Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for buying rental properties as an income builder?

I'm in the market for my first home, and have been considering purchasing a side-by-side duplex. I would live in half and rent out the other side.

What are some pitfalls of renting property?

Well when you have someone else living on your property, they may not always care for it like you would. So that is something to think about.

I wanted very badly to buy a home next to me about a year ago for this reason. I can only tell you the reasons we decided against it. I didn't want to deal with major repairs that may go wrong with the other house. I didn't want to have to go rent-collecting because I'm a big chicken. I didn't want the extra paperwork or the tax headaches.

Now, all that said, if you can get a duplex for a good price and the repairs would be repairs you'd *still* be having with a single home, it sounds like a good idea to me. The tenants would be helping with the mortgage and that sounds like a wise decision financially. I'd just plan a pretty good screening of potential tenants... I wouldn't want a lot of noise or someone who's going to trash half of my home.

I think I would want to be very careful with the people that I rent to, if I were doing something like that. You would be within your rights to ask for references, and then make sure you check them.

We lived in a "duplex" when we first got married. The guy we were renting from was very nice, didn't bother us, and was very receptive when we had problems. Just be prepared for noise that you might not be expecting, at all times of day or night.

I too would give words of caution looking into rental properties. You have to be really careful renting it out. A duplex wouldn't be a bad idea, I've lived in one when I was much younger. It really depends on the model of duplex you buy. Ours happened to be seperated by the garage, the only connecting wall was the kitchen - We never once heard our neighbours.

Ahh.. garage in between would be great, but I haven't seen any like that in the area I'm looking to buy in.
There is also a nice house with a detached garage with a 'mother in law' apartment over the garage which I could rent out. That way any potential noise would not be a problem.

Thanks for your thoughts!

That apartment over the garage sounds like a really good idea for a rental investment, I think!

We have a rental property and it has become a big headache. The people are not paying on time, and we still have a mortage on the house. I am thinking about hiring a property managment company to take care of it.