HELP! ideas for renting my TH before they foreclose (Cottage Grove: renters, credit report)

[FUSGrad]

Help! I need advice on trying to rent my townhome in Cottage Grove before I lose it completely. (I know GG isn't a fan of the area, but they have built 400K homes across the street from where I live and other building projects nearby so it can't be all that bad; and I have found it to be very quiet, friendly, and doesn't have the traffic problems of many of the other TC areas) I have done some preliminary checking on property management companies (PMC), but read on another post about the horror story of one renter. I don't want to rent at the expense of someone being dealt with unfairly. Does anybody have any inside info about the PMC in the TC area? Are there some to definitely avoid, any that are really good? Where else might one advertise a townhome for lease other than the newspaper? Are there any agencies or other community/corporate groups that accept "property for lease" info? I'm also networking to see if I can find some college kids (RESPONSIBLE) who might be interested in renting. This is the first day I've been on this forum...I am new to this media. Is there a good way to use any of the tools on this forum to connect with potential renters...ie use of threads/posts/etc.regularly? thanks for any help you can give.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by FUSGrad

Help! I need advice on trying to rent my townhome in Cottage Grove before I lose it completely. (I know GG isn't a fan of the area, but they have built 400K homes across the street from where I live and other building projects nearby so it can't be all that bad; and I have found it to be very quiet, friendly, and doesn't have the traffic problems of many of the other TC areas) I have done some preliminary checking on property management companies (PMC), but read on another post about the horror story of one renter. I don't want to rent at the expense of someone being dealt with unfairly. Does anybody have any inside info about the PMC in the TC area? Are there some to definitely avoid, any that are really good? Where else might one advertise a townhome for lease other than the newspaper? Are there any agencies or other community/corporate groups that accept "property for lease" info? I'm also networking to see if I can find some college kids (RESPONSIBLE) who might be interested in renting. This is the first day I've been on this forum...I am new to this media. Is there a good way to use any of the tools on this forum to connect with potential renters...ie use of threads/posts/etc.regularly? thanks for any help you can give.

There are some good Property Management Companies around and not so good. The reason they exist is because renting a property is a hassle. You need to run credit reports on renters, fix stuff, shovel, mow, collect rent, taxes are more complex etc. If you want somebody else to handle all that it will come at a cost.

Rental market is better than it was so you have that going for you.

Plenty of people think Cottage Grove is a good place to live. If the rent is right, you should be able to find some renters.

Be aware that your taxes will go up due to non homestead status. Also, make sure you set your rent high enough that you can make payments and have some left to go into a mangement account. You will miss out on rent from time to time and it is wise to prepare for that.

[Slig]

I have a few buddies who rent their houses out. Just make sure you have all the legal stuff down. Find out what you need as far as having potential renters fill out applications and put down deposits and check out their references. Place an ad for it on craigslist. Alot of people are renting right now so you shouldn't have problem finding interest.