Getting your family home ready to be a rental

[Roberta Marcos Marcos]

My husband and I are unexpectedly moving out of state so we are renting our home. We have lived in the property a year and a half and there are some small cosmetic “issues” we never fixed while living there.

-small spots where paint has fallen off

-pieces in window sill coming off

- door knobs looking a bit old

We were fine living like that but is that something we should fix before we rent the house? We are charging a very reasonable rent, not above market and we already got a lease signed within days of posting on Facebook. I want to a good landlord but I’m curious what others think, as this house was good enough for me but should I have higher standards for tenants?

Thank you!

[Joe Splitrock]

I never turn over a property to a tenant without patching holes and touching up paint. Fix the window sill too, but don't worry about the door knobs unless they are not working. We also make sure the property is spotless clean. Bottom line is passing the property over in good condition makes it more likely you will get it back in good condition. 

As others asked, did you do credit screening, rental reference and job verification? Some first time landlords skip these steps and can end up with a tenant from hell. Also make sure you receive the deposit and first months rent prior to handing over the keys. Verify they transfer utilities into their own name - call each utility to make sure it is done instead of taking their word for it. Ideally only accept the deposit and first months rent as cash, cashiers check or money order. Personal checks can be stop paid or returned NSF weeks after you cash them.

Good luck and congratulations on being a landlord!