Calling all landlords!

[clemsonfan]

Anyone out there ever rented their house? We have a house that we were going to put on the market but now we are leaning towards renting it out. Any advice out there?

[Rizon]

I rent out a townhouse, but to a really good friend.

Things to keep in mind: make them sign a contract (obviously). Get a security deposit and make it extra for pets. Background check.

There is a website that's got good rental forms. Legalzoom or something?

[clemsonfan]

We were thinking about using Legalzoom. How much extra do you think we should charge for pets? We are thinking about $800/month for rent without pets. And $800 security deposit.

[Telle]

Don't rent to family.. EVER.

[Rizon]

We were thinking about using Legalzoom. How much extra do you think we should charge for pets? We are thinking about $800/month for rent without pets. And $800 security deposit.

My friend one street over pays $1000/deposit for each additional pet (for a 4/2 house).

Pets destroy the shit out of things. Especially cats.

[Vince, Pt. II]

We had to put down a $500 pet deposit on the house my roommates and I are renting for their two cats.

[clemsonfan]

We are also trying to figure out how to market the house. Should we run an ad in the paper? It's very expensive ($29/day or $84/week). Should we use craigslist? Should we post flyers on bulletin boards at nearby grocery stores? Should we just stick a sign in the front yard? The sign option makes me think we are advertising it to potential thieves that this is a vacant house.

[Rizon]

We are also trying to figure out how to market the house. Should we run an ad in the paper? It's very expensive ($29/day or $84/week). Should we use craigslist? Should we post flyers on bulletin boards at nearby grocery stores? Should we just stick a sign in the front yard? The sign option makes me think we are advertising it to potential thieves that this is a vacant house.

All except paper. Nobody reads it anymore.

And yes, if you advertise it and it's vacant then there is potential for thieves and all sorts of scams, especially squatters who can't be removed by the police (it's HUGE in this area).

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Background check is VERY important. I found this out the hard way back before the internet made finding things out like what to do when renting a house. The woman I rented to was a con artist who was very well known to the state police. I lost a decent amount of money on it, the place was in horrible condition when I got it back and she had been using my name in running credit card scams.

Talking to the guy that owns the house now, he renovates and rents houses. I was very impressed with how he says he works. He has it written into the lease that if the rent is one day late eviction will commence and they will have 10 days to vacate the home. He checks his property weekly. If the home is damaged beyond what is covered by the deposit they are liable. If they do not keep the place up, he will make repairs/cut the lawn/shovel snow and add the cost to their next month's rent bill. If they do not pay...

[chadritt]

a $1000 deposit per pet sounds extraordinarily high. I used to rent the bottom of a duplex with friends and we didnt have to pay anything extra when we got a cat. The furniture was all ours though so if you own the furniture there its a different story.

The landlord lived above us though so he would know fairly quickly if were doing anything harmful to the home, which i imagine gave him a ton of piece of mind.

[stevew]

I'm fairly certain he can write whatever he wants into a lease, but eviction is a legal process in most states and won't be done in 10 days no matter what he thinks.

[Rizon]

a $1000 deposit per pet sounds extraordinarily high. I used to rent the bottom of a duplex with friends and we didnt have to pay anything extra when we got a cat. The furniture was all ours though so if you own the furniture there its a different story.

The landlord lived above us though so he would know fairly quickly if were doing anything harmful to the home, which i imagine gave him a ton of piece of mind.

Keep in mind it's California :D

edit: also a newly renovated house

[chadritt]

I should really put my location up one day, im in california as well. I will say that if our landlord had said it would cost us $1000 to get the cat we either wouldnt have gotten the cat or we wouldve moved. Thats not even debatable to me. Ive seen plenty of places that are $50/month or something like that and even that seems a bit much to me. Big dogs are another story though I guess.

[Marc Vaughan]

I've some experience with this sort of thing - some quick off the cuff comments:

* Use an agency by all means but ALWAYS keep a semi-regular physical eye on the house, from the outside at least (I drive past mine every couple of months - if its tatty on the outside then it'll be worse inside etc.).
* Always vet the tenants yourself even if using an agency.
* Always give the tenants your contact details even if you use an agency.
* Don't trust an agency to drain pipes of water if its vacant in a cold climate; chances are they'd be able to worm their way out of liability.
* Always ensure its in pristine condition when you rent it out (less haggling over the state of things when someone leaves).
* If you're in a homeowners area with regulations then consider getting some items (grass cutting, shrubbery cutting etc.) done through a company and price it into your rent - far easier than having a lazy tenant get you in trouble with the homeowners association etc.
* Don't expect to make a huge amount of money from renting out a house - one large cost incurred (roof repair etc.) can easily wipe out a years profits in one go.
* Always ensure you get a decent contract drawn up with a penalty clause in place if they exit early (as otherwise if they do so you'll find yourself out a few months rent which can be painful).

Strangely on the 'pet' front we've always allowed small dogs and cats on our property so long as they realize if theres damage it comes out of their deposit, this approach helps ensure that the house is always occupied as there aren't many places which accept pets .... we always vet people and personally I have found generally that smokers cause far more destruction (in terms of requiring repainting, burn marks etc.) than pet owners.

[Arctus]

I rent out a two bedroom house about 10 minutes away from my home, a new tenant just moved in last month.

Contracts / background checks / interviews are a must.
I got plenty of interest just by using craigslist, we didn't need to do anything else to advertise.
We require one month's rent as a security deposit and an additional month's rent as a pet deposit.
We have an oil furnace. Our first tenant let the oil run out twice. The second time caused damage. Take time to make sure your tenants fully understand what they need to maintain and how to do it.
If you want to attract college students, make sure your rent cycle is in sync with the semester schedule.

[Ben E Lou]

Bump. Any particular internet credit check agencies recommended?

[CU Tiger]

Ive used:
Mysmartmove.com the applicant payss the fee online and it emails YOU the report. Down side it doesnt include past evictions. Thats why I stopped using this one.

myrental.com I didnt really like the format but info was solid


We have grown our rental list over the past 3 years and now I use software called buildium that manages my P/L and PM stuff and includes background checks.

We charge our applicants a $40 application fee to cover the background check if they are placed in the property it gets credited to their first months rent. Shocking how many "never been conviceted"(s) become "do you count that one time" when you tell them about the fee.

[HomerSimpson98]

As a homeowner who has lived next to a house that has been rented several times over the past few years, I think renting houses sucks a dong.