How to Prepare a House to Rent in Murrieta's East Side & Nearby

How to Prepare a House to Rent in Murrieta's East Side & Nearby

 --For more on "How to rent in Murrieta's East Side," call local broker/owner Frank Delzompo at 951-326-7330, property manager in Murrieta and surrounding areas.

1. Check the Condition of the Home and Update/Repair

As a landlord, you have to provide a safe and not unhealthful home for your tenants.  Plus, an updated and clean home will also allow you to charge rent at the higher end of the market in Murrieta.  When looking to update and repair a house for rent, here are some tips:

• Clean it!  Either you must get the house or unit clean, or pay a professional cleaning team to do the job.  
• Paint it!  Hopefully, you only need some paint patched up, but if need be, a whole house painting is a quick way to make the whole place shout, "Rent me!"  Old oak cabinets look new again with a simple fresh, white paint and some nickel-varnished knobs.  SEE the picture to the right -->  It's not the same kitchen as the pic below it, but you get the idea as to which -- as a tenant -- you'd rather rent.
• Floors: carpet needs to be steam-cleaned and - you'll know it when you see it -- possibly replaced.  
• Plumbing: fix leaks, making the house look and feel ready for move-in.  
• Electric: make sure it is in good repair by having a handman take a look.
• Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors need to be in and functioning before you rent out a house in Murrieta CA, and elsewhere in CA.
• Prune and spruce up that yard both for marketing pictures and for curb appeal to potential tenants who will see the home and try to decide whether to rent it.  See "Top 10 Curb Appeal Tips, Each for Under $99."

2.  Change Your Homeowner's Insurance

Call your insurer and let them know you will rent out the house in Murrieta's East Side and nearby areas.  It is typically more than if you were remaining in the home.

3.  Determine What Rent a Tenant Should Pay

You can do research on Realtor.com, or rental home sites all around the internet, call on "for rent" signs in the neighborhood, etc., to figure out what rent your Murrieta house should garner.  Or, your property manager can help you by pulling up rental listings for homes near yours, as well as have current experience in the Murrieta rental market as to what a 3, 4, 5 or 6 bedroom home in Murrieta's East Side will rent for; Frank routinely gets the high end of market rent for a townhome we own, about $200 more per month than the townhome next door.  How?  He knows the market, he's in the thick of tenants calling in need of housing, and he's constantly turning over inventory and putting in new tenants.  What are the top amenities of each particular unique property?  That's a specialty of Frank's, and finding the tenant to whom those amenities matter.  To the right is an image of  rents for Murrieta homes rented by Frank at Sand to Sea Properties.  You may call Frank at 951-326-7330.

4.  Decide Who Will Manage the House You Want to Rent Out

The upside of renting out the house yourself is, you save yourself the money that you would pay a property manager.  You figure out how to find a tenant, what lease to use, what terms to write into the lease in addition to the ones that are standard, what disclosures to give, how to document the condition of the property, whether to consider all rental applicants or just one at a time, etc.  You take care of calls from the tenant for repairs or problems: gushing water pipes, hole in the wall, water heater or AC not working... they call you and you figure out who can repair it, coordinate entry with the tenant, supervise the work and pay the bill. And, finally, you figure out how to chase the rent if the tenant doesn't pay or doesn't pay on time or breaks the lease.  Do you have the time to research and handle all of these items?

Or, you hire all these functions out to a property manager.   What do they charge?  Most management companies charge half or more of a month's rent just to place a tenant, and then 10% of the gross rent collected each month.  Frank at Sand to Sea Properties charges somewhat less: call for his current fees.  He likely will cut you a military or family discount if you mention this blog post.

What does a property manager do inMurrieta's East Side and nearby areas?  A local Murrieta management company like ours  has experience and a procedure to follow to:

• Clean, repair and prepare the property for rent in Murrieta's East Side neighborhood and nearby,
• A set of service providers they know, like and trust, and to whom they refer a lot of regular business.  This includes repair services, landscape, appliance repair, plumbing, electrical, etc.  
• Advertising for a tenant, getting maximum coverage of the listing on the internet, etc., to get the most interested applicants who are willing to pay the best combination of rent and terms (2 year lease? etc.) that works for you -- what rent is asked and what tenant is chosen are ultimately up to you, the owner of the house.  
• Understand military clauses in the lease, and help you decide, do you want or need one?
• Ongoing rent collection, payment of repairs, communication with the tenant regarding compliance with various HOA, city or other requirements.  Remember, the property manager is your agent, representing you, and cannot control the reactions of other players in the rental management sphere; however, the property manager does his or her best to get you the best outcome in each situation.
• Turnover of the house if the tenant breaks the lease, including protecting your rights in relation to security deposit, last month's rent and repairs.

For a free, no obligation consultation regarding how to rent a house in Murrieta's East Side and nearby areas, please feel free to call Frank at 951-326-7330.  You can see more about Murrieta home rentals and property management at our website, Sand to Sea Properties.com.  And we're here as well to help with buying and selling a home in Murrieta's East Side and nearby areas.