Has there been one? Looking for sound advice.

My situation:

GF buys house. Housing market takes a shit. GF becomes wife. Wife gets pregnant. Wife births. Wife loses job. A lot that can go wrong does go wrong house wise. I have fixed ceilings from sagging drywall, repaired leaks from every source of water, remodeled 1 full and 1 half bath (the remaining full will be my next project), spent more time in the attic than I care to remember, landscaped to stop the basement from flooding...and more.

Neighborhood is shit. I don't want my wife and child (or myself for that matter) to live in this neighborhood. That being said, selling the house would not really benefit me besides it being a clean break; I would have to come up with about 30k to get the mortgage squared up. There is no equity I would need to realize to roll into my next home.

So bottom line is I have an underwater asset that I need to minimize the potential financial impacts. People have horror stories from rentals. I have horror stories from being a home owner. I'm starting to formulate my 6 month plan to unload this bitch.

My strategy is to put down laminate over the shit linoleum plank that is currently in the kitchen. It is a 3 bed 2.5 bath townhouse that is locationally pretty convenient to major metropolitan areas. I want the rental income to cover the mortgage and hoa. I realize this will not be an "investment property", but I want to try and break even.

What kind of tricks to landlords do to tenant proof their house? I want to price the rent to weed through the riff raff. The plumbing leaks have been addressed. Appliances are serviceable. Newer HVAC system. What else can I start to do now to prepare for tenants?

Break even or a small profit with a good tenant  is tolerable.

bad tenants and taking a loss after paying mortgage is a living hell.


if you can break even or make a profit, rent it but use an agency... property manager.

or short sale the property and move on

Standard numbers around here:

mortgage - 30% -50% of rent
maint, taxes, improvements - 30% to 50% of rent

anything you can get below 50% of rent is profit.

property management companies take a cut, correct? Any idea what percentage?

Around 1 months rent to place a tenant and 9ish percent of rents every month thereafter.

Price is not going to weed out the riff raff.

A thorough background, credit, and references check will give you a better idea of tenants history.

In AZ it's 10% of gross rents across the board. Leasing fees vary here dramatically. I'm assuming money is tight given what you described. Id suggest thoroughly vetting prospective tenants and managing it yourself. You mentioned unloading it in 6 months. Remember that if there is a lease agreement and assuming it's a one year the new buyer will have to honor the lease. This can limit your potential buyers as they'd almost certainly be investors at that point and if the cap rate isn't good they won't be interested.

Pre Craigslist,  I placed ads in the local paper. Don't answer the phone,  let it go to voicemail.  I would say 85% never left messages ( and most came up as

" unavailable" or "private").  Now I place ads in CL, along with photos, and the street name,  not the specific address.  I then grade the responses by spelling and

general diction.  

Do get background checks.

The only time I've been burned was by a "Christian " family who needed "help" with the deposit.  Big crucifix around the female's neck, the usual buzzwords of saved  

souls,  just needed a little help.  I failed to do my homework,  my gut said give them a chance.  Well they claimed they had  2 kids, but there were 3.  One of the

children was a doper,  the old man lost his job,  every month was like pulling teeth to get the rent,  never got a deposit.  When they  left the house was infested with

fleas and I had to renovate the interior,  including new carpet thruout and all new paint.. They even stole the doorknobs!  All avoidable by BG checks.

When you mention the need for a background check,  that will also weed out whole bunches of people.  I know you want that place rented ASAP,  but loosing

one month of income is a small price to pay to ensure your house will not be destroyed.  

Once your renters are in for a month,  do an inspection.  "24 hour notice to inspect premises"

One last thing,  when you show the house,  look at their vehicle,  if its filthy ,  that is going to be the house in no time.

P.M. me if you have any questions.  Mike.

This covers it pretty well, but I will add a few things.

State in the advertising that you will do background and credit checks. Actually follow through with them. There are companies that will do them for you.

Require a 1.5 month security deposit and first month's rent at closing. More cash up front along with background and credit checks will drive away a lot of shady people.

Charge rent on the first of the month, and add in late fees starting on the second of the month. Enforce the late fees or the renters will think you're soft.

Add a clause in the lease that will allow you to enter the property at least once a month. Something like landlord reserves the right to change the HVAC air filter once per month. That way you will hopefully catch things before they can get too bad.

Before you rent it out, make sure you fully understand the eviction process and timeline in your state. It's typically a 3-6 month process, and you likely won't receive a dime during this time. Make sure you can cover this situation.

Do a full walk through with the renter prior to signing the rental agreement. Both of you should note any pre-existing damages and general condition of major parts (cabinets, carpeting, wood floors, etc.) on paper and with photograph evidence. You can find forms online to help you with this. This will also allow you to meet the renter for more than 15 minutes prior to signing.

Hire out the landscaping (mowing etc.) and include that in the rent.