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If you’re looking for a way to generate additional income with unused space in your house, you may have considered renting that space to renters. But before you begin renting out your spare bedroom or basement, there are certain steps you must take to do this properly.
Keep reading to learn the pros and cons of this rental model and how to legally rent out a room in your house.
What Does Renting Out a Room Mean?
Renting out an unused room can be an excellent way to become a first-time landlord and receive income to put toward your mortgage. However, renting out a room in a property you own differs from bringing on a roommate. Instead, it’s much more like a landlord-tenant relationship. As the property owner, you may need to create a lease agreement for the renter to sign and familiarize yourself with landlord-tenant laws. You’ll also need to ensure that your renter is paying rent on time, is following the rules you’ve established, and that they certain expenses like property damage and pet fees if applicable.
Since you’ll be receiving payments from your renter, you’ll also need to understand how rental income is taxed and how to report the income appropriately before pocketing your earnings. Regardless of your decision, remember that the dynamic of your relationship will be more professional, and you should prepare to manage your renter’s stay as such.
The Pros and Cons of Renting Out a Room
No matter what space you decide to rent, you’ll have another person living with you in your home. As such, there are several pros and cons to consider. On the plus side, it can be a great way to generate extra income, especially if you aren’t using the space. Managing a smaller space can also be considered good practice before managing larger rental properties. You may even qualify for significant tax deductions if you rent out a room in your home.
On the downside, renting a room can be a lot of work. You’ll be responsible for maintaining the room and dealing with any issues they may come across. And, even if you thoroughly screen prospective renters, there’s still potential for conflict if you struggle to maintain a healthy relationship.
8 Steps for Renting Out a Room in Your House
If you’re ready to rent out a room in your house, here are steps you can take to get started.
1. Decide Which Room to Rent
Next, you’ll have to decide which room you want to rent. You’ll want it to be a space you’re okay with having limited access to. This will make it easier to respect your tenant’s rights and privacy.
You should also consider what could make your space more attractive to prospective tenants. For example, the main bedroom and connected bathroom may be more convenient for a tenant than a different room. If your basement is similarly equipped, consider that space instead. It’s also appealing if the area has separate access in and out of the house.
2. Review Landlord-Tenant Laws
Before renting a room, it’s essential to understand the landlord-tenant laws specific to your state and local area. You’ll need to know what you can and can’t do if a person rents out a room in your primary residence.
Furthermore, ensure that your neighborhood allows you to rent a room in your house legally or if there are occupancy limits. Your city may require landlords to have a license before renting, or you might have to have the space inspected before it can be rented.
3. Check With Your Insurance Provider
Having a renter living in your home may affect your insurance coverage. Contact your insurance provider to review your policy. You may be required to add landlord insurance to your policy to rent space to a tenant legally.
4. Set the Rent Price
Once you’ve decided what space to rent, you’ll need to set your rent price. If you’re unsure how to start, consider researching the cost of other rooms in your area on rental listing sites. Compare the amenities included in different rooms for rent with the ones you offer to set a competitive price.
5. List Your Property
The next step is to list your room for rent. Treat this as if you were listing an apartment or house for rent — be clear that the rental is a room or interior space, not an entire property, and share as many relevant details as possible about the amenities your area offers.
If you want to create a single listing that will post to several of the top rental listing sites, you can create an Avail rental listing to find quality tenants with no hassle. Publish your listing across the top dozen rental sites, including Realtor.com®, Zillow, Trulia, and more. You can even manage leads and schedule showings directly through your account.
6. Screen Potential Applicants
It’s important to screen your applicants to see how reliable they can be, especially since they’ll be in the home with you. Depending on your state laws, you can run a credit check to see if they have good financial habits, check for criminal history, and verify their rental history with previous landlords to see if they had any issues renting to the tenant.
With Avail online tenant screening, you can request a TransUnion credit check, background check, and eviction report. Choose which screening reports you want to request (refer to local landlord-tenant laws for limitations), decide whether you or your applicant pays, then email your applicant through your Avail profile and invite them to authorize the reports. You can also view the completed reports from your profile and make an informed decision on your applicant.
7. Create a Room Rental Lease Agreement
After finding an applicant that meets your screening criteria, make a room rental lease agreement to ensure you and the renter clearly understand the rules and expectations before renting a room in your house. A lease agreement should include the following items:
- The length of the lease term
- The security deposit or move-in fee amount
- The rent amount, due date, method of collection, and late fees
- Whether utilities are included in rent or a separate charge
- Rules about shared spaces like the laundry room, kitchen, and living room
- Maintenance policies
Remember that a lease is legally binding, so it’s important to cover all your bases while remaining compliant with landlord-tenant laws. With Avail, you can access lawyer-reviewed and state-specific leases that can be signed online for free. You can also customize your rental lease with Unlimited Plus to fit the specifics of your rental and even add your own rules for quiet hours and having guests over.
8. Document Income and Expenses
Once you and your tenant sign the lease, you’ll have successfully rented out a room in your house. As you collect rent and manage the space for your tenant, store important documentation of your income and expenses. Income earned from renting a room in a house is taxable, though many common home expenses can be noted for tax deductions depending on where you live.
If you want to keep income and expenses organized, the Avail Rental Property Accounting tool is free for landlords to simplify the bookkeeping process. Rent payments collected through Avail and logged maintenance costs will automatically populate to your dashboard for easy viewing. Then, you can export your dashboard into a spreadsheet to share with a tax expert to prepare for tax season and new policies like 2024’s new 1099 requirement for landlords.
Should You Rent Out a Room In Your House?
Remember that it’s essential to assess your living situation before renting a room in your house. Consider the following questions before making your decision:
- Is the space available? If you have a small living space or kitchen, you and your tenant may feel cramped and uncomfortable if you rent out a room.
- Are all parties on board? It may be easier to rent out a room in your house if you live alone, but if you live with family members or roommates, it’s important to check with them too.
- Are you comfortable with the arrangement? Sharing a living space can mean making compromises for the sake of privacy. If you have spaces in your home that you don’t want your tenant to access, you may need to reassess your options to be sure the arrangement can work out.
Manage Your Rental Property With Avail
Whether you’re taking the first steps towards your own rental business or simply want to make some extra income with some unused space, Avail provides the tools you need to make rental property management a breeze. List your property, screen applicants, create leases, track income and expenses, and more from one convenient place.
Create an account or log in today to get started.
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Pursuing eviction is one way of getting tenants to vacate a property, but the process can be expensive and time-consuming. Rather than losing time and rental income, you can consider other options to get a tenant to move out.
We’ve compiled some tips for landlords on requesting a tenant move out of your rental property, as well as important things to keep in mind throughout the process.
Can a Landlord Ask a Tenant to Move Out?
As a landlord, you may wonder if and when it’s appropriate to ask a tenant to move out. Generally, tenants are entitled to stay at the rental property for the duration of the lease agreement unless there’s been a lease violation. However, there may be other circumstances when a landlord can ask a tenant to leave before the end of the lease period. Some examples include:
- If you’re selling the property
- To complete major renovations
- Nonpayment of rent
- Tenants cause damage to the property
- Your tenant becomes a holdover tenant
Regardless of the scenario, it’s crucial that you understand your local landlord-tenant laws. Additionally, if your reasoning violates the Fair Housing Act, it may lead to an accusation of housing discrimination and subsequent legal action. For that reason, consult with a legal professional for guidance on the next steps.
How to Get Tenants to Move Without Evicting Them
Once you have a valid reason that doesn’t violate your tenant’s rights, you can generally proceed with asking your tenant to move. Depending on the situation, you can consider any of the following tips and strategies that don’t involve the eviction process.
1. Communicate Clearly
Communication is key to getting a tenant to move out without an eviction. Talking with your tenant allows you to explain the reasoning for your request, how much time they need to move out, and answer questions they may have. This may be easier if you already have a healthy landlord-tenant relationship, but even if you manage your property remotely or employ a property manager, professionalism can go a long way.
Give your tenants as much advanced notice as possible if your reasoning doesn’t involve a lease violation. Doing this will give them ample time to find appropriate housing elsewhere, which can take a few weeks to several months.
2. Offer Incentives
Offering incentives can help alleviate some of the stress from your tenants if your request is unexpected. For example, you could cover moving costs if you’re able to, or provide a landlord recommendation letter to increase their chances of getting their application approved.
You can also use the cash for keys method to get your tenant to move out. This is when a landlord offers the tenant an agreed-upon sum of money to vacate a property.
3. Don’t Renew the Lease
If your reason for asking a tenant to move out isn’t urgent or time-sensitive, you can send a non-renewal lease notice and wait for the existing lease to expire. Ideally, your tenant will understand that they need to find a new home by the time their lease expires.
As always, be sure you clearly understand your local landlord-tenant laws. States can vary on when a non-renewal notice must be sent, and some states may need to justify not offering the decision to renew.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Requiring a Tenant to Move Out
When trying to get a tenant to move out, it’s important to avoid actions that can be classified as self-help eviction. This is when a landlord takes their own measures to evict a tenant outside of legal procedures. Some of these actions include:
- Changing the locks
- Shutting off the utilities
- Taking or removing the tenant’s belongings
- Refusing to conduct repairs
- Harassing or intimidating the tenant
These are only a few examples of illegal eviction that could result in serious legal repercussions. If you have additional questions about illegal evictions, you should consult a legal expert before moving forward.
Manage Your Rentals With Avail
If you’re looking for an effective way to manage your rental property, consider using property management software like Avail. With a free landlord account, Avail lets you create lease agreements, screen applicants, process rent payments, and more from one convenient platform.
You can also access a growing library of rental resources. This includes rental form templates for tenant communications, legal pages outlining state-specific landlord-tenant laws, and educational articles to help you manage your rentals like a pro. Create an account or log in today to get started.
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There are multiple ways to rent out your property, which is what makes managing a rental property so intriguing. You can rent out your property for the standard 12 months, but more and more landlords are turning to medium-term rentals to generate income.
To help you learn more about this new type of rental, we spoke with Sarah Weaver, an experienced real estate investor and co-author of “30-Day Stay: A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Mastering the Medium-Term Rental,” to share her tips and insights on managing medium-term rentals successfully.
What Is a Medium-Term Rental?
According to Weaver, a medium-term rental is a rental that houses a tenant for more than 30 days. A medium-term tenancy can range from 30 days to under 12 months, but Weaver shares, “in my experience, the most common length of stay is between two to three months.”
Another detail she includes is that medium-term rentals are typically furnished like short-term rentals. Tenants aren’t required to buy their own furniture since the landlord would supply the unit with basic amenities and furniture already. “While medium-term rentals are generally less admin work than a short-term rental, you will still be placing tenants more often than a long-term rental,” says Weaver.
In other words, you may spend less time handling maintenance requests and rent payments from the same tenant. However, you will need to plan to have more than one tenant live in the unit throughout the year. “Systems and automation are your friends [when owning medium-term rentals], and building a team is one of the best things you can do for seamless resolutions to property issues.”
What to Include in a Medium-Term Rental Lease
If you’re interested in managing a medium-term rental, there are a few things to consider collecting from tenants and including in your lease agreement. “Just like a long-term rental, always collect a security deposit,” says Weaver. A security deposit is a sum of money given back to tenants once the lease ends unless a portion is used to cover unpaid rent or property damage.
Your medium-term rental properties will see more turnover than long-term units, so collecting a security deposit will help encourage your tenants to take care of the property and cover losses if you have to repair the damage done to your unit before re-listing.
Additionally, it’s important to avoid using a generic lease agreement that doesn’t consider local ordinances. “Be sure that your lease is location-specific to your unit and abides by local laws,” she adds. Adhering to local landlord-tenant laws is essential to avoid legal repercussions, especially if you manage your properties remotely.
In addition to Weaver’s advice, here are some additional points to include in your medium-term rental lease:
- Length of tenancy: Medium rental agreements can last anywhere from three to six months, so it’s important to determine the type of lease to use.
- Rent amount and additional fees: As with any lease, include the cost of rent, as well as any move-in fees and the security deposit amount. You will also want to add late fees and rent payment grace periods to be enforceable.
- Amenities: Tenants will expect a medium-term rental to be furnished. To communicate what will be provided to them, include a clause in the lease about what you’ll provide and who’s responsible for property damage caused to them.
- Responsibilities and expectations: While this is another detail that should be included in any lease, your lease should outline what you will hold the tenant responsible for. This is especially important to help maintain your rental and prevent property damage. It’s also easy to communicate how your tenants can handle tasks like paying rent and submitting maintenance requests.
If you’d like to create a lawyer-reviewed and state-specific lease that abides by local landlord-tenant laws, you can create an Avail account to access our lawyer-reviewed lease templates that can be sent, signed, and stored digitally for your convenience. You can further customize the template to include new clauses by upgrading to Unlimited Plus.
Who Uses Medium-Term Rentals?
Various types of tenants seek out medium-term rentals for their convenience and shorter commitment period. Here’s a list of some common tenants you might meet while managing a medium-term rental:
- Students: College students typically need somewhere to stay while they attend class for a semester or the summertime. A medium-term rental provides a flexible and affordable option for students that doesn’t require them to live on campus or commute long distances.
- Travel nurses: Medium-term rentals are an excellent option for landlords who want to rent to travel nurses. Medium-term rentals allow travel nurses to stay in a new rental without having to purchase new furniture or commit to a long-term lease. This option may also be beneficial if your property is near a hospital.
- Remote workers: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in remote workers across multiple industries looking to stay in new cities for a few months. With remote working models being more common, renters are turning to medium-term rentals to relocate temporarily to new cities.
- People relocating: Another demographic drawn to medium-term rentals is people relocating to a new town or city. A medium-term rental is a great solution for people who want to move but haven’t found a permanent home or longer-term option. It allows them to experience the area while still being able to search for a future residence.
How to Make Your Medium-Term Rental Stand Out
With medium-term rentals increasing in popularity and availability, it’s essential to do what you can to help your properties stand out. According to Weaver, a thoughtfully furnished rental is vital in a competitive market.
“Design a clean, welcoming unit with thoughtful amenities, [so] think about the things that would make you want to live somewhere, and then implement those things for your tenants to enjoy,” she shares.
You can also consider the property’s location and the types of tenants your property is most likely to attract. For example, if your city has seen an influx of remote workers, you may consider furnishing your rental with a sturdy desk, comfortable chair, and reliable wi-fi. Because these are essential to those who work from home, they could help attract more tenants to your rental.
Pro tip: Add a virtual tour to your rental listing to attract more tenant leads.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Medium-Term Rentals
Medium-term rentals offer several benefits to landlords but can present challenges as well. “The disadvantage (of course, if you choose to see it as a disadvantage) is increased turnover,” says Weaver. “However, turnovers can be a breeze when the right systems are in place,” she adds. “The advantages? Great tenants, a well-maintained unit, increased cash flow, simple self-management, the list goes on!”
Here are some additional advantages and disadvantages of medium-term rentals to keep in mind:
Advantages of Medium-Term Rentals
1. Experienced Tenants
With medium-term rentals, you’ll frequently interact with new tenants. Often these tenants will be more flexible, understanding, and familiar with the medium-term rental experience. Having tenants familiar with these types of rentals can make the tenancy go smoothly and help simplify the management process.
2. Reliable Income
Compared to the short-term rental model, medium-term rentals are less susceptible to seasonal fluctuations. This allows for a better opportunity at steady passive income. You can also pivot to shorter-term rentals if fewer tenants in your area are looking to rent for 12 months.
3. Opportunities for Growth
The growing demand for medium-term rentals means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to grow your rental business using this model. This, in turn, will boost your rental income, potentially allowing you to invest further and expand your portfolio.
Disadvantages of Medium-Term Rentals
1. Increased Turnover
As Weaver mentioned, a challenge that you’ll face managing a medium-term rental is increased turnover. By nature, these rentals see tenants come and go frequently, so you’ll just as frequently be going through the rental property turnover process.
3 Tips For Managing Medium-Term Rentals
Learning how to manage a medium-term rental can be a bit of a process, but Weaver shares three tips for landlords to keep in mind.
1. Automate
To manage your medium-term rental efficiently, Weaver recommends automating processes whenever possible. “Automating tenant messaging is a huge time-saver,” she says. To do this, consider using rental property management software to help simplify the managing process.
For example, Avail allows landlords to set up automatic rent payment reminders to help tenants pay rent on time, saving you the time and effort of manually messaging tenants when the rent due date approaches.
2. Document
Weaver also emphasizes the importance of proper documentation for medium-term rental property management, suggesting landlords “keep a log of what maintenance was done, when, and by whom.”
With Avail maintenance tracking software, you can easily record the completed maintenance and log any associated costs. These costs will then automatically populate in the Avail Rental Property Accounting tool to help you keep track of your finances as a landlord.
3. Simplify
Finally, Weaver recommends simplifying wherever possible. “E-signatures make everyone’s life easier, so take advantage of sending an electronic lease and collecting rent payments online.”
If you want to create and send a lease electronically for your tenants to review and sign, you can easily create digital leases and collect electronic signatures through Avail. You can also upload your lease agreements to sign online through Avail, making it easier to keep all your important documents on one platform.
And with online rent collection, your tenants can easily pay rent from their Avail accounts. This reliable and secure method will have the funds deposited directly into your account, and payments will sync to your accounting dashboard for easy access.
Manage Your Rental Properties With Avail
Managing a medium-term rental doesn’t have to be difficult. Avail provides various tools to simplify the renting experience for you and your tenants. Create an account or log in today to manage your rental properties like a pro. Also, you can visit the Avail resources page to access our growing library of rental form templates, educational resources, legal pages, guides, and research.
Interested in purchasing Sarah’s book? Click here and use code “SARAH” for 10% off your purchase.
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Many suspect an upcoming recession, which may have left you wondering whether your rental business is in jeopardy. The good news is experts have not officially declared a recession, but they are predicting one may occur in 2023, so it’s best to prepare in case it does.
Keep reading for five tips on managing rentals during a recession to help you keep your rental business afloat.
1. Work to Retain Existing Tenants
The best way to avoid prolonged or sudden vacancies is by retaining tenants that you’ve enjoyed renting to and have paid rent on time. To do that, you must first know what makes an awesome landlord.
Generally, tenants prefer landlords who collect rent payments online for convenience, respond quickly to maintenance requests, give them space to enjoy the property, and overall try to build a great landlord-tenant relationship.
If you’re unsure of how your tenants currently view you as a landlord, you can ask them for their feedback and adjust where necessary to increase their chances of renewing for another term. You can also audit how you’re currently managing your rental to see if there are steps you can change that can save you and your tenants time.
For example, you can explore using a rent collection app that allows tenants to report on-time rent payments to credit bureaus versus collecting physical checks.
Learn 15 more ways to be an awesome landlord.
2. Consider Other Ways to Use Your Rental
If your rental is currently vacant and it’s taking longer to find long-term tenants, explore other ways to use the space that can generate income. Some options to consider include using the space as a short-term vacation rental, a medium-term rental, a travel nurse rental, or a studio space for filming.
These options may require furnishing the space (if not already), which can add cost. But it helps diversify how people can use the space and help you generate income if your area’s rental demand for 12-month rentals is low.
3. Budget for Financial Hiccups With Tenants
A recession can sometimes result in your tenant suddenly losing their job, making it harder to pay rent if they don’t have an emergency fund. For that reason, it’s important to budget for these scenarios to ensure you can continue to cover expenses such as your mortgage, property taxes, utilities (if not covered by the tenant), and other related costs.
Financially preparing for sudden setbacks is especially important if you charge a higher rent price and rely on rental income to cover operating expenses. Save three to six months of income to cover property-related costs and try to limit miscellaneous spending where possible.
4. Monitor Income and Expenses
In addition to preparing for financial emergencies, closely monitor income and expense transactions for your rentals, especially if you own more than one. You can do this manually through a spreadsheet with each transaction type and cost. But an easier option may be to leverage a property management software platform like Avail that can help streamline the property accounting process for you.
The Avail Rental Property Accounting tool automatically populates your dashboard with collected rent payments and logged maintenance expenses from submitted requests. You can also add one-time transactions collected outside of Avail to have a centralized platform that helps you manage your rentals and monitor important transactions.
Once you’ve added all the important transactions, you can filter them by property to help you see where you can lower costs for each rental. Avail can also help you manage your rentals without the added cost of a property manager, helping you save costs as a landlord without adding more stress to your schedule.
All you need to do is create an account to set up your rental properties and invite your tenants to Avail to access all the tools designed for landlords.
5. Stay Informed on the Housing Market
The housing market can fluctuate during a recession, so staying up-to-date on the latest research can be one way to help you navigate these changes. In addition to our growing library of resources, Avail conducts ongoing research on the DIY rental and housing market based on real-time trends. You can subscribe to our special reports mailing list to get reports sent directly to your inbox, as well as other resources that can help you manage your rentals.
Realtor.com® also covers trends in the housing market, from rentals to homebuying, that can highlight if buying more properties or charging more in rent is ideal during a recession.
Save Time and Money With Avail
While the recession has yet to happen, preparation for such events is key to keeping your rental business running. Whether you need help managing your rental or want resources to help you landlord like a pro, Avail can help you save time and money during stressful times.
Create an account today to start collecting rent payments, tracking property accounting, tracking maintenance requests, and much more.
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Investing in a rental property can be a great way to generate passive income, especially if you already own a property you’re ready to rent out. But if the property currently has a mortgage you’re paying off, you may wonder if it’s possible to rent out your home to tenants without violating the mortgage agreement.
The answer is generally yes, but there are certain considerations to keep in mind. Keep reading to learn what those are and the tools you can use to help you manage your rental property like a pro.
Can You Rent Out a House With a Mortgage?
Most mortgage agreements include a section covering steps to complete before renting your home. That said, the answer to whether you can rent out your house will depend on the terms and conditions of your mortgage.
If it’s allowed by the mortgage lender, determine what steps you need to complete to avoid occupancy fraud, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines as “when the borrower states on the application that they intend to live in the home they are buying when it’s actually an investment property.”
Some mortgage lenders may also have additional terms you may need to follow, such as how long to wait before renting out to tenants and one-time fees to cover. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans require you to live in the property for one year before renting out in most cases.
For these reasons, notify your mortgage lender of your plans to discuss what you need to do before finding tenants.
What to Know About Renting Out a House With a Mortgage
To avoid violating the agreement with your mortgage lender, here are steps to take when planning next steps:
- Research loan restrictions: There are various types of mortgage loans, such as conventional loans, FHA loans, USDA loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, adjustable-rate loans, and fixed-rate mortgage loans. Based on the type you have, check if your type of loan has restrictions on renting out the property.
- Read your mortgage contract: Look for loan restrictions (if any), information on how long to wait before renting out, and occupancy requirements.
- Ask your HOA about its rental policy: Some single-family homes and condominiums may be part of a Homeowners Association (HOA), which can have its own policies on renting. If your property is a part of an HOA, ask if there are restrictions on renting to be aware of.
- Refer to local landlord-tenant laws: To avoid violating local ordinances, refer to local landlord-tenant laws for information on how to screen applicants, collect rent payments and security deposits, avoid discriminating against tenants, and more.
- Consider capital gain consequences: In some states, you must live in the property for a certain amount of years to avoid capital gains taxes, which is the tax rate on profits property owners can make from selling their property. If you’ve lived in the property for less than two years, you may no longer be exempt from paying taxes on capital gains.
Do I Need to Tell My Mortgage Provider that I’m Renting Out My House?
Yes, you do need to notify your mortgage lender that you’re considering renting out your house before finding tenants.
Failing to do so can violate the terms of the agreement and result in costly fees. To prevent that from happening, connect with them before completing any other step.
3 Tips for Renting Out Your House
Once you’ve notified your mortgage lender and gotten approval to rent out your home, the next step is finding tenants. Here are some tips to help you become a landlord and rent out your home for the first time.
- Determine a competitive rent price: Research local rental comps to see how much other landlords are charging for similar properties in your area. You can manually look through rental listings or invest in an Avail Rent Price Analysis report to get comprehensive information on local demand, rental comps, and more in one report.
- Establish a process to collect rent payments: The key to saving time and money as a landlord is having a process in place to make it easy for tenants to submit rent payments and other rental fees online. You can use a rent collection app to help you streamline the process and track property accounting.
- Use a lawyer-reviewed lease agreement: If you have to take extra steps to get your mortgage lender’s approval to rent out your property, it’s important to have a great lease in place to protect you and your property. If you’re unsure where to create a lease, you can use a platform like Avail that offers lawyer-reviewed lease agreement templates that are state-specific and include all the locally-required clauses. You can also create a lease amendment to legally modify an existing lease.
Visit our Resources page to explore our growing library of free rental forms, legal pages, housing research, and more.
Rent Out Your House Like a Pro With Avail
It is possible to rent out your house with a mortgage, but it’s important to talk with your mortgage lender first to avoid hiccups. Once you’re ready to rent out your home, you can use a property management software platform like Avail to help you save time and money as a landlord.
To get started, create an account to set up your rental property and invite your tenants to Avail.
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Renting rooms to traveling nurses is a great way to generate passive income without committing to long-term lease terms. They function similarly to short-term rentals that make it easy to get started in rental property management, but with some slight differences that are worth noting.
In this article, we interviewed Kendra Barnes, an experienced real estate investor and founder of the Key Resource, to provide helpful tips on managing rentals for traveling nurses to help you avoid costly mistakes.
What to Know Before Renting to Travel Nurses
The key to avoiding costly mistakes when managing a short-term rental is knowing what to prepare as a landlord. Barnes shares four things to know based on her experience managing short-term rentals like rentals for travel nurses.
- Always be ready to pivot: In an ideal world, rentals for travel nurses would be easy to manage, but that may not always be the case. “The number one mistake I see new landlords make is that they identify a property and only run the numbers based on one scenario,” she says. “You always have to be several steps ahead and prepare to pivot to be profitable no matter your rental strategy.” She suggests researching long-term rentals, section 8 rentals, and Airbnb vacation rentals, in addition to travel nurse rentals. Each option will vary in generated income and profitability, but it’s helpful to know your options if one doesn’t perform well.
- Rent out multiple rooms versus a unit alone: If you own a rental property with more than one bedroom, Barnes suggests renting out each room to different tenants versus renting out the whole unit to one tenant. However, you may want to invest in an electronic keypad and consider how many bathrooms your unit offers. Some tenants will want to have their bathroom and added security.
- Consider allowing pets: “In the four years that we’ve been renting to travel nurses, 95% of them have traveled with a pet,” highlights Barnes. “If you don’t want to allow pets, then you may have longer vacancies between tenants.” You can charge a one-time pet free and pet rent if allowing them to use in the case of property damage caused by the pet.
- Budget for essential expenses: It’s important to budget for essential home items and associated expenses tenants may expect. Barnes adds, “travel nurses are looking to rent places where wifi and utilities are all included, so factor that into your pricing.” Additionally, she highlights how tenants may expect essential home items in Airbnbs, such as cooking supplies, linens, bath towels, and so on.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Travel Nurse Rentals
Both long-term and short-term rentals benefit landlords. But before getting started, here are the advantages and disadvantages to be aware of.
Advantages of Travel Nurse Rentals
1. Flexibility
Rental agreements for travel nurses typically last three months, offering more flexibility than traditional rentals with 12-month leases. If you no longer want to rent to tenants, you can also choose to live in your property or sell once the lease expires — which can be harder to do with long-term rentals.
2. Tax Benefits
Although the lease duration is shorter, the property can still qualify as a rental property, meaning there may be various tax deductions you qualify for. A certified accountant will ultimately determine what deductions you can be eligible for, but some examples include deductions on mortgage interest, utility bills, repairs, and maintenance.
3. More Money
Since you’re not bound to a 12-month lease, you can change the price to rent or reserve your unit throughout the year. During the busy season (generally the summer months), you can charge a higher fee for furnished units that include utilities.
Disadvantages of Travel Nurse Rentals
1. Higher Vacancy Rates
There may be times when you can experience higher vacancy rates since the demand for short-term rentals can fluctuate throughout the year. For that reason, it’s important to have an emergency fund to help cover property-related expenses during slower months. Another option is listing your unit on platforms like Airbnb or Peerspace during slower months to rent out your space for events or vacations.
2. Expensive Running Costs
Although traditional rentals require similar apartment turnover costs, you’ll need to cover them more often since you’ll be renting out your space to multiple tenants versus one per year. To help you track your rental income and expenses, you can collect rental payments and log maintenance expenses to populate on the Avail Rental Property Accounting tool. Doing so can also make it easier to see which rental has higher running costs to create a budget to reduce the financial strain.
Can You Manage Travel Nurse Rentals from Afar?
According to Barnes, travel nurse rentals can be easier to manage from afar compared to other short-term rentals like Airbnbs. “Travel nurse rentals represent a sweet spot between long-term and short-term rentals since you can charge a higher price since it’s furnished and includes utilities but without the constant turnover,” she says. “Travel nurses [typically] rent places for three months at a time, meaning you can have three to four tenants per year, unlike Airbnb where you could have dozens of tenants in and out over a year.”
However, you’ll most likely need an on-site contractor to help your tenants deal with maintenance requests and other related issues, which is something to consider.
How to Rent to Traveling Nurses
Barnes shares her tips on how to rent to traveling nurses to help you landlord like a pro.
- Pre-screen applicants: “Schedule a phone call [with each applicant] during the application process,” she advises. “You can see if they meet your screening criteria and your property offers what they’re looking for.” You can complete a pre-screening checklist during the call to reference your notes afterward.
- Provide videos of your unit: Prospective tenants often apply from a different state, so providing videos and high-quality photos can help them determine if the unit meets their needs. “This can put an applicant’s mind at ease and have a better idea of what to expect before moving in,” she adds.
- Create leases to protect both parties: While you may not think leases are common with travel nurse rentals, Barnes likes to require leases so everyone is aligned on the expectations and rules. She adds, “leases protect you and the tenants, even if the lease term is only for three months.” With Avail, you can easily make month-to-month lease agreements, a custom duration lease, or a full-year lease. You can also customize our lease templates with additional clauses with Unlimited Plus, making it easier to protect both you and your tenants.
- Get the unit cleaned: “When it comes to managing the turnover process between tenants, your cleaning professional is important and can make or break your business,” says Barnes. “Unless you can be there to inspect between tenants, you will need your cleaning professional to give you a full run-down of any damages and items that need to be restocked or replaced.”
Is Renting to Travel Nurses Right for You?
To determine if travel nurse rentals are right for you, you can ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you able to afford rental property-related expenses and furnish the property?
- Are you ready to manage tenants?
- Is your property located close to a hospital?
- Are you located near where you want to purchase a rental property? If not, are you willing to hire a contractor to help you manage your property?
The answers to these questions can help determine if you’re ready to purchase a rental property and become a landlord.
Manage Your Rentals With Avail
Short-term rental property management can be done with the right tools and plan. Once you’re ready to start, you can create an Avail account to screen prospective tenants, access lawyer-reviewed leases, manage rental property accounting, and much more. With one platform, you can easily streamline the process for more than one rental to help you save time and money. Create an account to start landlording like a pro.
Want to learn more about travel nurse rentals and real estate investing? Follow Kendra Barnes on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook Group, or purchase her book “Acres” for more expert insights.
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There are various benefits of investing in real estate, such as generating passive income to qualifying for tax advantages. But renting out a property requires more than finding tenants — you’ll also need to find investment properties with great amenities and handle the different parts of the renting process.
That’s why we outlined how to make money renting out a property and tools that can help you as a landlord.
How to Make Money Renting Houses
Having a plan in place before renting out your house can ensure you’re not spending too much time managing your finances and tenants. Here are six tips on how to make money renting out houses.
1. Purchase an Investment Property
If you’re not planning on renting out your house, then you will need to buy your first rental property. There are different ways to finance rental properties, each of which have their own set of requirements and eligibility guidelines.
Once you’ve determined how you’ll finance your investment property, you can work with a Realtor or explore house hunting websites that show available properties near you. When looking at properties, it’s important to pay attention to the following factors:
- Property taxes: Property taxes can vary by location, with some places having higher taxes than others. Tax rates can also vary throughout the year, so it’s advised to look at properties with a consistent history of low property taxes.
- Local demand for rentals: Properties in areas with a high demand for rentals can make it easier to fill your property compared to areas that have more for-sale properties.
- Amenities: Properties with great amenities have a higher chance of attracting tenant interest and can make it easier to charge more in rent.
The key to making money from a rental is finding properties with promising rates of return that offer great benefits to tenants.
2. Determine Your Operating Expenses
Managing a rental property comes with operating expenses that need to be covered on both a monthly and annual basis. Examples of operating expenses to prepare for are advertising costs, your mortgage payment, maintenance, landlord insurance, property taxes, and landlord software fees. To make money from renting out a property, it’s important to have enough money coming in from rent payments to cover costs and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
The total amount of your monthly operating expenses can help you determine how much to charge in rent to cover costs.
3. Set a Competitive Rent Price and Rental Fees
Your rent price should consider seasonality, local rental comps, current events, and the value of your property amenities. You can find rental comps by searching local rental listings online or using an Avail Rent Analysis report for comprehensive insights on local rental demand, rental comps for 10 similar properties, and more. The six-page report offers valuable insights that can make crafting a fair rent price less stressful and time-consuming.
Additional fees — security deposit, move-in fee, parking fee, pet fees — can also increase your profits, but the fees should be based on what other local landlords charge.
4. Invest in Landlord Software
Renting out a property comes with various responsibilities that can take time to complete, especially without a property manager. However, property management software platforms like Avail make it easier to advertise your property across a dozen sites, screen prospective tenants, access state-specific lease agreements, collect rent, and much more, all in one place.
You can also earn up to $500 in account credit by inviting up to 10 fellow landlords to create an account through the Avail Referral Program. The account credit can be used to purchase an Avail Rent Analysis report, cover tenant screening fees, or upgrade to Unlimited Plus for more benefits.
5. Find Reliable Tenants
When you rent your property to reliable tenants, you’re less likely to avoid expensive property damage or costly eviction fees. To find great tenants, it’s advised to get your rental listing in front of as many tenants as possible and implement a solid tenant screening process.
Most landlords use a rental application and tenant screening reports to find the best tenant for their rental, but check your local landlord-tenant laws for screening restrictions. Some states do not allow landlords to check a tenant’s criminal history or conduct a background check, while others have fewer restrictions.
6. Reduce Tenant Turnover
Being an awesome landlord is one way to retain great tenants and reduce tenant turnover costs. But when a tenant decides to move out, you’ll need to find new tenants and prepare the space before the next move-in date.
Not being able to retain tenants can result in growing expenses to find and move in new tenants or a vacant rental. To avoid this from happening, establish a positive relationship with your tenants, allow them to pay rent online, and handle maintenance requests right away.
What to Know When Becoming a Landlord for the First Time
Are Rental Properties a Good Way to Make Money?
Rental properties can be a great way to generate income, so long as your operating expenses aren’t too high and your rent price is competitive. Rent payments, security deposits, move-in fees, and pet fees can also help cover your monthly expenses and leave money left over to save for future costs.
What Is the Average Profit on a Rental Property?
The average profit on a rental property depends on where your property is located, how much you’re charging in rent, and the total operating expense amount. To determine the profitability of your rental, you can use the Avail Rental Property Calculator to get cash-on-cash return, gross rent multiplier, and more financial outputs.
Once you get an estimated profit, you can determine if anything needs to be adjusted to increase the future profits from your rental.
Manage Your Rentals With Avail
Renting out a property can help you generate passive income and act as a great long-term investment. Create an account with Avail to help you streamline the renting process and help keep everything organized and in one place. Manage your tenants, collect rent payments, manage maintenance requests, and much more with landlord software designed with landlords in mind.
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There are certain responsibilities that will need to be handled on a regular basis when owning a rental property. While it may seem daunting to manage both a property and tenants yourself, it’s easier than you think when you have the right tools and resources to reference.
In this article, we explain the main areas of focus for a do-it-yourself (DIY) landlord, and how to effectively self-manage your rental property.
What Are the Responsibilities of a DIY Landlord?
As a landlord, you’ll be responsible for managing three areas of the renting process:
Tenant Management
Managing tenants is an essential part of managing a rental. In addition to ensuring they’re abiding by the terms in the lease agreement, you also need to be well-informed on handling certain situations in a way that complies with local landlord-tenant laws.
For example, some states require landlords to offer a grace period before charging late fees to tenants and supplying a past-due rent notice. Failing to abide by local ordinances can result in a legal situation and may affect your reputation as a landlord.
Property Management
All states require landlords to keep the property safe for tenants to live in and address property maintenance-related issues promptly. For that reason, it’s important to have funds available to address significant repairs quickly, conduct regular inspections, and have a maintenance tracking system for tenants to escalate issues.
Financial Management
As you collect rental fees from tenants, you will need to manage rental property accounting to track how much income you’ve generated with each rental. Payments to track are rent payments, security deposits or move-in fees, pet fees, utilities, and other monthly fees tenants must pay.
How to Manage a Rental Property Yourself
As a landlord, it’s important to have a concrete plan on how you’ll handle the different parts of the rental process. Here are seven steps to follow to help guide you along the process of managing a property yourself.
1. Create a Rental Property Business Plan
Take time to create a rental property business plan that outlines your goals, your market, your business model, and your strategic plan. If it’s your first time managing a rental property, it’s important to determine how your rental business will operate and how you’ll want to handle the different parts of the rental process.
The information on your business plan can also highlight the financials you’ll need to prepare for before, during, and after renting out a property.
2. Prepare Your Finances to Cover Operating Expenses
Managing a rental property comes with operating expenses that need to be covered throughout the year. Your expenses will generally include advertising, cleaning and maintenance repairs, landlord insurance premiums, property taxes, and other professional fees.
Determine how much you’ll need to cover in expenses each month to properly forecast your total costs. This number can then be used to help you determine a rent price that’s competitive, fair, and sufficient to cover your expenses.
Pro tip: Have a savings account specifically for rental property-related expenses in case your rental income is not enough to cover upcoming expenses.
3. Market Your Property
Part of managing a rental is finding and screening prospective tenants, which begins with listing your rental. You can manually publish your listing across various sites or leverage a landlord software platform like Avail to accomplish help you advertise your rental across the top rental sites with one click.
Through Avail, you can create a rental listing that will automatically post to a dozen of popular rental sites, allowing you to generate leads by getting your listing in front of millions. If you struggle to write a listing on your own, Avail also provides auto-generated listing titles and descriptions based on the details of the property.
4. Collect Rent From Tenants
Rent payments will be your primary source of income from your rental property, so it’s essential to make this process seamless for yourself and your tenants. An easy way to do this is by setting up online rent payments through a rent collection app.
It’s worth noting that certain platforms like Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal are not intended for rent collection. While they may be convenient and common for personal use, these apps often have rules against usage for rental payments, and using them to collect rent can result in a terms of use violation. Additionally, they can be unreliable due to limited payment protection.
Alternatively, collecting rent online with Avail allows tenants to securely send payments that will deposit directly into your account. You can also request payments, set up automatic rent reminders, and get next-day rent payments with FastPay when you upgrade to Unlimited Plus.
5. Create a Process for Handling Maintenance Repairs
Maintenance issues are often unexpected, so it’s important to create a process for handling repairs to avoid future issues. Neglecting maintenance requests from tenants can violate their renter rights and result in withheld rent or a lawsuit.
You can manage maintenance requests with Avail to log repair costs, images of the repair issue, and information on the contractor that fixed the issue. Tenants can also flag maintenance issues through their tenant dashboard, which will automatically show on your account.
6. Establish a Record Keeping Process
Becoming a landlord will require you to keep a record of all your rental income, your expenses, and active lease agreements. Launching a rental business without a record-keeping process can make filing your taxes difficult and leave more room for issues, especially if you have more than one active lease agreement.
Luckily, Avail provides free reports to help you stay on top of your business without having to use more than one platform. Access your tenant roster, rental property accounting dashboard, maintenance requests, late payments, and active lease agreements all for free through your landlord dashboard.
7. Set Reminders for Important Dates
Depending on your local landlord-tenant laws, you will need to determine whether or not you want to provide your tenant with lease renewal options. This typically needs to be done 90 days before the lease expires, but this varies depending on your state.
If they agree to renew the lease, you will need to create a new lease agreement with the updated rent price and rental agreements. On the other hand, tenants that do not want to renew will need to let you know 60 days before the lease expires to give you enough time to turnover an apartment.
What to Know About Remote Property Management
There may be instances where you may want to explore long-distance real estate investing, but it’s important to consider the risks involved with remote property management. Since you’re not in close proximity to the property, you may want to consider hiring a property manager to be the go-to person for your tenants. This will add an additional operating expense, but they can help ensure your tenants have assistance when they need it.
If you decide to hire a property manager to help you manage your rental properties from out of state, you can create an Avail account for them to use to see what payments have been collected and any new maintenance issues.
Alternatively, some property management companies offer services as needed. Choosing this path means you can outsource specific tasks, such as only finding a new tenant for the property. This affords flexibility in deciding what you need assistance with, while also saving more money compared to hiring a full-time property manager.
Streamline the Rental Process With Avail
By following the steps listed above, you can smoothly self-manage a rental property. Create an Avail account today to streamline the rental process for all of your rental properties and keep everything organized on one platform.
For even more assistance with managing your rental property business, Avail offers a free library of resources. Find forms, view state-specific landlord-tenant laws, access in-depth guides, and more — everything you need to manage your rentals like a pro.
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There will be instances where tenants forgo renewing their lease, leaving you with no choice but to conduct an apartment turnover to keep generating income from your rental. Although this part of managing a rental does take some time to do, an apartment turnover checklist can guide you through each part of the process.
Here are the main steps to turning over an apartment every landlord needs to know to save time and money.
What Is an Apartment Turnover?
An apartment turnover needs to be performed when a current tenant decides not to renew their lease and plans to move out instead. Since the property most likely has wear-and-tear damage, you’ll want to set aside time to handle any maintenance tasks, as well as thoroughly clean the property and schedule a third-party property inspection if required by local ordinances.
The process to turnover an apartment can take a few days to a few weeks, depending on what needs to be completed. To help keep you on track, you can use an apartment turnover checklist that outlines all the essential steps of the process.
What Does an Apartment Turnover Checklist Consist of?
The rental property will need to be properly restored prior to the new tenant moving in. Here are eight steps you’ll want to complete to turnover an apartment:
1. Receive a Move-Out Notice
Landlords typically notify tenants of lease renewal options 90 days before the lease term end date to determine if they’ll need to find new tenants. If your tenant doesn’t want to renew their lease, then the first step to turning over an apartment is receiving a written notice from your tenant clearly stating this.
Each state varies with when a tenant will need to provide a move-out notice, but it’s often 30 to 60 days before the last day of their lease to provide landlords with enough time to find a new tenant. The notice should clearly state their intention for not wanting to renew the lease, the day they’ll vacate the property by, and an address to send any expenses they’re responsible for covering.
2. Advertise Your Rental Property
Now that you’re aware you’ll need to find a new tenant, you’ll want to advertise your rental property online. The demand for a rental property varies depending on the time of the year — with the summer months being the busiest — but the more sites you can post your rental listing to, the better your chances are of generating tenant interest and shortening your vacancy period.
Avail allows landlords to syndicate their rental listings across Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, Zumper, Apartments.com, Realtor.com®, PadMapper, Apartment List, Walk Score, and Doorsteps. Any generated leads can then be managed through your landlord dashboard to keep everything in one place.
Pro tip: Include a stellar rental listing description and high-quality photos of your property in all your rental listings to get the best results.
3. Schedule a Property Showing
Showing a property while it’s occupied is a normal part of turning over an apartment. However, you’ll want to approach this step strategically so your current tenants don’t feel uncomfortable when you’re showing the property to prospective tenants.
It’s advised to provide your current tenants with a 24-hour notice of any property showings, but this can vary by state. Providing them with a notice will give them time to clean the unit and notify you of any major damage to be aware of.
You are not legally obligated to compensate your current tenants for allowing you to conduct a property showing since this is a normal part of the renting process. But if they do express any uncomfortable feelings about having strangers view the property, you can work with them to create a plan that allows you to show the property to new tenants well before the lease term officially ends.
4. Screen Prospective Tenants
If you’ve previously screened tenants on Avail, you can use the same application template to screen new tenants for the same property. You can also create a rental application from scratch if you’d like to include five custom questions.
Any prospective tenant will need to authorize a rental background check. You can also add a TransUnion credit, criminal, and eviction report to a rental application for a one-time fee you or the tenant can cover. But before doing this, make sure you know the laws around the tenant screening process in your city or state to avoid landing in a tough legal situation.
5. Create a Lawyer-Reviewed Lease Agreement
Similar to a rental application, Avail allows landlords to clone an existing lease agreement with Unlimited Plus to reuse for your new tenant. If there are any new clauses you want to add, this can easily be done in minutes so your lease agreement provides full protection for both parties.
You can also make a new lawyer-reviewed lease agreement to share with your tenant for free. The final lease agreement can then be emailed to the tenant so they can provide their legally-binding signature before adding your own signature.
6. Get Keys from Your Tenant and Inspect the Property
Before they return the keys, you may want to schedule a final inspection with your current tenant to walk through each room in the unit and take note of any damage that’s outside of normal wear and tear.
Your tenant can then return the keys to the rental property and get their security deposit back if no major damage has been identified and they have no outstanding debt due.
7. Prepare the Property for New Tenants
You’ve completed the step of finding a new tenant, meaning it’s now time to fully inspect the property, appliances, and walls for any damage that needs to be fixed. All properties will experience normal wear and tear during a lease term, so it’s important to set some time aside to conduct the following tasks:
- Completely repaint or touch up the paint on the walls
- Professionally clean the carpets, floors, and all the appliances
- Change the locks and keys of the property
- Take pictures of the property once all tasks have been completed
Each state varies on what they require to be completed prior to a new tenant occupying the unit. To stay up to date on local ordinances, you can refer to your local landlord-tenant laws for more information on what needs to be done.
8. Collect Rental Fees Before Handing Over Keys
Thanks to property management software platforms, collecting rental fees can all be done online. In the past, you would have needed to schedule an in-person meeting to complete this step, but you can now collect the first month’s rent, the security deposit or move-in fee, and any other fees the tenant will be responsible for covering online.
Your tenant will need to create an account on Avail to set up their rent payment method, all of which will be deposited into the bank account you’ve linked to. They should also consider purchasing renters insurance to ensure their belongings are protected during the lease term.
Once you’ve collected all the required fees and proof of renters insurance, you can then provide them with their new set of keys to the property. You’ve successfully completed an apartment turnover checklist!
Pro tip: Provide tenants with a welcome letter outlining steps they can take to set up their utilities, when garbage will be collected, and how to best contact you.
How Expensive Are Apartment Turnover Costs?
Ideally, you want a new tenant to move in shortly after your current tenant moves out, but this doesn’t always happen — increasing the chance of going a few months without rent payments. Considering this and maintenance costs, the average apartment turnover can cost a few thousand dollars.
The number ultimately depends on how much work needs to be done to remedy any damage caused by the previous tenant, as well as the amount of time it takes to find a new tenant.
Manage Your Property With Avail
Completing an apartment turnover checklist takes time to do, but is easier with the right landlord tools. Avail can help you streamline time-consuming processes associated with your rental property to help you save both time and money. Create an account today to begin managing your rental hassle-free.
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Becoming a landlord is an exciting — and overwhelming — undertaking. You’ll learn more about investing in properties, building out your business as a landlord, and how to handle the everyday work that is often referred to as “landlording.”
But what do you actually need to know about becoming a landlord and renting out your first property? Here’s what to know before renting out a house for the first time.
How to Rent Out a House for the First Time
The first step to renting out a house is establishing processes that make renting easier for both you and future tenants. Do you prefer to use the old system of pen-and-paper landlording, want to hire a property manager, or want to become a do-it-yourself landlord with the help of a property management platform?
However you choose to run your rentals, it’s important to determine how you’ll handle your new rental business to avoid issues in the future. Once you have that in place, you can start doing the work to rent out your property.
1. Research Local Landlord-Tenant Laws
As a landlord, you will need to know the local, state, and federal landlord-tenant laws that pertain to rental properties, landlords, and tenants.
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 is an example of federal protections for tenants, dictating that landlords cannot discriminate against prospective applicants because of their race, color, religion, family status, sex, or disability. Individual states and local governments expand on these protections as well, which is why you will need to ensure that your rental applications, tenant screening process, and lease agreements all comply with these laws.
2. Determine a Competitive Rent Price
This can be the trickiest step for new landlords, as you don’t want to underprice or overprice your rental. The monthly rent price you set will need to be competitive enough to bring in tenants, while not being so expensive that you’re left with vacancies.
You can find the right rent price with an Avail Rent Price Analysis report. This six-page report takes into account the type of rental you own and a few specifics about the property, then compare it with rent price data collected from past and current rentals that are on the market in your area, allowing you to set a competitive rent price with confidence.
3. Advertise Your Property With a Rental Listing
The goal of every landlord is to make sure their online rental listing is seen by as many potential tenants as possible. While it’s understandable that a disorganized listing can lead to long-term vacancies, so can only posting your property to one or two listing sites. But posting a listing to 10 different sites can become a time-consuming process, especially if you own more than one property.
With Avail, you can create a rental listing that automatically syndicates to a dozen property listing sites, saving you valuable time and money. Simply create one listing complete with images of the property, a brief description, and your rent price, and Avail will share it with sites like Zumper, Realtor.com®, Trulia, Apartments.com, and more.
Learn more about posting your rental listing with Avail.
4. Thoroughly Screen Every Prospective Tenant
When assessing prospective tenants, you’ll want to pay attention to each applicant’s tenant screening report, which includes information on their credit, eviction, and criminal history. Part of this process also includes reaching out to past landlords as references to learn more about the applicant from a landlord’s perspective.
This process can take some time and a decent amount of money, which is why Avail set out to make the screening process easier. You can bundle all three background checks (credit, eviction, and criminal) for a one-time fee per application, and decide whether the landlord or the applicant pays. Once the checks are authorized and complete, you can log into your account to see clear evaluations of each applicant’s financial and housing history.
Plus, Avail will automatically contact an applicant’s prior landlords for a referral request, taking up less of your time and theirs.
Pro tip: Research your area’s state and local laws before creating your rental application and screening any applicants so you don’t violate landlord-tenant legislation.
5. Process Rental Applications Quickly
Processing rental applications in a timely manner can be tricky, especially if you’re using paper applications or receiving multiple applications at the same time. But carefully choosing a tenant based on their application and tenant screening results is one of the most important aspects of your work as a landlord.
With Avail, you can easily find your next tenant by using digital rental applications that can be shared and processed in no time, letting you quickly fill vacancies. Avail also lets landlords create customized rental applications with Unlimited Plus, easily access all information on an applicant in your dashboard, and even compare various applicants side-by-side.
6. Use a Lawyer-Approved Lease Agreement to Protect Your Property
As every landlord knows, your rental lease agreement is the backbone of your rental property. It will address all requirements, rules, and disclosures attached to your rental property, while also laying out the rental expectations that you and your tenant are legally bound to.
But it’s essential to make sure that your lease agreement isn’t violating any local, state, or federal rental laws. The best way to go about this is to get your lease reviewed or written by a lawyer, but this can take time and cost hundreds of dollars.
Avail gives landlords across the U.S. free access to state-specific lease agreements that are individually screened and approved by accredited lawyers, helping you feel confident in your lease. You can sign the leases online for free or upload your own ready-to-sign document to collect e-signatures from tenants. Once the lease agreement has been signed by all parties, it will be stored in each person’s respective dashboard for future reference.
7. Implement a Maintenance Tracking System
So, you have your lease agreement signed and a great tenant in your rental — what’s next? You’ll need to stay on top of any maintenance issues with your property to prevent further damages from occurring while keeping a habitable space that your tenants are legally entitled to. But this can get overwhelming very quickly, especially if you have multiple rental properties.
You can manually log maintenance requests yourself or use a tool like Avail to streamline the process for you. Tenants can easily communicate with you about maintenance requests through photos and descriptions of the issue they’re experiencing, right from their Avail accounts. You can easily keep track of all maintenance requests and expenses.
8. Collect Rent Quickly and Securely
It’s important to make sure that you have a quick and secure way to collect rent online. While it can be tempting to continue the old paper method of processing rent checks, using rent collection apps makes it easier for tenants to pay rent online and track your rental income.
With Avail, you can easily schedule upcoming payments, set automated rent reminders, and set up late fees. Tenants can also benefit from paying rent with Avail — they can report on-time rent payments to TransUnion with CreditBoost for $3.95/per reported month and use Autopay to have the funds automatically withdrawn from their account each month. Payments collected through Avail will also populate the rental property accounting dashboard with information on the payer, the total amount, the date, and the type of transaction.
9. Protect Yourself With Landlord Insurance
A great way to protect yourself as a landlord is by investing in landlord insurance. This type of coverage is specifically intended for landlords renting out their house, condo, or apartment. There are different types of coverage to consider, but each plan generally protects against property damage, loss of income, and liability.
Manage Your Rentals With Avail
Renting out a house may seem daunting, but it is easy to do with the right rental property management tools. That’s why Avail works to make the daily tasks of landlords that much easier, organized, and accurate, and why we have more than 250,000 landlords who choose our property management platform over any other.
Create a free Avail account or log in today to launch your rental business with confidence. Find more landlord hacks, resources, and guides for landlords on our Resources page.
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