Opinions: Buying a house now & live with friends, move out rent later

[OOBradm]

I currently rent a house with 2 other friends in the city of Pittsburgh.

Our lease is up in about 4 months, and I'm starting to throw around the thought of buying a place that I will live in and rent out to my friends that I live with now.

We have all already agreed to live together again for the next year.

I'm looking to buy where we live now, which is a highly rent-able area full mostly of young professionals and college students.

Anyone tried this /thought of this idea before?
It seems to make financial sense, especially since mortgage rates are so low and I know for sure I have at least 1 year of good tenants ready to go.


What should I watch out for? Anything obvious I haven't considered?

 

[Bignate603]

Are you planning on staying in the area for a long time? Even if you aren't in the house it's far easier to be a landlord if you are local.

 

[waggy]

seems like a huge gamble and not worth the risk.

 

[mcvickj]

Can you afford the mortgage by yourself if you are unable to rent the rooms in the future?

 

[apac]

Find a fair way to negotiate property damage BEFORE buying a house and moving in. I've seen my friends do enough stupid shit that that I know I never want to have them live in the house I bought.

 

[OOBradm]

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

Without my friends, the mortgage would be about 35% of my net income.

If I were to do this, then I would have them sign lease agreements that would include property damage clauses (I'm sure most standard leases do...)


What specifically about this is risky, waggy?

 

[Hugo Drax]

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

Without my friends, the mortgage would be about 35% of my net income.

If I were to do this, then I would have them sign lease agreements that would include property damage clauses (I'm sure most standard leases do...)


What specifically about this is risky, waggy?

My prediction. It will fail miserably, your friends will turn into total assholes and you lose.

 

[slayer202]

do it

/thread

 

[Ns1]

Anyone tried this /thought of this idea before?

Nope, you're the first

 

[bfdd]

Buy it yourself, rent the rooms to them. I was going to do this and should have. Would have been much better than just renting a place out.

 

[homercles337]

Buying only starts to pay dividends if you are in it for more than 5 years. Otherwise, rent and save.

 

[Imp]

I'm thinking of buying and renting to a sibling - burns through money like it grows on trees so will never have enough for a downpayment herself. Seems like a good idea because I want to live in the city and want to supplement my mortgage payments, and plan on staying for a while, or at least coming back if I ever leave.

Lot of factors to consider:
- If other people bail, can you still aford it?
- If you don't want to live there anymore, would it be worth it to keep it as a rental property?
- Is it legal to rent a house out separately versus living in it yourself and having roommates chip in?
- Is the area rentable and not avoided like the plague?

 

[AFurryReptile]

I bought a house last March, and have been renting out rooms to my brother and a friend. Works well enough for me, and the extra income is nice, but you need to make sure that you can COMFORTABLY afford it without your friends. Owning a home is a lot more expensive than it seems.