For a few years, I owned a rental property in Jacksonville, Florida.
- It was a relatively small house on a nice piece of property.
The residence was ideal for a single person and located in nearby proximity to Avondale. The neighborhood was definitely up-and-coming. I invested some money into the house, replacing the floors, roof and appliances. I renovated the kitchen, painted inside and out and added laundry facilities. I even devoted some time and effort to landscaping. I had the house looking really nice, clean and feeling comfortable. I carefully vetted potential tenants and found someone that I believed would be ideal. The rental agreement clearly stated no pets. Because my tenant paid her rent on-time, I had no complaints. I had no idea that she was keeping upwards of a dozen cats in the house. She was not conscientious about cleaning up after her pets. When she moved out, the house reeked of cat urine and was infested with fleas. There was fur and dander everywhere. It was disgusting. I knew that to make the house rentable again, I’d need to tear out the floors, re-paint and replace the majority of fixtures and appliances. I just couldn’t bring myself to start over. I knew that if I invested that kind of time, money and effort, I’d worry about another terrible renter. For me, the right choice was to unload the rental property on a cash home buyer. Fortunately, the cash home buyer accepted the property in as-is condition. I didn’t need to clean, make repairs or undertake renovations. I submitted an online form, got a cash offer and accepted it, all in a single day. The closing happened just over a week later.