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Don't even consider managing the property yourself, pay the 10% and let a professional management company deal with it, it will save your sanity. They know how to do it, you don't..!! there is a lot more to it than meets the eye, you will encounter headaches you never imagined.
As far as a long term lease, I would love it! If you get a bad tenant on a long term lease, they can be evicted. You PM will know how......
I agree with this. I have a POA for my son in the Army, and I was charged with the responsibility of finding a tenant for his house. I found a reputable leasing agent, who handles 250+ properties. Bottom line is that if all goes well you can easily handle it. If anything goes sour, you want an experienced rental company to get them out, and quick.
I also agree that a long term lease is a dream come true. Why worry about finding another tenant every year?
The main issue is how they will take care of the place. Make sure you have many detail pictures. I also would add a rider to the standard lease. My rider is 2 pages long. It includes things as--no pets, and if a pet is discovered staying on the property the rent for that month is increased to $xxxx (about $200 more). Also have a provision that the charge for a late payment is $5 per day. Return check is $75. I list every occupant by name. A guest must be less than 10 days unless Landlord approval (prevents sub-renting, and additional people who may wreck the place). Must notify landlord if place is unoccupied for more than 15 days. state condition of each appliance and have pictures. Do not allow them under any circumstances to offset expenses from rent check-----keep that separate. Cannot paid without approval of landlord and approval of color. Must be notified anytime an emergency call is made to a utility company. Must be notified anytime police presence. If they are responsible for lawn, landscaping, must have a provision that if they do not--it will be done at $xxx per week (make sure it is on the high side so they will not elect to do this on a regular basis). Right to tour the property as needed with 3 days notice. All fines levied to you as owner, if as a result of their actions--will be payable by them immediately (not an offset to security). Number of vehicle that can be on property (ie with 2 car garage-may 3.) No parking on lawn. Nothing to be done that changes outside appearance of home. And much more
I am the OP. I spoke to a lawyer and he suggested that I go ahead with two months of deposit and mke a condition on the lease that the deposit can be used for non-payment and eviction.
I asked the agent to include this clause and the renters pulled out. They felt they were being judged.
One thing surprised me here. My agent used accusearch and they don't provide credit score with the search. When I asked my agent he had to do a separate pull and that cost him extra (I have to pay). Moreover the renters were pissed that their was a credit pull.
Isnt credit pull normal? Before buying this I had been renting for last 11 years and always saw a ding in the credit report. My agent is saying he works with 200+ landlords and he has never pulled one.
I am the OP. I spoke to a lawyer and he suggested that I go ahead with two months of deposit and mke a condition on the lease that the deposit can be used for non-payment and eviction.
I asked the agent to include this clause and the renters pulled out. They felt they were being judged.
One thing surprised me here. My agent used accusearch and they don't provide credit score with the search. When I asked my agent he had to do a separate pull and that cost him extra (I have to pay). Moreover the renters were pissed that their was a credit pull.
Isnt credit pull normal? Before buying this I had been renting for last 11 years and always saw a ding in the credit report. My agent is saying he works with 200+ landlords and he has never pulled one.
LOL! Well done! You called their bluff beautifully. As a renter, I would have no problem with your clause about using the deposit for non-payment and eviction, because I know that would never be an issue.
Your job is to judge them as potential tenants, of course they are being judged. Well, they had to say something other than, "How dare you thwart my bankruptcy/free rent plans?"
And YES it's absolutely normal to pull a report. Not just normal, but essential!
Fire your agent. You can do this fine on your own, with your lawyer's advice. This agent is not only not helpful, but detrimental. And possibly a crook. Betcha he charges the LL for the credit pull, then goes for the cheap option instead, and pockets the difference. Betcha every time one of his 200 landlords has to evict someone, the agent gets another fee for dealing with it, then another fee for finding a new tenant.
I am the OP. I spoke to a lawyer and he suggested that I go ahead with two months of deposit and mke a condition on the lease that the deposit can be used for non-payment and eviction.
I asked the agent to include this clause and the renters pulled out. They felt they were being judged.
another red flag!!
One thing surprised me here. My agent used accusearch and they don't provide credit score with the search. When I asked my agent he had to do a separate pull and that cost him extra (I have to pay). Moreover the renters were pissed that their was a credit pull.
too bad...most, if not all landlord pull a credit report as well as a background check.....you did do a full background check on both adults right???
Isnt credit pull normal? Before buying this I had been renting for last 11 years and always saw a ding in the credit report. My agent is saying he works with 200+ landlords and he has never pulled one.
You need a new agent..I don't know of any landlord (other than slumlords) who do not pull a credit report on tenants.
I'm saying this one more time.....let these people pass you by and go screw someone else over.
I asked the agent to include this clause and the renters pulled out. They felt they were being judged.
Excellent news that they've withdrawn their application and hopefully you've learned a good lesson and won't make the same mistakes again. There were so many warning signals which you tried to justify and, had you gone ahead and accommodated these potential tenants, you likely would have ended up in a horrible mess of aggravation and litigation.
Work with an agent who has your best interest at heart. It's your property, your rules and it's far better to wait for the right tenant than to compromise. In my opinion the suggestion that you find a good property manager until you know more about the responsibilities of being a LL is an excellent one. Good luck!
Hey Guys, We got another rental application. I am not sure about the credit of the potential renters, but my agent knows my criteria and he says he has let them know and they said it wont be a problem. I had a No Pets policy but this person has a rabbit. I have heard horrible things about rabbits that they chew every possible things chew-able. They claim that they keep the rabbit outside in a pen. Should I even consider this. Someone suggested that I should
1. take a larger deposit
2. get reference about the rabbit from ex-landlord because some rabbits are well trained
3. have a clause that deposit will be used to fix everything the rabbit spoils
Hey Guys, We got another rental application. I am not sure about the credit of the potential renters, but my agent knows my criteria and he says he has let them know and they said it wont be a problem. I had a No Pets policy but this person has a rabbit. I have heard horrible things about rabbits that they chew every possible things chew-able. They claim that they keep the rabbit outside in a pen. Should I even consider this. Someone suggested that I should
1. take a larger deposit
2. get reference about the rabbit from ex-landlord because some rabbits are well trained
3. have a clause that deposit will be used to fix everything the rabbit spoils
Help Please!! Thanks
If you don't want pets, say no pets. If you want pets, say yes to pets. The choice is yours and only you can make that decision.
Often the deposit doesn't cover pet damage along with human damage... can you ask for two different deposits? One for the people and one for the rabbit? Are you limited on the dollar amount you can ask for deposits?
At least they were honest about the rabbit..that's a point for them. Run the rest of their info and if they are rental worthy, then make your decision about the rabbit.
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