[Sharlla]

If you owned a duplex and lived in one unit, would you tell the other tenants that you are the owner or just have a property management company handle it?

 

[mysticmomma]

I don't think I'd waste the money on a prop. mgmt co.

 

[dogmom327]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mysticmomma I don't think I'd waste the money on a prop. mgmt co.

:

If you live next store, it's not worth the cost. If you are worried about finding a tenant initially, running credit, etc., you can contact a property manager just for that initial part of the process and then handle it yourself on a month to month basis. The property mgt companies don't really like that, but they'll do it.

 

[Sharlla]

my concern would be them pestering me constantly because I live next door.

 

[mysticmomma]

That would be something to outline very clearly in your lease.

 

[mightymoo]

I would tell them, I agree that hiring a property management company is a waste when you are right there. I would be a bit more discriminating about who I chose to rent to, rather than just looking at whether they have good credit, I would try to think about how I would get along with them, etc.

 

[karne]

Why wouldn't you tell them? Just curious.
I would be clear about being the owners. I would think it could have a positive impact on how your tenants treated thier space if they knew you lived next door.

 

[boobybunny]

I have actually lived this... I bought my mom's duplex and then lived in one side. I kept it with the management company.

The tenant was an UAV. He would complain about me to the PM almost every day, (for running a steam cleaner at 10 am, kids playing in the back yard during the day, once when I was making a post roast... the smell of cooking meat was detrimental to his health...lol) If he knew I was the owner, I can not imagine the problems he would have brought to my door. As a single mom, I did not want to, nor did I have the skills to deal with most of the maintence of the 'plex.

Good luck, if you have more ????? ask.

 

[the_lissa]

I woudl definitely tell prospective tenants.

 

[~Megan~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlla my concern would be them pestering me constantly because I live next door.

I bet they would have better behavior than if they did know you were the landlord.

 

[Sharlla]

I was hoping that DX would be willing to move in, it would be convenient for the kids to go back and forth and also he would save money too and it would be great in full because I'd be able to use the tax return and pay the year of mortgage in full every year. He won't though

 

[dogmom327]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karne I would think it could have a positive impact on how your tenants treated thier space if they knew you lived next door.

I agree. We've always been very responsible tenants but for the first time we have a landlord living next door and we are super careful about everything--suddenly it's not just long term stuff, it's their perception of us daily that matters.

 

[cristeen]

I'm gonna go against the grain here... I would let the property mgmt company handle it. I would definitely NOT tell them. Dh and I actually discussed this when we were talking about buying a multi-unit building just a couple doors down from our house. I wouldn't want them ringing my bell at 2 am because the toilet overflowed or the roof was leaking - I can't fix it, I'd have to call someone. I wouldn't want them knocking on my door every time they had an issue with something one of their neighbors were doing (a little different in a duplex, but still relevant, I think). I also wouldn't want to have to deal with the legal issues if someone didn't pay the rent on time, or if they were damaging the property or otherwise asking for an eviction. And I wouldn't want to be responsible for painting and cleaning the place after they left. Those are all things I'd want a property mgmt company to handle for me.

 

[mnnice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlla I was hoping that DX would be willing to move in, it would be convenient for the kids to go back and forth and also he would save money too and it would be great in full because I'd be able to use the tax return and pay the year of mortgage in full every year. He won't though

I've known a handful of people that have attempted to do something similar; but no one that's got it to work. Boundaries end up be an issue. Your kids would likely be better off with dad a few blocks or miles way.

 

[LittleBirdy]

A thought: we rented a house once that had a clause in the lease that the tenant was responsible for the first $50 of repair costs. I'm not sure this is legal in all states (including the one I was living in at the time!) but the landlord put it in there to keep people from calling him to come change the lightbulb in the fridge, you know?

He never once enforced it with us because we only called him with legitimate issues, i.e. we had a small gas leak once and someone busted in our back door. The 50 bucks didn't have anything to do with why we didn't call, we just aren't the type to constantly bug our landlord but I bet with other tenants it kept some of the calls down.

 

[chinaKat]

I had this situation once with a landlord. The landlord was very open about the fact that they had a property manager handling the lease.

I think it was good for them, because if there were any sticky situations they could have the property manager talk to us instead of having to talk to us directly (they weren't good at confrontation).

I think it was kind of weird, though -- if we were too noisy (we were college students at the time) they'd NEVER say anything to our face, we'd hear about it third hand a few days later. And we always felt bad, because all they would have had to do was call up at the time and say "hey, do you mind turning that down, we can hear it" and we gladly would have, instead of bothering them all night.