Where should I advertise my house for rental? (Austin: real estate, apartment)

[woodinvilleguy]

Any advice on where I should advertise my house that I'm turning into a rental? Craigslist? where else?

We are going to do our own property management since we will be about 1 mile away.

[austin-steve]

Put up a sign, and run an ad in Craigslist. If you have a community paper that still has classified ad readership (rare nowadays) you might consider that, but we stopped running classified newspaper ads years ago. Maybe they still work in smaller areas though. Not sure where in the Austin areayou're located.

Be careful. Scammers and rotten tenants seek out "for rent by owner", hoping you don't know how to properly screen them.

We are going to do our own property management since we will be about 1 mile away.

Proximity to the property is less important than about 10+ other things in deciding to manage your own rental. Read up on the subject and make sure you want to hire yourself for the job. Many owners do a fine job themselves, but many others step in bigtime poo and lose more money than 5 years of management fees would have covered.

Good luck,

Steve

[marylee54]

I disagree about listing on Craig's List, putting up signs, etc. That's almost asking for a bad renter.

We used to own rental property and always listed with an agent, usually a real estate agent or an apartment locator. We found better luck with an apartment locator, they also take homes as listings, real estate agents are more interested in the commission from selling as opposed to renting.

They usually charge one month's rent as commission, money well-spent. They screen potential renters saving you big headaches later. They can run backgound checks, credit checks, check last place rented for references, etc., all stuff you can't do on your own. Also they show the place, which can be a timesaver if your schedule doesn't permit it. And they draw up the paperwork, which can be difficult for you to draw up your own lease. They suggested things, like a clause that the renter pay the first $35 of any repairs, that kept renters from whining in the middle of the night about a burned out light bulb.

And its safer that way to have a buffer of sorts between you and the potential renter, you just don't know who you're dealing with. We also had a property management company manage our property, we were out-of-state, that came in handy. Also its best to keep direct contact between you and the renter limited, let them go through a 3rd party, people do strange things when they get p'od.

[Philip T]

Sitting on the other side of the fence, as it were -- a would-be renter in your area -- we have shopped Craigslist, along with the other more commercial sites. Dunno that one iis better than any other, but I would advise to be very open and forthcoming with all available information. I have followed that some listings like to use "teaser" info, to try to get one to call for more info. My experience is those are generally placed by wankers who think they are "salespeople," and now we pretty much blow them off and by-pass them.

I suppose our concern(s) run some of the other directions than concerns about bad tenants -- things like scam leases, etc. Have heard it all. Well probably not all, but things like folks "renting" places they do not own, or renting out places in or near foreclosure and then the tenant gets evicted without even knowing what is going on. So the concerns can run both directions.

Dunno if property management operations protect against any of that, or if they somehow warranty against such operations?

[atxcio]

Craigslist is essential! It's the best place to reach to potential relocatees, who seem to be much less price-sensitive and often more decisive than local renters (IMO). You certainly will have to do your due diligence to make sure you are screening the applicants carefully, but I've had good luck with craigslist people. The Statesman is not too expensive to run an ad, but response rate seemed low to me... As mentioned before, signs are always good too. You'll have to deal with a bunch of price checkers, but if you are in a good area the sign brings people who know and like that area. I've also used the "for rent" type magazines, with some success. But CL and the sign are tops.

If you are doing your own property management (as I have been doing for 12 years or so), you may want to become a member of this organization --

National Tenant Network

Being your own property manager is MUCH easier if you are in close proximity. Just be careful with your screening, and be prepared to let the property sit until you can find a well qualified tenant. The above site can help with that screening.

Good luck!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Philip T

I suppose our concern(s) run some of the other directions than concerns about bad tenants -- things like scam leases, etc. Have heard it all. Well probably not all, but things like folks "renting" places they do not own, or renting out places in or near foreclosure and then the tenant gets evicted without even knowing what is going on. So the concerns can run both directions.

I don't sense that there is a lot of the scamming / pre-forclosure leasing thing going on in Austin.. but it's possible. You may be able to mitigate that by looking up the property the county tax records, and seeing how long the landlord has owned the house, where his/her address is, etc. I believe you could also look up some information about the primary loan on the home.

Dunno if property management operations protect against any of that, or if they somehow warranty against such operations?

In my experience, they don't. For the tenant and landlord, they are often involved in the screening process, sometimes in the day-to-day management, but if things really get bad the 3rd-party property manager is almost never liable for anything. So you are really only paying for screening, solid documentation/forms, marketing, and sometimes coordination of maintenance, lawn work, etc. Not much peace of mind if anything really big happens.

[woodinvilleguy]

My real estate agent has provided us with a good lease and rental application so I think we are good there. I compared it with my neighbors lease which is from a property management company and they are pretty close.

I spoke with our neighbors that rented from a property management company and they don't have good opinions of the companies. They only hear from them when they first met them and that is it. Never check on the brown grass of state of the property. very scary. I have the ability to keep an eye on the property in a legal way in the lease with notification and I intend on doing so at regular but not annoying times.

I took your recomendation earlier for the tenant network and I signed up for credit and background checks.

[austin-steve]

My real estate agent has provided us with a good lease and rental application so I think we are good there. I compared it with my neighbors lease which is from a property management company and they are pretty close.

Just be aware that if your lease is a TAR lease, it's only valid for TAR (TX Assc of Realtors) members, and if you end up with a savvy tenant who wants to break the lease, the disclaimer on the lease invalidates it. Perhaps it wouldn't ever happen, but you should be aware.

You could also join the Austin Apartment Association and have a full library of all proper forms as well as a monthly newsletter keeping your updated on landlord/tenant law changes for about $200/yr. Well worth it, in my opinion, for do it yourself landlords. The pitfalls of not knowing the laws can be very costly.

Good Luck,
Steve

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Just be aware that if your lease is a TAR lease, it's only valid for TAR (TX Assc of Realtors) members, and if you end up with a savvy tenant who wants to break the lease, the disclaimer on the lease invalidates it. Perhaps it wouldn't ever happen, but you should be aware.

You could also join the Austin Apartment Association and have a full library of all proper forms as well as a monthly newsletter keeping your updated on landlord/tenant law changes for about $200/yr. Well worth it, in my opinion, for do it yourself landlords. The pitfalls of not knowing the laws can be very costly.

Good Luck,
Steve

Why is a TAR lease only valid if a TX realtor uses it? If you have two parties signing a contract and agree to be bound by it, it doesn't matter whether it's written on a napkin. The fact that a lease is on a particular form shouldn't make any difference at all. Perhaps, TAR could find someway to sue for violation of copyright (although I really don't think so) but that still shouldn't negate the lease between the two parties that use it.

[Trainwreck20]

I think (although I am inferring this from Steve's comments) is that there is an actual clause written into the lease that could invalidate it. You might have to 'redo' the lease without the clause....