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About to rent my condo out...

N

NetWareHead

THAT guy
I moved out of state to accept a new job and am going to use my current apartment lease as a basis on which to create a new lease for my new tenants in my condo. I also know several landlords who will also give me some help and tips. Additionally I will have the lease blessed by a local attorney before getting a tenant. I thought I would ask the ATOT community for help/tips/advice? Any landlords/tenants here have suggestions for me? I have not even found tenants, just put a few ads up in various locations. Also, any advice on how to run a criminal, credit and drug check on potential tenants? Thanks.
 
First thing you should tell them/ask of them is for them to send you their criminal history and credit reports. If they hesitate one bit, or say they don't want to they don't get to rent.
 
Check in every once in a while to make sure they haven't started a grow-op. Might want to pre-schedule and announce those visits well in advance.
 
Originally posted by: Imp
Check in every once in a while to make sure they haven't started a grow-op. Might want to pre-schedule and announce those visits well in advance.
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Yeah alot can be accomplished during a quarterly or monthly "air-filter inspection and replacement" trip. 😉 I intend to keep a good set of eyes on this property.
 
How are you going to handle maintenance issues from out of state? Are you going to hire a company to deal with that stuff?
 
Originally posted by: mugs
How are you going to handle maintenance issues from out of state? Are you going to hire a company to deal with that stuff?
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I still visit the area once a month to see family, friends etc... Something urgent that comes up can be handled by someone in my family.
 
Originally posted by: NetWareHead
Originally posted by: mugs
How are you going to handle maintenance issues from out of state? Are you going to hire a company to deal with that stuff?
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I still visit the area once a month to see family, friends etc... Something urgent that comes up can be handled by someone in my family.
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I hope you plan on paying them
 
Definitely do a background check and run a credit report. If you don't do this you deserve the kind of scum tenants you'll likely get.
 
Originally posted by: racolvin
don't do it!

Being a landlord is a huge PITA. Sell the thing and be done with it
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Can't do it. The housing market is in the crapper. I will not be able to recoup the price I paid for it...but less make a profit. I would like to hold onto it for a few years until I sell it.
 
You can only rent out the apartment to young, bi-curious women. It's also very important to install many cameras in strategically placed locations, and broadcast this feed over the net. Post the link here so that we can keep an eye on the place for you.
 
If you're far away, hire a part time property manager to stay involved. This also may help you because you're liable to have a friendly relationship with them, and if they end up being bad tenants, you might not want to have to deal with kicking them out if you're friends with them as well. Make sure they make a deposit in the case they try to skip out w/o paying for damages at the end. Make sure to read up on your state's landlord and renter laws...I've heard of some recent horror stories from people I know who have properties down in Las Vegas, NV and it's HARD to kick people out even when they're not paying rent. Take lots of pictures and make sure they fill out and sign a move-in checklist documenting what the condition of items are.
 
If you can find a good property manager, do it. It will run you 8-10% but will save you a lot of hassles. They will screen your tenant for you, collect rent, fix issues, check on the property, evict, etc... The law is almost always in favor of the tenant so it pays to have someone familiar with the system.

Side note: I'd like to be a manager someday. With a good system, 40 properties is not too hard. $1000 average rent ($100 return) * 40 properties = $4000/mo. before expenses. And it can be a job on the side.
 
Don't dick around with peoples deposit money. If your state requires you to put the monies in an interest bearing account - Do it! Document your property before the tenant moves in. That means dated pictures of EVERYTHING. Appliances, floors, doors, walls, carpet, outside, pipes, windows, etc. If the tenant damages the property you need to prove the condition beforehand.

When the tenant leaves, as long as he's complied with any notice laws (i.e. in Florida the tenant must provide 60 days written notice that he is leaving - EVEN if the lease expires on a 1 year lease), promptly submit a claim for any damages using the method prescribed by law. Otherwise send the deposit monies and any interest accrued to the address the tenant has supplied. Call the tenant and make sure the forwarding address is correct.

I'm no big fan of background checks. But I understand the purpose and would probably recommend you check for any criminal convictions.

Run a credit check, and don't rent to folks with a hundred collections and chargeoffs. People are people and a couple are OK. Of course no evictions or repoes either. Its a big negative if they have no current credit history.

 
Get a PO Box if they are paying you directly. This guy I use to work with had the tenants send the checks directly to his home address. One of them tried to rob him.
 
Originally posted by: jessieqwert
If you can find a good property manager, do it. It will run you 8-10% but will save you a lot of hassles. They will screen your tenant for you, collect rent, fix issues, check on the property, evict, etc... The law is almost always in favor of the tenant so it pays to have someone familiar with the system.

Side note: I'd like to be a manager someday. With a good system, 40 properties is not too hard. $1000 average rent ($100 return) * 40 properties = $4000/mo. before expenses. And it can be a job on the side.
Click to expand...

Have you managed any properties or own any rentals? 40 properties is not a side job.
 
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