Have you ever rented out your home?

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

So...it's entirely possible that in the next month I'll be changing timezones. If we sell our house, we'll have to pay back an FHA loan we don't want to pay back, so we're looking at renting it out for a few years.

We know NOTHING about this process other than:

a) Check the credit of whoever is renting from us

b) Have money for potential repairs

c) Have someone we trust locally to help out with stuff

Has anyone ever done this? I'm sort of freaking out right now.

LetsHikeToday · May 2012

We don't own a house but we rent a house. We rent through a management company. Have you looked into that?

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

Wouldn't even know where to start with that, Hike! I'll google now though!

amys325 · May 2012

The owners that live above me rent theirs out and they use a management company. That's who found their renters and manage any repairs or requests the renters might have.

ETA: LDY, a lot of times (at least in Chicago), Real Estate agents can help you find renters as well. They run the credit checks, etc. I think the fee for that is one month rent and then after that they don't mess with anything.

At that point, you would need to ask a friend or someone to help with repairs.

LetsHikeToday · May 2012

You might want to start with a realty company because that is who manages our property.

AllAboutTheBenjamin · May 2012

Maybe make them list references? I dunno, like from where they've rented before or something? Can you do that? My uncle rented out a furnished home of his and one month the tenants were late on rent. Didn't answer his calls, he went to check on the property and everything in the house was gone. They even stripped cabinets and stuff from the walls!

LP11509 · May 2012

I have absolutely no idea if this applies to ALL FHA loans or not, so take it with a grain of salt. But I was just talking with a friend about mortgage loans the other day since H and I are looking to buy this summer hopefully. She mentioned that for her FHA loan, she not only have to keep the house for X amount of time (hers was 5 years), but she also has to keep it as her primary residence for that full time, or she has to pay it back. So she can't rent it out.

Again, don't know how standard this is, but might be something you want to double check?

cheeseandrice · May 2012

This isn't what you want to hear... but I don't think renting it would let you keep the FHA stuff. I think there's a clause that says you have to use it as your primary residence for whatever the time limit is. I'd check before you go through the hassle of renting only to have to pay back the stuff anyway.

Starmusica · May 2012

LDY I lived in and owned a condo which I have been renting for the last few years. The first year, I had a real estate agent list it and run credit checks. the thing is- you run one check, you have to pay for and run one for EVERY candidate. Housing laws...

- I would have a lease ready that is specialized to your states rental laws (I was not a law lady then so I had my real estate agent help me). In hindsight, I should have asked an attorney.
- Decide what you want- first and last, security etc.
- make a list of all of the defects in your home. Have the tenant go through the house initially and make their own list. Make sure you are both on the same page so later, if there is damage, you can prove it was not pre-existing.
-list on craigslist- even if you use an agent
-ask for references.
- have a local person who can help if you don't use a management company. We don't use one.

Snippylynn · May 2012

Definitely get a management company. Ask around for recommendations from people who are renting. You also really need to have some money set aside for problems that arise.

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

ACK - I let H look into all of the loan stuff - yuuuuuuuck. I bet he didn't look into it yet. I'll do some searching. Stupid house!

Looks like I'm going to look for a management company!

rondokye · May 2012

I have to back up with what a couple of the other posters have said. I have an FHA loan through Pennsylvania and I can't rent out my home. As the borrower, the home has to be borrower occupied at all times or the full amount of the loan is due. I've done a lot of research on the situation and haven't been able to come up with a solution as of yet. I went as far as contacting my State Senator and asking his office to contact the PHFA on my behalf. The only thing that they were able to do was get me an extension to figuring everything out.

Before you do anything, I would check all of your paperwork. Everything that you signed at closing and afterwards.

kd.joseph · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-ever-rented-out-your-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:0bd999ce-d7e3-43ca-a206-e65a097219dcPost:27466b49-72ad-4d66-b2a4-6e30b22353aa">Re: Have you ever rented out your home?</a>:
[QUOTE]We don't own a house but we rent a house. We rent through a management company. Have you looked into that?
Posted by LetsHikeToday[/QUOTE]

This is the route I would go if you are far away you'd have someone who can take care of things for you and keep an eye on the house.

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-ever-rented-out-your-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:0bd999ce-d7e3-43ca-a206-e65a097219dcPost:0acb3ad4-1ea3-47e2-b3b6-f4f595f5c7ff">Re: Have you ever rented out your home?</a>:
[QUOTE]We use a property management company since we're 5 hours away from the other house. It works out ok. The property management company isn't the greatest, but it's the only one in the area so we don't have much choice. It is nice that they have their own maintenance staff so we don't have to worry about hiring outside vendors. Unfortunately the turnover is pretty high. We have new tenants most every year. Also it honestly isn't much of a money maker. After we pay the taxes on the rent, property taxes, repairs, and the management company we're lucky to see about <strong>25% of the rental income.</strong>
Posted by kodakitty[/QUOTE]
This is AFTER your mortgage is paid on the place, right?

Starmusica · May 2012

We are pretty lucky in that we currently cover all our expenses. We don't make money really, but the unit is slowly being paid off!

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-ever-rented-out-your-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:0bd999ce-d7e3-43ca-a206-e65a097219dcPost:c2be223c-b728-4e2f-a44f-db5e9291dc0e">Re: Have you ever rented out your home?</a>:
[QUOTE]We are pretty lucky in that we currently cover all our expenses. We don't make money really, but the unit is slowly being paid off!
Posted by Starmusica[/QUOTE]
That's A-ok with me. If it's paid off, I'm a happy camper. Now I'm all worried about this FHA loan thing. H needs to call someone, i think...

cheeseandrice · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-ever-rented-out-your-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:0bd999ce-d7e3-43ca-a206-e65a097219dcPost:9a1b15db-f1de-4d31-9533-de6877ea4ce9">Re: Have you ever rented out your home?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Have you ever rented out your home? : That's A-ok with me. If it's paid off, I'm a happy camper. Now I'm all worried about this FHA loan thing. H needs to call someone, i think...
Posted by LDYGTR13[/QUOTE]

I'd call the original mortgage guy. That's probably the best place to start! Good luck.

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

Yeah, I work in property management right now. Getting tenants out can be a huge PITA.

I needed a reality check about it - thanks, y'all! I'm gonna have a look!

chelseamb11 · May 2012

I know nothing about renting, but where are you moving to???

LDYGTR13 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_have-you-ever-rented-out-your-home?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:0bd999ce-d7e3-43ca-a206-e65a097219dcPost:32343e16-5944-4fca-b323-0ab1f739feb4">Re: Have you ever rented out your home?</a>:
[QUOTE]I know nothing about renting, but where are you moving to???
Posted by chelseamb11[/QUOTE]
We don't know for sure if we're moving, but if we do, it would be Greensboro (ALEIGH TOWN!) NC. H was offered a job but not the big raise he was hoping for. So we're still not sure if it's worth it. But we want to leave MS. EDIT: and NC is where we want to be. So we might just take the leap of faith.<div>
</div><div>UM - do I have to say, NO FACEBOOK PLEASE?</div>

jemmini6 · May 2012

Evicting tenants is a PITA. It took my parents 4 months to evict the people that were renting our old house and during that time they caused almost $20,000 worth of damage. Almost 10 years later and my parents have yet to see a dime of the judgement that was placed against the renters.

So that's definitely something to consider when renting.

LetsHikeToday · May 2012

LDY: When we applied for our current house we had to get credit scores, show paystubs for proof of income, and we had to put refreneces down from places we lived before. If you look for a management company, I'd ask them how they weed our their applicants.

aragx6 · May 2012

Oh here's the thread. I told LDY this on E when it came up, but in case anyone else is wondering: You have to use the home as your primary residence for 1 year then it's eligible to be rented.

katslack · May 2012

We've been renting out our house for the past three years. Thankfully all out tenants are great. They just deposit the check into my bank account so I don't even know what they look like. Our mortgage is 1350 and they pay 1550 so luckily we do make a little extra.

If you have family in the area of your home who wouldn't mind doing any basic repairs or meeting a repairman at your property I would use them instead of a management co. Just because of friends who have used them in the past, most haven't been up to par. Expensive and try to take advantage because they have the upper hand. Maybe you will find a great one though. Check the better business bureau or do a google search with forum at the end of it. Use the internet to your advantage

When searching my renters I haven't done a credit check and you can do most checks online, at least here in Miami. I check the cleck of courts, there you can see if they have an arrest record(criminal and civil infractions) also do a civil/probate check to see if they owe any money or are in collections. I also use facebook to look them up also family members and see the pics, if someones falling down drunk in all there pics i pass. I also get pay stubs from there employer. I use the internet to look up as much as possible on my possible renters.

We've never had any major problems. The stove broke, 200 to fix but thats it, nothing major.

Good luck with everything.

One more thing, we've always asked for first, last, security, no exceptions. That will weed out alot of people. I feel if they have that much in saving then they have to be somewhat responsible. Good luck

NJhousewife22 · May 2012

We have a 3 family unit and rent out 2 of the units. My advice is to have a REALLY good lease in place. We ask for references, proof of employment, do a credit check and ask to contact their previous landlord. We find that references will always say nice things, but sometimes a previous landlord will tell you REALLY how they were as tenants.

Loopyseven · May 2012

LDY - we ended up renting our house to a friend and have people locally who have said they will help out with the repairs if needed. Seeing as how we moved so far away we were going to use a management company so we didn't have to take vacation to go show the property/screen tenants/etc so we'd started looking into it.

We talked to one management company but they wanted a flat fee of $175 a month to fully manage the property (keep it occupied, screen tenants, handle repairs - though we would be responsible for the cost of the repairs, but they'd make the arrangements, etc) which was almost 20% of the rent we wanted to charge so we were going to continue to look for a different management company when the situation with the friend came up. My cousin rents her house outside of Detroit through a property management company and she said they charge 10% of the rent as their fee - which seems reasonable to me but I don't know how typical that is.

In Denver, we had to pay application fees to apply to rent homes (only like $35-$50) and they wanted first months rent plus 1 month rent as security deposit. They wanted paystubs to verify income, previous landlords information for rental history, and they ran a credit check. They usually had a 2 page rental application to fill out to gather all our information.

alynne1113 · May 2012

Make sure you talk to your homeowners insurance company and see what coverages will be changed/price changed and also make sure the renters have renters insurance.

Have you ever rented out your home?

Re: Have you ever rented out your home?

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