Renting out your first apartment: what to keep in mind

You’re renting out your first apartment. How do you feel? Scared? Nervous? Worried? Unsure of what you want? You’re not the first. We’ve all been there, we’ve all felt that.

To ease your worries away, we’ve brought you an overview of what to expect and what to keep in mind.

1. Think about your maintenance and publicity cost and the profit you can justly earn on it. You’re going to have competition for sure, but breaking the market won’t get you anywhere. People will probably expect a lower quality or get suspicious as to why your rates are below the average market rates. The safest thing to do is survey the average rent price and go neutral. Tenants will flow in in a little while. Ask for enough rent to be able to pay for maintenance and add an acceptable profit to that.
2. Think it through. Do you want to cover the utility bills and ask for a fixed sum every month, resulting in profit some months? Or do you want to free yourself from the hassle and have your tenant pay their own gas, electricity and water bills?
3. Write it all down. Documentation is your ticket to safety. This removes any chance of miscommunication. Furthermore, have your lease signed by your tenant no matter what. You absolutely cannot rely on a draft.
4. Answer all questions. No matter how many queries your client has, answer them all. Make them feel comfortable and welcomed. Don't leave any aspect unclear. Make your tenant comfortable and you'll be their go-to the landlord, ensuring client loyalty.
5. Make rent collection easy. You'll see on your first time that rent collection is the hardest of all steps. If you want to do things right from the start, use an online rent collection solution. Rentigo is a fan favourite that helps manage properties and collect rent online! There is a nifty app that remind tenants when rent is due and always stays up to date.
6. Never, ABSOLUTELY never accepts cash. Accepting cash leaves no trail or proof. You can misplace or lose your money easily. Furthermore, it’s dangerous to carry around large sums so a direct deposit is always a wiser option. More often than not, cash payments involve fraud at one point or another.

Being scared on your first time is expected but keep the above-mentioned points in mind and you will do just fine. Happy renting!