3 Tips To Help You Successfully Rent Your Home
Owning a single family home gives you the potential opportunity to rent the home out to tenants and become a landlord. This is a good way to help your property pay for the property's mortgage and expenses when you are not going to be living in the property. As is necessary you know what to expect during the process, here are three tips to help you successfully rent your home out to tenants:
Determine the Rent Price
Before you rent out your home, you will need to figure out what the going rent for your home would be on the rental market. You can determine this by looking at similar homes in the area that are being rented or are for rent. It can be helpful to look on local classified websites and drive through nearby neighborhoods to call on listings to find out what rent prices are. As you determine your home's rental potential, consider any feature your home has that could boost its rental price, such as a garage, a large fenced-in yard with landscaping and mature trees, the number of bedrooms, and a fire place.
Screen Any Potential Tenants
It is important to find out all you can about anyone who wants to rent your home. They will be living in and caring for your home, so you want to find out what type of renter they are and some of their information. Ask them to fill out a rental application, which you can find a copy available online through several rental websites, or you can get a copy at a local office supply store. Be sure to find out where they have lived in the past and call their previous landlords to make sure they have been responsible renters.
Verify your potential renter's income to make sure they can afford to pay their rent. Ask them for copies of their most recent two or three pay checks to verify their income. Then, check their credit by pulling a copy of their credit report. Credit report searches are available through many landlord service websites. Be sure your rental application informs your tenant you will be reviewing this information and they have signed the application giving you their consent.
Consider a Property Manager
When renting your property long-term, you may consider hiring a property manager to take care of the day-to-day tasks. Hiring a property manager will free up your time to live your life and work a full-time job you likely have, while they handle all the details associated with managing your property. Especially if you do not live close to your rental property. A property manager can advertise and show the property to prospective tenants, qualify them through the application process, handle repairs and service calls on the property, collect rent, and handle any potential evictions.
Use these tips to help you rent your home successfully.