Newbie in San Diego, California

[Sue G.]

Hi everyone i'm Sue Gombio (31). My husband Marvin (32) and I are currently fixing our current home for future renters while in the process of closing escrow for another house. I'm not so new with rental properties since it's been our family business in the Philippines BUT I know it's different here in the U.S. and could get complicated. At first I was planning on getting a property manager but now i'm thinking if I should try and handle this one rental house myself and see if i can manage, and at the same time working fulltime. I'm so happy to find this community and learn from the pros! 😊

[Ryan Eifler]

Hi Sue, similar to you, I am a newbie from San Diego.  Two years ago I began renting out the condo I was living in at the time, and until that point had zero real estate management experience.  It's not terribly difficult, and there are great tools on the website (sample tenant applications, tenant screening tips, etc) if you poke around the tools tab at the top.

A couple pointers:  be aware of tenant anti-discrimination laws.  Treat your tenants great, and they will (likely) reciprocate.  They are your business partners!  Check out postlets.com, you can advertise your unit for free.  I prefer to hold "open houses" instead of individual appointments.  You'll be shocked at how many people "no-show".

Good luck!