Renting out your property is a hassle, especially to civilians whom you don’t know much about. You want your house neatly maintained; not all tenants are capable of doing that. Now, one way to have peace of mind is to look into military rentals. In this case, you can rent out to military families looking for temporary accommodation, for they normally keep their house clean to maintain the military standard, although not all families do it.
A great way to begin your search for military tenants is to list your property on military home classifieds sites that allow free rental listings by owner. Once your add is up and running, the next thing to ponder on is how to ensure that your property is safe in their hands?
This can be done by following our short but highly effective checklist that takes care of all the necessary pre-requisites to be put into place to ensure your peace of mind when renting out your property to tenants.
Set a Rent Amount Based on Property Conditions
The first thing you set when posting a property listing is to determine how much rent you want to charge. Always make sure to set an amount that is in tune with your locality, size of the property, amount of living space and the overall conditions of the property. You can research how much rent nearby properties with similar size and conditions charge, and make an estimated amount based on that. Always set the rent amount a bit higher than you want, so that if the tenant negotiates, you can lower the amount to your acceptable level.
Make Sure They Are Actually Employed By Military
The next step is to handle all the incoming requests for renting your property. Many civilians try to obtain military-based rentals under the pretext of working under the military to get relaxed home contracts. Hence, it is essential to make sure that the person who contacts you after seeing your military listing actually works for the military. You can perform background checks and ask for an employment letter from their superiors to make sure, or call up the base to see if they actually exist.
Check for Credit History and Criminal Backgrounds
While this is not that necessary in case they are actually military, you can perform checks just to make sure. Many sites offer credit insights into anyone you want, as long you follow the guidelines of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they have little to nominal debt, then it is fine. But if they are in a lot of debt, you might want to have to think long and hard whether you want to rent your house to them or not. Another background check to do is criminal records. The military already screens out those with criminal records, so you can skip this one if you want.
Secure a Suitable Lease Contract Legally
After you have determined the tenants to be suitable for your property, the next thing to do is create a legal contract agreement that lists all the terms and conditions of the lease in written format. This is important because in case of any dispute regarding this, having a written contract is something you can procure legally in front of the court if the situation comes to that. However, military rent contracts are different from civilian rent contracts, so make sure to chalk up a contract that includes certain reliefs such as shorter notice period. You can hire a lawyer specializing in military rent contracts for making you a contract.
Have Property Insurance
The importance of insurance cannot be stressed enough. But don’t use the regular property insurance; get an insurance policy that deals with rented properties with special clauses regarding tenants living there. You can call up your insurance company and look at a suitable policy for the same. At the same time, you can also encourage your tenants to get renter insurance. This insurance for tenants deals with various issues that are not the responsibility of the homeowner such as theft or loss of belongings due to fire and natural causes.
List Free Your Property for Rent in US
Searching for military tenants for your property? List free your home for rent and showcase your property to suitable renters.