Hi there! I posted a thread here (https://old.reddit.com/r/realestateinvesting/comments/uxvaqn/i_got_my_first_rent_checks_today/) five months ago, and I wanted to post an update here as it has been a trip. I'm on mobile, so apologies for any formatting issues.

So my first tenant was very odd - she wouldn't let my property manager into the unit to do repairs, so we had to evict her after a month of non payment. It did cost me about $600 in lawyer's fees to file the paperwork, but the tenant did not damage anything and did vacate the unit, plus I got to keep her security deposit, so I did get 2-3 months of rent at $1350.

From there, I'd say it took another month to find a tenant. We had to reduce rent to $1300 a month from $1350 but it got done. The most bothersome thing about all of this is my property manager insists on screening applicants with pets when I insist on ones without them. Also, I got a notice saying there was lead paint on my unit on my unit (can't be much because there's vinyl siding on the exterior walls) but a month later I got another notice saying there's nothing wrong, and we didn't do anything to the unit in the interim. (I'm busy moving and didn't get the letter for some time.)

I did do the math on my unit when calculating ROI at $1100 a month, so I'm still okay, but it was a bumpier path than expected. Assuming no more complications, I should still have a decent ROI, but I'm posting this to illustrate that real estate does require effort and is not some get rich quick scheme. Also, I know there are people who have had much worse tenants, so I am grateful that my problem tenant was gone relatively quickly.

Regarding my property manager, I think he's honest, but also requires a lot of handholding. Would I invest in a non local property again? Probably not. Am I keeping the one I have now? Yes, because I do make money, I'd lose money if I sold now and I think there's room for appreciation in the place I bought in.

Good luck to everyone here, thanks for reading this!