Yes. In most cases you can rent or lease out your condo. Some condo home owner associations (HOAs) will have restrictions on the number of units which can be rented out at any one time. Most HOAs will want a majority of the units to be occupied by owner-occupants. Your HOA rules will specify what these restrictions are.
Can I do AirBnB with my condo?
In many cases, your condo HOA will have restrictions as to how many units can be rented out and the minimum duration. An AirBnB is considered a short term rental (usually 30 days or less). A long term rental refers to a lease term of at least 12 months.
Many HOAs will restrict your ability to rent out your condo to a long term lease by specifying that short term (30 days or less) terms are prohibited.
How much can I rent out my condo for?
The best way to determine the amount of rent you can charge for your condo is to look at comparable condos that have recently rented out. Keep in mind that you should see if the condos have similar amenities (pool, gym, secured parking, etc.)
Can I rent out a room in my condo?
No. Most of the time HOA rules will prevent you from renting out a room in your condo.
How do I rent out my condo?
Once you’ve determined that your HOA is ok with you renting out your condo and have a good idea as to the comparable rents, the rest of the process is as follows:
- If your condo is not vacant, then by all means, clean up and de-clutter the unit.
- Next, you will need to take good photographs. Make sure there is plenty of light.
- Write a good description of your condo, the complex, the amenities in the complex, and the benefits of living in that neighborhood
- Setup an account with Zillow on their rental manager platform. When your property is active on the site, it will cost you $9.99 per week to keep the property listing in a live status
- Answer your phone, text, and emails from prospective applicants. These people will have questions about your property, the terms of your lease and what your application and approval process is like
- Once you have vetted several of these inquiries, setup a time where you can meet and show several of these parties in one day. I usually book 3-6 parties in a 2 hour window.
- Begin the tour – show the parties the unit, the complex and point out all the selling points.
- Have a sheet with all the property details and blank application forms for those interested in applying.
- Remember that anybody that is 18 years or older, must be on the application and will need to be on the lease.
- Once you have received an application(s), you will need to being verifying the information on the application. This will include; contacting their current employer, current landlord,
- Other documents that need to be included with the application. Copy of driver’s license or other photo ID, copy of SSN card, last two pay-stubs, and last two monthly bank statements. If the applicant is self-employed (1099), then you need to ask for at least one year’s tax returns to verify income.
- Once you have vetted an application completely and you are satisfied with the information, you will let the applicant know that you are ready for the final step, which is doing a credit check. This step is crucial. (I do credit, criminal, and prior eviction check at this point).
- There are many vendors you can use for this. (contact me for more information on this step if you need it)
- Once you have obtained the results of the credit check you can decide how to proceed. Depending on the score and the other factors on the application, I may request a higher deposit to mitigate the risk. This depends on the score, income, and property.
- Once you have approved the applicant, you are ready to prepare the lease. Make sure you have a current lease that takes into account the Coronavirus issues at hand with respect to liability and eviction concerns, and protects your interests.
- The lease is executed and you have received the move in funds (first month’s rent and security deposit). The last step is to have your tenant do a move in inspection and notify you in writing if there are any items that are broken or require repair. You want to document the condition of the unit at the time of move-in so you can compare it to when your tenant moves out. Remember you will need to possibly deduct some of the security deposit to address damages if any by the tenant at the time of move out.
That’s it in a nutshell. Be safe out there when showing your property to strangers. Feel free to reach out with any questions about the process.
If you want a licensed Broker Realtor to handle the process for you, feel free to contact me at 818-437-3001 or boris@losangelesproperties.org.
Our price for the entire leasing service is $550 paid after your tenant has paid you the move in funds. This fee is for condos only. Single family houses are a bit more depending on location.