Help needed: Planning to rent and manage the property on my own (real estate, renters)

[dallas_cowboy]

I am moving to another house, so planning to list the house on rent for the first time.

Questions:
1. Can you share a pointer that would give me the list of paperwork and items I need to prepare before listing the house for rent?
2. Rental prices have gone up in the past 12 months as well. Is there a website where I can get some realistic assessment of rental value? (fine with a paid subscription if it's valuable)
3. What are the pros and cons of not having a property management company?
4. Any other tips based on your past experience of renting your home is also welcome

Thanks in advance!

[fleaflicker]

1) Need to create a lease agreement. You can start by googling Texas lease or rental agreement. You need to decide who is responsible for all expenses and damages such as lawn care, appliances, wear and tear, pets, etc.
2) I use zillow.
3) Cons: expense. They will take 1st month rent for listing your property, searching for tenants, and renting out. They also take 10% cut on monthly rental.
Pros: They take care of lease agreement, finding tenants, call plumbers, contractors, etc when needed. They'll handle all the calls from tenants.
4) I have limited experience. One rental, previous home. We already knew the family before they became our tenants. I get a better peace of mind trusting my tenants. Also, it helps having a contractor you can trust. Even if you plan to fix whatever comes up as much as you can, you'll still need a contractor you can contact anytime.

[dallas_cowboy]

Originally Posted by fleaflicker

1) Need to create a lease agreement. You can start by googling Texas lease or rental agreement. You need to decide who is responsible for all expenses and damages such as lawn care, appliances, wear and tear, pets, etc.
2) I use zillow.
3) Cons: expense. They will take 1st month rent for listing your property, searching for tenants, and renting out. They also take 10% cut on monthly rental.
Pros: They take care of lease agreement, finding tenants, call plumbers, contractors, etc when needed. They'll handle all the calls from tenants.
4) I have limited experience. One rental, previous home. We already knew the family before they became our tenants. I get a better peace of mind trusting my tenants. Also, it helps having a contractor you can trust. Even if you plan to fix whatever comes up as much as you can, you'll still need a contractor you can contact anytime.

Thanks! How do folks usually manage keys and showing if listing the house on their own?

[fleaflicker]

I never changed the keys. Tenants and I have copies of keys.
For showing, we advertised by word of mouth and luckily worked for us which made showing easier. Simply schedule a house visit with interested prospective tenants.

Good luck and congrats to your new home!

[dallas_cowboy]

Originally Posted by fleaflicker

I never changed the keys. Tenants and I have copies of keys.
For showing, we advertised by word of mouth and luckily worked for us which made showing easier. Simply schedule a house visit with interested prospective tenants.

Good luck and congrats to your new home!

Thanks a lot!

[WorldKlas]

I have so much advise! Go buy the latest version of First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting out a Single-Family Home Fifth Edition by Janet Portman Atto OR Landlording for Dummies. https://www.dummies.com/personal-fin...tter-landlord/ book. And….

I downloaded my lease years ago from the Texas Real Estate site (TREC) but have since refined my lease. If you DM me and send an email address, I’ll be happy to provide you a copy of my lease.

Make sure you understand Tenants’ rights in Texas. https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template...ontentID=25969

I use Transunion Smart Move to do background credit and criminal verifications on my applicants.

I only accept one applicant at a time. I show the house by appointment only and send applications via email. At the viewings I always tell them I have several appointments and will contact them later.

My tenants must pay me via bank electronic transfer or Paypal.

I advertise on www.rent.com because its free for private Landlords and I pay to advertise on Zillow because I get the most responses there. Its a bit of a hassle to get set up on Zillow but worth it. I also use these sites to help me determine market value to set my own rental rates

I don’t accept phone calls from potential applicants. Anyone who wants to talk on the phone has a sob story, trust me it really is true. Best advise I can ever give you is to never listen to sob stories. Those interested in my listings must email me and provide all the required info. If they simply check a box indicating they are interested, I have a followup email asking for these things before I set a viewing appt. Try to set all your appointments on the same day if possible because you’ll have no shows.
*names and ages of all who would live there
* reason for moving
*assurance they can provide verification that household income meets 3x rent
*phone number I can text to set up appt
* If you allow pets, they must have renters insurance that covers liability for pets. Don’t get sucked into the emotional support animal BS. If they claim to have an ESA, tell them that’s fine but you need a local medical contact to verify because you don’t accept internet purchased forms (that usually ends the discussion)

So many more things you will learn on this journey. Keep asking on this forum and get the book.

[WorldKlas]

Paperwork:

Tenant Application: one for each over 17 years of age
Lease
Move in checklist
Pet Agreement (even if they don’t have pets, if you allow pets you need an agreement stating your rules)
HOA rules if your property is in an HOA
If property built before 1978 you also need paint disclosure to be signed by tenants

[cordata]

Great posts WK! Can you elaborate on "accept only one applicant at a time" ? Sounds like you are talking to mulitple if you schedule multiple showings the same day?

[WorldKlas]

Originally Posted by cordata

Great posts WK! Can you elaborate on "accept only one applicant at a time" ? Sounds like you are talking to mulitple if you schedule multiple showings the same day?

I try to set up one weekend day to show the place to all I have prescreened. I set up appointments in 30 min intervals. Usually my houses are still occupied by departing tenants, so this is easier for everyone to just dedicate a single day for viewings.

I only accept one applicant because, due to having 3+ properties, I am subject to the Fair Housing Act. In the case of the OP, actually, this doesn’t apply. In some cases, I have sent my applications to more than one party who viewed the place but only sent one on to the Smart Move verification portion (where the applicant pays for the background verification directly to SmartMove, so basically its a $45 app fee that I get no money from).

I don’t charge my potential tenants to complete and submit (I email a pdf for them to complete and scan & email back) applications. They pay directly for the verification.

[fleaflicker]

Was wondering when will our "World Class" local resident expert chime in
Great advice!