Renters?
 

Does anyone have any experience with renters? Hubby and I put our home on the market Tuesday, and last night, our realtor called to say a family would like to rent our home. They have two older children (15 and 20) and have been renting their current residence since 2009. Not sure why they prefer to rent, but I guess that's their business. The monthly rent they are offering will offset our current mortgage so hubby is thinking this may be a good idea. All I hear are renter horror stories. Are there any good stories out there? We have until Sunday to make a decision.

check their references...go to currant house to see how it looks..call the landlord good luck

We have been renting out a home for about 4 years now the first family were kind of a pain and they left things a bit of a mess....the family we have now is wonderful they keep things great. Because we are going to sell that house at some point we provide a weekly gardener, and pool care their rent covers that the mortgage, insurance, propery taxes, and we make a profit.

Talk to your agent about getting all the proper documents and background checks that are legal. If she is your selling agent she should give you honest advise as far as what you can or should expect and how hard or easy it is too sell while you have renters.

Also talk to your financial/tax guy ask how it best benefits you and your situation for selling now or renting first.

If they've been currently renting a property since 2009, that can mean they are pretty stable. Often renters don't want to purchase because of their jobs. They may not want to mortgage a house because they can be transferred within a year or two. I had a client who leased a house with the intent of staying for at least 2 years. Then he got a job opportunity he couldn't pass up and moved 6 months later. Have your realtor (or you can do it also) a thorough background check.

We owned rental property for years. I'd say it is luck of the draw. Some renters are wonderful. Some are awful.

I've had previous landlords flat out lie to me about a renter. Of course, you don't find that out until after the fact.

Typically arranging to have repairs done is your responsibility. That may not be a big deal, but if you are moving far away I would think it would be a pain.

I'd have to say overall our landlord experience was tolerable and profitable. We sold out when my husband lost his job because we didn't want to own here if we were moving away.

Maybe they have decided to rent until the youngest child finishes high school, and then they will be ready for the empty nest phase and will re-evaluate. Who knows...

My husband and I were renters in the same house for 8 years. The owners loved us - we took nice care of the place and the yard and even did some upgrades (with the owners' blessings).

Look for document templates that you can use as a rental contract. Put some kind of clause in it if you decide to put the house on the market again that gives them a fair amount of time to relocate, if the house sells.

since my rental properties are in another state, i recently engaged Renters Warehouse in MN to get a new tenant for me. They charge 1 month's rent to do that. The agent I'm dealing with does not pursue renters with less than a 600 credit score. They guarantee their tenant for the first year. previously, i had used craig's list to find tenants and they are hit or miss. and, yes, previous landlords do lie.

with some people making drugs in homes, it always scares me. But still, there are nice people out there. Good luck.

The only experience I have had wasn't a good one. We had rent property for years and had nothing but trouble. About 1 out of 3 rents turned out good. They tend not to take care of your property like you would. Also, anything that goes wrong is your responsibility day or night. If you decide to rent your home make sure you get at least the first and last months rent as a deposit. I personally don't think that is enough. If they are experienced renters they won't be suprised by your deposit request so don't let them make you feel your are being unresonable. Just remember there is a certain amount of risk involved with renting. I certainly hope all goes well for you.

Your agent is a selling agent ... why is she not working to get buyers rather than renters. If it were me, I'd go with renting the house only if you could not find buyers. Is your real estate agent also into property management? I would contact a real estate lawyer in your community to make sure you are well protected and a thorough background check would be mandatory. I've had good renters that were wonderful, especially when I lived near the rental property but the hellish ones have far outnumbered the good ones and in one case it took almost a year to evict one group. Document carefully and thoroughly.