Tenant screening

So, you can’t sell your house and you think renting it out would be a good way to cover the mortgage payment while you wait for the market to come back from the dead. Maybe you’re right. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into.

The Whidbey News-Times just ran an article on the perils that may await you. They titled it “Rental Nightmares“. Here’s an excerpt.

Renting out one’s property can be a positive experience, ultimately building equity for the owner and providing cash flow. It can also be a doomed game of craps.

Before you take the plunge, do some basic analysis. Too many first time landlords figure that there’s a big payday in renting. Very often there’s not. Be sure you consider all your costs, including the costs of taxes, fees, renting out the property, maintaining it, and the costs of any potential legal action, including eviction.

If you still want to go ahead, I suggest you use a property manager. First time landlords often try to manage their property themselves, sometimes from a distance. That’s usually a bad idea.

A good local property manager can help you make sure that things are done right and that your property is […]