When you decide to rent a home, the process is similar to purchasing a home, but a lot less stressful since you aren't buying the home, and it may just be a place to stay for a year or two.

You can drive around town, looking for "for rent" signs, write down the number for each office on each home, then call them and make appointments to see each of them with an agent from each office.

Only problem with that approach is it is very time-consuming.  The easy way to do it is contact a Realtor who specializes in finding rental properties.  The way Realtors are paid for rental properties is when they help you find a home you like, the listing company pays them a small commission for a "finders fee".  Now the pay for rental properties isn't very high, so not all Realtors will help you with this.  We do work with people looking for rental properties because we are looking not just for short-term "pay" but we are looking to work over the long run with people and help them repair their credit and finally purchase homes.  Some of our clients don't ever have plans to purchase, but they will REFER US to their friends, which is another benefit we receive from working with our tenants. 

First your Realtor will e-mail you information for properties that meet your criteria in the area you are looking.  Then you'll choose your favorites, let your Realtor know which they are, and the Realtor will call up each company and make an appointment to visit the home in person.  They'll map out the route to make it the most efficient and best use of your time together.  You can usually visit several homes in an hour, depending upon how close together they are.  Then you'll decide which you like best.

With rental properties, each one has a different owner so qualifying for each one will be a little bit different.  I've had situations where I brought a lady to one home, she applied and was told her credit was terrible.  She was nervous to try another, but we did, and that company said she looked great and she moved right in.

If you think about it from the perspective of the owner of a property, you'll have a better idea of how landlords think.  When you are applying for an apartment, the owner has many people that are covering the mortgage on the property so if one defaults and doesn't pay, it's not as big of a deal as if it is one property and the tenant defaults, so qualifying for a townhouse or home can be a little more difficult than qualifying for an apartment.

The basic things that a landlord looks for when determining whether you are a good "risk" or not is first of all your income.  A basic rule of thumb is to take the monthly rent and multiply it by 40-50 times to get what your annual salary should be.  So if a townhome is renting for $1500/month, you'll want your income to be about $60,000 to $75,000.  If your credit is EXCELLENT, you may be able to squeak by with $45,000. 

The landlord will also check your RENTAL REFERENCES.  This is important, obviously, because they want to make sure that you will take good care of the home for them and pay the rent on time.  If you don't pay the rent on time, the landlord may have trouble paying the bank on time. 

They will also pull your credit.  Now most people have some kind of credit issues, some worse than others.  Your past credit doesn't have to be a big problem, but the best thing to do before looking to rent is to pull a copy of your credit report on a website like "freecreditreport.com" so you can see what the landlord will see before they do.  Do you have late payments?  Why?  Are they recent?  Do you have any collections?  If so, that can be a problem for some landlords.  If you have a lot of debt, the landlord will be concerned that if something happens, medical problem or injury that impacts your income, will you still be able to cover your bills and the rent?  Do you have a past bankruptcy?  Foreclosure?  Why did that happen?

Your best strategy is to attack this head on.  You'll want to write up a letter to the landlord, explaining to them what they will find when they see your credit report and explain whatever negative marks are on there.  Landlords are human too and they will understand bumps in the road if you explain them and have a plan for the future and can explain to them why you are a good risk for them and why you'll be a good tenant.  They are going to see the credit report anyway, so just explain any negatives in advance so they won't be surprised.  Remember, all they see is what is on paper - they don't know how wonderful you are in person!

If you would like any help renting a home in Anne Arundel County, give us a call and we'll get you moved in!

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To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®.  For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website. 

To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side.  We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.