First Rental - Starting with a good process

[James Partsch Jr]

My wife and I will be renting out our first property with a goal of occupancy by October 1.  We are looking to begin the application process in the next one to two weeks.  We plan to leverage the Bigger Pockets Lease agreement.  We will still review with an attorney as we really liked a BiggerPockets post where someone recommended adding a list of incidental expenses that will be deducted from any deposit (well defined chargeable items vs wear and tear).  We want to be as transparent as possible and consistent in our process.  we have already told friends and family they will be subject to the same background check process but we prefer to not put ourselves in that position at all and will discourage them from thinking about the property for their potential rental.  

We will not allow animals or smoking, which will limit our tenants but also mitigate associated risks.  I wanted to verify the right order of operations to move this forward.  I have outlined a high-level plan below.  This does not include my work breakdown but should be fairly self-evident. 

1. obtain a formal application to collect information

2. Advertise rental through several streams (craigslist, sign, word of mouth, Zillow, potentially an agent depending on response rate)

2. sign up for a background check service to check on prospective tenants

3. cursory review of applicants

4. submit a scaled-down list to background service and follow up on any referrals for potentials

5. Review final applicant data to select tenants

6. contact tenants to fill out a lease agreement

7. collect deposit and file lease agreement for record

8. handoff key

9. happy tenant, happy investors

Wanted to make sure we were not missing something major.  We are in New York state, Buffalo/Niagara region.  Can never learn enough from others' experience so please be critical and honest.  

Thank you all!

[Johann Batista]

@James Partsch Jr I would have to agree with the group and vote on cozy app.  I just started using it and so far its been great.  It also puts your rental on other sites.  Very easy to get started and set up; also user friendly for tenants to apply and send rent payments. 

(Also a new landlord in Buffalo!!)

Good Luck!!