If you’re like many homeowners in El Paso who need to travel for the military, you’ve probably looked into renting out your home while you live wherever you need to for the time being. That solution sounds simple enough; make money from your home while living in another city, state, country even but still having the same house to come back to once you move back to the Sun City, but managing a rental property can actually be quite a hassle.
Most people don’t realize this, but it’s usually a full-time job. You have to market your property, find the right tenants for it, handle the maintenance once they move in, and repeat the entire process if they decide to move out before you’re ready to come back home. Plus, you’ll have to deal with all the legalities involved. But if you think you’re up for the challenge, here are some of the do’s and don’ts of property management.
Don’t Bring On Just Any Tenant
If you’re working on a time crunch, you may be willing to let just anyone live in your home, but this probably isn’t a good idea. Before renting your home out to tenants, you’ll want to screen them, checking for things like their credit score, criminal history (if any), rental history, and monthly income, which you want to be at least three times the amount you want to rent your home out for.
Speaking of rent…
Do Set a Fair Rental Price
It’s easy to want to charge a high amount for rent so you can make some extra cash while you’re away, but don’t fall for this temptation. You’ll want to set a fair rental price for your home. This price will need to be determined based on the market, the house and its amenities, and the area it is in.
Don’t Ignore Maintenance Issues
A good property manager calls someone from their network of trustworthy plumbers, roofers, and HVAC technicians to handle maintenance issues in the house. Ignoring the problem or letting your tenants figure it out for themselves can cause a lot of problems, from angering your tenants to letting the problem go unfixed, causing it to get worse. In addition, your tenants may hire someone inexperienced because they’re more affordable to fix the issue but who in the end only makes it worse. Having maintenance issues fixed right away by a reputable technician is your best bet.
Do Work With a Property Management Company
We’re just going to say it; renting out your home because you’re moving away for a while is tough! But when you work with us at Reliant Property Management, you don’t have to worry. We can hold down the fort for you. Call today!
