nativetexan

rental management is a good thing to have. someone who can drive by and even check inside once a month. write into contract. it's your property and it needs to be checked on. My husband and I were good renters while still in Houston but his renters in this house we moved into, were not.

Kimkankwilt

I've heard that it's a good idea to collect the rent in person. Most nice folks shouldn't have a problem with that.

LavenderBlue

We have a rental home in Phoenix managed by a wonderful property management company that I highly recommend. There are good and bad management companies and they can make all the difference. AMHIK Sending you a private message with their info in case you go that way.

KalamaQuilts

My friend requires a $40.00 payment with application, and she checks the credit herself.

I would NOT get the rent in hand in person. If you think they are 8 year olds, don't rent to them.

cathyvv

Your home has only been on the market for a couple of days. Unless homes in the area aren't selling, then I think I'd wait a bit before considering renting.

Things to ask yourself before you rent:

Will you be staying in the local area so that you can actively manage the rental?

Will you be willing to fix things on a moments notice? That's not too terrible if you live near the rental, but when you're quite a distance away, that becomes a problem.

Can you cover the mortgage and other house expenses if the tenant doesn't pay and you have to evict them? Depending on state laws, this can be a long drawn out nightmare. Sadly, I know that from experience.

Some of the nicest people turn out to be the worst tenants, so be sure you check references and get a credit report. Have your tenant pay for the credit report and present it to you.

Talk to the possible tenants for at least a half hour. You will be amazed at what a person reveals to you in that time. We have decided to not rent to several potential tenants based on what those short conversations told us.

Of special importance to you: tenant complains about their current landlord, of their current neighbors. They will do the same to you and it starts on the day they move in to the house. We had tenants who liked each other and recommended each other until they were renting in the same building. Then they hated each other and each tenant refused to pay rent.

Specify in the lease that they are responsible for yard maintenance, that you are allowing them to use the appliances that are in the house now, but other than the stove and refrigerator, water heater, they are responsible for replacing things like the washer and dryer should they break down. Tenants tend to be more careful of the appliances if they know that they have to replace them if they go bad. The down side to this is that the washer/dishwasher may leak and cause damage to the house if something does go wrong and the tenant decides to live with it.

Utilities - in my town, the water and sewer is provided through a public utilty. If the water bill isn't paid, the town can put a lien on the home. If that's the case where you are, then you MUST pay the water bills. It's the only way to be sure they are paid and your home has no liens on it. Build it into the rent.

Pets: Since I have been in homes where there was dog poop all over the floor - required major work to get the urine and poop smell out - I say no pets to tenants because some people are really careless with their pets.

Have to go. You have lots to think about. Good luck.

Three Dog Night

It's the luck of the draw on renter's. We rented our home in Spokane for several years. Had both good and bad (family member was one of the worst) and checking references never helped-we finally had to hire a rental management firm which took care of replacing and fixing all the damage they did. Our neighbor from here moved to Spokane when it was just vacated and she was the best renter we ever had-were so glad when it finally sold. I would never put home up for rental again.

lynnie

My dh and I rented b4 we bought our condo. we left the place better. we also had an indoor cat who was a pleasure. no destruction. we painted b4 we left. put up window treatments and planted flowers all around. when I was a kid, we rented and again, planted beautiful flowers and trees and left it better. I have a friend renting a condo and she's put in hard wood flooring and redid the kitchen and bathroom. another friend got a ss oven for her apt, bc she lives there and wants it to be her home. good luck

CookyIN

Be sure you know exactly what your monthly costs will be. For instance, where I live the property tax on rental property is much higher than on a home you personally occupy. Check with your insurance agent too. And figure enough into the rent to cover lawn maintenance, etc. You might also check to see if you have a local group of "landlords" -- I'm sure they could offer some great insight. Good luck with whatever you decide!

jbj137

***
*** Renters can do more damage in one year
*** than you can recoup in rent.
***
*** Also if they quit paying you have to go through the Eviction procedure to get rid of them
*** then they will take it out on the property.
***

pocoellie

We're reluctant landlords, and if we could sell our house for what we need, we would sell it in a heartbeat. In 2012, we evicted tenants from h==l, it costs us $20,000 in clean up and repairs plus 4 1/2 months to get it ready to rent, the next tenants left owing us $2,300, and we spent roughly $4,000 in clean up and repairs, hopefully, the tenants we have now, will be good ones. It doesn't seem to matter how good their credit or background is. We aren't making any money off the rent, it pays the mortgage, taxes and insurance. There is NO WAY that I want to be a landlord once we can sell that house. We're still recovering from 2012, then had to spend $9,000 just a couple of weeks ago, for a new A/C and heating unit.