[s.brehm]

I've been using a property management company for a year and have been unhappy with the service. They are very unresponsive and lack follow-through. I'm nervous leaving my investment property in their hands. Can anyone give me advice on how to rent the house myself? I know how to advertise it online, but have no idea of the logistics involved with getting passes to the renters, collecting taxes, etc. Many, many thanks!

[redwitch]

Passes are easy -- you turn in your ID cards, fill out a form (can be done via email or in person) and either pay the $50 or have your renters pay it when they pick up their ID cards at LSL Sales Office. If they only want guest passes, you can fill out an online form at least three days prior to pick up at one of the regional rec centers.

Taxes: It is best to just include the taxes in your rent rather than try to have them pay it separately. You can get the necessary forms from your county.

If you're not going to be here to greet renters, you'll either need a key pad for your garage or someone to let them in. Mailing keys is not a good idea -- postal machines have been known to destroy keys and the chances of lost keys are high.

Hope this helps a little.

[dalecrenshaw]

I have had 4 property managers over the years, and they all have been poor. I finally decided it wasn't worth what I was paying them. One of them actually costs me a lot of money, when she rented to a tenant and then gave back the renter's security/damage deposit before checking the house, and the tenant's had caused a lot of damage (to the turn of about $5000). That was the last straw.

To be more specific, you need to register with your County Tax Collector (Lake County's number is 352-343-9602, which charges 4% sale's tax). Otherwise, check with your own County. You also have to register with the Florida Department of Revenue...their website is MyFlorida.com - Home. They collect 6% sale's tax, plus a Discretionary Sales Surtax of1%. So, in Lake County the total tax is 11%. The other 2 counties are a little less. You must send them a report of the rental income and the tax due every month. They will send you the forms when you register with them. I believe that when it is vacant for a long period of time, you can put it on Vacation Hold.

I am only in the Villages for about 3 months a year, so I manage our property from California. Besides having a lock box (which you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes), you could hire a property watch person....who checks on the house periodically, lets the new tenant in, checks the house after they have left. You can find recommendation on TOTV. Or, if you have a cleaning service, if they clean the house after the tenant has vacated, with 2 weeks, then they could tell you if the property has been left in the same condition as the when the tenants first occupied it. Also, if you know your neighbors, they are usually very helpful and will call you if they see anything wrong.

The Security/Damage deposit must be returned to the tenants within 15 days if there is no damage, or if there is damage, you must send them a letter with proof of the damages that you have deducted from their deposit. You can get the details from the Florida Dept of Revenue website.

[Arubagirl33]

Hate Renting!! We closed the end of Oct 2013 and Rented our home Feb & March 2014 with a Property Manager. Home is Brand New and I walked in in April and it looked like a tornadoe swept through. It took 3 Days to get it back in order. Broken Blinds, screen etc. and just like comments above home wasn't checked properly and security depsit returned. So....I said No more for the rest of this year. Not Worth it!! We live in Upstate NY and visiting only 3-4 Months during the year. We're not ready for another four years to be there more often and probably never permanently. I Don't want to give up our home in NY.
Figure it out all in time ~

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Passes are easy -- you turn in your ID cards, fill out a form (can be done via email or in person) and either pay the $50 or have your renters pay it when they pick up their ID cards at LSL Sales Office. If they only want guest passes, you can fill out an online form at least three days prior to pick up at one of the regional rec centers.

Taxes: It is best to just include the taxes in your rent rather than try to have them pay it separately. You can get the necessary forms from your county.

If you're not going to be here to greet renters, you'll either need a key pad for your garage or someone to let them in. Mailing keys is not a good idea -- postal machines have been known to destroy keys and the chances of lost keys are high.

Hope this helps a little.

If you use the key pad for the garage door make sure the door is not on a ground fault circuit. It probably is. If the ground fault is tripped no one will be able to get into the home until the circuit is reset from inside the home. The lock safe is the way to go. You will need someone to check on your property and make sure the key is there for the next tenant. You will probably need a cleaning service.

[OCsun]

Originally Posted by dalecrenshaw

I have had 4 property managers over the years, and they all have been poor. I finally decided it wasn't worth what I was paying them. One of them actually costs me a lot of money, when she rented to a tenant and then gave back the renter's security/damage deposit before checking the house, and the tenant's had caused a lot of damage (to the turn of about $5000). That was the last straw.

Wow! $5,000 - that's scary! Would you mind sharing what it was that cost so much? Thanks!

[Ohiogirl]

We rented ours for 4 years ourselves - from Ohio. We did hire a caretaker (for a monthly price - about $50, may be higher now) who usually met the tenant at the house or left keys in an arranged place and stopped by the next day for a meet & greet, q & a. Thought is was entirely fair to pay monthly even if all they did was meet and greet in beginning and pick up keys at end. usually tenant just left keys and key card on counter.

Did all of the tax set-up/paying electronically - initially by phone call. Do a search for Transient Tax (hotel tax) for Florida. In Sumter County, I think the total tax due was 9% and I just roughly figured it from the rent. Never a problem. You do have to file (paying 0) even for the months it's not rented. Think I had to pay $50 one month for not knowing that and not filing.

You can also email the permanent guest card office (which is in Spanish Springs sales office, think it still is). When we were there, would leave our id cards on file with the form for the 1st set of tenants before we left (they like a few days lead time, even if you can't leave your id's until you leave). Would then mail (but now would just scan and email - didn't have a scanner then) the next form with the check a couple of weeks prior to the next tenant. The tenant does pick up their id's at Lake Sumter Landing sales office, which is open every day (except maybe major holidays).

Caretaker was also available for any questions that came up later. 1st Caretaker could also do minor repairs, although I don't think any ever needed. Did have an a/c issue once, but we had opted for extended warranty and it was covered and also covered night/weekend service call.

I advertised on Vacationrentals.com and later thevillages4rent.com. Had success with both. Learned to not rent Feb. & March unless Jan. already rented. Last 2 yrs rented to same tenants for Jan-March. If I did it again, unless it was last minute, would only rent Jan-March to one tenant (less changeover).

I emailed leases and charged all rent money up front, due 45 days prior to onset of lease for the most part. Usually rented 6-8 months every year. Easy to rent Jan-April. Might not be worth wear and tear and utility expenses in summer-time, although I did rent at least 6 weeks ever summer, usually one month-long rental (future residents trying out summer heat) and the odd week or two of visitors.

Had a very reliable cleaning guy referred by the 1st caretaker. He would let me know by email how he found the place, etc. If I were doing it again, I would ask him to take digital photos of any questionable damage or excessive dirtiness. That only happened once or twice, and everything cleaned up. Very minor damage - probably less than when we started living there ourselves.

Made up a notebook with all necessary info (internet info, pest control, golf info, etc). Give a list of all info to caretaker as well. Also take the time to make up a general info sheet and a map marked with location, etc. Find the best golf cart path map you can and maybe give some tips about golf cart driving and where to be especially careful (for us that is probably Lake Buena Vista and Old Mill Run). Replenished free maps and golf info twice a year when we visited (usually in April and in Nov-Dec. Advised where to buy $5 map (when I left those, they disappeared).

Paid for the golf cart service in case they ever needed towing (never did). Had 2 sets of golf clubs available.

It is work to keep your website listing updated, must check email daily, etc. Probably averaged 5 hours a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. Helps to get to know neighbors and get their email addresses also.

I think ours rented easily because of location (not far from LSL), and was well-furnished and equipped and advertised as such. Had electric Foreman domed grill for their use outdoors so didn't have to be concerned about propane tank filling.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by s.brehm

I've been using a property management company for a year and have been unhappy with the service. They are very unresponsive and lack follow-through. I'm nervous leaving my investment property in their hands. Can anyone give me advice on how to rent the house myself? I know how to advertise it online, but have no idea of the logistics involved with getting passes to the renters, collecting taxes, etc. Many, many thanks!

We advertise through thevillages4rent and ****. **** has lots of blogs about being owner managed, how to supply a rental, etc. We had very good luck renting ours. It's work but buying a rental is like buying yourself a job. We rent Jan through March only. We won't rent any of those 3 months singularly. By doing that we save our energy and money by just paying for a cleaning company once and paying for temporary resident IDs once. We had didn't have good tenants for Jan through March this year. I was finding problems for quite a while and I hope I finally have them all cleaned up. I have gotten friendly with neighbors who I have asked to let me know if they are seeing more than 2 people in & out of our place. It was such a problem that we are considering locking the 2nd bedroom and renting it as 1 bedroom. We allow 2 guests for a total of 5 days. After that we ask $10 per day per 2 guests to pay for water and electricity. Where can you rent a place for $10 a day?! I keep the place spotless since I feel that if it isn't so clean that a tenant will think we don't care and will add their own dirt. I love cats and dogs but not in my rental. I don't want to rent a place that lots of animal hair in the furniture and I don't want to clean it either. I leave a basket in the kitchen with some snacks, single servings of cereal, single servings of coffee and a bottle of wine. In the fridge I leave a quart of milk, a quart of Florida OJ and margarine. In the bath I leave an extra tootbrush, travel size toothpaste, a disposable razor, some travel size packets of Tylenol and a travel size packet of make-up remover wipes (saves your washcloths), and travel size shampoo and lotion. It's less than a total of $20 expenditure but we have had so many positive comments about these details. Hopefully, that will be one thing that helps them remember our house.

We ask that the tenant pay for the taxes. No one has complained. Tax has to be paid on cleaning fee too. Our biggest problem?......cleaning companies. We are looking for a good one so that we don't have to do it all. If we have to clean, while I am cleaning, my husband checks the batteries on the golf cart, he checks the grill and turns the fire on high to burn off food, checks outdoors, changes the codes on the lock on the door and empties the ice maker. Then he starts dusting blinds and vaccuuming while I am doing the remainder.

Good luck

[Allegiance]

Does anyone have a good lease they can share? Also a list of items a turn key house should have?

thank you

[plmtree]

May I suggest RJ Home Watch Services. They are a husband and wife team from Michigan. They take care of our home when we rent it and are very very good - give them a call at 517-290-8068 or 517-282-8761

[LatDoc]

I am not a property owner in The Villages but let me speak as a renter.
There are so many rentals available that it helps if you can distinguish yourself from the mix.
Read some of the property descriptions on the sites and you will find some to turn you off. Simply by a few phrases.
I have rented five times over the last three years and all the places and people have been wonderful but you must consider what it is that will make that renter choose your home.
There is one rental in Winifred that is just wonderfully written. Take a peek, you will know which one it is when you see it.
The rest of the items are well covered by the posters before me but none of it matters it you are not chosen.
Good luck. And think like a renter when you advertise your home. IMHO

[cst4villages]

Here is a suggestion for giving tenants access to your home without the need for keys. We use these locks on our houses and they are great, no problems or issues. This lock system works with WiFi, so your home will need that (WiFi is only needed to program the lock, it is not needed for operation of the lock). You can add or remove up to 19 four digit codes into the lock any time, 24hrs a day, via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. For example we program in our renters code using the last four numbers of their phone number, we set the start date and time for the afternoon of their arrival, and the expiration date for the morning of departure. Once set up you can also add onto this system with other features, for example, when the tenant puts in their code, an inside light can be programmed to turn on so that they will walk into a lighted room. We bought ours a Lowes for $299, but I am sure they are available anywhere. Good Luck.
Shop Schlage Nexia Home Intelligence Satin Nickel Residential 6-Cylinder Electronic Entry Door Deadbolt with Keypad at Lowes.com

[skyc6]

We rented and had no problems. We did it ourselves, and used villages4rent.com for the advertising, and probably had 75 calls after it was rented. I see homes for rent in my neighborhood that never seem to get rented. I don't think all of the agencies do a very good job, and I do know that the one with "Villages" in their name is not owned by the villages and my friend had an awful time with them. We used a home watcher, and she was wonderful, and she is the first responder to this thread. Redwitch is great!! Give her a call or PM her through this website.