If you’re having trouble selling your home in the current economic downturn, there are options. Many people have had their houses on the market for 6, 7, 8 months or longer without any offers. You may need to sell your home due to a job transfer, divorce, increased family size, or perhaps your payments are too high and need to be lowered. What should a landlord do? Your best bet may be to rent your home until home prices start to recover.
Many homeowners are afraid to rent their homes because of the horror stories they hear: unruly tenants punching holes in walls, clogging toilets, or not paying rent for months, forcing the landlord to make potentially damaging mortgage payments. solve. But these problems can simply be avoided with a good rental agreement and good management.
Most people who are not experienced landlords prefer to have their rental handled by a real estate company. This is a good idea if you are willing to listen to your agent’s advice regarding the price of your rental. Real estate agents know the market and will tell you the rental price of your house in the current market. They will take care of finding a tenant and checking credit. They will manage home repairs and evictions, if necessary. The experienced real estate manager knows how to keep tenants from “misbehaving” so he can feel safe renting his property.
If you prefer to handle the rental yourself, here are some tips for being a successful landlord.
Before you start the rental process, get a good rental agreement. Check out some landlord websites that post handy rental agreements and rental application forms you can use. You can also see a lawyer to get a good rental agreement and an application form. Be sure to address things like who tends the yard, if smoking is allowed, if pets are allowed and if an additional “pet deposit” is required, who is responsible for fixing appliances if they break, what appliances are included, etc. Once you’ve found the rental agreement you want to use, the next step is to obtain a “Move-In Condition Report.” This report addresses the condition of the home and allows the landlord and tenant to acknowledge the condition of each room in the home. If there are any questions about the condition of the property at the time of move-in, the report will clarify any questions. Generally, the tenant must return the report to the landlord within 2 days of moving into the property.
Next, look for a service you can use to check the credit history of prospective tenants. You can join the National Association of Independent Homeowners for a nominal fee and check credit online through their website.
Once you’ve found the right tenant, you’ll have them sign the rental agreement, collect the deposits and first month’s rent, and hand over the keys. It is a good idea to collect the deposit and the first month’s rent in the form of a money order. You wouldn’t want a tenant to move into your house only to find that their deposit and rent checks are invalid! He would have to start the eviction process without receiving any money!
Once you have received the initial money order at move-in, you may want to allow the tenant to make future payments by personal check. If you ever get a check returned, your rental agreement should specify that all future payments will be made by money order.
Finally, it is a good idea to find an attorney who specializes in evictions. He will probably never need one as long as he manages his property according to the lease, no exceptions, always being courteous to his tenants. But if he ever needs to evict, he’ll feel better having an eviction lawyer in his arsenal.
If you bought your home in 2002 or earlier, you’re in luck. You can probably rent your house for a profit, or at least an amount that covers your mortgage payment. Even if you have to rent your home for $100 less than your mortgage payment, you probably won’t have to foreclose on that amount.
You may be able to pay your home rent at a loss if the home you are moving into has a lower monthly payment than your current home. Depending on your financial situation, renting at a loss of, say, $200/month may be better than leaving the house empty, losing the full amount of your mortgage payment each month!
It’s a good idea to look at your entire financial picture before deciding whether to stay in your home, rent it out, or sell it for less than you want in this economic downturn. For more information and tips on selling your home, visit http://tampahouse1.com/home_sellers.html
