Listing a property for rent by self (apartments, lease agreement, tenant)

[srick123]

Hi,

I'm new to being a landlord and would love to hear from fellow people who have done it over the years. I'm planning to rent out a new construction home n Leander and I would like to put the listing on all major websites myself. There seems to be numerous platforms like Zillow rental manager which allows you to put your listing in multiple places.
Even if I list my house myself, I believe I should still be paying the tenant's rental agency 50% of the rent I believe.
I just wanted to know how people go about renting out their houses and how you do background checks, write up the lease agreement etc...
As I said, I'm brand new to being a landlord, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve.

[RoamingTX]

Originally Posted by srick123

Hi,

I'm new to being a landlord and would love to hear from fellow people who have done it over the years. I'm planning to rent out a new construction home n Leander and I would like to put the listing on all major websites myself. There seems to be numerous platforms like Zillow rental manager which allows you to put your listing in multiple places.
Even if I list my house myself, I believe I should still be paying the tenant's rental agency 50% of the rent I believe.
I just wanted to know how people go about renting out their houses and how you do background checks, write up the lease agreement etc...
As I said, I'm brand new to being a landlord, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve.

Ok. First and foremost. You need to determine your target market and what you're looking for.

As a first time LL, I would strongly recommend that you pay an agent for property management for the first couple of years, or at the very least, the first year.

A few things I’ve learned:

Your best tenants for SFH have an agent, those agents are pulling from the ARBOR MLS.

What can go wrong, will go wrong

Homes in CP, Leander, RR will have a ton of one year leases, and turn over often as the tenants buy new homes. Put a clear lease break fee in your document that’s reasonable and you’ll re-rent super fast. I charge one month, and cater to the transplants.

3 month leases at 125% of market rate with no penalties can help reset the calendar for you, as will 6 month at 115%. If you need to know what the calendar is, see point 1.

Good luck. Try not to get sued.

[CptnRn]

I have suggested that the moderator might move this thread to the Renting forum. Be sure to study the sticky thread for "State landlord tenant laws" for TEXAS. Especially all of the "Resources" that are available here Austin Tenants’ Council/A Landlord’s Guide to Renting Property However do not use the leases and legal forms they provide there as they are heavily biased in favor of the tenant.

I purchased a Texas Lease Contract from U.S. Legal Forms and found it to be more than adequate https://www.uslegalforms.com/?puslf=...IaAlGKEALw_wcB

I was a landlord for about 11 years in the Austin area and was always able to find decent tenants by posting a sign out in front of the house and advertising in the local newspaper. The newspaper is probably not used for that much anymore so you should definitely take advantage of any internet alternatives that are available. The Renting forum can probably give you better advice on current resources for doing that. There are a few tips in the links posted in this thread //www.city-data.com/forum/austi...l#post29409736

Even if I list my house myself, I believe I should still be paying the tenant's rental agency 50% of the rent I believe.

I have never paid a dime to any such rental agency so I don't know where you are getting that idea. Paying anyone 50% of the rent is absurd in my opinion and will make the entire investment extremely unprofitable.

I used the following, but I would ask for more current recommendations in the Renting forum.

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.

[LLinVA]

We list them all ourselves, we never use a property manager, real estate agent, etc.

We post on our own website, craigslist, Zillow, and Apartments.com. We get a great response from this group (and the ones they automatically post to).

The most I would pay an agency if they found someone for us would be one month's rent, that's it, but we've never even had to do that. Generally, renters aren't using agents.

We use TenantBackgroundSearch.com for our background checks. They include credit, criminal background, and eviction history. They are thorough, easy to read and understand, and cost $29.99 per person (we charge $35 per adult for the application fee to cover this background check).

Talk to an attorney about the lease. Maybe just get a generic one for your state online, but I would still have an attorney look at it to see if anything should be added. Now is the time to prevent problems. $1,000 in legal fees now avoids thousands and thousands in losses later.

Know your screening requirements and stick to them. We require 3x the rent in monthly income, good credit (at least 670), no evictions in the last 5 years, and no pets. Don't make exceptions, they are not worth it. You will think you have an exception, and you will be wrong and learn the hard way why you NEVER make exceptions.

Be careful when showing them. There are all sorts of things that can get you into trouble. Even saying "This would be great for a young couple" to a young couple could get you accused of age discrimination. Talk about the amenities of the property itself, not the people who may or may not like it.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by srick123

I'm planning to rent out a new construction home....

Did this idea just pop into your head one afternoon?
What sort of basis are you operating from?

I'm new to being a landlord and would love to hear from ...

How do your ownership costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs, etc) compare to rent rates?
Can you expect to exceed those costs under normal conditions?
How many months of vacancy does it take to hurt?

I believe I should still be paying the tenant's rental agency 50% of the rent I believe.
As I said, I'm brand new to being a landlord, any help is greatly appreciated.

Sell now. Find something else to do.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I've never paid a tenant's rental agent commission. Are houses extremely difficult to find tenants for in your area? Why is it necessary to pay someone to find you a tenant?

A lot of landlords will only advertise in one source. I use craigslist, some use Facebook, some use zillow. There are plenty of responses. No need to advertise all over to get more.

I don't have a clue where "Leander" is located, but before you start, read and understand your state and local landlord laws.

Study up on screening and have a set criteria. Do not pick tenants by gut feel. Con artists are very good at giving their marks a good gut feel and there are a lot of applicants who will try to trick you.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There is probably an apartment owners association or landlord's association in your area. They will have a lease that complies with your local law available for you to purchase.

[srick123]

Thanks for your suggestions!!!
Since this my first time being a LL, I'm using an agent to do all the ground work for me and get the property listed/ rented. As it is a new home, builder warranty covers most stuffs for the 1st year. So I plan to do the property management myself. The vacancy rate seems to be pretty low and its in a good school district catering to families.
Rental comps around the area indicates a good cash flow... Let me see how it goes!!!

[Rabrrita]

Make sure you have the right home insurance for rentals, You're regular homeowners policy probably won't cover you when using the property as a rental. Of course, changing the insurance will also alert the mortgage company that it's not owner occupied. And make sure you check with your local municipality to see if you have to "register" your address as a rental. This is to ensure the emergency services know the occupants are not the owners and how to get hold of the owner if a problem occurs.

[adjusterjack]

Originally Posted by srick123

As I said, I'm brand new to being a landlord.

You have my condolences.

The other responders have given good advice.

My only advice, based on having been a landlord for 20 years, is don't do it.