20 May 2008

I have a question.

Actually I have a lot of questions, but there's one that I could use your help with. If our house doesn't sell in time - and it's looking like it won't - how perfect should our house be if we're going to rent it out?

The house isn't in bad shape, and obviously we'd make sure all of the functional parts were in good working order, but I'm wondering about things like the trim in the bathroom, re-painting the living room, repainting the white wood floors. If I was renting I'd appreciate the ability to put pictures on the walls, but should we give the whole thing a fresh coat of paint? How much is too much? How little is not enough?

Additional info:

Rentals in our area range from cheap crack houses ($550ish) to really nice vacation homes ($2000+). Our house is somewhere in the middle. It's walking distance to a lot of stuff, but tucked away and private, with a good sized yard, and it's a house, not an apartment.

What do you think?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know a lot of people would love to be able to paint when they rent, so maybe you could get some mileage from allowing that? It would most likely mean needing to fix their paint job later, of course. I think I'd be inclined to just touch up any problem spots and maybe the trim and leave it at that, but I really don't know.

Love by Lauren said...

http://westernmass.craigslist.org

I always refer to craigslist! Check out the others in your 'hood. But hmm, I have no idea as rents are ridiculous where I am.

Heather said...

Hmmm, I'm not sure. I would think whatever it took to get it ready to sell would also be enough to rent?

Unknown said...

I don't think your house needs a terrible amount of work to be spruced up. I think I would maybe repaint the floors but that's about it because you recently painted the kitchen and whatnot, right?

Your house could easily go for at least $2,000 a month since I know someone who's house in Adams is going for $1,000 - about the same size but not as nice a neighborhood or with a yard.

Just my two cents.

www.stepherz.com said...

I think some fresh paint would be a perk for a renter-- it might allow you to ask a bit more on rent. Paint does wonders. And it's fairly cheap.

I know you have enough to do though, so I wouldn't fret over painting before you rent it. I saw the pics of some of your rooms and I think it's a beautiful, charming home!

Krista said...

If it was really bad, like the first thing you notice walking into the room then it would need paint. For me, I'd want fresh paint in a rental since I wouldn't know the people who'd lived there before. But since this is not a rental now I wouldn't be as worried about it. I'd just wash the walls probably.
And letting the renters paint with a clause that it can't be dark colors (way hard to paint over) would have been such a bonus in my book. I hate all white! But then maybe your house isn't all white either...
just my 3 cents! ;)

Anonymous said...

I have been/am a landlord for a few years now (two different houses in two different areas). I don't think you need to fix it up as well as you would to sell. I think as long as the house is safe and functional that you should do the minimum amount to make it look nice and still make sure you get enough rent to cover your mortgage (maybe your mortgage is really low, though in which case you shouldn't hesitate to ask more). As someone else posted, Craigslist is a good resource for figuring out how much to rent for.

The only other thing to consider is getting a management company. I would never do it if I lived in the same area (which I do), but if I was moving away from where my property was, I would seriously consider it. The other option is to ask a friend to manage it and pay them a small percentage. There's really not that much to do usually, but every once in a while you need to be present to check something out.

Anonymous said...

From the pictures I've seen, I think anyone would love to rent your sweet house (me included - too bad it's a trifle far away). Plus it's in such a nice area (and the fact that it's not a crackhouse is a definite plus, lol).

I agree with everyone else to check out what similar houses are renting for and use that as a cue. Good luck!