Being a house renter is more popular than it has been at any other point in the last 50 years. There are a variety of factors that contribute to that truth. If you’re somebody that’s looking to rent your property, though, all that should mean to you is that there is ample opportunity to get your property filled.
But how does one go about renting their property? Are there restrictions in place that could prevent you from doing so?
In this homeowner’s guide to renting property, we break down the basic steps that you can start taking today to get your dwelling on the market and cash in your pocket.
1. Understand Your Rental Market
Before you list your house for rent, you have to ask yourself, “Does renting in this market make sense?” Believe us when we say that in many situations, renting properties is a bad business proposition.
For example, let’s say the house you own costs you $1000 per month to keep. If local rents for comparable homes in your area are $900 per month, renting your house would put you upside-down. And even if rents in your area were more than your monthly expenses, you may still find yourself losing money when you factor in vacancy rates, maintenance requests, etc.
The best way to know for sure what renting your house will cost you and what you can get on the back-end is to speak with a local real estate agent or property management company to get their perspective on your prospects.
2. Know Your Community’s Terms
Even if your house makes sense to rent from an economic perspective, is there anything that’s tying your hands from doing so in your community or HOA rules? Many HOA’s and communities have banned short-term renting, for instance.
Before you invest too much money and time into your owning rental property ambitions, make sure you have the green light from external bodies.
3. Get Your Place Cleaned Up
The better your house looks, the more it’ll rent for. To that end, you’ll want to take the time to get it tidied up and looking its absolute best before showing it off.
Our recommendation is to hire a team of professionals to do the heavy lifting on this front. They’ll be in and out quickly and will leave your place shining!
4. Collect Marketing Collateral
Tens of millions of people take to online rental websites and applications to find their homes. When they’re on those sites, the pictures and videos they see of properties are what piques their interest.
To stay competitive in a virtual market, you’ll need to snap extensive, flattering photos of your property and take videos, where appropriate, to share online.
5. List, Interview, and Rent
With your economics making sense, permissions in place, and marketing collateral in hand, the last step you’ll need to tackle in our homeowner’s guide to renting is to list your property on popular websites, interview prospective tenants, and rent your property out.
Don’t be in a rush to rent if you can avoid it. Finding quality tenants takes time, and letting bad ones into your house can equal disaster.
Wrapping Up Our Homeowner’s Guide to Renting
We hope that our brief homeowner’s guide on renting your property has given you the insight you need to get the ball rolling. Remember, if you have specific questions, agents and property managers in your area are great resources.
We also welcome you to browse more of the insightful real estate content we have available on our blog.
