I want to rent out my house...

[Speed_RaSiR]

Whats the best way of finding tenants? Add in the paper? What about rental agencies (IE they handle everything for a fee) ??

What works best?

[max_boost]

Property Management companies usually charge $75 or 10% of the monthly rent and they take care of advertising, rent collection, notify you of any problems etc. My parents used it for one of their properties but you can do this stuff yourself and save the money unless you don't want to deal with people.

I'm looking after four of their houses right now, not really much to do. Sometimes things go smoothly, sometimes they don't. I've had to kick some tenants out before because they violated certain conditions in our agreement i.e. not paying utilities, place was a complete mess etc. Oh well, comes with it.

[Xtrema]

www.homerent.ca

$30 for 45 days of posting with single picture.

Compare to paper, I get higher quality applicant to our houses.

Then just buy a lease agreement from your local Staples/Office Depot/Grand & Toys and go over all the terms.

You want tenants to be stable (both demeanor and income). Unless your place is already kinda run down, make sure they have no young kids or pets (cats destroys carpet, dogs stinks, kids between 3-10 are destructive all around).

Take a month of rent as damage deposit. Take pictures of your place and use it as reference if argument ensures when the tenant leaves and want deposit back.

If you don't want to deal with high turn over, you may want to entice them to sign a year long lease instead of 6 months. Some places give you last month rent free if you sign for a year. But make sure what you charge cover your basics such as mortgage/repair/taxes/insurance etc.

Get to know a few good repairmen for plumbing, heating and applicances (if you rent home with them) unless you are handy.

It's only a lot of work on turn overs, usually it's just smooth and money in the bank. Property management only make finanical sense if you have mutli-units and don't want the headache. 1 or 2 houses ain't that bad. And using property managment company usually leave you with a beat up home since they don't choose their tenants carefully. And some of them get back pay from people they recommend to fix the place, so it's not in their interest to protect your investment anyway. Also, paying a fee pretty much wiped out your immediate profit, espeically in this market where everyone is owning instead of renting. Then all you'll ever make is the appreciation of house value.



Oh, and don't rent to hot chicks if you can't resist them...... it's a disaster waiting to happen.... :D

[Weapon_R]

Use the paper - way better and faster than any other means.

Use a rental agency. Seriously, tenants suck ass. Have them deal with them for 10% of the rental fee and forget chasing them for rent money every month.

[Speed_RaSiR]

Thanks guys, can anyone reccomend a good rental agency?

[Speed_RaSiR]

Originally posted by max_boost
Property Management companies usually charge $75 or 10% of the monthly rent and they take care of advertising, rent collection, notify you of any problems etc. My parents used it for one of their properties but you can do this stuff yourself and save the money unless you don't want to deal with people.

I'm looking after four of their houses right now, not really much to do. Sometimes things go smoothly, sometimes they don't. I've had to kick some tenants out before because they violated certain conditions in our agreement i.e. not paying utilities, place was a complete mess etc. Oh well, comes with it.

Thanks, I know agreements are very crucial. Did you have a lawyer draw one up? Where can you find a good agreement that follows Alberta law?

[max_boost]

^^^
Just write one up yourself :D
As long as it is in accordance with the residential tenancy act and your tenant agrees and fully understands the terms, you are good to go.

My parents have used Sunflower Property Management in the past, no big problems with them.

Good luck.

[Speed_RaSiR]

Originally posted by max_boost
^^^
Just write one up yourself :D
As long as it is in accordance with the residential tenancy act and your tenant agrees and fully understands the terms, you are good to go.

My parents have used Sunflower Property Management in the past, no big problems with them.

Good luck.

Thanks,

[Celica TVS3]

I rented an apartment from Sunflower Property Managment. The owner is a bit of a crook - he ended up keeping my damage deposite, yet didn't follow the requirments to do so. If i wasn't so busy i would have taken him to court - and i would have won.

I pretty much felt he was a slum lord. The building was a mess, I moved in with a broken window and i couldn't get him to get somebody to repair it in the year i lived there.

[rogue]

all my tenants come from homerent.ca and never had down time in any of my places.