Rental homes in Windsor CO are in high demand making this an ideal time to become a landlord.
The Town of Windsor continues to see exponential growth and many new residents want to “try before they buy” making the rental market in Windsor very popular and very competitive.
Homes for rent in Windsor rarely stay on the market for more than 2 weeks. Limited vacancies and high demand makes deciding to rent your home verse selling very desirable. Low interest rates also provide investors a better return if they decide to buy a home to rent it out right away.
Becoming a Landlord
Most investment properties are acquired in three ways. A current homeowners decides to buy a new home and rent their home instead of selling it. Another way to become a landlord is to buy a home as an investor for the sole purpose renting the home. Sometimes people become landlords because they have inherited a home and they rent the home verse putting it on the market for sale.
Regardless on how you became a landlord you want to ensure your property makes you money and doesn’t cost you money.
How Much to Charge in Rent
How much to charge for rent is very important when renting out a home in Windsor. You want to price the home based on the features and benefits it offer compared to other homes on the market for rent. If you are asking for too much, your property may be passed up by prospective tenants and it could stay vacant longer. If you ask to too little you leave money on the table every month.
When deciding how much to charge for rent you can consult a real estate professional like, myself, or you can consult a popular website like Zillow for example. Zillow has a “rent-zestimate” feature that may or may not be accurate. You can start with your Zillow rent-zestimate and then do a search for home for rent in Windsor on Zillow to find out what other homes are asking for in rent. You want to make sure you are comparing your homes to homes with similar size, location, and neighborhood amenities. Or you could call a professional like….me
Do I need a Property Management Company to Rent my Home?
The short and sweet answer to this is No! It is not necessary to hire a property management company to rent home out in Windsor. Property management companies have monthly fees that can add up and decrease your property’s return on investment. Often times landlords worry about getting calls in the middle of the night if something breaks in the home for rent, however that rarely happens.
The fact is your home for rent could not have any repair request for months, yet you still have to pay a property manager. In today’s world of PayPal, Venmo, Zelle collecting rent has never been easier.
How to Find and Screen a Quality Tenant
Finding a good quality tenant is the most important step in becoming a landlord. How you attract potential tenants and screen them can make or break your return on investment. Here are 3 common ways to Find and Screen a tenant to rent a home:
- For Rent By Owner- You can advertise your home for rent on sites like Zillow, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. Answer all the questions and conduct all the showings and draft your own lease. If you are renting out a house you own, you do not need a real estate license to rent out a house. You can DIY finding and screening your own tenant if you put in all the legwork.
- Hire a Property Management Company- You can hire a property management company to handle all the steps in renting out your home. I would first suggest you try to call a few property management companies and TRY to speak to a human. Property managements fees are generally 10% of the monthly rent. On a home for rent for $2500 a month the property manager takes $250 regardless if the property is vacant or not, and regardless on if they had to handle any repairs. I had renters call property management companies who want them to complete an expensive application before they ever see the home for rent. In my opinion the customer service experience is lacking in the property management space. If tenants are discouraged from viewing a property or can’t speak to someone quickly your home will take longer to rent. Do your homework.
- Hire a Me! I offer a tenant placement program to help you rent out your home. For a one time fee I handle all the legwork to find you a great tenant. No need to DIY this. Hire me and pay a one time fee, when the tenant moves in, and if they renew the lease there is no additional cost. Let me find the tenant, provide the lease, collect the deposit, conduct the move in process, and you just collect the rent.
Landlord Procedures and Lease
Once you find a quality tenant it’s time to collect a deposit and sign a lease. Again as an owner you can draft your own lease or you can hire an attorney to draft one (at a cost). Make sure the lease defines how repairs are handled and which repairs are handled by which party. You should collect at lease the first month of rent to hold the property. Once the tenant moves in meet them at the property to conduct a walk through and collect the security deposit.
The security deposit should be collected in cleared funds, either a in a cashier’s check or money order. During the walk through you and the tenant will walk through the home to check for any imperfections while testing items like sinks, toilets, appliances to ensure they are all functioning at the time of the move in. Noting any items that need to be addressed after move in or a condition that should be noted was not caused by the tenant and shall not be charged against the tenant’s security deposit.
Being a Landlord After the Tenant Moves In
Great job, you found a tenant and they have moved in. Develop a system to make managing the rental easier. Creative an automatic way for tenants to deliver rent payments, many landlords opt for a direct deposit system. Create a process for a tenant to submit a request for repairs, many have to submit any non-emergency request via email. Plan a time every quarter to visit the property, check on your investment. Visiting the property for repair checks and look for items if go un-reported can cause a more expensive problem. Is there a small spot in the ceiling, that might lead to a leak? Making sure the yard is being kept up, and AC filters are being replaced are small checks that can keep the property in good condition. Most emergency repairs have warning signs.
Being a landlord does require a certain level of work. Ideally the better condition the home you rent out is in initially helps keeps repair calls to a minimum. If the heater hasn’t been replaced in 2 decades have it serviced before winter so the changes of it failing during a blizzard is as small as possible. Don’t defer maintenance because you can go months without a repair call and the minute you leave town something happens. Being a pro-active caring landlord is the key to success. Keep your rental property in a condition you would find acceptable to live in. You certain get what you give in the tenant-landlord relationships.
Best of luck in your journey on being a landlord.
