Living Near Your Tenants, Is it Good or Bad?

I received a call from a man interested in purchasing Melbourne FL Investment Property.  Perfect, I thought, that's right up my alley, since I own investment property of my own.  We talked about different options and what type of property to buy: single family, duplex, triplex or apartment complex. 

We also discussed how close a landlord should live to their tenants.  "How about a house on my street?  Or what about buying a duplex and living in half, while I rent out the other half?"  He was quite sharp and full of great questions.  It was an interesting conversation.

Living near your tenants... is it a good or a bad idea?  First, that depends on you.  It could make it convenient for a tenant in dropping off the rent.  And, what about maintenance problems?  The tenant could walk right over, knock on the door, and let the landlord know their toilet is overflowing.  And, the landlord would be johnny-on-the-spot, right?

A landlord could become well acquainted with his tenant and they could become great friends.

Or what if it turns out that your new tenant is driving you up a wall?  What if you can't stand the guy? Or vice versa, the tenant cannot tolerate the landlord?  What if the landlord is too bossy or nosey?  He may like to butt his nose into the tenant's business. Either party can make it an intolerable situation.

Living in close proximity to your tenant could become a difficult situation.  Familiarity can muddy the waters of the business relationship.  What happens when your great friend or your incredibly difficult tenant that lives next door doesn't pay the rent?  Can you shift into business mode and remind them that the rent is late?  Could you, as a landlord, file those eviction papers?

I prefer not to live too close to my tenants. I don't care to know what they are doing everyday.  I don't want to look next door to see how many friends they have parked up and down the street, or how high their grass is getting.

I go to each house monthly and pick up the rent from my tenants.  They can put a face with the house and know they aren't just dropping their check in the mail to a nobody.  If there is an issue to address, I do it then.  Later, I check back to see that it's been taken care of.  And, if the tenant has a maintenance problem, they let me know then or they can call.

As a landlord, I don't care to rent to friends. Although over the years I have become very fond of several of my tenants.  I want to keep my friends, just that, friends. Money matters can cloud a great friendship. I've seen owners sell their rental property to get a non paying family member or friend out, because they didn't want to evict them.

So, when you are thinking about that next Melbourne Fl investment property purchase, consider how close you'd really like to live to your future tenant and think about whether renting to family and friends could turn into an uncomfortable situation.