Turning Your Regina Home into a Rental Property

There are many reasons why people want to convert their home into a rental property. The rental business is lucrative and can help people solve many financial problems.

Individuals may move out to another place and rent out their homes as a way of gaining a secondary income source. In addition, it can be the start of a full property investment portfolio.

We here at Leenan Property Management have wrote this article and put together the below video to help first-time landlords with the process of turning a home into a fully fledged rental business.

Making the Decision

Being a landlord is not a walk in the park. If you think it only means renting out your property and collecting rent every month, you are misguided.

Landlords must be on-call with their tenants. You must be ready to manage maintenance and repairs for your property, learn how to deal with and handle uncooperative tenants, and be ready to collect overdue rent, among many other tasks.

A rental property can be an excellent source of income, but sometimes, they also become a source of headache. For example, there may be unexpected maintenance costs or tenants who don’t pay on time. Hence, it’s important that you know beforehand what you are getting into.

Community Rules

For all those who wish to convert their house into a rental, it is imperative to check with the community rules first. Many communities do not allow their people to rent their property. It is also important to check with the mortgage lent and the association.

Mortgage loan plays a major role. For example, people may need to live in their property for a certain period of time before they can rent it out. Moreover, many plans do not cover investment properties and houses.

Therefore, all people who wish to rent out their house must discuss everything with the mortgage lender first.

Insurance Policies

Many individuals fail to realize that their homeowner's insurance policy will not be applicable once they change their house into a rental. If the insurance company finds out that the property has been rented, they may impose fraudulent allegations and deny any claims.

To make sure that you do not become a victim of this, we suggest that you find new policies that apply to rental property. The best practice is to look for insurance plans that cover things such as property damage, loss, liability, and so on.

Fixing the Rent

All new landlords must pick the right price for their rental property to maximize profit. To pick the right price, you’ll need to conduct an extensive survey of rentals in the area.

There are several things that affect the rental price. If your property is in a prime area of Regina, for example, the rent will naturally be higher. However, if your property is not in great condition, you may need to lower the rent to attract tenants.

Moreover, landlords can always search the internet for help with this. There are several free resources online that help landlords determine the right rent for their property. After this, you’ll need to estimate the cost of running the rental, including maintenance charges and any other expenditures.

Rules of the Tenancy

All landlords have to specify the rules of the tenancy in their lease to avoid problems down the road. Before renting your property, first discuss all the rules with your tenants.

For example, landlords can inform tenants of their pet policy. Some rentals allow tenants to keep pets, but many do not. You should specify these things before signing with any renter.

Property Managers

Landlords are renting out a property for the first time may want to hire a property management company to ensure that everything goes seamlessly.

A property manager helps landlords in more than one way: the manager is familiar with provincial laws and can help you devise a proper rental plan and lease. They are also responsible for collecting rent, managing maintenance problems, finding tenants, fulfilling lease agreements, and so on.

Tenant Application Form

You should have a standard application form ready for prospective renters so they can fill in all their information. Application forms usually include the applicant’s name, social insurance number, permanent address, employment details, references, and so on.

Some landlords also ask for a registration or application fee so that they can use the money to run background checks on the tenants.

Finding Tenants

Once all these steps are done, landlords may proceed and start finding tenants. The best way to do this is to advertise. It can either be done in newspapers and magazines or on social media. Many landlords opt for online advertising, as it’s cheaper and sometimes free.

There are real estate websites as well that help landlords find the right tenants by charging a nominal fee. Therefore, landlords today have several options. Finding many applicants is not the problem: The real challenge lies in finding a responsible tenant that will rent long-term.

Conclusion

These were some of the most useful tips that people can use when they plan to turn their houses into rental properties. Many people are not familiar with the process and make mistakes.

It is best to follow expert tips or hire a property manager to avoid problems later. Rental investments can be really profitable if done the right way.