New member in NC looking to start renting out Texas property

[James Wagner]

Hello all. My name is James Wagner. I'm currently in the Air Force (19 years) and just got stationed in NC. I currently own a home in Wichita Falls, TX with 24 years left on my 30 year VA loan. I came across BP because I was just looking for information about renting out my current home and after reading several articles and listening to some podcasts, I'm really interested in one day taking this beyond renting out my house and making real estate my post-military career. Any advice on how to start growing this thing using my current house as my first investment property? I look forward to hearing from y'all.

[Hayden Gerstner]

Hello there, James! I'm a local Realtor in Wichita, I researched your home on the mls to find comps. For the neighborhood it's in, there have only been 2 on the market with similar stats within the last year, averaging $1,575 a month. Compared that to everything in town matching your stats, it still matches up to around that amount still. I can tell you that there isn't many rentals with the same size your home has to offer. I'm not advertising my services, as I'm just an agent. But since you'll be out of town, I'd suggest looking into some property managers. Typically they run about 10% of each months rent, and sometimes take a fee of around 25%-50% of first month's rent as a finder's fee for leasing a property. Now every place is different, that's just what I've seen. If you still have a home-warranty on it, that will help if any thing were to happen. Invest in a background check program if you don't want to have any property managers. I use publicdata.com it is $35 Yearly for 700 annual look-ups. I'd also look into some reputable "handymen" here to be able to fix small repairs if any were to occur, as they are usually cheaper than calling out a company. Definitely have a through lease agreement. You don't want tenants calling you every hour of the day because a light bulb went out. That's the beauty of it, you can write whatever you want in the state of Texas and it is a legal binding agreement. Also, when screening tenants always, always, always call previous land lords. While their credit score and criminal check may be good, it doesn't say whether or not they kept things clean, were good on rent or always gave headaches. Another thing is pets! I suggest small dogs, most insurance companies want you to keep from vicious breeds anyways. I personally would never allow cats, if their urine were to get into the floors, it would be a nightmare to remove. On the upside, look for a good family that may want to stay for a few years. Having a multiple year lease is the best! Hopefully I helped. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. I've been investing with my father in rentals for the last 4 years. We love helping out fellow investors!