Advice Needed For Renting Out Home

[tippyclubb]

We bought a house in Collier last week and we want to rent it out unfurnished for a year. I have been looking around at Villages4Rent and a have general ideal of how to organize the add with pictures, and I have a rental contract form as well.

My question is for those that rent do you run background checks or ask for income statements from potential renters?

Any tips or ideals are welcomed as being a landlord is new for us. Thanks.

[BettyCrocked]

I do background checks, but someone else's income is none of my business and I would never rent to or from someone who asked for such.
One important thing to do is only accept checks drawn on US banks. If you accept a foreign check, it could take months for you to find out it's no good.

[gamby]

last year a rental Tennant did $53,000. in damages.
I personally witnessed this.


USE CAUTION !!

[graciegirl]

I cringe when I hear someone is renting out their brand new home....BUT...older people as a group are much better tenants than the rest of the population, I have read this time and time again on this forum

Last year a renter posted on this forum and she was a pill from beginning to end. She started posting and renting and ranting at the beginning of high season, and ended at the end of March. She was the nightmare of all renters, I decided.

She thought TOTV was associated with the developers and came on with her first post saying that the garbage trucks were making too much noise early in the morning and to
"Stop it immediately!". She saved seats at the squares, felt she had a right to, and complained because she had taken chairs from the home she was renting and they were moved, or no, the cushions were thrown into the bushes. After three months of complaining, at the end she listed all of the things wrong with the rental home and the renters practices on this forum.

That really left a sour taste in my mouth for how bad renting to someone could be.

I know most renters are just as considerate and careful of the home they live in here as their "real" one. I would worry more about renting long term, if they were committed, why not buy?

This is just a thought and my m ind can be changed.

I would have to think that the more information you can get from someone before you rent the better decision you can make. I wish you well and look forward to the day you can live in your own new home.

[redwitch]

Some folks do background checks, most do not. I'd say 99% of seasonal renters here take excellent care of a home -- usually better than a homeowner does, definitely better than a relative will. The other 1% are iffy -- usually think they're staying at a hotel and don't clean but rarely do any damage beyond breaking a glass or two. From what I understand, neither realty companies acting as property managers nor TV Property Management do background checks for seasonal renters.

What is a good thing to do is have someone who will watch the house and babysit your renters. This person should do weekly checks of the perimeter of the house to ensure only one couple is actually staying there, no unauthorized pets, etc. It also keeps your lawn people on their toes since the house is still being watched by a local who knows when lawns should be cut, etc. This person should also help renters with any problems they might have, whether something needs repairing in the house or need information of how to get somewhere.

Do be sure to get a hefty deposit (at least one month's rent plus cleaning and pet deposits, as needed).

Good luck! Renting your future home can be frightening but can be rewarding.

[Kelsie52]

I have been renting a CYV for a year now --Most people who rent here take great care they are on vacation or looking for a home. IMHO Background checks are a little much for short term rentals.

My advice is to take a large security deposit --- and cleaning fee


Good Luck

[asianthree]

sent you a pm

[George Bieniaszek]

I agree with some of the previous posts that the older clients that come here to vacation and relax are much more gentle on the rental homes and you should experience much fewer issues than if renting to any age group.

I was in the business many years ago of renting RV's and as a general rule of thumb which can be applied to rental properties as well, I have experienced that the higher the security deposit, the better the condition of the unit at the end of the rental.

[tippyclubb]

Thanks everyone for the great advice and will be using your suggestions.

Yes, Gracie it is daunting renting out our new home. However, we plan on gutting the kitchen, baths, replacing carpeting and painting when we move in. It will be rented unfurnished so no worries there. I would hate to have a renter in my home like you described so will be extra careful with the screening process.

[jnieman]

Just a thought....You'll need a different homeowner's policy if you decide to rent. Also if you currently have sinkhole insurance on your policy you are likely to lose it since the new renter's policy will most likely be with a different company. It's hard to get sinkhole coverage back after you lose it.

[tippyclubb]

Just a thought....You'll need a different homeowner's policy if you decide to rent. Also if you currently have sinkhole insurance on your policy you are likely to lose it since the new renter's policy will most likely be with a different company. It's hard to get sinkhole coverage back after you lose it.

I was not aware of this and somewhat confused. Are you saying I will still need home insurance even though the renter has it? I assumed as the owner of the home the renter would not need their own policy.

Our real estate agent informed us sink hole insurance was hard to get and very expensive ( 4-5 thousand ) so many people choose not to have it. Is this correct information?

[jnieman]

I was not aware of this and somewhat confused. Are you saying I will still need home insurance even though the renter has it? I assumed as the owner of the home the renter would not need their own policy.

Our real estate agent informed us sink hole insurance was hard to get and very expensive ( 4-5 thousand ) so many people choose not to have it. Is this correct information?

The homeowner will need a renter's policy in order to rent out the home. It is a different type of policy than that is issued for a person who owns the home living there. It covers the homeowner not the renter.

Most people will get sinkhole insurance for their homes if the company will offer it. Ours costs an extra $250 per year through ASI. Lately it has been available mostly only on new homes but if you do a search on this board there are many threads about it. If the person who owns the home has a traditional policy and currently have sinkhole insurance when they go to switch their policy to a renter's will most likely have to go to a different company to get the renter's insurance and at that time will lose their sinkhole coverage. Once lost, it is not easy to get it back.

I have a friend who is an agent at Allstate in the Villages. Her name is Elaine Fisette. Elaine writes homeowner's and renter's policies all day long and would be able to answer any and all of your questions very easily. Her number is 352-753-4340. No obligation of any kind to ask the questions.

[PaPaLarry]

Thanks everyone for the great advice and will be using your suggestions.

Yes, Gracie it is daunting renting out our new home. However, we plan on gutting the kitchen, baths, replacing carpeting and painting when we move in. It will be rented unfurnished so no worries there. I would hate to have a renter in my home like you described so will be extra careful with the screening process.
Do you know how much you will be asking for year round rent?

[tippyclubb]

Do you know how much you will be asking for year round rent?

Sent you pm

[JoelJohnson]

I've never rent anything before last year when we tried to rent out house to someone for a year.

Because he was going to rent for a year we came up with a monthly rate. He moved in in December and stated making stupid complaints like no table cloth or place mats, weeds in the driveway cracks etc.

Every month he got worse and worse and it got to the point in May that I let him out of the contract. Because we were on a monthly payment basis I was only paid for the 6 and a half months he lived there. I would have gotten more by renting it out for Jan-Mar only.

I won't make that mistake again. By the way, did I mention that he was a lawyer?