If you’re in the process of looking to rent out your first rental property, it’s well worth continuing reading in order to discover a few handy tips for landlords, that will make letting out your first property a simple process.
Landlord tips for beginners:
1. View other listings in your area, to decide on a reasonable letting price
In order to ensure that your letting price is fair and comparable to other homes in your area, it’s well worth viewing online listings for similar sized properties in your area. As you don’t want to make the mistake of undercharging your first tenants as over time you’ll lose out on thousands of dollars of revenue.
2. Consider hiring a property manager if you don’t have time to manage the process of letting out your property
If you don’t have enough time to show potential tenants around your property and to assess the rental applications which you’re likely to receive, it may be worse considering hiring a property manager, who’ll be able to take care of these tasks for you.
However, if you’re looking to make as much profit as you can, you’ll be better off being your own property manager as hiring the services of a property manager can be fairly expensive.
3. Make sure that your property is in great condition before you start giving potential tenants a tour of your property
In order to request a fairly high weekly rate, it’s well worth making sure that there are no maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Also be sure to clean your property thoroughly before you take potential tenants through your property.
Lastly, if you don’t have the time to thoroughly clean your property, you can hire a professional cleaning company to clean every inch of your property for you.
4. Make sure to check each of your potential renter’s references
As your home is your asset and you want to protect your home from possible damage, it’s a smart move to check each of your potential renter’s references. As their previous landlords will be able to tell you whether or not they recommend their ex-tenant.
If a potential tenant offers you a high weekly rate for your property but has zero references, chances are that they could be a problem tenant and that it’s well worth continuing your search for a reliable, honest, trustworthy tenant.
5. Make sure that you have a legal contract for your chosen renter to sign
Once you’ve chosen a tenant that you’re comfortable renting your property to, make sure that you have a legally binding contract for your tenant to sign. Included in the contract’s terms should be what penalties your tenant will have to pay if they cause serious damage to your house or miss multiple payments and the length of your contract.
In most cases, if a tenant chooses to move out of your property before the end of their lease, they’ll have to pay you a small sum to make up for the loss of revenue which you may experience before you’re able to sign a new tenant. To be safe, it would also be smart to make sure you have the proper insurance. If you’re looking for more information on insurance and first time advise, HomeLet provides these services.
If you follow the landlord tips listed above, signing your first tenant should be a simple process!
