leasing our house out? (Austin, Cedar Park: hazard insurance, sex offender, eviction)

[orngkat]

We may be making an unexpected move and I am wondering whether or not to try leasing our house for a while until we are ready to sell. Any advice on setting a rental price? It is smallish, north central with huge fenced yard.

[tom331]

Selling could be a better option if you are out of town. The rate is still low and the demand is high. We leased our house for a year after we moved to a new house 10 years ago. The tenant destroyed it. It costed us more money to repair it than the rental income. I learned a lesson and will not take a chance in the future.

[EzPeterson]

1. Take a look and see what comparable places are renting for on a PSF basis to get a ballpark for yours. Don't forget to account for increased wear/tear and hazard insurance (A DP-3 policy or tenant-occupied Homeowner's policy is generally 25-35% more expensive than a standard Homeowner's policy). There appears to be some pretty big price swings in North Central, since everyone's definition of such is different. Looks like anywhere from $1/PSF to $2/PSF depending on finish and location.

2. Account for yard maintenance - are you including this in the price of rent, or requiring the tenants to do so?

3. You may want to consider using a property management service if you're a first time or reluctant landlord, particularly if you're moving some distance away. I rented a house while I was out of state, and I'd never do that again.

[CptnRn]

SF, # bedrooms, # bathrooms, any special amenities? Rental prices are high now and will likely stay that way for years. Plus house appreciation values are predicted to be in double digits, so holding onto the property could be profitable.

Check rental prices of other similar homes on Realtor.com for your area.

I currently rent out a 1300 SF 3bdrm, 2 bath, 2 car garage w automatic garage door openers, small yard in SW Austin for $1360. I do provide yard maintenance, and it has a sprinkler system which I control. If I living away from Austin I would probably let the tenant control it. I change the high efficiency air filters every 3 months and have the AC checked in spring and gas heater checked in fall.

Your most important job is to screen the tenant applicants thoroughly.

Last time I did this I used RenTec.

RenTec Tenant Screening $29.45 - recommended in renting forum
http://www.rentecdirect.com/details/..._screening.php
Premium Screening = Nationwide criminal search, sex offender, SSN validation, Death Index check, address history, TransUnion Credit Report, FICO Credit Score, Nationwide Eviction Search.
- not much to the TransUnion credit report

Check previous rental references.
Verify employment and income.
Look for income equal to at least 3x the rent.
No pets
Eliminate anyone who lies about anything on the application
Charge an application fee to cover the cost and time.
Charge an application deposit that you keep if the candidate is accepted and fails to sign a lease.
I obtained a lease written for Texas laws from U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. http://www.uslegalforms.com
Charge a security deposit, one months rent is common around here for someone with good credit and references, but may be going up.

Take numerous time dated photos of the condition of the property before the tenant moves in and again when they move out, so you can prove any damages they cause, which you then itemize and withhold from the security deposit. Make back-ups of the photos incase your hard drive crashes like mine did and lost them all. Read what the law says on handling security deposits especially written notices of damages after move out.

Educate yourself, read up on Texas landlord tenant laws here http://www.housing-rights.org/brochures.html
Do not use the forms they sell, they are heavily biased towards the tenants with things the landlord has no obligation to do.

The TX law requires you to rekey the locks between tenants.

The City-Data Renting Forum is a great asset for seeking advice from other landlords //www.city-data.com/forum/renting/
Laws vary from state to state so don't believe everything you read there without verifying what Texas requires.

[Snow-Flake]

My husband had a sudden job transfer and we left our home in Cedar Park, after only living in it for 6 months. We have been renting it out for the past 2 years now and have not run into any major issues (knock on wood). We were very strict with credit and background checks. We also asked for 2 months rent up front as a security deposit and verified income and employer before choosing a tenant from the applicant pool. Definitely check out what homes in your are have rented for in the past 6 months to get a better idea. I also pay for our lawn maintenance to ensure that the yard does not get neglected by tenants.

[orngkat]

Wow...sounds like a lot to learn if we lease out. I appreciate all the tips.

[woodinvilleguy]

It isn't all horror stories. We have had the same renter for 5 years now with no late payments. They take care of the yard and house well.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

It isn't all horror stories. We have had the same renter for 5 years now with no late payments. They take care of the yard and house well.

I agree, in 10 years of leasing we have had only 2 primary tenants, with a few room mate changes in the last one, which has been there the last 9 years. The only problem we had was the first tenant left without paying the last months rent, but we kept the deposit.

However, many landlords can tell some pretty nightmarish stories about some bad tenants, which is why proper screening of your applicants is very important.

[TexasHorseLady]

If you're moving out of town, get a property management company. That's what we did before I was an agent, and it was worth every penny. For one thing, THEY are the ones getting the 2 a.m. water leak call and taking care of it! Plus, it's their job to keep you on the right side of the law and to check potential tenants, etc. All things you can do if you're in town, but harder if you're out of town.