Renting

[pabstblueribbon]

Any advice other than googling 'how to rent' which I have obviously not done yet?

I've looked at a few pre-made renters agreements but uh. Yeah.

Oh, I guess I should mention that it's my house that I'll be renting. To other people.

[DCSL]

Hire a property manager group and they can tell you exactly what you need to do. And then they'll handle it all for you anyway.

[peam]

Don't rent to minorities.

[pabstblueribbon]

Hire a property manager group and they can tell you exactly what you need to do. And then they'll handle it all for you anyway.

Hmm.


Don't rent to minorities.

Hmm.

Oh, my room-mate found a huge black snake at the top of the stairwell today. I'm not trying to be racist but, you know, it was in my house illegally. And it was black. Just sayin.

[peam]

Oh, my room-mate found a huge black snake at the top of the stairwell today. I'm not trying to be racist but, you know, it was in my house illegally. And it was black. Just sayin.

Omens, man.

[kookiegod]

Any advice other than googling 'how to rent' which I have obviously not done yet?

I've looked at a few pre-made renters agreements but uh. Yeah.

Oh, I guess I should mention that it's my house that I'll be renting. To other people.

Renting.

Unless you know all the landlord/tenant laws in your state, definitely hire a management company to do it for you. You'll pay 5-10 percent plus expenses for repairs, but they will do all the work for you and save you a boatload of lawsuits.

If you engage in the business of being a landlord, the courts presume you know ALL the laws and will hold you accountable. To use the axiom, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Everything from santitary codes, to fire codes, fair housing laws, screening, when rent is due, when can you evict if things go bad, and how do you collect if they do...

Premade agreements are crap if they are not for your state.

Just for example....

A violation of federal fair housing laws in housing is 50,000 for the first violation. States have other laws that vary and equal or worse penalties.

In Mass, failing to follow the security deposit law is triple damages.

In Mass, failing to give a lead paint notification certificate is 10,000 bucks.

If you don't adequately screen your residents, you can be sued for their acts (in CT, a judgement of over 8 million happened over a drug shootout, in MA , if you rent to a drug dealer and you know about it, you can lose your property, MGL c139, s20.)

Don't play with fire. :)

[pabstblueribbon]

Renting.

Unless you know all the landlord/tenant laws in your state, definitely hire a management company to do it for you. You'll pay 5-10 percent plus expenses for repairs, but they will do all the work for you and save you a boatload of lawsuits.

Just for example....

A violation of federal fair housing laws in housing is 50,000 for the first violation. States have other laws that vary and equal or worse penalties.

In Mass, failing to follow the security deposit law is triple damages.

In Mass, failing to give a lead paint notification certificate is 10,000 bucks.

If you don't adequately screen your residents, you can be sued for their acts (in CT, a judgement of over 8 million happened over a drug shootout, in MA , if you rent to a drug dealer and you know about it, you can lose your property, MGL c139, s20.)

Don't play with fire. :)

Fuck.

[kookiegod]

I edited it for for more things to look out for , sorry, but i'd be happy to point you to some resources to help.

[pabstblueribbon]

Fuck sandwich. With a side of clingyness and rape-aids.

[Ceyrin]

Take cash only, and if anything goes wrong, claim they're squatters.

[Parkbandit]

I've been renting houses for 5 years.. and I've never needed a property manager. Granted, I have some experience from the hotel field, but if you simply use common sense and good judgement, you won't have too much to worry about.

I used a website called something like landlordforms.com or something like that.. paid for a month.. downloaded the forms and customized them for each property and tenant.

[kookiegod]

I've been renting houses for 5 years.. and I've never needed a property manager. Granted, I have some experience from the hotel field, but if you simply use common sense and good judgement, you won't have too much to worry about.

I used a website called something like landlordforms.com or something like that.. paid for a month.. downloaded the forms and customized them for each property and tenant.

All depends where you live. Some states have much harsher laws and far more educated tenants.

In MA, we have the Mass Law Reform Institute, various legal service groups, Mass Tenants Association, the Housing Discrimination Project, ARISE for Social Justice, and other groups after the landlord. Let alone the laws are skewed in favor of the tenant.

Likewise in CT, NY, CA, FL and more, but those are what I am familiar with from my work and 20+ years working on landlord's rights.

You can get by for sure with common sense, but a mistake as I pointed out can be exceptionally costly.

[4a6c1]

Fuck sandwich. With a side of clingyness and rape-aids.

This is beautiful. You are a poet.

[Parkbandit]

All depends where you live. Some states have much harsher laws and far more educated tenants.

In MA, we have the Mass Law Reform Institute, various legal service groups, Mass Tenants Association, the Housing Discrimination Project, ARISE for Social Justice, and other groups after the landlord. Let alone the laws are skewed in favor of the tenant.

Likewise in CT, NY, CA, FL and more, but those are what I am familiar with from my work and 20+ years working on landlord's rights.

You can get by for sure with common sense, but a mistake as I pointed out can be exceptionally costly.

I live and work in Florida. The chances that a normal person would violate the Fair Housing Act are extremely small... the chances that they would be turned in is even smaller.

You could also make the case that you should never leave your house or you might die in a vehicle accident... I just wouldn't use that as a basis for living my life.

[pabstblueribbon]

Damnit. I'm a do-it-myself-er. Tell me something horrible has happened as a result of doing it by ones self, PB.

So that I will not do it myself.

[Parkbandit]

Damnit. I'm a do-it-myself-er. Tell me something horrible has happened as a result of doing it by ones self, PB.

So that I will not do it myself.

I must be blessed... the worst event for me is having to spend a Saturday morning replacing a kitchen water faucet.

[kookiegod]

I live and work in Florida. The chances that a normal person would violate the Fair Housing Act are extremely small... the chances that they would be turned in is even smaller.

You could also make the case that you should never leave your house or you might die in a vehicle accident... I just wouldn't use that as a basis for living my life.

Heh, I disagree with your nth degree leaving the house thing, but thats cause I know two groups i know who use entrapment as a form of discrimination testing. These groups also advertise their services in housing courts to get biz which in turn gets them state funding.

Also , i know some stupid landlords, one who got busted redlining his apps in code for race. That cost him about 300k.

I don't disagree you can't do it yourself, heck, my parents owned 200 units at one time, did amazingly well, but you need to be cognizant of the laws and not use boiler plate forms and know your state and federal laws.

If your doing great PB, its awesome, but given my experience in the industry both owning rental property, and 23 years as a consultant to 1000s of property owners, i know the jungle it is out there, and since he asked for advice, sometimes its best to hear the worst possible things.

Heck, when I opened my new biz, I asked the same things on various forums to hear the horror stories.

[Parkbandit]

Heh, I disagree with your nth degree leaving the house thing, but thats cause I know two groups i know who use entrapment as a form of discrimination testing. These groups also advertise their services in housing courts to get biz which in turn gets them state funding.

Also , i know some stupid landlords, one who got busted redlining his apps in code for race. That cost him about 300k.

I don't disagree you can't do it yourself, heck, my parents owned 200 units at one time, did amazingly well, but you need to be cognizant of the laws and not use boiler plate forms and know your state and federal laws.

If your doing great PB, its awesome, but given my experience in the industry both owning rental property, and 23 years as a consultant to 1000s of property owners, i know the jungle it is out there, and since he asked for advice, sometimes its best to hear the worst possible things.

Heck, when I opened my new biz, I asked the same things on various forums to hear the horror stories.

We could play this all day... let me start!

You might need a property manager if:

You find yourself redlining applicants based on race.

[Showal]

We could play this all day... let me start!

You might need a property manager if:

You find yourself redlining applicants based on race.

Would you need one if you find yourself redlining applicants based largely on your perception of how willing they'd be to "putting out" if they can't afford that month's rent? And you also find yourself redlining applicants based on how unlikely you think that they'll be able to make ends meet on a monthly basis?

I ask because I might be renting my place out in the near future and this is an important issue.

Oh, also, I need to be able to pick applicants that I think are the absolute least likely to tell my girlfriend.

[Bobmuhthol]

What you really need to do is not use any public media for attracting tenants and then you're free to make private transactions outside of the law (I am like 99% sure this is okay since you are not selling a house, in which case this would be 100% illegal). The only problem is you then have to trust your tenants to not kill you or totally ruin your shit and disappear.

[Rinualdo]

Property managers are great for screening applicants, doing move in/out inspections, and general tedium. Its also great if you're not in the same physical location as your house.

I've done both ways and found the 5% fee outweighed the headaches of tenants calling about being locked out, after-hours repairs, bounced checks, etc...

The the properties I still own, I use a property management company.

[4a6c1]

Has anyone said warranty company yet? Get one, pay the annual fee and save yourself the headache that way you dont get calls from the tentant at 2 am in the morning saying their a/c went out/tree went down/termites ate everything.

[Rinualdo]

You really don't want your tenants dealing with your warranty company. They will still call you, and you in turn have to call the warranty company.

Still, not a bad idea if you aren't handy with tools. That still won't stop you from getting the homeowners locked out at 2am, however.