Landlord 101

[Anonymous]

Listed our property in Maryland, already getting calls on it.

My plan is to email interested parties an application, downloaded from a website - any recommendations on which website to download the form?

I'll also check income to make sure the rental does not exceed 30% of their gross monthly income. (does this sound reasonable)?

Anything else? How do I check their credit - do I use a separate service? I'm thinking credit should be above 680 - do others agree?

I would be most grateful if any landlords would share service providers they like for the above forms / processes. We are not hiring a realtor for this go round (maybe I will regret that, but we shall see first..)

[Anonymous]

Are you charging an application fee? If you want to do some tenant screening like credit checks (a good idea) there are a bunch of online services that charge around $30 per screening. Most of these won't give you the exact credit score but instead give you a "risk level" based on their assessment of the tenant's credit score. It's good to charge an application fee to cover this expense. Also it will help you weed out some tenants who may not be a good fit right off the bat - why write you a non-refundable application fee if they've got something to hide.

Are you in Montgomery County? We used their standard lease and application forms, available on the county website.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP - I am in Howard County, but will definitely check out the Montgomery County forms. Was trying to decide if I needed to pay for a form or not - and I would imagine the Montgomery County form follows all the rules that Howard County would require- will add checking on that to my list.

I can charge an application fee - wasn't sure if that was ok to do or viewed as nit picky - but I see how that could be a good self selector of good tenants, so we will charge one.

[Anonymous]

I use the application and credit checks throu the national association of independent landlords. Also check out the sample rental application for montgomery county through their landlord tenant site. There are some requirements such as offering a 2 year lease.

[Anonymous]

You could also ask for references from previous landlords.

[Anonymous]

You're going to let applicants see the house before you require them to fill out an application, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're going to let applicants see the house before you require them to fill out an application, right?

It depends - I saw on a landlord forum that one person does a "pre-app" questionnaire (no fee) with some questions that might weed out problem tenants. I definitely wouldn't charge a fee unless they had seen the place I think. I was originally inclined to not charge a fee at all, but PPs point about it self selecting more qualified tenants is a good one I think.

[Anonymous]

e-renter.com. I have used them for years. Check local laws on evictions. You probably want the lease to say "waiver of notice to quit." This magic phrase shaves at least a month off the eviction process here in DC.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PPs.

Specific question on credit scores - I've heard if I shoot for above 700, those tend to mostly be homeowners.

Is it reasonable to say above 600 or should I try to stay only above 650?

Really appreciate any thoughts.

[Anonymous]

OP, Where in HoCo are you located?

We are military and will need to rent once DH retires.

[Anonymous]

The is PP.

We have a HoCo home we'd like to rent. We are in Kings Contrivance across from the HS.

[Anonymous]

Seems like you should have done this research before listing your property. There are a lot of rules & regulations that you need to learn about; and once someone contacts you, you run the risk of losing them by putzing around while you find an application, credit score search company, etc.

[Anonymous]

30% ....in this area? No it does not sound reasonable. But do what you feel comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would imagine the Montgomery County form follows all the rules that Howard County would require- will add checking on that to my list.

I'd double check on this, since the different counties probably do have somewhat different landlord-tenant laws. There's not likely to be a ton of variation, but I know MoCo has its own specific rules, so it stands to reason that Howard does as well.


This might be a good place to start: http://www.co.ho.md.us/uploadedFiles/Home/Department_Hidden_Content_(PDF_and_HTML)/Consumer_Affairs/OCA_Factsheets,_Alerts,_Press_Releases/Landlord%20Tenant%20FAQs.2012.pdf

[Anonymous]

I typically shoot for a yearly income of 30-40 times the monthly rent when looking for tenants. You should request pay stubs and verify employment in addition to doing a credit check.