Introduction

I have been a landlord for almost two years, and during this time I have encountered several difficult, sometimes comical, situations which I think you will find amusing and insightful. The point of this blog is to describe these situations in detail in hopes that other landlords, aspiring landlords, and real-estate bubble enthusiasts can learn from (and/or enjoy) my experiences.

To date, I own four different properties. I will refer to them in the order in which I bought them. The first three properties, P1, P2, and P3, are all located in New Jersey, a little more than an hour away from New York City.

The first property, P1, is a two family house comprised of a first-floor, one-bedroom unit and a second-floor, two-bedroom unit. I bought P1 in August of 2004, the same day that I bought my second property, P2.

P2 is a mirror-image of P1, except that it is only one three-bedroom unit. Actually, P1 and P2 are each sides of a single duplex, which I was able to split into two separate deeds on the day of closing. The backyard of P2, unlike P1, has a detached 1.5 car garage, G1, that I rent separately from the main unit.

I purchased my next property, P3, in October of 2005. P3 is in the same neighborhood as P1 and P2, but on a different block. P3 is a free-standing three bedroom with a front and back porch, two off-street parking spots (which are quite valuable in the area), and was completely renovated just before I purchased it.

The final property, P4, is located in Philadelphia, and is the property that I actually live in. I most likely will not go into much detail on this property because it is not currently rented out.

Hopefully, I will be able to convey some of the experiences that I've had renting out P1, P2, and P3. Currently all three are rented out. What led me to start this blog today is that I am having some problems which I feel others will find informative and interesting. I will start describing them soon.