Tips on Renting your Property

Today, I am going to write about renting your property. Ann and I have rented properties we have owned for over 10 years. Most of our experiences in renting properties we have owned have been good ones. However, I confess that some of what I share with you has been learned through mistakes we have made along the way. Here are a few tips we have learned:

MAINTENANCE OF RENTAL PROPERTY
Before you begin marketing your property for rent, do a thorough inspection of the property and make a list of things that need maintenance and attention. Some of the most obvious things include painting, floor covering replacement, patching the drywall (before painting). I like to paint all the rooms the same color. This makes it much easier if the renters move out after a short period of time. Don't forget to change air filters in the HVAC system and make sure the smoke detector is working fine. I also like to change the door locks in case the former renters did not change all the keys. Speaking of property maintenance, use an excel spreadsheet or a file folder to keep track of dates of maintenance and repairs on the property.

MARKETING THE RENTAL PROPERTY

Marketing of your rental property does not to be an expensive proposition. I usually begin with simply putting a "for rent" sign in the yard and putting signs in the neighborhood with a phone number for persons to call. An ad with pictures of the property on Craiglist has proven a good way to market our properties. If you have a renters or buyers list, you can send information to them via mail or e-mail. They might be your best advertisers and you might want to offer them a referal fee if they bring you a good renter. Make sure you are honest about the property and that you avoid statements in your ads that break fair housing laws.

SHOWING THE PROPERTY

I have had mixed success with open houses for rental properties. I usually like to have open houses in the early evening for 60 to 90 minutes. One of the advantages of having open houses is that you don't have to arrange several times to show the house. It also is helpful psychologically if a prospective tenants if they see someone else looking at the property. Whether you choose to have them or not, make sure you have copies of a rental application on hand and a brochure about the property. Most prospective tenants will probably be looking at more than one property.

RENTING THE PROPERTY

I like to have prospective tenants to submit an application and an application fee. The application fee is non-refundable, and is used to pay the cost of screening the tenants. You can find various tenant screening systems on the internet for about $30. Do not be surprised if you find credit issues when the screen the tenant. For many tenants, they rent because they cannot qualify for a loan to buy. I usually will take to the prospective tenant about their report . I also like to use a rental agreement with the tenant which states the terms of the lease: monthly rent, when rent is due, where to mail the rent, consequences if rent is not paid on time, no. of persons who can be in the house, amount of security deposit, etc. As implied in the former sentence, I always ask for a security deposit and let it be slightly more than the monthly rent so the tenant does not see the security deposit as their final month's rent.

Once the property is rented and tenants are in place, be sure to visit the property at least once a year to inspect the property. This helps for you as the landlord to see what condition the tenant is keeping the property and also helps to see what maintenance or improvements might need to be made on the property in the future.

APPRECIATION OF TENANTS

Anyone who has rented property can probably tell horror stories of bad tenants. If you have a good tenant in place, show them your appreciation. It is commonplace for persons in other businesses to show appreciation to their customers. These tenants are your customers as a real estate investor. A card at Christmas or a gift card on special occasions (e.g. first year anniversary since moving in the property, etc.) can assist in keeping a good repoire with the tenant. We also have given small gifts to their children. As someone once told me, everyone appreciates being appreciated. Good luck with your rental property.- Randy Wall, Lora Lee Properties