Guidelines For Renting Your Home While Overseas
One of the problems with moving, especially with moving internationally, is that many people do not want to give up the home that they have lived in for a long time. Fortunately, there are other options available. More and more people are choosing to rent out there homes in the United States, while they are living in a different country. This is especially true for people that own their home, rather than renting or leasing. If you are thinking that renting out your house is a difficult process, here are some tips that you can follow to ease your mind.
The first two things that you will need to establish is the amount of time you plan on renting it out for, and the amount you are going to charge your renter. Some people only live abroad seasonally, and choose to come back to their house in the United States when the weather is more to their liking. Others might be willing to rent for the whole year, but might be planning on coming back a few years down the road. No matter what your situation is, you will need to make it clear to a potential renter how long they will be able to live in your home. As far as how much to charge, it is a delicate balance of being able to pay your bills, while still being competitive with comparable houses in the area. At the very least, you will want to cover your mortgage every month. Also, take into account what your area has to offer. A lot of places are tourist destinations and have an on and off season. You will be able to charge more during the tourist season, and you might have to charge less during the off season. Again, it is a delicate balance that you will have to figure out.
Next, you will want to list your home and find a tenant. Listing your home is a pretty simple process. You could always buy ads in the newspaper classified section, put up signs in the neighborhood, and make online postings on popular websites. Think about the sites you would visit if you are looking to buy, and place your ad in those places. It may take some time, but potential tenants will soon be calling. When they do, you will want to have a screening process to make sure you are comfortable with them. Remember, tenants are essentially guests that are taking care of your most valuable asset. Therefore, you should be choosey as to who you let live in your home. You need to find out things like if they own pets, if they smoke, and if they plan on having a lot of people over. Also, if you are uncomfortable with any of those things, you will need to make it clear to potential tenants that you will not tolerate that kind of behavior. Do not be afraid to be firm with restrictions, but also understand that the more restrictions you have, the less tenants you will have that will be interested.
Writing Up an Agreement and Getting Your House Ready for Rental
The next step will be writing up an agreement with your new tenant. Here you will want to outline any restrictions that you have placed, the amount of money that you will be charging, and the length of the contract as a whole. You will also want to include information like the names of the people on the lease who will be responsible, and the exact property you will be leasing. Finally, before either party signs the agreement, you should run it past a lawyer to make sure that everything you have outlined is legal. If you include something that is illegal in the agreement, you might not be able to hold the renter accountable if something were to go wrong in your home. Even though you will be living overseas, you will still be expected to take care of any repairs that need to be done. In your agreement you could authorize the tenant to hire someone to make repairs that you will either pay for, or will take off of their monthly payment to you. Once that is completed, make sure to give a copy to your tenant, and to keep one for yourself.
Finally, you need to get your house ready for renting. Stock it up with appliances, and pack up any valuables that you will be leaving behind. You could also leave a note that explains how to operate certain appliances in your home, such as the washing machine, an oven, the hot water heater, or any other major appliance that you have left behind. Your tenant will be grateful that you were courteous enough to make their living arrangement easier. Renting is a great way to make money off of your house, without having to outright sell it if you are planning on moving back in sometime in the future. It is a growing market that more and more people are choosing to utilize.
