Already have property - Need advice how to get started

[Chris Davis]

I currently live in a condo downtown in Pittsburgh and I plan on moving this summer and renting out my current place.  I have all the numbers worked out and I decided Im definitely going to do it. Problem is, Im not sure where to start.  I know I need a lease and a rental agreement, application, etc.  I plan to advertise on Craigslist.  So at this point, where do I start? Where do I find a good lease document to start off with? Any overall advice on getting started?

[Account Closed]

I just started out last year with my first rental. I hope this helps you get off the ground.

For the lease (same thing as a "rental agreement"), I gathered free examples from RentPrep, Cozy.co, several legal sites and anywhere I could find them. I think I had about 8 examples. From those examples, I used what I thought were the best parts of each one and created my own. Also, make sure you create a Pet Agreement if you'll allow pets and download the lead paint form if the condo was build before 1978.

For the application, I used the one from RentPrep and had them do the screening as well. For my next time, I will use Cozy.co. I also made some phone calls on my own to the past landlords.

After you clean, take some pictures with your furniture still in the condo. After you move out and clean again, take some more pictures. Now you have what it looks like with & without staging. Create a very detailed ad on postlets with all your pictures. You can never have to much detail or to many pictures. From your ad on postlets, they give you formatted HTML that you can copy & paste right into a craigslist ad.

Use rentometer to make sure your charging market based rent.

That should get you started.