As a government employee sometimes You have to relocate if you want to move up. If you own a home you will have to decide whether to sell it or rent it out. There are many factors that impact that decision such as the real estate market, whether you need the principal for the next house or if you think you will return to your current location. This article focuses on some lessons I learned as an absentee landlord.
It all began with a phone call from
He began the conversation by saying, “Sir do you own the house at ABC Street, Hinesville, Georgia?” When I told him I did he said, “Sir I have some bad news.” Apparently the Hinesville Police Department had broken down the front door of my rental property, arrested the tenants, seized a couple dozen marijuana plants and other drugs and taken two pit bulls to animal control. To make matters worse the pit bulls had not been let outside for about 2 weeks and tried to eat their way out the kitchen door.
About a year earlier in an effort to get
My rental property under lease I authorized my property manager to rent to two single soldiers. I did not think much of it since as a single Lieutenant in Germany, I and another single Lieutenant rented the first floor of a house in Thallichtenberg near Baumholder. He was not the cleanest roommate and I had to throw out rotting food from the refrigerator and clean the bathroom but for the most part it all worked out.
Well, the two Specialists I rented my house
to were supplementing their income by growing marijuana in the house and selling it. To protect their crop while they were at work they had two pit bulls. Being bored the pit bulls tried to eat their way into the back yard and when they couldn’t get out used the living room carpet as their litter box. To make matters even worse the two Specialists while under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs took turns punching holes in the walls. The pictures were enough to make a normal person want to get out of the landlord business.
The main mistake I made was trying
A little money and not pay for the quarterly inspections by the management company. I had never had a problem with tenants before, but then I’d never rented to two single men who split the lease before either. I had authorized tenants to have a small dog but never envisioned two pit bulls tearing apart the house.
