All Forum Posts by: Brad Russo

Have you asked you property manager where he advertises your property? Does he have ads on the Internet? There are a bunch of websites where he can list a property. One great feature that rental websites have is syndication. You can post property, for instance, on Zillow and it will be shared on other sites (Trulia among them). I know that Rentberry also has syndication service. Just imagine how much tenants will be attracted to your vacancy with the help of this feature. I hope this advice would be beneficial to you.

I haven't noticed someone mentioned Insurance requirements. As a landlord you can claim a tenant to have insurance as a term of the lease. You can also require the applicant to provide proof of that policy.

I’m not sure you should increase rent by $250 at once. Most tenants expect a slight rent increase of say $20-50 or so. The $250 is a huge amount. I advise you to talk to tenant and explain the situation as it is. I’m sure you’ll find a compromise.

There's no "rule" on utilities. I know landlords for pay for water, trash and sewer charges. However, utility payments could be split between the landlord and tenant.

Not all tenants will rent a room in a property with people they don't know without added security. So each room you rent will require its own locks with individual keys. And common doors will require access by all tenants. There are also could be some problems concerning who is responsible for cleaning. You can hire a professional cleaner, but that will reduce your rental return further. Alternatively you can leave it up to the tenants, but their could be arguments about doing it.

It depends whether you decide to rent out a property by yourself or with the help of real estate agent. I’ve seen agents charge between 8%-15% of the rental income for their services. The most basic service agents will find a tenant and leave the management role up to the you. If you decide to rent out property on your own, it will cost you less. There are some rental platforms on the Web that cover all aspects of rental application service and don’t charge high fees.

When you select tenants interview them in person, not over the phone. It will help you to decide whether you can live together with this person or not. Ask them how they start their day, what habits they have, etc. Actually you can ask whatever you want. But you should avoid discrimination questions. Here you can check out questions that would be considered discriminatory https://rentberry.com/blog/screening-prospective-tenants. You can also set some ground rules for tenants that help to make the living situation more bearable for everyone.

If you want to find a real estate mentor I advise you to check Linkedin as well. 

I read that Mission, Pacific Heights, and Inner Richmond are the top neighborhoods for investing in Bay Area.

@Account Closed has a good point. It seems the only  problem that you have is a small number of agents. 

If you decide to rent a unit to multiple individuals you should have each student  sign the rental  agreement. And I advise you to collect rent from each individual separately, rather than as a group.

In many cases students don't have credit history. Thus, you should request personal reference be from past or current employers, professors or even friends and relatives.