Home Rental System
Your Decision
After all of your costs crunching and review of the local rental prices for homes of your kind, you have made the decision to rent your home! Congratulations! Given the state of the housing market, you have made the right choice. Property values are at an all time low and probably won’t begin to climb back up until the last quarter of 2009 – 1st quarter of 2010. But the good news is you have decided to take a course of action that will enable you to continue to own your home, cover all or most of the costs associated with it, and ride it out until your property values increase before you sell. That is if you even want to by then!
We have put this information together as a starter’s guide, or a quick way to get up and running. It will provide you with information that you did not know, you needed to know. It will show you where to advertise, what state laws apply to you, and even help you make a decision as to managing the property yourself or to let someone else do it for you. It is a simple process, once you know where to look and how to start.
Some other guides tell you of “secrets” to listing your property, or that you can do it for free. We have come to the conclusion that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
In this booklet, we will show you the following:
1. First Things First
2. Differences Between Long Term Leases and Vacation Rentals
3. Being Your Own Landlord
a. Finding Good Tenants
b. Knowing Your Rights as a Landlord
c. Leasing / Rental Forms and Check Lists
d. Checking Tenants Credit and References
e. Being a Good Landlord
4. Selecting A Property Manager / Assembling Your Team
5. Marketing / Advertising Your Rental Home
6. Insurance, Repairs and Other Annoying Issues That Will Happen
7. Congratulations!
Seems simple? That’s because it is once you know what to do, how to market, and who to partner with! That is what this is for; to save you the hassle, time and energy you would spend if you were to hunt down this information yourself. And while you were wasting time doing that, you could have been collecting rent and making money!
So let’s get to it!
First Things First!
Here is a quick look at just a few things you may or may not have already looked into! There are some very important issues to watch out for first.
· Consult local building and zoning authorities to see if any rental restrictions apply to private residences in your area.
· Review mortgage documents and Home Owners Association for restrictions about renting out your home while the mortgage is in effect. Especially if your home is in a deed restricted area.
· Determine how much rent you should charge by checking rental rates of similar properties in your area in the classified section of the newspaper.
· Video (take pictures) your property and contents. It helps not only if a problem arises, but also with any insurance claims. Make sure to have a time/date stamp on the photos or videos.
· “De-Personalize” the home. When prospective renters come in, they want it to feel homey, just not someone else’s home!
Long Term Leases or Seasonal / Vacation Rentals
Basically, are you looking to rent/lease your home year to year to one set of tenants or do you have a home, a second home that you are looking to rent out during that area’s “prime vacation time” to multiple tenants?
You are looking for long-term leases, single set of tenants if:
· You are moving and want to rent out your primary residence until the market improves.
· You purchased a home to “flip” and now can’t sell it due to market conditions.
· You purchased a home with the intent of renting.
You are looking for short-term leases, many tenants if:
· You purchased a home in a “vacation spot”, think Disney World, near ski resorts, beaches or summer vacation destinations.
· You have purchased a 2nd home and want to stay in it yourself from time to time.
