If you’re thinking of renting out your home in Scottsdale, you should take a few steps first to make sure you’re ready to be a landlord. These steps can help you appeal to tenants who will be proud to call your house their home as soon as possible. Following these tips can also ensure that you, your property, and your tenants all have the right protections in place when it comes to renting your home in Scottsdale.
Fix it up
Before you rent your home to anyone, you need to make sure it’s in good shape. That means now is the time to finally fix any issues you might have ignored over the years, such as squeaky door hinges, leaky faucets, scuffed up walls, or broken screens on the windows. If you can’t fix all of these problems on your own, consider hiring a handyman for household repairs.
Of course, you also need to make sure your house is clean. It’s common to even put fresh paint on the walls and clean the carpets before renting out a home, so consider completing these tasks before you start showing the house to any potential renters. Additionally, you should make sure all fire alarms have new batteries and are in good working order. You might even think about buying a fire extinguisher for the kitchen or installing carbon monoxide detectors in order to keep both your tenants and your property safe.
Screen potential tenants
You want to make sure the people who live in your rental home will take care of it as if it were their own. You can increase your chance of getting tenants like this by screening them before they sign the lease documents.
Some common ways to screen tenants include running a background check and a credit check. If those end up looking favorable, it’s time to contact their previous landlords to find out what kind of tenants they’ve been in the past. Assuming the tenants get a good recommendation from their previous landlord, your next step should be to check with their employer to make sure they have a steady income to pay the rent every month.
Get the right insurance
Once you decide to rent out your home in Scottsdale, you need to get it properly insured, because now you need more than just homeowner’s insurance. You also need a landlord insurance policy, which will cover major risks to your house, such as damage caused by fire, wind, ice, or hail.
It’s also a good idea to require your tenants to get renter’s insurance. This will pay to replace their belongings if they are ever stolen or damaged while inside the home you own. Most landlords require this of their tenants, but be sure to reiterate this requirement before your tenants sign the lease so they are not surprised by it at the last minute.
Hire a Realtor
Preparing to rent out your home in Scottsdale can take time and effort. If you don’t have much to of either spare, you can benefit from the help of a Realtor, who can help from start to finish. An experienced Realtor can not only list the property for rent online, but also fill you in on the steps you need to take to find the ideal tenant for your home. Jen Pedersen with our team is well-versed in rentals, for instance.
Your Realtor can market the home, answer emails and phone calls from potential renters, and help with the screening process. They can also prepare lease documents and assist with the process of getting them signed by your new tenant.
If you are in search of a Realtor who can help you rent out your home in Scottsdale – and if you need help buying a new house before you rent out your current property – please contact The Matheson Team today.
Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team – RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-360-0281
don@scottsdalerealestate.com
