As a landlady with 400 units (mostly residential, smattering of commercial), I get asked a lot of questions. For example, "Are you crazy?" and "How do you put up with tenants?" are popular queries. But lately people seem to want my expertise (maybe something to do with the fact that I have been in business 11 years and seem to finally know what I am doing). So after the musings over my nuttiness for being in the business, the question that comes up is: "I'm thinking of renting out my house, how do I go about doing it?"
This is a big question for sure. People rent out their homes for a myriad of reasons-- but usually because it is not able to sell. In our region of the US, there is a little oil and gas boom going on-- so people are also hoping to cash in with a short term rental with some people coming into the area. Renting can be a great option, especially now when more people are looking to rent than buy, but there are some things you should keep in mind:
1. How attached are you to this home?
Did you put in custom made drapes that you would hate to see taken down and thrown away? Do you have wood baseboards that you lovingly scraped with dental tools to expose the beautiful grain of wood that you would hate to see painted over? Do you have a custom planted garden that you will cry over when tenants let it all go to seed? Remember, everyone lives differently. It will be difficult to find the one person who appreciates your home as much as you. There are some things you can do to minimize cleanliness/yard problems (require housekeeping and lawncare and make part of the monthly rent, for example). However, you have to be able to allow others to live in your property differently than you do. Your tenant might not eat dinner in the dining room every night and prefer to eat on the couch in front of the television. Your tenant might think it is perfectly fine to work on a motorcycle right in front of the house. You have to be OK with people living differently at times, or this business is not for you.
2. Have you considered all the costs?
Make sure you check your city's ordinances-- do you have to pay an inspection fee or register your rental? Make a realistic budget for maintenance-- after all things went wrong in the house when you lived there too. Know the age of your hot water tank, furnace, AC and roof-- these are all big ticket items that you should budget for. If you spend every cent you get and never have savings, you might want to re-think this landlording thing.
3. How good are your boy or girl scout skills? Are you prepared for emergencies?
First of all, everyone has a different idea of what constitutes an emergency. I try hard to train my tenants so they know that the only emergencies are no heat in the winter and water pouring through a ceiling. But, believe me, you will get calls at inopportune moments-- such as when the toilet is stopped up or the AC breaks. You will have to figure out how you want to handle these things. I maintain that toilet problems are tenant-created, so they are tenant-responsibility. I'm sure my tenant wouldn't want to come to my house after one of my children spent the evening regretting their Taco Bell dinner-- I should not have to do the same. As for AC--- we are not in a super-hot climate, so usually it can wait until 8 am. If you hate being inconvenienced with calls/problems, this business might not be for you,
4. How thick is your skin?
Being a landlady is tough work-- people will use the B word repeatedly to their friends-- especially when the rent is due and they think their rent is too high (every month!). And they will take it out on you when the neighbors are annoying, the AC is broken and technician is waiting on a part, or they are locked out and don't understand why you won't get out of bed at 3 am to let them in (that's why God created locksmiths). You can't let it get to you. If it does, again, this business is not for you.
If these four things do not deter you, congratulations, you might be landlady material!!! My next blog I will address the rewards of landladying. In the meantime, if you have a questions, just Ask the Landlady at askthelandlady@gmail.com
