Turning Your Current Home into a Rental

When it comes to buying a new home, it may feel like your only option for making room for expenses is selling your current home.

However, selling your home isn’t your only option, you can turn your current home into a rental property.

Of course, the first step you’ll have is to determine the numbers and see if your property can bring profit. Here are the tips to turn your home into a rental property.

Insurance

If you’re living in the house before you decide to turn it into a rental, you probably have homeowner’s insurance, but usually, it wouldn’t enough to cover a rental property.

What if there’s an accident that injures your tenants or a tree falls into your house that causes damage, and you need a major repair, your current insurance may not cover that.

If you want to turn your home into a rental, consider paying for landlord insurance to make sure you are protected from potential liability.

Basic landlord insurance usually covers damage to structures, maintenance on equipment, protection for outbuildings like shed or pool, and provides some coverage for accidents that might happen on your property.

Repairs and Upgrades

Just like selling your house, you want to eliminate competitions. You can do that by updating, repairing, and offering amenities. Keep it in mind that it provides value to the property and make it more appealing to those who are comparing your rental to the others.

While I don’t recommend you turn your home into a five-star hotel, you have to make sure that it’s clean, freshly painted, and comparable to other rental properties available in your neighborhood.

There are little things that can sway the decision of potential tenants updated kitchen, welcoming 

Determine How Much You Want to Charge

Now that your property is set, its time to determine how much you want to charge. Of course, you want to make as much profit, but you need to know the right number.

There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to determining how much you’ll charge for your rental property. It can vary depending on your location, so your best bet is to compare your home to other properties on the market.

Do your research, consult your real estate agent, and don’t forget the cost of running the property. You can determine how much you’ll charge monthly by including these factors in your decision.

Finding a Tenant

Before finding a tenant, decide what you are and aren’t willing to allow in the property. Consider how many people can live in the house, how long of a lease are you looking for, will you be responsible for the maintenance and repairs, will you allow pets, if so, is there a weight limit, will you charge a pet fee.  

Your agent can help with processing the application and verifying their employment history and income.

Base on this information you can screen your potential tenants and select the one that meets your standards.

Property Management Group

If you don’t want to handle the day to day issues that arise with the rental you can hire a property manager. A property manager helps handle all the work that comes with owning a rental property. They can handle paperwork, repairs, collect rent, communicate with tenants, and they will assist you with the legal procedures for evicting a tenant.

However, you need to pay the property manager usually 10% of your rental income. If you are only making a slim profit, this may not be an option for you.

A good property manager will not only help keep your property occupied but also handle any tenant complaints and repairs in a timely manner. You can ask for references from your family and friends or ask your real estate agent. your real estate agent.

Feel free to give me a call at 703-539-2053 or email info@AskAWalker.com if you have any other questions about turning your home into an investment property.

About the Author:  The above article was written by Abraham Walker, Your Northern Virginia Real Estate Agent, helping clients market their homes to achieve high sales with a quick closing time is my main priority.  He’s the co-founder of Ask A Walker and can be found on YouTube, Facebook, and HERE on this blog.

I help people sell and buy real estate in the following Northern Virginia area cities & neighborhoods: Kingstowne, Island Creek, Cameron Station, Overlook, Alexandria, Old Town, Belle Haven, Fort Hunt, Mount Vernon, Springfield, West Springfield, Burke, Lorton, Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Manassas, Annandale, Fairfax, Arlington, McLean, Reston, Herndon and of course Vienna.

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