rockhillmanor wrote:
I'd think real long and hard before you rent your house to someone you don't know especially if you are not in the area to watch over it.
I'm an ex-landlord and I have seen the horrific damage that even the best dressed, wealthy renters can do to a home they are renting. :(
While the damage thing from seemingly rich people is possible and true, I've noticed a pattern. Only tenants who have messed stuff up were families with little kids. Also my experience may be jaded because 2 of the bad tenants were also deadbeat tenants during the recession, they didn't give a f..... And were just playing the system to keep a roof over their heads and we got played!
The thing you need to sort out, is if you're doing a seasonal rental in a college town, it will need to be available based on the school schedule. 6 months won't cut it, and since you'll need to rent it out for 9 months basically, why not dump it and buy a house in AZ where you will be living for 9 months? Also, your tax deductions for, if you qualify for those, will only be 75% (9mo) of whatever you're deducting. Just things to think about based on your situation.
Another piece of advice, I don't mess around with credit checks. You can assume whoever is renting has shatty credit or they'd buy a house and if they have good credit it just a bonus. Do a quick public records search to make sure your not renting to an axe murderer or meth head and REQUIrE proof of income. If I can't see the previous year's 1040 and current pay stubs with a call to their boss or corporate somebody they don't get the keys. Period.
Maybe learned from our deadbeat tenant phase...
