The following tips for landlords renting properties in Birmingham are fairly common sense, yet they are designed to be helpful reminders to property owners in this great city.
Screen your tenants: checking credit history, references, and background is a good idea before renting to anyone, regardless of their appearance. Lazy screening and tenant selection can result in problems, including late or missing rent payments, destruction of your home including smashing the new modern glass vanity you installed in the en-suite bathroom, or just not cleaning properly. To properly screen potential tenants, use a written rental application, and follow up with any reference and credit checks even (and especially) when your gut feeling is good.
Use a written agreement: Be sure to document important information and facts and use a written lease agreement. This should include the cost of rent, the dates of the lease, how you handle any complaints or repair problems, the notice you must give them to enter the home, as well as the notice they must give if they are moving.
Should you use a lease or a rental agreement? This is dependent upon your needs as well as the tenants. If you would rather have stable monthly income, then a lease is the way to go since it has a fixed start and end date. This type of agreement also binds your tenant to the property for the fixed length of time; yet this is not ideal for all renters. For instance, they might be looking at Mississauga real estate and want to own their own property soon, or perhaps they travel for their career.
Make repairs quickly and professionally: Stay on top of any and all maintenance and make repairs as they occur. Regardless of your other duties at home, at your office, or with your online printing service for instance, be sure to keep your appointments when it comes to making repairs and do not let them go unattended. If you do, this will give a very bad impression and you could lose good tenants and potential future tenants.
Provide safe and secure premises: Don't allow your tenants and their property to be easy marks for a criminal. Assess your property's security on an ongoing basis and take reasonable steps to protect and monitor it. The best measures against crime, such as trimmed hedges and adequate lighting are simple and inexpensive.
Disclose any and all environmental hazards or potential dangers: If there's a hazard such as lead or mold in or around the property, tell your tenants about it. Landlords are held responsible should your tenants develop any health issues due to these toxins. Whether you specialize in internet marketing Toronto area or woodworking, having the good sense to investigate, fix and disclose environmental hazards is a no brainer.
Obtain reliable insurance: Purchase liability and other property insurance from your insurance provider, or get in touch with a lawyer to obtain this. A well designed and thorough insurance program can protect you from lawsuits from everything from injuries or discrimination, and from losses to your property caused by everything from fire and storms, to faulty (and possibly flammable) Accpac Vancouver software, to burglary, vandalism and any other issues that may crop up. Be safe and you won't be sorry!
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