Renting your property may seem like an easy way to increase your passive income, but upon starting the process, you may find it to be more complicated than expected. Your house may sit on the market for months without a rental applicant because it is priced above the fair market rent. A bad tenant may be late or outright refuse to pay rent; they have the potential do thousands of dollars in property damage and may ignore your attempts to evict them from the property until authorities are involved.

So how can you avoid the headache of these common difficulties associated with renting a property? Here are five things to do before renting out your house to reduce the risk and stress of being a new landlord.

1. Take Photographs of the Property

Photographs of the property are necessary for several reasons. They are an important part of online advertising – otherwise favorable rental listings without pictures of the property are often passed over by potential tenants because they do not want to have to wait for a house tour to find out that the property does not have a layout or design that suits them. These photographs will also be helpful when your future tenants are moving out, as you can use them to measure any property damage that occurred during the rental period.

2. Assess Fair Market Rent

While it may be tempting to charge higher rent to make money back on recent renovations you may have done or moving costs from when you left the property yourself, the best thing to do is conduct market research: check with rental websites, newspapers, local landlords, realtors, and property management companies to determine the amount that properties of similar location, size and condition are renting for.

3. Create a Concise, Effective Rental Application

An effective rental application will not intimidate potential renters with its length, but will be comprehensive enough that it can be used for tenant screening purposes. Any additional information that you need from the tenant should they pass screening can be included in the lease documents. A good application will have spaces for the following items:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Social Security Number
• Phone Number
• Current/Previous Addresses (last 7 years, including landlord name(s) and contact information)
• Current Employer (name, address, hire date, income, contact information)
• Authorization to Obtain Consumer Report Statement
• Tenant Signature

4. Consider Using a Property Manager

Property managers will typically charge a percentage of the monthly rent for their services, but in exchange, they will take care of things such as finding new tenants, creating/signing the leases, collecting the rent, and issuing legal notices (including evictions). Hiring a property manager cuts down on the profit you will make from your tenants’ rent payments, so you should carefully consider the cost-benefit of these services.

5. Find Good Tenants

Finding a decent tenant is easier said than done – many applicants can be friendly, polite, and will seem to be a good fit, but will create a flood of problems for you. The best way to improve the quality of tenants that you are leasing to is to conduct tenant background checks – that is, choosing tenants based on measurable fiscal and rental responsibility. Most landlords will charge rental applicants an application fee to cover the cost of tenant screening.

For some individuals, owning, and operating, rental, real estate properties, is a great idea, while, for others, this might not be the case! The difference, not only applies, to the specific property, but, also, each individual’s personality, attitude, and personal, specific strengths and weaknesses. Some factors include, of, course, financial ones, including the necessary reserves, needed, for purchasing a property, starting with the down – payment, closing costs, reserves for repairs, upgrades, renovations, and contingencies. In addition, some individuals are better – suited, for, owning rental property, than others, because some, do not want, the stresses, and tensions, involved, in this type of commitment. With this in mind, this article will attempt to briefly consider, review, and discuss, a few of the key factors and considerations, one should thoroughly explore, in – depth, prior to taking the leap.

1. Personal financials: Do you have the necessary funds, and will you qualify, for whatever financing, might be required? Obtaining a mortgage on a non – owner – occupied property, is significantly different from the process, regarding, one for a personal home. In most cases, a larger down – payment is required (often 25% – down, instead of 20%). In addition, the requirements differ, because not only, must you clearly demonstrate, the same things, you do, for a personal loan, you must also demonstrate, the property is viable, from a financial standpoint, and the rents, will handle the cash flow. It’s important, to have, several reserves, including: a) repairs; b) renovations; c) upgrades; unanticipated contingencies, etc.

2. Property financial issues: I am a believer in the 6% – rule, which means, the net return, should be 6%. For example, one factor is the cash flow, while the other is the overall rate of return, or return – on – investment/ ROI. Therefore, if you purchase a $500,000 property, put $125, 000 down, and have a $375, 000 mortgage loan, and the rate is 5%, your principal and interest, on a 30 – year, fixed – rate vehicle, will be approximately $2,000 per month. If the real estate taxes, and other escrow items, including insurance, etc, are, for example, $12, 000 per year, or $1, 000 per month, your total, out – of – pocket, each month, is approximately, $3, 000. If you estimate, upgrades, repairs, etc, are another $12, 000 per year ($1, 000/ month), you should use this $4, 000 per month, figure, for your preliminary calculations. In addition, base you revenues, on having each unit, unoccupied/ vacant, 2 months per year, to proceed conservatively. This means, you should collect a rent – roll, total, from all units, of at least, $4250 per month. In addition, you should be ensured, your net income, must generate approximately $32,000 per year.

3. Dealing with maintenance issues: Are you comfortable with these challenges and responsibilities?

4. Dealing with tenants: Are you ready, willing and able, to deal with tenants, and collect rents, enforce leases, meet the needs of a tenant, and the personality issues, involved?

5. Opportunity costs: How does the owning of these properties (remember to factor in appreciation, depreciation – benefits, and net income, compare with how, you might do, with other investment vehicles?

The 2 simplest ways to best maintain your Parkade.

How condo boards can maximize their investment now and for years to come.

Recent information on maintenance shows that a condo board can plan to pay anywhere from $100 to $500 per parking stall to keep its parkade in good repair and to budget for upkeep of the moisture protection systems. So, if a building had 150 stalls, it breaks down to an average of $25 per stall, or $15 to $75 thousand dollars.

What are the best ways for a condo board corporation to use this money effectively?

By focusing on the reserve fund and operating budget, here are some guidelines to make sure that the parkade is maintained properly.

Before we start let’s get down to basics.

Most parkades today are equipped with reinforced concrete. These are durable because of waterproof membranes that protect against water and salts, which both can destroy the concrete surface. This happens when water and salts mix together and contact metals and steels which create iron oxide or rust. The rust expands and creates pressure on the surrounding concrete. These metals are found in rebar- which creates strength on the concrete floors. The rusting process reduces the strength of the concrete, and can severely affect its ability to handle weight in the parking areas. Eventually, the structure’s integrity can be comprised, in some cases, it could even collapse completely!

So the aim of maintaining parkades properly is to make sure that the salts and dangerous pollutants are removed on a regular basis.

Here are the 2 simplest ways to maintain your Parkade and help reduce the damage to the parking garage structure.

1) The most cost-effective plan is to have your parkades power swept, pressure washed, and power scrubbed, at least twice a year. This will combat against the harmful influences of rusts, dirt and dangerous debris.

2) Have a regular program for flushing and cleaning floor drains and drain pipes in the garage every 6 months. A good time to do this is as the parkade is being swept and scrubbed. This allows the salts and dirt waters in the parkade to flush down these pipes safely. This reduces the contamination of salts and debris on the concrete surface.

It is a lot easier to make sure the membrane and concrete are properly cared for with regular maintenance than to overspend on replacement costs of the overall structure. A little maintenance goes a long way when it comes to important structures like your parkade.

One of the interesting discussions I have with property owners is about pets and whether they should accept them. It is a hot topic, so I thought I would lay out the pros and cons and some of the things you can do to offset the potential risk of accepting pets.

60% of Americans Own Pets!

To start you need to understand that about 60% of Americans have pets. If you decide not to accept pets, you are eliminating almost two-thirds of the population as potential tenants. Also, if you have a high-end single-family home that number may be as high as 70% to 75% of families are going to have pets.

If you own lower end properties or student housing that percentage might be lower. But either way, if you do not accept pets, a large chunk of the population is not eligible to rent your property.

Pet Owners Tend to Stay in Apartments Longer!

Pet owners tend to be very good tenants in that they tend to stay longer. Because it’s difficult for pet owner to move or find another place that accepts pets, they are going to stay at their current property much longer. Obviously, that helps with turnover and with repair costs so it’s better to have longer term tenants.

Pet Owners Tend to Make More Money and Make Better Tenants

Pet owners tend to make more money than non-pet owner tenants. Because owners of pets have pay for food, vet bills, and all the other stuff pet owners buy it indicates a higher disposable income than non-pet owners. Higher incomes should allow them to afford higher rents and be able to offset any short term financial trouble.

Charge Extra Rent and Security Deposit

You should make more money with accepting pets. We charge an extra $25 per month, per pet. If the tenants have two pets, then we would charge an extra $50 per month of rental income. We also charge an extra $300 per pet in security deposit. It is refundable if the place is perfect when the tenants moves out, but if pet does any damage then we have additional monies to be used to make repairs. Also, if the carpets were not clean when they left, one of the things we will be using the $300 security money for is to clean and shampoo the carpets.

Use Pet Addendums to Lay out the Pet Rules and Regulations!

We recommend that you should have the tenants sign a full pet addendum. The pet addendum lays out all the rules and regulations of owning a pet and the ramifications if they don’t take care of that pet.

Do Not Accept Aggressive Dogs

We do not accept any aggressive dogs. If tenants own a bull dog or other aggressive dogs we would not recommend accepting them. Additionally, I would not accept dog that are over 50 or 60 pounds as they are adding a lot of additional risk for your building and other tenants or neighbors. One of the reasons for this is most property insurance companies will void your insurance if you accept aggressive or large dogs.

Professional Shampoo Carpets Once the Tenants Move Out!

We require pet owner tenants that they must professionally shampoo the carpets when they leave. They must pay for the cleaning and provide us a receipt proofing the cleaning was done. If for some reason they were not to do it, then again as I mentioned earlier, we’d use that extra $300 in security to have the carpets professionally shampooed and cleaned.

Hard Wood Floors and Pets?

One major concern is hardwood floors. If you have a property with hardwood floors, accepting pets is a real risk factor. We do recommend mitigating the risk by requiring that they have rugs over some or all the hardwood floors. But either way, if you have hardwood floors, it is an extra risk and make sure it is worth having a dog in the property with hardwood floors.

Service Animals are NOT Pets!

It is very important that everybody understands is that a service animal is not a pet. If you decide to not accept pets, that’s fine. But if the tenant has a service animal you cannot decide to accept to decline a tenant based on a service animal. So just make sure you’re aware of that as an owner that a service animal is not a pet.

When it comes to searching for a new apartment there is the option to choose an unfurnished or furnished apartment. Many people prefer to start from scratch with an unfurnished place and invest in their own personal collection of furniture. However, for the short-term stay or simply for convenience, the option to lease a furnished apartment can be very appealing. Let’s take a look at five practical benefits of a furnished apartment:

Quick to move in

A major benefit of the furnished apartment is the ability to quickly move in and get settled without needing to relocate with big pieces of furniture. Plus, with a lot less personal belongings to pack up and travel with, the cost of moving from one apartment to the next is a lot less hassle and more affordable.

Less furniture to buy

If moving to a larger apartment there will be no need to buy new furniture to fill out the empty spaces. Having to invest in a new couch, bed, television, etc. can be very expensive. Even though a furnished apartment can cost a little extra each month on rent, it is possible to cut out many of the initial costs that are needed to get an apartment in a livable and comfortable position.

Flexible leases

Many of the apartments that are complete with furniture and ready to live in come with the flexible lease options. This can help to target those people who are looking for a low commitment option or a place to stay for the short-term. Typically, there is a great opportunity to negotiate a short-term lease that matches the specific needs, which can range from three or four months to over 12 months or more.

Style the apartment

There are still limited options to style the apartment if only staying for the short-term. Many apartments are decorated with neutral colors to make them more appealing to the wider audience. So, with the use of throw covers for the couches and chairs, artwork, or other style options, there are plenty of ways to create the homely atmosphere.

Utilities included

A final benefit is the fact the furnished apartment will already be set up with the must-have and practical utilities. This will mean that access to the internet and cable is already in place and there will be no need to have these supplies installed after moving in. Also, they are likely to form part of the monthly rental, so there is no need to pay extra for these services.

If you are looking for a cheap and beautiful apartment, you need to work on your deal-finding and negotiation skills. Before you go ahead and negotiate, make sure you know what you need. Given below are 6 tips that may help you rent the right apartment.

#1: Use an apartment locator

First of all, you need to consider a few important features before you look for an apartment in your area. You can check out an apartment locator as well. There are many websites that can serve this purpose. This tool can help you find the right place for you.

#2: Consider your needs

You want an apartment that can meet your needs, not those of your friend’s. Make sure the place is located in the type of neighborhood you like. It should have all of your desired features.

#3: Call a local Locator

You can also contact a local apartment locator for help. In the same way, you can also use a phone book.

It’s a good idea to make a call to at least 2 providers to ask about rental neighborhoods and communities. Make sure you let them know about the features you are after.

Since the locators work for commission, they will try their level best to find you the property you need.

#4: Call a Community

Make sure you pay a visit to the property before you make the decision. It’s even better if you make a call to ask for a quote. Once you are in the apartment, the agent may impress you with the features of the property. On the phone, you will just get numbers. What you need to do is compare the numbers you get with the figures you found online.

#5: Visit the apartment

Although virtual tours can help you make the final decision, you shouldn’t rely on them alone. You can find these tour videos on websites, and this can give you some idea of the features of the property. However, it’s important to keep in mind that visiting the house in person is a must. You just can’t rely 100% on the virtual tours. To get a better feel, you still need to walk around your neighborhood.

#6: Review the features

Make sure you review the features you want in the house. Actually, you should remove the features that are on the bottom of your priority list. This will help you have you choose from a broader list of properties that may have the features you want. You should make adjustments to your list based on the short list of features. Finally, you should make the renting decision after weighing the features and the price you are willing to pay.

The Takeaway

So, these are a few things that you should keep in mind when looking for an apartment to rent. Keep in mind that you will get what you pay for but keeping a few basic things in mind can go a long way.