As a homeowner and landlord, you’ve probably asked yourself should I use a Realtor to rent out my house?
While the argument for renting out your property on your own is that it can save you some money, the arguments for using a Realtor that specializes in leasing rental properties, are certainly something to look at.
Here are three ways in which using a leasing professional, can help a homeowner when renting out their house.
Reduce Your Financial Risk
Every year, there are thousands of eviction cases filed in Los Angeles County. If your tenants decide to stop paying rent, or are habitually late in their rent payments, you will need to file an eviction case. It will cost you to file the case and it will take some time to resolve. Depending on circumstances, it can take you a couple of months to have the tenants evicted. If you use an attorney to file and prosecute the eviction, it can cost you up to a few thousand dollars.
How does using a Realtor that is a leasing professional, reduce your risk?
First, a Realtor Leasing Professional will utilize California Association of Realtor (CAR) leasing forms and related documents. These documents are maintained and updated every year with laws and regulations that affect tenant/landlord relationships. Many homeowners rely on old rental agreements that are outdated and do not provide them with sufficient protection against potential legal threats and liabilities. Does your rental agreement address AirBnB and other assignment issues? What about medical Marijuana? Lead paint? Mold? There are many important issues that need to be addressed with current and accurate legal documentation.
A professional will also be experienced with Equal Housing laws and regulations. Not understanding these laws when dealing with applicants and tenants can land a homeowner in legal hot water.
Time is Money
How does using a Realtor that is a leasing professional, save you time?
Have you ever waited to show your property to an interested applicant that never showed up? Applicants that show up late, don’t show up at all, or have inconvenient showing schedules can eat up a lot of your time and delay your rental income. To get the highest rent and best applicant selection it’s important to maximize exposure of the property to as many possible interested applicants as possible. Having a local, professional leasing specialist make the appointments and show the property can be a huge time saver for home owners.
Another time saver is that a professional will handle all the marketing. From taking professional photos, creating flyers, and ensuring the property is widely marketed.
Save you Money
How does using a Realtor that is a leasing professional, save you money?
In my experience, most bad tenant placements are a result of doing insufficient due diligence on applicants. Most landlords don’t take all the steps to safeguard themselves by conducting a proper screening on interested applicants.
First, asking the applicants the right questions will help you and them ensure that the property will be the right fit for both parties. Secondly, a complete background check should be performed, this includes credit report, eviction history search, and criminal background check. Third, income needs to be verified, employment needs to be verified, and past/prior landlords need to be contacted.
If you don’t know how to go about conducting the appropriate screening, then using a professional can certainly save you money in the long and short term.
For more information on how to select a leasing professional to help you rent out your home click here.