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Every once in a while on the blog I’ll share a bit about personal finance and getting ahead (and I did a whole segment on how we collectively paid off over $30,000 in student loans over on the YBC® App!). So while this particular topic doesn’t necessary fall under yoga or physical health, I’m going to file this under financial health, and hope that it’s ok that I share it here with you, in case you’re looking to create additional income.
If you’ve followed along closely on Instagram, you may have seen that my boyfriend Dan and I are staying at his parents’ house while we figure out next steps (more on that soon). Our town is getting a huge company soon which will open up over 400 jobs, and given our proximity to New York City, many people are also moving up from New York, so we figured it would be wise to keep the condo and rent it out. So, we recently became landlords.
Many people in my extended family have had rental properties as an additional source of income, so I felt pretty prepared going into it, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking. Here are the steps we took:
Buckles claiming his spot in our cleaned out closet close to moving day.
How to Rent Your Property
Stage your place and take great photos
Make sure to remove clutter and personal photos
Take photos during the daytime when the light is best.
Describe your place accurately
Give the square footage, and describe bedrooms, bathrooms, and living space
Note any recent updates (we renovated our kitchen, purchased brand new fire alarms, and recently purchased a new water heater)
Highlight its proximity to things like stores, schools, highway, train station, etc.
Include any perks about your space (we had a number of pieces of furniture we were okay leaving, so we advertised it as partially furnished)
List safely
We listed on Zillow, and they make it so easy. All communication happened through there.
We compared similar units and priced accordingly.
Know your timeline
We posted our unit three weeks prior to our availability date. We had over thirty inquiries.
Show the Unit
We wound up showing the unit to two couples. We showed them quickly around, explaining the different things about the unit, and then invited them to look through the rooms again on their own. I think it’s nice to give people the opportunity to look without the landlord hovering over them. You can tell a lot about potential renters by the way they look at the unit. The first couple had an odd story that wasn’t really making sense, and they just sort of glanced around, said it was great, and they’d take it. The second couple paid close attention when we showed them around, and then as we stepped onto the balcony while they looked around on their own, you could hear them talk about where they’d put their furniture, and compare the size of each room compared to what they were currently in.
Afterwards, invite them to sit and chat. I liked this part the most because we really got an opportunity to get a feel for the potential tenants. Ask if they have any questions and listen to the questions they have. Couple number one really didn’t ask any questions. Couple number two wondered where their designated parking spot was, where they dispose of the trash, if we ever lose power, etc. I got the vibe that they were responsible people from the questions they asked.
Call references.
We wound up going with couple two, and called their references which included their employers and current landlords. The landlord said they didn’t make a peep and paid rent early without fail. The employers sung their praises.
Double and triple check ability to pay.
We did a credit check, which you can do right through Zillow, and we asked for previous two payment stubs.
Sign the lease and take the security deposit.
Our friend is a landlord in the same complex, so he generously gave us his lease, which we customized to suit our needs. We sent it, requested deposit which we did through Zelle, a payment processing company I hadn’t heard of but is a lot like PayPal or Venmo, and is how the tenants had previously paid rent.
Clean the unit so it’s ready for a final walk through.
When you buy a home, you get it ‘broom clean’ but anytime I’ve rented an apartment, it’s been in near perfect condition with fresh paint, spotless fridge, etc. My boyfriend went to work patching up holes from where pictures had hung, and while we didn’t paint the entirety of the rooms, we did go around with paint and touch up any markings here and there. I had ambitious goals of scrubbing the fridge, but we were also packing that week, and we wound up just hiring a cleaning service and it was the best $100 we spent. They got the place looking immaculate and ready for a walk through.
Move In Day!
Give a housewarming gift. We ended up giving them the keys a day early, and I wanted to welcome them and kick our landlord/tenant relationship off to a good start, so I wanted to give them a little housewarming gift. I polled IG, and many of you recommended a list of things to do in the area, and local businesses to support, but this couple was already from the area. I wound up getting a few snacks, some sparkling water, a plant, and a little card. Other ideas include:
Gift certificate for local delivery (so nice on a move in day!)
Essentials like toilet paper, or paper towels
A planter
These very awesome Japanese incense matchsticks
Hand Soap and hand towels
Coffee and a cool pair of mugs
Dishtowels and dish soap
Tips for Being a Great Landlord
I asked on IG for people to share their experience with a great landlord, and here are some of the responses:
My landlord did a yearly walkthrough with a handyman to make minor updates/repairs to the suite.
Our landlord gave a pizza pan, cutter, oven mitt and roll of toilet paper and box of tissues. It was cute and useful!
My landlord was so good about fixing or replacing things without making me feel like it was my fault.
My landlord asked us what colors we wanted painted in each room, and it was all ready pre-moving day.
My landlord allowed me to make it my own when I was there, I just had to paint/prime when I moved out.
My favorite landlords are the ones that think of us as real people, not just a rent check.
I had a landlord give us a gift certificate to a local restaurant the day we moved in. He also got us little gifts on our birthdays and a gift certificate when we got engaged. Finally, he paid all our final bills for us after we moved out so we didn’t have to worry. And the biggest thing: He didn’t make me wait to get things fixed when they broke!
My landlord let me know that if I’m ever having trouble making the rent to talk it out with him and we’d work it out.