Ideas & Concepts: Homeowner Landlord

Another idea...

So the housing bubble is bursting in some markets, right? Some homeowners are caught in a pinch where they just bought a new home with plans to sell their old one quickly to pay for the new one. They are now stuck with two mortgages and no bites from potential buyers. They have two options: sell at a significantly reduced price for an immediate loss, or rent out their home.

Renting is a pain if you are inexperienced in it. You just want to pay for your mortgage and taxes, or say 85-90% of them at least. You want to reduce your losses. You might even be able to rent it for more than your cost (mortgage + taxes + upkeep) and profit from it, all the while being able to deduct your mortgage expenses.

But again, renting is a pain. What if a company could come in, work with you to market the house for rent, charge a fee (flat or %) and do all landlord tasks for you? They answer the calls, they send out the plumbers, they collect the checks, they screen the renters (and evict if necessary).

What do you think?

I live in Birmingham. I wasn't sure if realty companies did this. I've never seen ads for it. Of course I'm not a homeowner so I'm not someone that would be targeted by such ads.

Ah well, just an idea.