Should a First-Time Buyer Be A Landlord?

A great Q&A that appeared on WSJOnline.com

By JUNE FLETCHER
Q. I am a single professional in my 20s who rents with a few roommates. I read your comments about how Austin is a good place to invest in property, given the volatility of the stock market. I, too, am considering it. I am thinking of buying a three-bedroom, $150,000 house in a good neighborhood. With help from my family, I can put 20% down. If I rent out the extra two rooms, the income will cover the property tax and mortgage. But I travel a lot for work and I am not sure whether my company will transfer me or if I even want to stay in this area. Should I do it?

--Austin, Texas

A. I applaud your desire to invest in your financial future. And landlords get generous tax breaks while collecting rental income. But from what you've told me, I recommend holding off buying a home.

Managing a property—which includes screening tenants, collecting rents, paying bills and keeping the lawn mowed—while you are traveling is difficult. But my bigger concern is that you are not sure if you are even going to stay in the area. Unless you buy a fixer upper at a discount, rehab it and resell it quickly, the only way to make money in real estate is to hold on to a property until it appreciates. Even though prices have been rising in Austin, you will need to stay in the area for at least a few years to recoup your costs on a market-rate house.

As a homeowner and landlord, you will have many expenses besides taxes and a mortgage. Assuming you put 20% down on a $150,000 house in Austin, you will have to pay an estimated $4,938 in closing costs, according to Zillow's calculator. You also will have to budget for repairs and maintenance—expect to pay between 1% and 3% of the home's purchase price each year—as well as for repainting and freshening the rooms when tenants move out. You will need insurance, and if you have a homeowners association, you will have to pay dues. When you sell, you will have to pay a broker's commission, probably around 6% of the selling price, and some fix-up costs.

Rental income will help to defray these expenses, but you cannot depend on a steady stream. There will be periods when one or more of the rooms will be vacant, and you may have to shoulder some extra costs to evict someone who doesn't pay the rent. You should have about six months of mortgage payments in reserve to cover these possibilities. You also should have cash on hand to handle expensive emergencies, like a furnace that conks out in a cold snap. Since you will have to tap family funds for a down payment, it doesn't sound like you have enough of a cushion yet.

That doesn't mean that you should give up on the idea of owning property. Just postpone it until you know where you will live and are on a more solid financial footing. In the meantime, continue to familiarize yourself with various neighborhoods and properties, talk to lenders and work with a real estate agent who understands your situation. Then you will be in a position to act when you are ready to put down roots.

Write to June Fletcher at fletcher.june@gmail.com.