My brother and I own a small, single family dwelling in Fairfax which we rent out. We got the house to generate some income to supplement both our retirements. The house is in an ideal location: extremely close to downtown, with a little park directly across the street from the house.
Like most houses in Fairfax, it is older, and it requires a lot of maintenance. My brother and I keep on top of the maintenance because we want to give our tenants (a small family) a safe, and comfortable home to live in. If anything comes up, my brother or I respond quickly to fix the problem.
We keep the rent far below market, but we have to raise the rent because the cost of owning and maintaining an older house keeps going up.
Our current tenants have been with us for over a decade. Our tenants love the house, and the neighborhood. I think they are very happy with their housing providers too because we receive a ‘Thank You’ note from them with every monthly rental check.