Renting out a property isn’t just a simple matter of handing over your keys to a tenant. There are a few key steps to keep in mind throughout this new, lucrative process: Marketing your property, doing the paperwork, and trustworthiness towards tenants, to name a few. At times, it may be a bit irritating with the challenges that come with it, like finding the right tenant and ensuring that your property won’t be misused by said tenants, keeping up on damages and maintenance, and ensuring no delays in rent payments.
If you’re a hopeful landlord looking to rent out your property, the Spears & Co team can assist you in making this process the smoothest one possible:
Fix the rent
When planning to lease your property, one of the first steps is to fix a rent amount for your tenants. Before setting the amount, it’s best to keep in mind the region’s current market trends. Fixing higher than the market rate would make it difficult for you to find a tenant. On the other hand, if your property comes with extra perks and you intend to set a higher price accordingly, ensure you clarify everything provided in your offer. Whether it’s furnishings, trash disposal, covered parking, or special security devices.
Rent agreement
It’s highly advised to make a legal contract when you’re putting your property up for rent. Ensure that the papers are correctly signed and the terms and conditions are made explicitly clear. Producing a rental agreement between you and the tenant ensures a steady process with much less confusion. This way, the document will bind both the owner and tenant parties, which they mutually agree to honor.
Marketing the property
In our tech-savvy era, buying, renting, or selling a property is just a click away. It would only be logical to make your property catch more eyes by taking advantage of various real estate websites such as www.spearsandcorealestate.com. Now you have a powerful tool that provides the service of broadcasting your property as a “home for rent.” Of course, there’s always the more traditional avenue of advertising through newspapers or even word of mouth.
Hire a broker
Hiring a broker has many advantages. These are professionals who’s entire job consists of streamlining the process and finding you the right tenant. They can significantly reduce the headache in creating agreements and other paperwork involved in tenant verification. Their services come at no small cost, but make the process hassle-free and less time-consuming.
Details of furnishings
List out the furnishing of your house with each set of further information for fittings and features. If the tenant did any damage, a penalty charge could then be applied to cover the loss. Before putting a property up for rent, landlords should check the conditions of walls and roofs to verify no damage is present before the tenant resides there.
Advance and rent increase
Make sure you take at least one-month rent in advance, which is a common practice. As a landlord, you can ask for a preventive charge for any property damage or in case the tenant may not be able to pay a month’s rent. Generally, practice increasing house rent annually.
Police Verification
It’s crucial to check the tenant’s background. It can lower the risk of providing rent to a person with a criminal history, particularly theft. Ask for details such as the identification proof and the verification form, which can be easily downloaded from the state police department’s website. Submit this to a local police station.
No Commercial Usage
Some tenants have been known to use the property for commercial purposes to avoid high rental prices. Sometimes opening a small office or a tuition center. Be sure to make the context of their rental agreement clear right from the start and make occasional visits to ensure it’s honored.
