How to rent my condo? (apartment, lease, tenant, rental property)

[luckydawg003]

I have a condo that I need to rent. I'm a college student and have never been a landlord so I have no idea what I'm doing.

Should I use a management company or a realtor?

[PacificFlights]

First step before anything else, check your condo assocaition documets and see what restrictiuons or requirements thay may have on renting. Next familiarize yourself with the condo associations enfocement actions for any violation of the association documents or regulations if rentals are allowed. You don't want any surprises.

After you are sure you can rent and you know where the condo associations stands, check any personal requirmenst such as if your insurance covers renting or you need another policy. Check to see if your local municipality requires a registration or tax license to rent.

Once all that is clear in your head, grab a copy of your stste Landlord Tenanat Law or Act, and read it top to bottom, and read it again to make sure you understand it since you may be legal responsible even if you use a real estate agent or a property management company.

When you finish those items, come back and ask all the new questions you will have to fill in the blanks between what you will have learned and who to use.

[Ultrarunner]

You can also familiarize yourself with the concept of being Landlord... many do not realize the full ramifications of running a business.

A good book for would be landlords is called Landlording by Leigh Robinson... your local library should have a copy.

Traditionally... small time residential landlords get into the business to supplement income or build wealth...

Presently... many are becoming reluctant Landlords out of necessity or because they have run out of options...

As Pacific said... you first need to find out if renting is even permissible for your unit and then pencil out the numbers to see exactly where you stand...

I found the local Rental Property Association to be very helpful when I was getting my feet wet... my city has rent control the Apartment House Association had all the proper up to date forms needed to keep me out of trouble... also, networking with other local owners can be very educational.

Final word is tenants can either break or make you starting out... especially if you have limited resources... case in point... Landlords pay for legal services that are often available free to tenants...

[drewkramer]

Hi,

I think the first two post gives meaning thoughts you should consider before taking any action. Indeed first is to familiarize yourself by reviewing your leasing documents and getting in touch in your condo association. The second idea of familiarizing and learning how to become an effective landlord is a must since you wanted your unit to be lease by others, there are important things you need to learned about it such as screening prospective tenants that would possibly occupy your unit.

[CptnRn]

All of the previous comments offered good advice. I would add that the most important thing you can do as a landlord to make your job easier is to properly screen your tenants until you find one that is qualified. Check their credit score and background, require that all adults living there sign the lease and that they each have an income that is at least three times higher then the rent. Verify employment or income sources, check with previous landlords. Require a security deposit, first months rent and signed lease before turning over any keys. If it is common to require last months rent in your area, get that as well. Security deposit should be equal to one full months rent. U.S. Legal Forms - 36,000 Legal Documents, Forms, Real Estate, Landlord Tenant, Name Change and more. is a decent source for a lease application form and standard lease form written for the laws of your state.

You can find links to the Florida landlord tenant laws here. State Landlord Tenant Laws

Look her to see what most landlords require in a credit score. Landlord Poll: What is the MINIMUM Credit Score You'd Accept in Tenant Selection?

[nightcrawler]

try to rent to a regular business couple, where the husband and wife are both working, that way if one loses a job, there is still money coming in.

make sure you check thier references where they work.

2 months security.

[luckydawg003]

Thanks for the info everyone.

Definitely got my homework cut out for me. Probably gonna ask for first months rent and security deposit equal to the monthly rent price.

Since I live only a few blocks away from my condo I can manage it myself. I'm pretty handy and have already fixed a lot of stuff on the condo when I lived there. I have a good chunk of money saved so it won't break the bank if the tenants are late on the rent or whatever.