The Ultimate Guide for Landlords

Being a landlord involves more than just collecting rent. It's about managing property, handling tenant relations, and ensuring everything runs smoothly. Hiring an experienced real estate agent to assist in most of these matters can significantly reduce the stress involved.

Here’s a guide to help you navigate the responsibilities and challenges of being a landlord:

1. Know the Law

• Research Local Regulations: Landlord-tenant laws vary by location. Familiarize yourself with federal, state, and local regulations concerning leases, evictions, safety standards, and tenant rights. See Florida Landlord/Tenant Law.

• Housing Laws: Understand the Florida Fair Housing Act to avoid discrimination and ensure you're treating all tenants equally.

2. Prepare Your Property

• Maintenance and Repairs: Regularly inspect and maintain your property to ensure it's in good condition. Address repairs promptly to keep tenants satisfied and avoid bigger issues.

• Safety Standards: Ensure the property meets safety standards, including smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and secure locks. Safety standards are detailed in the Landlord and Tenant Statutes in your state.

Prepare your property for lease

3. Create a Solid Lease Agreement

• Details: Your lease should clearly outline the rent amount, due date, security deposit, lease term, and any rules or restrictions. If you chose to hire a real estate agent, they have the option to use the Florida FAR/BAR Contract written by the Florida NAR lawyers. Your agent can complete the lease on your behalf and obtain the signatures form your prospective tenants.

• Legal Clauses: Include clauses about maintenance responsibilities, handling repairs, and the process for terminating the lease.

4. Screen Tenants Carefully

• Application Process: Use a comprehensive application process that includes background checks, credit checks, and references. RentSpree is our preferred provider for the application process. Rentspree allows for an application, background check, credit check, evictions, and references all for one low price that the tenant pays out of pocket.

• Interview: (optional) Meet potential tenants to gauge their suitability and discuss their rental history and financial stability. This is becoming less common as renters may be moving from out of the area and it is just not possible to meet in person. You may also have several prospective tenants to submit an application and meeting each one can be time consuming.

• Tenant Approval: All applications submitted by the prospective tenants should be reviewed carefully. Choosing the right tenant can make or break your profits. The choice is ALWAYS the landlords. Your agent can guide you on making the decision but it is ultimately up to you, the landlord to choose the right tenant for your property.

  
  

What should you consider when choosing the right tenant?

Income, Credit Score, Background Check, Evictions

Monthly Income is a huge factor in determining if the tenant can properly afford the monthly rent. The standard practice in todays rental market is to find a tenant that has 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent in gross income.

For Example: You want to rent your property out for $2500 per month. The tenant should have at least $2500 x 2.5=$6250 in monthly gross income.

5. Manage Finances

Collecting rent and manage finances

• Rent Collection: Decide on a system for collecting rent (e.g., online payment, checks) and enforce late fees if applicable. Venmo, Zelle, and Cash apps are becoming more common for collecting rents due.

• Bank Account: Opening a separate bank account for all your rental activity can make it much easier to keep track of income and expenses.

• Budgeting: Keep track of income and expenses related to the property. Consider setting aside funds for emergency repairs and maintenance. Make sure to hold onto all receipts in regards to the rental home for your tax write-offs at year end.

6. Handle Tenant Relations

• Communication: Be approachable and responsive to tenant inquiries and concerns. Good communication can help resolve issues before they escalate.

• Conflict Resolution: Address disputes calmly and fairly. Document all communications and agreements. We recommend communication through email as a way to document all correspondence.

7. Maintain Good Documentation

• Lease Agreements: Keep signed copies of all lease agreements and any amendments.

• Maintenance Records: Document all repairs and maintenance activities to provide a record of property upkeep.

• Pictures and Videos: We always recommend taking photos and/or videos of your property before and after a tenant moves in/out. This will help greatly if any disputes should arise.

8. Plan for Vacancies

• Marketing: Have a strategy for advertising your property when it becomes vacant. Good marketing can help attract quality tenants quickly. Your real estate agent should handle all marketing and advertising of the property to keep vacancies to a minimum.

• Turnover: Prepare for the costs and work involved in preparing a property for new tenants, including cleaning and minor repairs.

9. Stay Organized

• Record-Keeping: Maintain organized records of financial transactions, correspondence with tenants, and property maintenance.

• Legal Documents: Store important documents, such as lease agreements and insurance policies, in a safe and accessible place.

10. Homeowners/Condo Associations

Know your HOA/Condo Rules and Regulations

• Properties in HOAS: If your property is located inside of an Homeowners Association or Condo Association, then they will have their own stipulations concerning renting our your property.

• Rules and Regulations: Contact your association and obtain a copy of your Rules and Regs if you do not already have them. They are updated periodically so it is a good idea to ask for the most recent version. Read this document throughly and do not hesitate to speak with the HOA if you need any clarification.

• HOA/Condo Applications: These associations will have their own application process on top of what you are requiring of your prospective tenants. There is a fee for the application that is normally paid by the tenant. Processing time is different for each association and can sometimes take up to several weeks for approval.

11. Insurance and Liability

• Landlord Insurance: Obtain landlord insurance to protect against property damage, liability, and loss of rental income.

• Tenant Insurance: Encourage tenants to get renter’s insurance to cover their personal belongings and provide an additional layer of protection.

12. Keep Learning

• Education: Stay updated on changes in rental laws, property management best practices, and market trends.

• Networking: Join landlord associations or forums to connect with other landlords and share experiences and advice.

By following these guidelines, you can manage your rental property effectively and provide a positive experience for your tenants. Maximizing profits is the goal and keeping vacancies low, approving good tenants, and maintaining the property are all ways to obtain your goal of running a successful real estate investment business.

Laura and Ryan Maples The Maples Group

If you are looking for a real estate agent to assist with your rental property, please contact The Maples Group at 772-783-2585 or TMG@MaplesRE.com. Ryan and Laura Maples are a husband and wife real estate team. We began investing in real estate in 2007. We have extensive experience in listing rental homes and can help you navigate the process to make it as stress free and streamlined as possible.

*Our professional service fee includes marketing/advertising the property, professional photographs, fielding calls from prospective tenants, stepping tenants through the landlord application process and HOA application process (if necessary), collecting all documents from applicants, negotiating on your behalf to get the most rent possible, performing CMA's on your property to find the standard rental amounts in the area, drawing up the lease agreement and addendums, obtaining signatures on contracts, collecting deposits or monies due before move in, and finally meeting with the tenant on move in day. We are native to Port St. Lucie, Florida for over 40 years and have a wide array of recommended vendors if needed: plumbers, a/c, roofing, lawn care, pressure cleaning, painters, etc.