Renting to Military

[Lacey A.]

Hello,

We own a rental near a large military base. We are civilians. We would love someone to school us on the pros/cons of renting to military. We have had one military tenant who was great and we were sad to see them leave. During a subsequent showing a prospect who was also in the real estate industry mentioned a few websites for hosting rental listings and even one for collecting rent and damages from security deposits. Out of respect, I didn't jot them down but rather kept chatting. By the time I had a minute to write them down, I had forgotten the URLs or misheard what they said. 

Would love your feedback on websites to post our rental and other tools for managing renting to military tenants. 

Thanks in advance! 

Lacey 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Lacey A.:

I served for 21 years. The benefit is that they typically stay in place for 3+ years and will want to stay in one place. Most of them are well disciplined and take responsibility for their home. However, military members are only slightly better than the civilian counterparts. Another benefit is that they get a housing allowance specifically for rent or their house payment. Again, they are typically good at paying rent on time, every time.

There is the risk that they could be deployed or moved and you have to let them break their lease. However, it's important to understand the law because they are still required to give at least 30 days notice and most of them will know much farther in advance than that.

If I were in a military area, I would rent to military every time over civilians because of the longer stays and better pays.

You have some good links above. Learn how to read the pay stubs (LES = Leave and Earnings Statement). Contact the base housing authority for suggestions on marketing. You can also ask them if they have any resources for private Landlords that may help you in the process.