Flats For Rent

Worried about your property being damaged by your tenants? Here are some some ideas to help keep your property tenant proof while maintaining enough appeal to attract good quality tenants.

Having a tenant proof property means having a property that can withstand the wear and tear of having tenants live in it. Certain features simply cost less to maintain that others, while some are just not required to rent out a property so are an unnecessary expense. A balance needs to be made as to also having a property that will attract tenants.

Examples of areas to tenant-proof would be the yard, the exterior, and the flooring.

The Yard
In general, the less yard at the investment property, the better. Yards come with associated costs for the mowing and upkeep. If the type of tenant you want probably prefers a yard, then be sure to insist in the tenancy agreement that they take care of the upkeep and associated costs.

The Exterior
While initially brick maybe more expensive, there is serious savings in the upkeep. Painting the house is an ongoing cost and shows wear and tear a lot faster. If you are painting, be sure to use neutral colours.

The Flooring
As with the exterior, some things cost more to upkeep than others. In the case of flooring, carpet is more expensive because it can wear so fast. Wooden and tiles floors look better for much longer. If the property does have carpet, getting it cleaned can make a big difference to how presentable it looks. Landlords can insist as part of the tenancy agreement that the tenant has the carpet cleaned at the end of their tenure. That way each new tenant will have nice looking carpet.

This are just a few examples of ways to tenant-proof your investment property. The more you think through features such as this, the more profitable the rental property can be.

If you found this information useful, check out my site where I give Property Investment Tips and advice, including information about how to Manage Rental Property.

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Whether you are applying to rent a flat or house, you are probably going through a rental agency or real estate agent, and they have certain rules they use to filter out tenants that don’t meet certain requirements. Knowing what they look for can help you submit the best possible application which can improve your chances of being approved, the following article will help.

The Importance of Screening Tenants and How to Do the Screening Process

Let’s go through tenant screening. Let’s say you prepared the property. You’ve done all the things you’ve talked about. You’ve gone through your marketing plan. You’ve advertised and done all that.

Now people are calling you and even expressing interest in terms of filling out an application. How do you go through and screen your tenants? How do you eliminate the bad ones and hopefully find good tenants?

I guarantee you if you can find a good tenant it will make your life so much easier. If you eliminate the bad tenants it will make your life a lot easier. There’s no guaranteed system to figure out who’s good or who’s bad, but you’ll find out real quick the underbelly of real estate investing that there are a lot of problems you can have. I know a gentleman that has 51 properties and I’m sure he’s got stories to tell you.

Screen Out Tenants

Let’s go through a screening process. You want to try to screen out tenants and do it in a way that’s fair and meets the Fair Housing rules and regulations. You cannot screen out tenants based on sex, family status, or religious status. All of those things you cannot be screening tenants on.

There are two exclusions to Fair Housing rules and you need to know what they are. You can screen a tenant that has pets. You can make a decision of I will take you or I will not take you based on whether they have a pet. Pet owners are not a protected class.

The other persons that are not protected are smokers. You can refuse an applicant solely on the fact that they smoke. You are not required to accept that person. I’ll be honest with you, that’s about it. Other than that you cannot make decisions – except economic of course – based on other factors of sex, religion, all those types of things.

Consistency with Policy Making Decisions

Make sure you have consistency in your policy making decisions. If you want to do it in writing, that’s fine. There are some people that use point systems. They have applications and then they give them points.

If your income is above this you get so many points, if your rental history is this, your job history is this you get points. They add them all up at the end and if they’re over 30 points they’re approved. If they’re under 30 points they’re not approved. That’s not a bad system. It certainly is a fair system. You could do it consistently.

Exceptions

We tried it and we didn’t have any luck with it because what will happen is there are always exceptions. There are exceptions to this, exceptions to that, there are explanations for this. We found we were spending more time trying to figure out people that didn’t have enough points really were good because of this, this, or this. People that had enough points really weren’t good because of that. I was not particularly happy with it.

In the end, whatever system you use, I guarantee you that the number one way to determine this thing is pure gut. Guys, go out and meet the people. Just go out and make sure you’ve met them.

If you’ve got somebody working for you that does a lot of the pre-screening and a lot of the sales work, that’s fine. I would suggest that you go meet the final candidates. Give them your smell test. There is something about doing this business over the years that you’ll develop a gut sense of when somebody is good or bad.

I guarantee I’ve got a pretty good gut. It’s not perfect by any means. When you place 200 people in houses in a year you make some mistakes, but it’s pretty good. I can smell when something doesn’t quite seem right to me. You need to develop that sense as well.

I invite you to learn more about Property Management and get a free 60 minute audio titled “Learn the 10 Success Secrets of Property Management Every Real Estate Investor Must Know to Maximum Profit and Avoiding Tenant Headaches” by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/PMS.html

Mike Lautensack is the owner of Del Val Property Management LLC, a FULL service residential property management company located in Philadelphia, PA.

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Becoming a landlord and renting out your house or flat is not always as simple and easy as one might think. There are many aspects to consider when renting out your property and it is advisable to do thorough research before advertising your property for rent. This article covers some of the basics that every potential landlord should know.

Renting out a property is one of the biggest decisions of a homeowner’s life. Residential property is of prime importance and renting it out to another party usually means that the homeowners are in need of financial resources to improve their lives. Millions of homeowners place their homes and other properties on the rental list and thus, attain the new position of landlords. As compared to being a homeowner, landlord is an added responsibility, and demands a constant surveillance on part of the homeowners. The biggest issue is that of selecting a reliable tenant that can live in the house without damaging it.

Becoming a landlord is thus, an intricate issue with many complexities. When a homeowner places a rental advertisement in a newspaper or handout, he becomes eligible for a municipal screening by the local authorities. In many counties, homeowners have to inform the local authorities in advance. Other counties do not have such strict laws but still demand an indication by the homeowner. In addition to these legal requirements, a landlord also has to buy landlord insurance to avoid any financial or material disasters at this property. In that case, he can claim compensation from the insurance company.

Following is a step by step guide of becoming a landlord who wants to rent his property:

Placing an Advertisement

The first step is to place an advertisement for the property that needs to be rented out. Most local newspapers and advertisement journals allow for a detailed listing of homes available on rent. A homeowner just needs to pay the minimal fee for the ad placement. He can also post his advertisements on online classifieds sites, where thousands of people publish their ads about everything related to life.

Meeting the Local Requirements

Before the selection of a tenant, you have to meet with the local municipal authorities and inform them about your plans of renting your property. There might be some local fees involved along with a documentation process. This is necessary as any breach of local laws can land you in trouble with heavy fines or even a jail term.

Selecting a Tenant

The selection of a tenant has to be commensurate with your local laws; this means that you cannot offer your residential property to a commercial establishment. A landlord should select a tenant that has a good character and a fair track record. You can check with the local authorities about the reputation of a tenant, as any persons of dubious characters will have some complaints present with the local authorities. You should rent out your home to a person with good moral and financial standing. Tenancy agreement should have enough clauses to ensure the safety of your property.

Getting an Insurance

Insurance is an excellent device to ensure a complete protection of your property. It will give you immunity from any material damage at your property. If you have bought a detailed insurance plan, it might also help you in claiming damages in case of non- payment of rent, among other things. Select a reputable insurance company as they have the most exquisite landlords’ insurance plans.

James L Harrison is a real estate agent. He has been serving this industry from a decade. You can take his help to find affordable leftbank apartments and explore more options at his recommended website http://www.mancitylettings.co.uk.

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