All Forum Posts by: Sharlene Mulchandani

@Allie Jovanovic I suggest you look into Innago. They have all plenty of useful features, including the ones you've mentioned such as screening tenants and the ability to submit maintenance requests. The software is free for landlords and their user interface is very simple and intuitive to use.

@Joshua Lafferty From my past experience, whenever I have rented out a property - if any of the appliances that were provided by the landlord were not working, it would be their responsibility to get them fixed. This can however differ depending on your lease terms, but I suggest you have it fixed for them.

@Josh Vaughn I strongly recommend looking into Innago, a free property management software. They provide several features such as online lease signing, like you mentioned, along with customizable options to set up your lease templates. You can also make use of their online rent payments feature, allowing your tenants to make payments via eCheck, credit and debit cards. 

@Enrique Emanuel olivares I suggest renting to this tenant only if they have a guarantor. Ask the tenant if a parent would be willing to co-sign the lease. This way if your tenant ever fails to make their rent payment, the guarantor would be liable to make these.

@Charles E. Bruckman Since you're looking for an option to screen your tenants, I suggest looking into free property management software. They usually include features that allow you to send out customized applications to your tenants and also take care of the tenant screening process at the same time. They also allow you to choose from several screening options, such as - credit, criminal and eviction; based on your preferences. 

@Markus Ried If you're just starting out, I suggest looking into a property management software that will help you with the application and tenant screening process. There are several free ones that will help you build and customize your application and you can send these directly to your tenants online, which can be very helpful in our current coronavirus scenario. You should be able to find a lease template from your state's landlord association which you can also send to be digitally signed using these software. As far as background checks are concerned, these will be taken care of by the software too and most of them even let you pick your own screening options (credit, criminal and eviction) depending on your preferences. I hope this helps!

@Nick Troutman A pet fee is a one time, non-refundable fee that you can charge your tenants for allowing their pets on your property. On the other hand, pet rent is a monthly amount you would charge your tenants, which is an addition to their rent. Most landlords usually charge anywhere between $50-$500 for pet fees (one time) and $10-$80 for monthly pet rent. I personally suggest charging pet rent, since it's a smaller cost to your tenants, just spread out over the lease term. Pet fees (whether one time or monthly rent) are not legal in every state, so I suggest you refer to your state laws as well.

@Nancy Ayala Like most others on this thread have mentioned, definitely look into the appliances that your competitors are providing. The most common list of appliances that I've noticed landlords usually provide are - refrigerator, stove/oven, dishwasher, washer and dryer. One that I commonly see missing from rentals is the microwave, in my experience, this is always a handy appliance to provide to your tenants!

@Cameron Riley When your tenants vacate a property, they are obligated to leave the property in the same condition that they received it in, although some wear and tear is totally acceptable. Although items can have wear and tear, that does not mean that these cannot be clean. Hiring a cleaning company would be the best move once your tenants vacate the property. Although if your tenants have kept the property meticulously clean throughout their tenancy and the property is unfurnished, you could save some money by doing it yourself. I would definitely still suggest a professional carpet cleaning and the rest can be taken up by you. And yes, the floors and windows will all require cleaning. 

@Jerry Pierce If you're looking for a free option, there are several websites that directly charge your prospective applicants for their screening services, keeping it absolutely free for you. I recommend looking into Innago. They allow you to send your applicants a customized application, from where you can have them screened for their credit, criminal and eviction history. You get all the applicant's data from the application form as well as the reports by TransUnion to review, while not spending a dime.