Ok, my friend has a friend who will rent my house but I have no idea where to start--all i have heard is to get the first and last month "rent" as a deposit--anyone here know or would like to share experiences or suggestions--please--i don't have the funds to get realtors involved--can i ask that they get my house sprayed for bugs regularly? or do it myself--i remember when my mother rented our house--when we returned there was "visitors" (i have a tremendous phobia over those things that will survive when the world ends--don't even like to say the name of them bugs)--i fear that my house will have them if i return to it--

so anyways--all suggestions/tips will be greatly appreciated!--

ciao ciao

 

I'd first worry about liability.

 

Yes, you can put it in your lease to require pest control, and I'd require that they carry renter's insurance too. If you have doubts, you might consider hiring a leasing company who specializes in renting out homes. They know all of the things that you might or might not want in your lease that you can pick and choose from.

Good luck!

 

thanks for the suggestions--i guess since it's a "private" renter--they are just paying my mortgage so i can keep the house--so the insurance/liability is included in my mortgage--

 

Our family has always had rental properties, so here are a few tips I can think of:

1) STILL require that they get some renter's insurance if you can as it will help reduce your liability just in case...

2) Pest control can either be set in the contract as a requirement, or add the cost to the rent and hire your own pest folks to come regularly. (same can be used for gardening and cleaning services)

3) A standard rental agreement would be a good start for what to require as far as info and deposits. Usually we require first month, a deposit equivelant to the current last month's deposit, AND a security deposit. All of the deposits are subject to interest payments when it is returned (at least it is requried here) so keep that in mind. You can modify a standard contract to fit yor needs.

4) Do a thorough walk through with the tennant and document all issues pointed out by you and the tennant. This protects everyone involved.

Its not THAT difficult, but rather challenging the first time around. Good luck!

 

thanks so much--all great tips--