How to Prep Your Home for Renters

PCS season is approaching quickly which means many people in our military community are getting ready to list their homes for sale. If you are deciding to hold on to your real estate investment and list your home for rent, here’s how to get your house ready.

Before your home has been all packed up you can get things in tip top shape. The better you take care of your home, the more likely renters will see that and want to do the same. Start with any small holes or paint touch ups that need to be made. Do you have any items inside your home or on your property that won’t be moving with you? Getting those items ready to sell is a great way to be working towards getting everything in order for your move. Are you taking the deep freezer that you bought to hold all your salmon? Are you moving to a place where you will need a snow blower? Now is also a great time for you to make sure you are all up to date on appliance maintenance. When was the last time you had your furnace serviced? Or had your septic tank pumped? 

Once your household goods are all ready to go, it’s time to get to work. Start with making a to-do list to keep yourself organized. We would start with projects like, fresh neutral paint in any rooms that have been personalized and a carpet cleaning or replacement. If you have pets there may be areas that need some extra TLC. 

Some of the last items on the to-do list should include switching over the utilities. After everything is physically ready with the home it’s time to setup the business end of your new rental. It’s a good idea to set up an LLC, with that you may want to do some research about taxes related to income associated with your LLC. For the most accurate information we recommend that landlords chat with a lawyer. If you are planning to use a property manager, we find that Google reviews are an accurate way to see if landlords and renters alike are happy with a manager's services. 

We love that you’ve decided to keep investing into your home!