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Being a for rent by owner landlord comes with plenty of perks. You have complete control over your property and you maximize your rental income because you won't be paying anybody a property management fee.
On the downside, rentals by owner come with unique challenges. In a tough market, for example, you might struggle to maintain a high occupancy rate. Getting bad tenants and mixing up your books of accounts are other common pitfalls.
The secret to success when doing direct rental listing is to arm yourself with the right strategies. In this guide, you'll learn what you can do to set up yourself for success.
Pre-Listing Basics
Before putting your property on the rental market, ensure it's ready for listing. Even if it's a newly-built house, do an inspection to check for things that might need some touching up. Otherwise, if it was previously occupied, make the necessary repairs and ensure it's move-in ready before taking the next steps.
Rental Analysis
When you're making a listing, you must have a clear idea of the property's rental price. You don't want to keep adjusting this figure because you're not sure whether it's too high or too low.
To avoid that, do a rental analysis to establish the current prices for properties like yours in Fort Walton Beach. Charging a price that's not consistent with market conditions will either see reduced prospective renters' interest in the listing or it will generate strong demand but you won't maximize your income.
Establish Tenant Requirements
Not every person who applies to rent your house is a suitable tenant. However, it's impossible to tell a bad from a good tenant if you don't know what to look for.
Create a list of requirements that your ideal tenant must meet. Include the following requirements:
- Credit score
- Criminal background
- Rental history
- Income verification.
When screening tenants, there are lines you cannot cross. For example, you can ask a rental application about protected characteristics like race, gender, and religion. The Fair Housing Act prohibits such kind of discrimination.
If you're not certain that you can competently screen a tenant, outsource the job to a tenant screening service.
Listing Strategy
Listing your house can be as simple as erecting a "for rent" sign by the gate, but that's an old, ineffective strategy. In today's modern world, a vast majority of renters are looking for homes online.
As such, making an online listing is the way to go. Find online platforms that offer real estate listing services, especially one that has a good reach of your target audience. Ensure your listing's description is detailed with all the necessary information, and if the platform allows, post several high-quality photos and videos of the property.
Find Success as a For Rent by Owner Landlord
For rent by owner properties have strong demand in most rental markets. However, as a DIY landlord, there's a lot you need to learn to create listings that deliver.
What's more, you can always turn to professional help in Fort Walton Beach. All American Realty and Investment Group is ready to help you maximize returns from your rental property. Whether you need a specific service, such as property marketing, or a full-service package, we have what you need.
Call us at 850.374.3744 to speak to one of our experts.
