If you’re just starting out with remember Landlord Ing is a long-term investment. You buy the home and the tenants make all your payments for years. Someday your rents will be two or three times what they are today. Your expenses haven’t changed, but your rental income will. Over the years when I had a bad tenant and it was frustrating. I had to remember how many payments the tenant made for me and I end up owning the property. Some of my rents are three times what they were when I started out in 1971. $1200 a month is now $4500 a month. The property value has gone from 105,000 to over 1 million. Hang in there and you enjoy your Rewards down the road.

My first partnership apartment building, rents were around $125 per month. This was for a 1 bedroom with a parking spot. Now rents are $2,400 per month.

But from 2/1/2020 thru 3/1/2024, a landlord could NOT evict a tenant for non-payment of rent. Then in April of 2024, eviction started up again. But there was something called a "Threshold". If you rented out a house, like did with low rents so the same family could afford to stay, I charged $2250/per month for 5 bedroom house. I got everyone out, family returning to Japan, but two room mates refused to leave. Zero rents for a year. Then when the remaining roommates got served, one left and one stayed. Her rent for a large bedroom was $750 a month, not paid to me but to my original tenants.

The Threshold for a 5 bedroom was around $4000. Divide that by $750 and I had to wait another 6 months to evict.

Then the city gave this roommate $15,000 worth of legal help.

I had to go to phony court hearings as I was being charged with Stalking, assult, threats to shoot with a gun and no paying for the water, gas and electric.

The legal team povided by the city kept me out of eviction court for another 7 months. The Judge said if I didn't pay $22,000 in relocation funds, my case would be held up for another year... This money was not for the tenant/roommate to find another place to live, but to pay the City back for providing free legal aid to the tenant/roommate.

Yes, expenses have tripled. A $500 water heater is now $1200 or more. Fortunately for California with prop 13 taxes only go up 2%. A garbage disposal cost more today but you only change them every 7 to 8 years if you put in a quality disposal. My biggest increase currently is insurance. I’m watching it go up 30 to 60%. You still can’t beat being a landlord and letting the tenants buy your asset.

taxes absolutely have gone up along with insurance and utilities, but gist is understood and taken well

Thank you for that, Jim.

It is a good thing to remember that there are no doubt newer & less experienced landlords here who are reading and listening to what is posted.

Let's try to remember to be encouraging as well as realistic when we post - the good & bad together.

Good post. True. Long term when we wait for rent to pay off our debt.

But never assume values ALWAYS go up. Some areas and some times the values go down.

I talked to friend in Florida recently who cannot sell their home for any price.

Yes, expenses have gone up but even at triple the price they are still only a small portion of the operation. Ins went up $50 per month but the rent went up $500.

Jim,

You mentioned dealing with frustrations…

It’s hard to see equity increasing so

I believe in SPEED THERAPY - top down Porsches!

Or LUXURY THERAPY - close the door, Eleanor rises on the hood, and all outside sounds are gone as the 13 speaker sound system soothes with classical music.