Turning Home into Rental Property?

April 14th, 2010 | by admin |

My wife and I are expecting another child, and we need to purchase a larger house. Unfortunately, we’ve only owned our house for 2 years, and it’s not entirely worth it to sell our house, so we’d like to turn it into a rental property. What are the requirements to accomplish this?

You should just be able to list the property with a real estate office or advertise it yourself on Craigslist, for instance.
You will need to make sure that everything is in working order or you’ll be back over there once the tenant moves in to fix things. Better to do it now.
The place should be very clean if you want to rent it quickly and get maximum price. Shampoo carpets and paint any rooms that need it.
Use a satin finish latex in a neutral shade. Don’t use flat paint, it does not clean well at all.

If you opt for listing w/ an agent, they will list the property on the multi-list for all agents to see. They will also show the property and do all the lease paperwork for you. They will also run the credit reports of all the potential tenants.
For this service, they will want 1 months rent as payment.
I am a real estate agent that has done this for clients many times. If you home is in a good location, clean and priced appropriately, it should lease quickly.
The agent will help you determine the proper rent based on similar homes in the area.

If you decide to list the home yourself, check craigslist for rental homes and try to determine a price for rent.
You can print copies of lease agreements from online.
You should always do a credit check, credit report, or have the potential client bring you a recent copy of theirs (no older than 2 months).
Here in Michigan, a landlord can charge up to 1 1/2 times the rent for security.
So, if the rent is $1000. per month, you could ask for $1500. for security. Making a total move-in cost of $2500.
Do not let a new tenant talk you into paying the security later. Often does not work out. They just continue to get behind and take advantage of the landlords.
Get references from the potential tenant. Check out how their car looks. Is it trashed in and out. May be an indication of how they will care for the house.
Here is one link to create some free documents and you can make them State specific depending on where the rental property is..http://www.ezlandlordforms.com/documents/free_documents/

One other thing..keep copies of all keys to the property. Tenants have a way of losing them.

  1. 2 Responses to “Turning Home into Rental Property?”

  2. By I Love IDOL on Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

    You should just be able to list the property with a real estate office or advertise it yourself on Craigslist, for instance.
    You will need to make sure that everything is in working order or you’ll be back over there once the tenant moves in to fix things. Better to do it now.
    The place should be very clean if you want to rent it quickly and get maximum price. Shampoo carpets and paint any rooms that need it.
    Use a satin finish latex in a neutral shade. Don’t use flat paint, it does not clean well at all.

    If you opt for listing w/ an agent, they will list the property on the multi-list for all agents to see. They will also show the property and do all the lease paperwork for you. They will also run the credit reports of all the potential tenants.
    For this service, they will want 1 months rent as payment.
    I am a real estate agent that has done this for clients many times. If you home is in a good location, clean and priced appropriately, it should lease quickly.
    The agent will help you determine the proper rent based on similar homes in the area.

    If you decide to list the home yourself, check craigslist for rental homes and try to determine a price for rent.
    You can print copies of lease agreements from online.
    You should always do a credit check, credit report, or have the potential client bring you a recent copy of theirs (no older than 2 months).
    Here in Michigan, a landlord can charge up to 1 1/2 times the rent for security.
    So, if the rent is $1000. per month, you could ask for $1500. for security. Making a total move-in cost of $2500.
    Do not let a new tenant talk you into paying the security later. Often does not work out. They just continue to get behind and take advantage of the landlords.
    Get references from the potential tenant. Check out how their car looks. Is it trashed in and out. May be an indication of how they will care for the house.
    Here is one link to create some free documents and you can make them State specific depending on where the rental property is..http://www.ezlandlordforms.com/documents/free_documents/

    One other thing..keep copies of all keys to the property. Tenants have a way of losing them.
    References :
    RE Agent-MI

  3. By goz1111 on Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

    Not addressing you lender issue if you have a loan,

    You will need to check your state local laws to see if anything is required from the local government, like registration fee, an inspection etc

    Once you get past that part, you need to draft the lease, store bought ones usually do not cover all the details,

    Then you need to find the right tenant, pick the wrong one and you could find they do not pay rent for two months and they trash the home, thereby causing you not only rental loss but expenses to bring the home back up to rental

    And if you do not screen right you may never collect the monies owed even if you get a court judgment
    References :

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