How many folks are 2nd generation landlords. How does that make a difference?

Guess I can be considered a second gen LL. As a child

my family lived in a large brick home. My parents rented

out the upstairs of the home, they only had a 5 yr old

child at the time so it was way too much house for just

them. They used the income to make the payments on the

home which at that time only cost them $15,000 and now is

valued at $150,000 that I own.

I learned a lot as a child watching how my parents

acted as LL's. How they screened applicants, advertised,

showed the rooms and yes even evicting them. Their method

never involved going to court , just my mother or dad's

loud voice saying "pack your stuff and get out of MY house". And boy did they ever run. Not that easy

today. Renters aren't as scared and have less respect

for the property today.

My parents started in '95 when I was high school. Got the DIY instructions on top of my schooling on weekends and during the summer.

Sort of. My parents were partnered with my mom's sister & BIL on a mobile home park. Dad kept his shift work day job and was the maintanence partner; my aunt and uncle lived in the park and she was in charge of the day to day: collecting rents, code enforcement for the park, etc.

My Aunt praised my dad until the say she died about the park. 2 or 3 years after they started, my uncle had a stroke and they would have been in dire straits had they not had the Park.

They sold the park when I was 20, asking us kids if we were interested in it. I am the youngest and had just finished art school so why would I want that?! Haha.

I wish Pop had sat me down and explained the numbers to me. The park still exists: alrhough I don't think it is full any longer (mobiles are grandfathered in our area).

44 rental lots x $300 mo. Current rent over there. The same people still own it. Wonder if they'd sell it back to me?

Also, when they sold, my aunt got a lump sum for her half and my parents got monthly payments from the new owner for theirs. Another reason for my aunt's praise.

My Dad acquired rental property when I was in my mid teens. He and my Mom worked together fixing up the small complex that I ended up with in 1985 and that I still have today.

They did all their own labor as my father was a jack of all trades and could do everything - and my mother helped.

My father rented to some of my siblings and their children all at super low rents until I became owner and raised the rents - because I couldn't afford to be Santa. Actually, I wasn't too surprised when some family renters moved out and bought their own houses, some all cash.

I still have the large ruler and extra large cutting shears they used when wallpapering the walls. Most of the parlors, yes, parlors, not called living rooms in those days, were wallpapered as well as bedrooms and closets. I guess wallpaper was used to shore up the plastered walls. My mother did all the trim painting and painting all the many large windows in those old buildings.

I was really amazed at the rental applications my father used that he typed on the old Remington. My Dad had all the important questions down. He even had no partying or wild parties on the app. They also knew not to discriminate. So they were quite knowledgeable about fair housing and rental laws. They had no leases as far as I can remember.

I just remembered my parents owned some rental property for a time but it was after I had left home. My dad was a terrible landlord - he fell for every hard-luck story out there! My mom was always beside herself about that.

I'm actually 3rd generation. My grandfather had a bunch of rentals, divided them between his two daughters. My mother kept hers until the market peaked then sold all. When I moved to Texas, I bought a few to give it a try.

Things are much easier now due to technology. We have much better pre-screening tools and payment methods at our disposal than my mother or grandfather had when they were in the business.

My mother was amazed how easy my rental experience has been. Actually, I think the word she used was "lucky."

Now that the market is really high now, I'm selling mine too. Getting 10-15 years worth of income all at once is too good to pass up. Plus my time has become limited and precious.

There's a very interesting article on the Freakonomics.com blog titled

"If Handing Off a Family Business to the Next Generation, What’s the Key Thing to Avoid?"

Some food for thought there...

When I was seven my Dad took me for a drive to see what he had just spent my college fund on. It was a small commercial center on a main road. This was in the 70's.

Well, apparently he got the RE bug and continued to acquire more properties whenever there was a down market.

Growing up, our phone was always ringing with tenants and applicants calling. My weekend chores included cleaning the common bathrooms at the buildings, picking up the trash, and maintaining the landscaping.

Our garage was packed with roofing materials, painting supplies, concrete patch, spare appliances, etc.

It was our way of life, and I have never known anything different.

I now manage most of those same properties. My husband is from a non-Landlording family. Does not like the intrusion on our life.

P.S. The building did pay for my college education-and more.

I and my sister are first generation, but her kids are now second...

My two nieces are doing GREAT! The oldest in particular has just purchased her 3rd rental and has only been married 2 years. The first two are already paid off, and they live in a 4th house.

I am a 3rd generation property manager, and some of our kids are involved in the business as well making them 4th generation.

Even though I was involved since late teens there is always something new to learn. We have not always treated it like a business.