It’s not easy being a landlord. You have to get your house ready to rent. You have to advertise to get perspective renters. You have to select the right renters. And then you have to be at their beck and call in the case that they have a problem with the house. And then you have to collect the rent when they’re late or evict them when they don’t keep their promise to you. What a headache!
Or you can learn the secrets to being successful landlord and put all those headaches behind you. Here are three secrets to successfully renting out your house.
SECRET ONE: SCOPE OUT THE COMPETING PROPERTIES
To find out what you need to do to maximize your success, tour competing properties in your immediate area, acting as if you are prospective renter. You can find out how the other landlords treat their prospects and steal their best methods and make them your own.
Make sure that you pick up copies of their marketing material-that is what they give prospective renters to take away to remind them of what they saw.
Ask for a rental application to see what kind of things they’re looking for. Ask if they have a sample lease agreement that you can review. Not every landlord will make this available to you, but it’s worth asking for. (Look at my other articles for a free rental lease that you can use as an example.)
If you want to have the complete experience, fill out a rental application and see how you’re treated. You can just say that you found some other place or changed your mind if they pick you to rent the house.
If you do this with half a dozen properties, you’ll get a great idea of property conditions, rent ranges, and terms and conditions that are common in your area. If you’re new landlord, this experience can teach you a lot in very short time.
With this information it will be easy to see if it’s worth it for you to rent your home, or if you want to let somebody else manage it, or if you want to put on the market to sell.
SECRET TWO: MAKE YOUR HOUSE VERY DESIRABLE
If your house is just like every other house on the block or like every other apartment in the building, it will be difficult to attract a great renter that will take care of your house and pay the rent on time.
On the other hand, a clearly superior home will attract better renters and allow you to command a higher rent. The kind of people who you want as good tenants will be embarrassed by a dingy and worn-out home. They won’t want to bring their friends and family into that environment.
This means you need to invest a little extra in the house to make it look great. With the information you gathered from Secret One, above, you can decide how to put minor upgrades into your home that really stand out from the competition.
I do simple things like upgrade light fixtures, install new flooring and carpeting, replace the kitchen sink, replace the bathroom sink, and replace the drip pans on the stove so it looks fresh and clean.
Consider fresh paint or carefully touch up the walls so everything looks clean and tidy.
I also make sure that the property is absolutely spotless, with clean windows, clean entryway, and professionally cleaned carpets. I also replaced all the light bulbs with maximum wattage bulbs so that the house is as bright as possible. A dark house doesn’t show well but a bright house moves fast.
SECRET THREE: SET YOUR RENT AT LEAST 10 PERCENT HIGHER
A slightly higher rent then the competing properties won’t scare away the type of renters you’re looking for, but will move along the cheap skates that you don’t need in your house. And besides, it will be worth it to your renters because your house looks so much better since you’ve followed Secret Two, above.
To make your higher rent stick, create a marketing page that calls out all the valuable capabilities and features of your home.
Courtesy Rental Choice
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