Renting Out Your Home in Poway: Everything You Should Consider

Renting out your Poway home is one way of creating wealth for yourself. So, we at Halcyon Real Estate Services have put together the following blog post to help you on your way to cash flow.

Understand Your Responsibilities

Successful landlords possess a wide array of skills, such as:

• Marketing a vacant rental property.
• The ability to screen prospective tenants to ensure you have the right tenant for your property.
• Determining the perfect rental rate for maximum return on investment.
• Understanding and complying with all their legal obligations.
• Develop a strong relationship with your tenant that will reduce rent or maintenance issues.
• Keep up to date with your property with , at the least, yearly check-ups.

There is a challenge in being a landlord, but it is a rewarding one and a great way to develop wealth.

Taken Care of all Repairs

Regardless of the existing market situation, it’s always a good thing to ensure your home looks attractive to prospective tenants. So, go around your property and ensure that everything is in proper working order.

• Replace batteries in your smoke detector and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Install new filters in your HVAC system.
• Check to see that appliances are in good working order.
• Repaint worn-out areas.
• Reinvigorate your yard.

Understand Your Legal Obligations

All landlords should be familiar with the specific Landlord-Tenant Laws of their property so the following are some of the legal obligation’s landlords in Poway, CA have:

• According to the California Fair Housing Law, landlords must treat their tenants without any form of prejudice based on certain protected characteristics. The characteristics include sex, religion, color, race, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, and source of income.
• Under the California Warranty of Habitability, landlords must meet certain health, safety, and building codes.
• Observe landlord entry rules. As per California landlord-tenant law, landlords have an obligation to give their tenants “reasonable notice” before entering the occupied property. The law presumes at least 24 hours as reasonable.
• Abide by the California security deposit laws. One of the requirements under this law is that you cannot charge a deposit that exceeds two months’ rent.
• Understand squatter’s rights. 

There are many more laws that a landlord is expected to follow. So, if you have any questions or issues, you require council on, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Charge the Right Rent

You’ll want to charge tenants the right rent to keep your vacancies low while ensuring your ROI remains descent. Additionally, you will also want to decide on how to collect the rent.

To determine how much rent to charge tenants, many landlords go with the 1% rule. The rule suggests that the right rent amount should be at least 1% of the value of a home. So, if your home is valued at $220,000, then the monthly rent should be at least $2,200.

Draft a Foolproof Rental Agreement

Having a lease agreement is always a good idea, as this will ensure both parties have a clear understanding of their responsibilities.

You’ll want your lease to include certain important terms. For example:

• Details about rent and other fees.
• Limits on occupancy.
• Each party’s responsibilities.
• Pet rules.
• Smoking rules.
• Subletting policies (if any).

Once you are done, you may also want to have a legal professional go through the agreement to make sure it’s law-abiding.

Create a Click-Worthy Rental Advert

Once you’ve confirmed your home is ready to rent, it’s time to begin the marketing process. And your goal should be to stand out. You can begin by developing a list of unique features your property offers:

• Is it in a prime location?
• Does it have city skyline views or water views?
• Does it have tall ceilings or large windows?

An attractive rental advert is one that contains a catchy headline, perfect descriptors, and is as succinct as possible.

Next, start the marketing process where your goal should be for your rental advert to reach as many prospects as possible. For this to happen, you may need to combine different marketing approaches. List on top rental listing sites such as Zillow and Apartment.com. Also, go the traditional route and market your property by using yard signs, For Rent signs, and local dailies.

Hire a Property Management Company

If you are an investor who doesn’t have the time to manage the property yourself. Then it may be prudent to hire a property management company.

These are companies that offer services to help you market your property extensively, screen prospective tenants, collect rent, care for your unit, handle all your legal obligations, and even handle financial reporting.

If this is something you feel you need assistance with, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Halcyon Real Estate Services.

Bottom Line

Renting out a house in Poway is a smart move when approached professionally. You need to ensure you are on top of your marketing, maintenance, tenant relationships, and many more time-consuming tasks. But when done right, is a great way to create wealth.

But for those of us who don’t have time, you want to consider hiring professional property management services. If so, get in touch with Halcyon Real Estate Services to get started!