Shouldn't the rent cover the mortgage?

Many property owners that have just purchased their first rental think that the rent should cover the mortgage payment.  Those of us in the property management business know that this is just not true. 

If it was true, would a landlord that paid all cash and had no mortgage payment rent their house for free?  The mortgage payment reflects how much the down payment was, what the interest rates were at the time of purchase, and what the loan terms are. 

Rents are determined by current supply and demand of rentals in the specific area.  If the population was shrinking, and too many rentals were coming on the market, landlords would have to get very creative to fill their vacancies.  They might give free rent for a few months or just lower their rents to fill the spaces.  One thing they would not do is check how much their mortgage payment was.

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