How Owners Can Get Their Ducks in a Row Before Renting their Property
Renting your property to tenants is stressful! Hiring a management company is of course the best way to get your property ready to rent, but there are a few important items owners should address before handing over the keys to a company like Real Property Management.
First, if the property is in a neighborhood with an HOA (Homeowners Association) or a neighborhood association, contact them (or better yet, have RPM contact them!) and let them know you will be putting the property on the rental market. Some HOA’s have special documents that will need to be filled out by the property manager or the new tenants. You will also want to make sure the tenants have a list of the HOA by-laws, rules or restrictions, so you don’t receive a nasty-gram telling you the property is out of compliance. In some cases HOA’s will not allow renters, so it’s best to check this before doing anything else to make sure you are following the rules!
If there are any special key fobs (for instance for a community pool or gym), parking passes, mailbox keys, padlocks or keys for a shed, etc., have copies of those available to give to the property manager so the tenant will have them when they move in. This decreases hassle and that makes for happy tenants!
Before there are any showings at the property, make sure it is clean clean clean! Especially the bathrooms and kitchen (this includes appliances, inside and out). It’s a great idea to take care of any maintenance items before the tenants move in, so they have fewer complaints and there are fewer maintenance issues. This includes general home maintenance like replacing filters, cleaning gutters, mowing the lawn and trimming bushes, fixing leaky faucets, painting, etc. A management company like Real Property Management has a maintenance team that can perform an inspection and address any issues, before the tenant finds them. A huge majority of maintenance concerns come up as soon as tenants move in, so the more issues you can take care of beforehand, the better. Again, happy tenants!
Make sure your finances are in order. Have a rainy day fund in case the furnace blows, a pipe bursts, the roof needs replacing, etc. Even with great tenants and an awesome management company like RPM on your side, homes require upkeep. You should also check with your insurance company and let them know you will be renting the property, in case your coverage needs to be changed.
Hiring a company like Real Property Management is one of the best moves you can make to get ready to rent your home. We are available for consultation, rent pricing, and maintenance questions, plus our application process helps us find qualified and reliable tenants! Avoid the worry and contact us today.
