For whatever reason, you are considering whether your residence would make a compelling rental property. When you consider turning a San Antonio home into a rental property, there are more steps than you might think beyond moving out and finding tenants. However, with our useful checklist, you will be turning a San Antonio home into a rental property sooner than you think! Follow these steps to get started on making your home into a successful rental property.
1. Evaluate the Mortgage You Have—and Make Adjustments
One thing to know is that your owner-occupied mortgage on your home will not be the same kind of mortgage you need on a rental property. It is essential to start considering refinancing if you think you will be turning a San Antonio home into a rental property. Refinancing will allow you to switch the terms of your mortgage to the ones that are legally required to use when renting your property out. You may find that your mortgage payment is slightly different, but never fear: you can still make money with your rental property!
2. Get the Insurance You Need
Landlords need different insurance than the average homeowner; you may opt to look into a variety of other options. These options include creating a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) to separate your business from your assets. They also include getting an umbrella policy, which gives comprehensive additional coverage for you and your family. Consult an insurance agent and determine just what would be most helpful when you are renting your home here in San Antonio since you want to have what you need in the case of a surprise catastrophe. Insurance helps landlords sleep well at night!
3. Check with the HOA
If you have a Homeowner’s Association, you don’t want to violate their rules by renting without checking them first. For instance, some HOAs prefer to have a certain percentage of the homes in the subdivision owner-occupied. For that reason, speaking with them will help them account for how many homes have become rentals. Respecting the desires of the neighbors makes it much easier to integrate your future tenants into the community. You can give your tenants the information they need about the neighborhood when they are making their choice.
4. Spruce up Your Location
There are a variety of simple things you can do to your property to make it more attractive to potential renters. Painting rooms in a pure neutral color can make people “see themselves” in the space more than if there are lots of colors that are uniquely appealing to your family. Doing a thorough job landscaping and making your lawn attractive and straightforward to upkeep is a service for you as well as for your future renters. For more extensive upgrades, you may want to start by thinking about a “wish list” of changes and consult good tenants over time about which things would be most helpful or beneficial to them. Making updates can in this way become part of your strategy to retain great tenants; unless you are confident that parts of your home are in dire need of updating, you can focus on making it attractive and functional first.
5. Analyze the Rental Market to Set a Rental Rate
You don’t want to overcharge or undercharge on rent; it could result in lost income and make you seem out of touch with the rental market. Explore what other similar listings are charging, and do a little further research to make sure that you know exactly what to charge to gain a corner on the market. Remember that there are benefits to getting a full tenant applicant pool, namely that you can get a great tenant quickly when you’re renting a property that is in high demand.
6. Explore Property Management Options
While many of these steps will be up to your discretion, it is not a bad idea to think about just how involved you want to be with your rental home. After all, you’ll be living somewhere else—and you may not want to be woken up in the night with maintenance questions or concerns. One way to get the best of both worlds as a landlord is to contract with an excellent San Antonio property management company, such as Real Property Management Campanas.
Our excellent staff knows the kinds of things that sometimes trip up or surprise new landlords. We can help walk you through the things that might otherwise throw you for a loop about turning your home into a rental, and we take care of those late-night phone calls too. When we’re managing your property, no job is too big—or too small! Whether you want help finding tenants or to decide on updates to your home, trust Real Property Management Campanas when turning a San Antonio home into a rental property!
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