When you’re getting your home ready for the rental market, you have to be prepared. The first thing to do is to get organized when a tenant gives notice. Once the property is vacant, you need to get everyone lined up – from your contractors to your cleaners. Get the necessary work done on the property, and make sure the place is cleaned up so you can re-rent it. Your biggest expense as a landlord is the loss of rent you experience during vacancies. So, get this done quickly.
Before a tenant moves in, have a systematic way to inspect the property. Typically, we recommend conducting your inspection with a lot of photographs so you have a record of what the property looked like at the time a previous tenant moved out. Then, you’ll do repairs and get the property ready for the next tenant. At that point, do another inspection so you have a detailed record of what the place looks like before the new tenant moves in. This will be very helpful if there are conflicts or security deposit disputes. You need to have documentation that shows how the place looked when you gave it to the tenants.
One thing to always remember is that a house has to be clean and bright. Cleanliness is the most important thing in getting your property ready for the rental market because when you’re looking for tenants, you’re only going to get high quality renters when the home looks nice. The better the condition of the property, the better tenant you’ll get.
If you would like to discuss this topic further, please contact us at Real Property Management Southwest Michigan.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.