only half the rent 20 days after the full amount is due is being responsible. Leaving the floors dirty is a heck of a lot better than tearing them out and you were going to have to clean the place anyway (wink wink). That showerhead was a danger to everyone, they did you a service by breaking it and if you had decent plumbing, it wouldn't clog up just because they shaved the dog and washed all the fur down the drain. And why should they pay the last month's rent, the security deposit will cover it.

This morning I'm shopping for a replacement shower head, drain cleaner, drain tool, dishwasher cleaner and assorted floor cleaners. This is after just four months (last month not paid) of a renter with great references. But that is just this morning, I have been at it all week. Enjoy your day, and forget about being a landlord!

I only keep the property because it is next door and selling it might bring worse problems.

upsidedown Charlie wrote:
westernparkowner, our house is pretty nice. I don't think that will be the issue.

Given your circumstances and previous experience, the odds of having a problem either way goes WAY down.....but not to zero.

Only you can decide which arrangement will make you feel the most comfortable overall.

It sounds like you're in a good area to get quality renters. Good luck..hope it works out for you.

westernparkowner, our house is pretty nice. I don't think that will be the issue. I also don't think Bieber and the average plant exec are in the same ballpark. It does have new hardwood floors and fresh paint.

Hundreds of people rent houses in our area for the Masters golf match. . We got $8000 for a week. Had to buy new sheets and towels to qualify for the agency that places the visitors but we came out pretty well. The house was just as we left it. We also have local equestrian events where people want to stay in a house so the experienced agents

Like I said, it's a couple of years off. House is paid for so we'll just look into it and see what we see.

upsidedown Charlie wrote:
2gypsies, we have a huge garage. It would be easy to empty drawers and cabinets and put it in boxes. So yes, it would have furniture. The people I've talked to who do this say that most of the executives who rent for a year or two don't want to move their furniture twice and furnished is most attractive in this market. I just have to talk to a few agents who specialize in this market. I have friends who are in management in these plants and several of them just stored their furniture and brought their household contents. After they bought or built their houses, they moved everything. I know it's done. I just have to decide if that's our best choice.

I'll check all the options. If we decide on a caretaker we have a general contractor we trust who will check the house.

These executives who are waiting on construction of their million dollar mansions are going to want to rent equivalent properties. If they want to rent it furnished, they are going to want executive level furnishings, things like a bed with a 15 year old mattress, worn shag carpeting, mismatched furniture and appliances from the 80s and 90s isn't going to cut the muster. Unfurnished, it will need to be like new. New paint, new carpeting and a garage they can use, not park their cars out in the weather.
Furthermore, they are going to want a lease that expires when their house is ready, not when you are ready to leave the road. All rental properties have risk. I prefer spreading my risk over several properties, because even if only 1 in 100 turn out bad, you lose 100 percent if you draw that black pea. And yes, millionaires trash properties too. If you doubt it, rent to Justin Bieber.

2gypsies, we have a huge garage. It would be easy to empty drawers and cabinets and put it in boxes. So yes, it would have furniture. The people I've talked to who do this say that most of the executives who rent for a year or two don't want to move their furniture twice and furnished is most attractive in this market. I just have to talk to a few agents who specialize in this market. I have friends who are in management in these plants and several of them just stored their furniture and brought their household contents. After they bought or built their houses, they moved everything. I know it's done. I just have to decide if that's our best choice.

I'll check all the options. If we decide on a caretaker we have a general contractor we trust who will check the house.

If renting it out would you leave all your things in the house? We sure wouldn't. Would you go through the hassle and expense of putting it all in storage in order to rent it out?

If you're only talking about a year just close it up and have a responsible person come in every 2 weeks or so to check on things. That would be the easiest thing to do with no worries.

Renting my house for a year is exactly how I started fulltiming. Our original plan was to travel the country with my wife and kids for 14-months. About 5 months into it, we decided that we loved it and wanted to take the end date off of the table. The tenants renewed their lease for another year.

We used a property management company. They vetted each applicant and we had the choice between 2 different applicants.

Knock on wood, it's been about 15 months and I'm still happy with the arrangement. However, now that we know we don't want to go back to Maryland, I'm going to sell the house when the lease is up. But only because it costs me money each month to rent to them.