Thinking of becoming a landlord and putting your current home for rent when you move out? Wanting to invest in real estate and hold the properties as rentals? You’ve come to the right place! We are here to help with a step by step process on how to rent a property start to finish.
1. Decide on Monthly Rent
Before listing your property, you have to decide on a monthly rent. Do your research on comparable properties that are currently listed for rent or have recently been listed. Keep in mind the upgrades you have to offer in your property such as parking, air conditioning, laundry facilities, and yard space. These things may bump up your monthly rent price. Also consider if you are including or excluding utilities in the monthly rent, you may increase your rent if you are planning to account for utility costs.
2. Prepare Your Listing
Like in everything else, preparation is key! Make sure your rental property is in tip top shape before listing. Deep clean the rental so it is ready for a tenant. If it is in your budget, hire a cleaning company that specializes in rentals. Take bright and airy photos of your rental to showcase the property. Install “For Rent” signage in the front yard with your phone number so folks driving by can contact you. Stage the rental with any decor you’d like! Put in place a welcome mat, flowers, and candles to give the rental a home-y feel.
3. List Your Property
Time to list! Decide on which platforms you want to list your property on. We post on Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com, Facebook Marketplace, and our website. Write up a descriptive paragraph to be posted with your listings that describes the highlights of your rental property. Things that can be included are proximity to attractions, upgrades to the property, schools in the area, and walkability. You can also include information such as if utilities are included, or information about the application process. Then, select the best photos to show off your property. Make sure to include pictures of every room and angle, if possible. You won’t want potential tenants to think you are hiding anything. When your listing is complete, hit send and watch the inquiries fly in!
4. Field Inquiries and Questions
You thought you were done after listing? No way! As your inbox fills with potential tenants, decide on a canned response that you will provide. We respond with our baseline rental qualifications as a way to filter through candidates who would not qualify. This helps us save time (ours and the candidates). If someone does meet the qualifications and wants to schedule a showing, move forward! I try to bulk our showings by scheduling them back to back to save myself the travel time, but do what works best for you!
5. Accept a Tenant
After conducting showings, interested candidates will ask for your application process. We use Cozy.co to keep the application process online and smooth. After vetting your applicants through their references, you can select a tenant! Send them their congratulatory email and allow them 24 hours to accept your offer for tenancy. Once they accept, schedule a time to meet, sign the lease, and accept your move in funds. At this spot, you have successfully filled your rental property with a strong, qualified tenant!