Clients often ask me for advice on being a landlord, so I've put together a summary of what I've learned from managing rentals the past several years. This is not intended to replace the expertise of a property manager or attorney. If you don't have time to manage your own property, hire a professional! But if you want to save money and you understand the legal risks, here are a few pointers to get you started.
First Things First
Before you list your rental property, there are a couple things you’ll want to think about and get in place so you’re ready when you find a prospective tenant:
First, determine your requirements for tenants: For example, you might have an income requirement (relative to your monthly rent), or a minimum credit score. Here’s an article that runs you through some examples.
Put together a lease agreement: You’ll want to find a well-written lease and, ideally, tailor it to your unique situation and preferences. An attorney can write this for you in just a couple hours if they have experience with leases.
Research rent prices: Setting a price is difficult because you can't see what previous rentals ended up going for. In the weeks and months before listing your home for rent, scour Craigslist and Zillow weekly. Zillow, Rentometer and even Redfin now offer automated estimates that can serve as a guide (though in my experience, their estimates tend to be low). Find comparable homes for rent and see how yours stacks up. Keep in mind that if your rental sits empty for an extra month, you may lose all the benefit of a higher price due to the month of missed income.
Advertising Your Rental
In the Seattle area, Zillow is the best place to market your property. One local rental property manager I spoke with said they don’t even publish their listings to Craigslist anymore, but I figure it can’t hurt to post on Craigslist as well. These sites alone should ensure that you're reaching any serious prospective tenants.
Before you photograph the property, deep clean the house and tidy the yard. Tackle any minor repairs while the place is empty. Now wait for a sunny day, open the blinds and let that baby sparkle.
Please, please don’t use your iPhone. Here’s a photographer I recommend if you’re willing to spend a few hundred dollars on photos. I think it’s a great investment.
Professional photo taken by Clarity Northwest.
Photo taken by me with a Canon G9 X camera.
Choosing a Tenant
Before listing your rental, research local landlord-tenant laws to make sure you are playing by the rules. Tenants are often informed of their rights, so you should be too. Personally, I require criminal background checks and credit histories during the application process. If you set your requirements at a high standard, you can always choose to make an exception, but I think it's important to have a tenant with a good credit score and income that is at least 3x the rent amount.
Collecting Rent
I collect rent (and conduct tenant screening/applications) with Cozy. Cozy acts as a middle-man between you and your tenant so that you don't have to use paper checks or send payment reminders to your tenants. Cozy lets your tenant securely connect their checking account and schedule automatic payments. And it’s totally free for both parties.
Legal Concerns
Being a landlord involves significant risk. You should contact an attorney to help you with your lease and provide general advice along the way. This post is not meant to be legal advice!
I hope it will help you navigate the exciting world of the DIY rental property manager. If you have any useful hacks I’ve overlooked here, comment below or drop me a line!
This post was originally posted in 2017, but was updated in November 2019.