The Accidental Landlord: What to Do When Renting Wasn't the Plan
Not every landlord set out to be one. A lot of the owners we work with didn't buy a property as an investment — they inherited a house, couldn't sell when they needed to move, relocated for a job and kept the old place "just in case," or moved in with a partner and ended up with a spare property almost by default.
We call this the accidental landlord, and it's one of the most common situations we see. It's also one of the riskiest, because the decision to rent usually wasn't really a decision at all — it just happened, without anyone running the actual numbers first.
How This Usually Happens
A few patterns show up again and again:
Inheritance. A property passes down, and selling feels complicated or emotionally difficult, so renting it out seems like the easier path — at least for now.
A move that didn't come with a sale. A job relocation, a life change, or a housing market that made selling unattractive, and suddenly there's a second property that needs to generate some kind of income to justify keeping it.
A relationship change. Two households become one, and the property that's left over becomes a rental almost by default, without much planning behind it.
"I'll just rent it for a while." A temporary plan that was never meant to be permanent, but somehow becomes the long-term situation anyway.
None of these are bad reasons to end up owning a rental. The problem isn't how someone became a landlord — it's what happens next.
Why the Numbers Often Don't Work
This is the part that catches accidental landlords off guard the most. Setting a rent price often starts with a rough idea — "what do similar places rent for" — rather than an honest accounting of what the property actually costs to hold.
The real math includes the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, a genuine maintenance reserve (not just what breaks this month, but a reasonable estimate for a roof, a furnace, or an appliance down the road), and vacancy costs for the periods between tenants. Add those up, and it's common to find that rent barely covers the mortgage alone — let alone the rest.
When the numbers don't actually work, an accidental landlord is often left in a worse position than if they'd just sold the property outright. They're covering a monthly shortfall, taking on landlord liability, and dealing with the operational demands of a rental — all for a property that's quietly losing money every month.
The Mistakes That Compound the Problem
Because the decision to rent often wasn't planned, the process around it usually isn't either. A few patterns show up consistently:
No real screening process — renting to whoever seems friendly or available, rather than verifying income, rental history, and eviction records.
No lease, or a generic template pulled off the internet that doesn't reflect state-specific requirements or actually protect the owner.
No plan for maintenance — reactive instead of proactive, with small issues going unaddressed until they become expensive.
Underpricing out of uncertainty, or overpricing out of a need to cover costs that were never fully accounted for in the first place — both of which create their own problems.
What to Actually Do About It
If this describes your situation, the first step isn't finding a tenant faster. It's running the real numbers, honestly, before deciding anything else.
Start with an accurate picture: what would the property actually rent for in the current market, and what does it actually cost to hold every month — mortgage, taxes, insurance, and a realistic maintenance reserve. If those numbers work, renting can be a genuinely good decision. If they don't, it's worth understanding that clearly now, rather than a year into a rental that's slowly draining money every month.
From there, the real decision is usually one of three paths: rent it properly, with real screening, a solid lease, and proactive management. Sell it, if the numbers simply don't support holding it as a rental. Or hold it temporarily with a clear plan and a defined timeline, rather than an open-ended "we'll figure it out."
Why This Matters to Us
We've written before about the situations where we turn down a property — and a property that will lose money every month, even under good management, is one of the most common reasons. It's not that we don't want the business. It's that taking on a property that's underwater from day one doesn't actually help the owner. It just delays an honest conversation that needs to happen anyway.
If you became a landlord by circumstance rather than by plan, that's genuinely common, and it's not a mistake. The mistake is only in not stopping to run the real numbers before deciding what to do next.
Not sure if your accidental rental actually makes financial sense?
We'll run the honest numbers with you — even if the answer isn't the one you were hoping for. Let's talk. Blair Allen Property Management serves owners across South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona.
Chris Twiggs President, Blair Allen Property Management 📞 605-545-1218 ✉️ chris@blairallen.com