Author Topic: Whats the best way to rent out a house?  (Read 242 times)

Offline rabbidrabbit

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« on: February 26, 2005, 12:56:37 PM »
OK,

My parents are asking me whats the best way to advertise their house for rentals.  They are looking to rent it out on a weekly basis during the summer and winter however they don't mind a daily rate for weekends and such.  Any good pointers on the best way to reach the most people cheapest?  There is always the local newspaper and real estate agency but is there any way to use another service?  Can you MLS list for weekly rentals?

Offline Flit

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2005, 01:31:55 PM »
as far as I know, you need a real estate license to be able to access mls

Offline eagl

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2005, 01:34:17 PM »
I'd just hire a property manager.  Give them a percentage or flat rate for every month the property is rented out.  Many real estate agencies do property management.  One word of advice though...  If they blow you off even ONCE, ditch them and find another manager.  A manager that is going to work for you will return your calls and be proactive getting things done.  If it seems to take forever to get details settled with the property manager, then they're not really interested in your property and you should find someone else.
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Offline JB88

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2005, 01:41:55 PM »
yep.  property managers are the best route to go if you are not looking for long term rentals.

upkeep, maintainace.  the whole enchillada.
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Offline capt. apathy

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2005, 01:50:28 PM »
a realtor who deals in vacation rentals or a management company would be best.
  preferably one that provides housekeeping.  if they are handling other rentals there are good odds they've already weeded out bad employees or those who are less than honest.  
  hiring someone yourself is a huge pain.  not just finding someone but all the bookkeeping and tax BS that comes with it.
  doing your own housekeeping is a bad idea.  cleaning up after people who've used your house will get old and stressful real quick.  they look at it like a hotel and you think of it as your home, a bit of distance could help with stress.
  also letting a management company handle the details also gives renters the option of paying with plastic (you'd be missing out on a lot of business if you only dealt with people who had the money to spend).  let the management company play the bad guy with fees for late cancellations and deal with the PITA of waiting around to hand off keys, bounced checks, and trying to verify if the guy on your front porch late at night is the same guy who's name's on the check he intends to pay you with.

Offline Steve

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2005, 01:51:51 PM »
Agreed.  If you are considering daily and weekly rentals your parents must have a house that is in a vacation spot of some sort.  Make sure they do a little homework on prospective agents.  They need to be confident that adequate checks are made on would be renters.
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Offline rabbidrabbit

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2005, 02:15:59 PM »
They have been renting it out to mostly friends and family for 15 years.  Its a pretty nice house with more than 1000 ft of frontage, 240 ft being beach with dock.  Its on a large deep and clean lake and also close to several major ski areas.  They tried agents in the past but have had tough luck finding one who is any good.  They basically want to rent it out for some of the summer to help pay the 9k plus tax bill since they are now retired and live in another of their homes.  They don't want to rent out year round since they want to spend some time in the house in the summer as well as letting family go up for trips and such.


You can get MLS listings for 300 or so from what I saw but I don't think you can list vacation properties.  It seems strange that i can't find some sort of centralized service like MLS for this for them.

Offline ramzey

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2005, 01:11:53 AM »
look for local adv free website like http://www.craigslist.org/ on bayarea and around states

where are you from?

Offline rabbidrabbit

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Whats the best way to rent out a house?
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2005, 07:00:35 AM »
ahh..good point ramzey...  hard to argue with free....