9.7.10

Five tips: How to rent your home

With plans to start a family, Michael and Becky McCullough, 33 and 31, wanted more space. So last year they snapped up a four-bedroom foreclosure in Brookhaven, Ga., for $480,000.

Here are five things you should do before renting your house.

1. Pretend like you’re putting your house up for sale

Does the exterior need a new paint job? Is there a toilet with a handle that needs jiggling to stop the water flow? No doubt something in your house needs sprucing up. Make a list, prioritize the to-do items, and get them done. Also, the cleaner your home is, the better your chances are of attracting quality tenants.

2. Remove all personal items

Before showing the apartment, make sure you’ve removed all personal belongings and anything that might cause injury, such as a slippery rug in a bathroom.

Planning to rent your place as unfurnished, but you have nice furniture? If possible, consider leaving some of your furniture in the home for staging purposes.

3. Determine what your home is worth on the rental market

Look on Craigslist for comparable rental properties in your neighborhood. Check the real estate section of your newspaper. You might even visit a few nearby properties for rent during open house, to see what your competition looks like.

4. Decide if you’re going to manage the rental yourself

If you’re moving more than, say, a 30-minute drive away, or if you’re always super busy, you might want to hire a property manager.

A property management company will help you determine how much rent to charge. They’ll also screen prospective tenants for you and will take care of problems that might pop up after a renter moves in, like a malfunctioning garbage disposal.

Property managers typically charge 8 percent to 10 percent of the monthly rent for their services. They may charge additional fees, such as 75 percent to 100 percent of one month’s rent to place a tenant.

5. Get landlord insurance

Homeowner’s insurance usually covers owner-occupied homes. So if you rent out your home, you’ll probably need a landlord insurance policy. Expect to pay about 25 percent more for landlord insurance for your property, compared to homeowner’s insurance.

Source: examiner.com