John11111 Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 We were thinking of moving this summer to be closer to work about 25 min away. Anyways we were wanting to rent out our current home however no idea where to begin. We did research on the basics but still a lost and unsure of where to begin. I know you can hire an agency to do it all for you but they charge like 15% of the monthly rent. We were hoping to do it ourselves. Does anyone have any experience with renting out a home with regards to paperwork and rules/ regs required? I know it can differ in each state etc but looking for a good place to start. Any advice or things you wish you had known or could have done differently would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 We own a small investment property and we're hoping to be able to move into another house and rent ours out, as well. The more I looked into renter's rights, landlord laws, how hard the process of eviction can be for the landlord, etc. the less I wanted to deal with that mess. We found a great property management company that charges 8% of the rent for their services and I'll tell you, it's worth every penny. They take care of any little problem that comes along (of course we still pay for any repairs that need done), they collect rent, they track all the paperwork and everything, and we get a report and a check every month. It's been totally painless. In the event that we needed to evict, they would take care of all of that, too. You can find rental/lease contracts and such online, but make sure you know your state's laws backwards and forwards if you're going to tackle it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 My son just moved into a home that has a basement income property. They were going to do it all themselves but decided to go with a management company. They are charged 5% of the rent. The guy does all the credit checks, screens the prospective renters, collects the rent, does everything. It was worth it to them to go that route. If I ever had to rent out..I'd probably go the same route myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John11111 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Ok we were thinking that woudl help a ton but the part about them calling contractors and plumbers and electricians to repair anything that was wrong is what worries me. It seems people charge crazy amounts for stuff that would take me an hour or two and 15-20$ to do myself. We had a plumber come out once to fix a pipe after all was said and done it cost me nearly 2 grand next time I just did it myself took me 6 hours and 40$ to do the exact same thing he did. Ill have to look into it though maybe there is a way for them to contact me 1st to approve repairs or to take care of them myself? Thats the biggest thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 The couple of times we had a problem, they called me first to see if I wanted to take care of it/call someone, or have them call their person. One issue I preferred to call our person (but later it turned out that I needed to use their person anyway, and it didn't cost too much), and the other issue I asked them to take care of. My property manager used to be a contractor himself so he did the fix and didn't charge me much for it. Also their policy is that if something is going to cost more than a certain amount to fix ($100 I think), they ask us first. Those repairs came out of the monthly rent check they send us. You do have to have someone you trust, and make sure you're comfortable with their way of doing things. It should be all lined out in the contract you sign with them. There are skeezy property managers out there. I looked at reviews online (from landlords AND renters) and tried to go with who I felt best about. I'm really happy with my choice but I know there are some stinkers out there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John11111 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Great ill definately look more into that option I know not having to worry about all that would be worth the money spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 My son just moved into a home that has a basement income property. They were going to do it all themselves but decided to go with a management company. They are charged 5% of the rent. The guy does all the credit checks, screens the prospective renters, collects the rent, does everything. It was worth it to them to go that route. If I ever had to rent out..I'd probably go the same route myself. Just one thing I want to add to this. While the management company does all the screening, my son and his partner have the final say as to who they rent to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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