Revenue Sources on a Single Family Home rental

[Bill Fahmy]

Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and real estate! We are in the process of purchasing our first single family townhouse (3 bed, 1.5 bath, 1,470 sq ft) which we are going to rent for $1,200 a month. I am trying to come up with as many feasible revenue sources as possible while writing the lease. 

The first revenue source is a pet fee: 

$50 for 1 pet

$75 for 2 pets

$100 for 3 pets - possible limit

$125 for 4 pets - possible limit

The second revenue source is an appliance fee:

The house has an old range and old washing machine that comes included. Houses in this area that are for rent have old appliances too. I'm thinking about giving the tenant an option to have newer refrigerator, range, microwave and dishwasher installed. 

So kitchen appliances would cost me new $1,200 no interest for 18 months

And I could charge the tenant an extra $75 per month

I could also do the same for washer and dryer. Maybe even TV? Is any of this a good idea?

The third revenue source is a optional no security deposit fee:

I'm going to be very thorough with the screening process to pick out the best of the best tenants. I was thinking of having an option for no security deposit with a NON-Refundable monthly fee of $120-$150 per month. I'm not sure yet if this would be a bad idea or not? 

If you guys have anymore ideas or think something is a bad idea let me know. Thanks!

[Michele Fischer]

We charge $25/pet/month plus increased deposit.

You could have some checkboxes on your application to indicate whether they are interested in financing new appliances, but I'd be careful to not be sleezy/predatory and upfront with costs.

The deposit fee option seems like it would incentivize shorter tenancies.  You may want to have it as $120/month for 3 years or whatever and be upfront in how much more they would be spending.  We all think we are going to pick the best tenants, if you are just starting out I bet you'll pick some lemons.  Step 1 of good screening is picking applicants who have adequate move in money.

You may want to search out Al Williamson, he does a lot of creative revenue streams.