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Where do most people (such as newcomers/out-of-towners) look for a house to rent in Raleigh? The News & Observer? Craigslist? Realtor.com? Is there any other place?
We have a 3 BD, 2.5 BA house (deck, fireplace, fenced yard, 2-car garage, convenient, nice) for rent in Raleigh, and we have advertised on Craigslist before, but after a few bad experiences, we don't really want to go that route. I read that there was a "house for rent" scam on Craigslist where people ask for upfront money on houses that don't exist, so I can understand why people may not want to use Craigslist unless they were very careful.
When I was in Massachusetts I looked on realtor.com for a rental. I didn't know where else to go. In fact I may have looked other places, but I just didn't have the time. The sale of our house went really quick and we were flying blind.
I think Craigslist is a great place to list. A lot of locals will look there I'm sure. Tell us about your bad experience renting through a CL ad.
The tenants pay for a few months and then stop. The house they rent is beautiful and well maintained. We are good landlords and respect their privacy and respond to any issues. (There have been no issues, though.)
They stop paying because they simply cannot afford it. Yet they try to stay as long as possible. Then we have to go through the eviction game.
Ironically we're in the opposite boat, we're looking for a place to rent and are excellent renters (both of us have professional degrees and we work at universities). I've been looking online, I found that Duke U has a decent database. But so far I haven't had much luck. I've tried a few search engines but they are not that good. Inevitably the engine will never show the square footage or the age of the place, and very few actually have pictures. For example i've seen houses that are older than me with similiar s.f. as apartments selling for more than the rent of the apt. On the other hand i've seen great houses selling for about the cost of our apartment rent.
The tenants pay for a few months and then stop. The house they rent is beautiful and well maintained. We are good landlords and respect their privacy and respond to any issues. (There have been no issues, though.)
They stop paying because they simply cannot afford it. Yet they try to stay as long as possible. Then we have to go through the eviction game.
We'd just like someone who will pay the rent.
How annoying! Do you do a credit check on your potential renters? I would make anyone submit a rental application and be subject to a credit check.
How annoying! Do you do a credit check on your potential renters? I would make anyone submit a rental application and be subject to a credit check.
Indeed. Credit and background check + references. Unless they call me ahead of time and let me know they are going to be late, I've sent late notices CMRRR on the 6th (the day rent is considered late) indicating that they are in breach of their lease and that I expect them to pay or quit and start the eviction process.
The tenants pay for a few months and then stop. The house they rent is beautiful and well maintained. We are good landlords and respect their privacy and respond to any issues. (There have been no issues, though.)
They stop paying because they simply cannot afford it. Yet they try to stay as long as possible. Then we have to go through the eviction game.
We'd just like someone who will pay the rent.
Honestly that is just bad luck with your tenants, it's not really Craigslist... I know plenty of people who love Craigslist exclusively. I would have used it myself but my yard signs worked for me right away.
What are you doing to get the lease secured, 1 months deposit? Credit check? Reference? Some people don't believe in it but I go on gut instinct as well. Even if all three of the previous list lined up perfectly, if I felt iffy about someone, I'm not giving them the keys. Like I said, some people will think it's crazy to reduce my pool of potential tenants but there were people who called about my place and I didn't even return the call based on the messages they left or initial conversations I had.
Hang in there, with the credit market the way it is you'll find someone just as long as you're not terribly overpriced. The banks aren't lending as much money but people are still getting married, having babies, adopting pets... essentially outgrowing apartment living.
Anyway, the same caveats apply no matter where you find your tenant. You need to screen the tenant appropriately, get an appropriate security deposit and be very systematic in your approach to the landlord/tenant relationship.
If the tenant does not pay rent, it is time for the tenant to leave.
It's okay if you have friends that don't pay you money they owe you and come up with dozens of excuses as to why they can't pay you back. Just don't plan on treating your tenants that way, or you'll find yourself carrying the mortgage and spending a lot of time trying to chase down late rent.
Yes, we have learned the hard way that we can no longer trust our instincts. We always had a solid lease, had the tenants pay the appropriate security deposit, and checked employment references. We became increasingly systematic in our landlord/tenant relationships. We have now signed up with a tenant background check company and are ready. We just need good people who need a nice house.
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