Best way to rent out a SFH
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Anonymous
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Landlord here. Two homes I rent out. Trust me when I say, manage it yourself if you can.
The biggest piece of advice is to make sure you properly vet your tenants. Including background checks, credit score checks, prior rental history, etc. Zillow actually has a great site and setup for this and for background checks. Trust me when I say, HAVING GOOD TENANTS IS KEY!! If you have a bad tenant who either pay late or put no effort into maintaining your property, you will have problems. I’ve had to take tenants to court and to evict because I chose a tenant with a sob story, years ago, and she ended up screwing me pretty badly. Don’t rent based on emotions, it will cost you. Ultimately, they should treat the home like it’s their house, not just a home. Also, it’s wise to have a great maintenance person on standby. Someone who you can call up and make themselves available within 24 hours and that you can trust. But to void this, just ensure you have properly working appliances before renting out. Doing a check in that, furnace, water heater, HVAC, cleaning dryer vents etc NOW will save you in the long run vs not checking this out at all and having your tenants call you up for issue after issue. Property management companies are a waste of money IMO and often do nothing but inform you until a month or so after the fact that something is wrong. It’s such a hassle. This is just my experience. However, I’m sure others have it differently. Good luck!! |
Anonymous
| This is one of the few threads I've seen on DCUM with lots of great advice. One thing I would add is to expect there to be a bit of a learning curve. But it's all really basic stuff. For example, make sure you have your house set-up exactly the way you want it before your first tenant moves-in. Do everything you can to minimize future maintenance issues like: HVAC, water heater, upgrade fixtures, paint, etc. There is often very little time to perform future maintenance, as you might have as little as a few days to clean and make repairs in between tenants. If your house isn't nice, then it will attract bad tenants. Trust me, your life will be much easier if you spend some money now making upgrades. Also, like a pp noted, thorough background checks are critical and if your gut tells you that you don't trust the person, take a pass. |
Anonymous
| Agree with all of this, especially the “don’t rent to a sob story,” advice. |
Anonymous
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https://www.militarybyowner.com/
^ that’s a good site to find tenants on in this area. Military tenants are good because they will generally treat your property well and will often want a longer lease, like 2-3 years, so they can have it the length of their assignment. |
Anonymous
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+ 1 on reliable, reasonable handy man.
When our handyman/electrician/plumber (he was excellent) retired, we decided to sell - hard to find honest and fair prices in this area. |
Anonymous
That’s not true at all. If you were working with a bad manager then sure, but that applies to any industry. |
Anonymous
| It is all about the tenants. Pick wisely. |
Anonymous
| I have an amazing PM company. Would highly recommend getting one (with a lot of vetting). It is not cheap and because I have done this on my own I believe the expense is worth it. |
Anonymous
LOL, sure. You will never break even if you hire a PM company and the PP is either naive or PM himself. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks for all the great advice! Much appreciated! |
Anonymous
Ok, darlin’, whatever you say! |
Anonymous
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Tenant here … 2 years ago, I went on an exhaustive hunt for a good rental in the DMV. My kids go to private schools and so I had flexibility on location. The houses managed by a property manager by and large were better kept and without the gross funky smell of cat pee, tobacco, incense, whatever that many of the rent by owner homes had.
No idea how much it cost but 2 years into our rental and we love it and the care given to us by the PM. |
Anonymous
+1 With the number of properties a PM company manages, it's impossible to give the tenants and house the attention they deserve. And no way in hell you are breaking even in the DC area if you us a management company. Better off selling the place and investing in DOGE coins! |
Anonymous
| Not knowing your situation, but in the current climate, it might be best to just sell the place, especially if you have equity. I don't see prices going higher anytime soon and at best will flatline, if not fall. The area will only be able to absorb so much job loss before the pool of waiting buyers is gone. |
Anonymous
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OP, I would get a PM to vet and find tenant and manage property. You want to be sure you are doing everything 100 percent legally, necessary paperwork and license. It will bring you peace of mind, especially if you are overseas, to know that you are buttoned up in that way.
Good news for LLs - legislation pending in DC allowing easier evictions for non payment and other lease violations. |