Does anyone know how best to get a house rented? (Nice: apartment complex, renters)

[hethrly]

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place, but there seem to be a lot of people "in the know" on this board.
We have been trying to sell our house for 6 months. Now, we have to rent it. We have decided to do it ourselves, as opposed to hiring a propery management company.
Does anyone here have experience with this? I'm wondering -- besides a sign in the front yard and craiglist, if there is a better way?
Or do we just pack it in and hope hiring a management company will get the job done?
Thanks!
Heather

[inpd]

Originally Posted by hethrly

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place, but there seem to be a lot of people "in the know" on this board.
We have been trying to sell our house for 6 months. Now, we have to rent it. We have decided to do it ourselves, as opposed to hiring a propery management company.
Does anyone here have experience with this? I'm wondering -- besides a sign in the front yard and craiglist, if there is a better way?
Or do we just pack it in and hope hiring a management company will get the job done?
Thanks!t
Heather

I've rented my home before and it works like this: the property manager will
just do the grunt work (collect checks, send out repair people etc). If you can
do that, then save the money. In the end you'll make all the decisions (i.e.
renter, whether to do repairs or not etc).

I would first try renting it yourself and if that doesn't work, then hire a professional.

[Lori Prizmich]

Craig's list is a good place to advertise, just stay on top of keeping it updated. Here are my suggestions:
1) Put a flyer box on the property with flyers that have all the details and a for rent sign out front (if allowed in your area)
2) Place rental applications in the box also
3) When potential renters call, have them drive by and pick up an application. This way you aren't driving over to the house all the time for folks who might not end up liking the exterior, the area, the drive, etc.
4) If they are interested, have them fax you an application (get a jfax which sends their fax to your email $20 month or free intro period in some cases)
5) Consolidate showings as much as possible so that you aren't driving over there twice a day.
6) Have them bring their credit report, check references, and double check that the address that they use for their reference matches the tax records. In other words, the landlord is the owner of the house (not a cousin, etc).
Check references, check credit, check job, check, check, check...
One hour spent here is worth it. There is a lot of heartache in being too trusting with folks who are going to be living in your investment.
7) Get a home warranty so that if anything goes wrong with appliances, plumbing, etc. you pay the deductible and the contractor takes care of the work.

[volleyballer]

Really, if you want it rented. Drop the price. Asking your mortgage will not get people in. Nice apartments are so much cheaper than a house. You just probably need to drop the price, and you'll get some calls. Obviously this will directly affect your pocket, but housing prices (and rent prices) are still falling.

Originally Posted by hethrly

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place, but there seem to be a lot of people "in the know" on this board.
We have been trying to sell our house for 6 months. Now, we have to rent it. We have decided to do it ourselves, as opposed to hiring a propery management company.
Does anyone here have experience with this? I'm wondering -- besides a sign in the front yard and craiglist, if there is a better way?
Or do we just pack it in and hope hiring a management company will get the job done?
Thanks!
Heather

[inpd]

Originally Posted by volleyballer

Really, if you want it rented. Drop the price. Asking your mortgage will not get people in. Nice apartments are so much cheaper than a house. You just probably need to drop the price, and you'll get some calls. Obviously this will directly affect your pocket, but housing prices (and rent prices) are still falling.

That's a double edged sword. If you drop it, you could attract
not very nice people. Our apartment complex prefers to keep
a few apts vacant but charge $1500 per month because it means
you don't attract that one bad customer who will do $15K in damage.

[DMenscha]

Hire a Professional! Most people don't realize that being a landlord is a 24/7 job. Tenant calls to fix something, tenant calls to tell you rent will be late.

Having a professional will allow you to sleep at night, and they know the rental market and have all the tools required to do credit checks and other screening.

Good luck in any case.

[Luke9686]

You could also list it in the Sac Bee.

I agree that the price is important. Just because your mortgage is $2200 (or whatever) per month, doesn't mean you can get that for it. Find houses like yours in the general area that are for rent, and see what they rent for.

[spiritbear928]

You know there are good people with not so good credit who need a place to live too.

[Kingsnkali]

I would rather have the place empty then rent to the wrong tenant.

Lower the price BUT make sure you have good tenants. I would rather have great tenants at $1100 a month than destructive bums at $1500.

And think of your neighbors and neighborhood too. They have to live with the people you pick to live in your house.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by spiritbear928

You know there are good people with not so good credit who need a place to live too.

Good people with the best intentions do not always get the bills paid. Renters often think a landlord is wealthy.
A good credit rating shows a landlord a past commitment to paying on time.