Rental property listing (Sugar Land: credit, house, tenants)

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As a first-time landlord, I have a house in SL and want to rent it out.

Can the experienced folks here please help me with the process? How and where to list the property? Things to look out for? I would like to do the listing and property management by myself. I want to get educated along this process.

Thank you in advance.

[hendersj31]

If it is your first..Don't do it yourself. It may very well become your last. Get an agent or a property management company to list it for you. They will also perform the credit\background checks for you to ensure qualified candidates. They can also become the enforcer when things don't go as planned and you have to evict. I would start by contacting an agent in Sugar Land and negotiating a fee. An estimate would be one months rent but can be negotiated especially if you are flexible with things like property showings\open house. Anything that makes it easier on the agent and gets someone in the house quicker.

You can learn what you need to by working closely with your agent or management company during the process.

Be sure to have a detailed lease agreement that states what is included and what is not. A few key items are:

What the tenant is responsible for repairing and what you are responsible for.
Security deposit amount and what is required of the tenant to get it back
When rent is due and when it is considered late, including what the late payment penalty is.
A trip fee if you need to visit the home for repair or inspection - can be refunded or waived if responsibility is yours. This avoids tenants calling you over every little thing.

If they pay late charge them the late fee. Send a certified letter to the tenant. This helps if you need to take legal action.

The most important thing is to have a qualified tenant because it will save you many headaches. It is best to have a separate account you use for this especially if the rent is used to cover the mortgage. It avoids the money getting used up from transactions out of your regular checking account. It is also neater when filing taxes. Yes, you file it.

Hope this helps.