New to being a Landlord Sumter, SC.

[John B.]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to close on my 1st rental property. I have some small work I need to do before putting this property on the market as a rental. A couple of questions I have are where can I get some good info on being a landlord? I'm considering signing up on Landlord.com for a trial membership. Here is some ideas and experiences I thought I would apply as far as the contract: 

$50 application fee (rolled back into 1st month rent if accepted) what source do I use to conduct background check/credit check? Also require two recommendations

Gross Pay must be 4 times that of monthly rent example: $1000 month rent = $4000 monthly income (must include last 3 pay stubs w/application)

Deposit &1st Month Rent in two separate money orders then can accept checks after that (should I offer a 3% discount for allotment/direct deposit?)

No indoor pets preferable ($250 pet fee no refundable & additional $25 month?)

Absolutely no smoking of any type indoors.

Some services I thought I would offer to attract tenants:

Furnished washer/dryer/fridge/oven

Trash pickup 3 times a week (So I can keep an eye on the place) do you agree or going overboard?

Lawn service once a week (I mow the yard myself, take an hour of my own time)

Just a few ideas to the whole scenario what do you guys think or suggest? Am I headed in the right direction and being smart going about this? What else am I missing out or should consider? Thanks!

[Al Williamson]

I use 3x for screening. 4x might be too conservative - but good if you can make it work in your city.

Pets are typically $50 per month with an application fee. You need to be competitive in your local market so do your local homework 

Regarding appliances - you only need to be a hair better than your local competition. Don't go too far past them otherwise you loss the ability to up-sell.

Trash pick up should not be specified.

I think your goal is to do extra work that results in extra pay. You also want to do thing that are meaningful to your tenant/client - not meaningful to you as the owner.