Posted by Frank Chin on March 25, 2001 at 20:36:36:
Yes - I’ve rented them out and done OK.
There’s some pluses and minuses when compared to SFH. The one big minus is in some cases, the condo board may have to approve your tenant. That depends on the bylaws.
Other people posting even indicated preference for condos. This is due mainly to the condo association managing the common areas.
You got to make sure the rent covers your mortgage, insurance, taxes, condo fees, repairs, and special assessments that comes up time to time.
I have read several messages in the threads of peoples thoughts on this topic but not anyone that is actally doing it. If you are successfully renting condos.
I have done quite well with condos. I find they have less maintenance issues as you are only dealing with the interior items. My condo associations do not approve of tenants and all tenants are professional singles or couples. I am in a rising rental market where rental units are in short supply but even if that changes there is no way rents will dip to the level of my expenses. I have four condos which net $12,000 a year on a $35,000 investment (downpayments plus closing costs plus initial fixup costs). The $12k cash flow is after I pay all expenses plus put away a $100 each month into a maintenance reserve. That’s a 30% plus return. My equity has also increased $40k so my initial investment of $35k has doubled. When I first started doing this, I could not believe the cash flow. I thought, “This is too good to be true.” Well, I quickly learned that all the investors were out there gobbling up condos and they were flying out of the MLS inventory. Luckily, I got my share. But now the prices are reaching break even points on the cash flow and the good deals are not as plentiful. Timing is a big part of this business!