Those of you who have rented your properties...

klynne924

We're using a realtor to list our house, but we are also staying super involved throughout the whole process and even through the term of the lease. I want to know some of the things that I need to make sure are included in the lease, ie getting renter's insurance, plumber has to come because leasee fills toilet with too much toilet paper & leasee is responsible for the bill (neglect), things like that. This is our first time renting our house out and our realtor is super laid back about everything it seems and I just don't want to be worried about things that should've been put in the lease agreement after it's all said and done.

That.Just.Happened

I'm a realtor and I own rental property.  Since you are using a realtor, everything will be covered by the standard GAR forms, just make sure to do a move-in/move-out inspection and use the GAR lease & property disclosure and you will be fine!

Good luck! 

maykat

put a fee for breaking the lease early. We charge one month's rent and an administrative/marketing fee of $500.

put a clause that says they must leave the property in the same condition (carpets cleaned, etc) this helps in case you need to do a quick turn-around.

clearly state who is supposed to do lawn maintenance

 

slwprincess

Not a landlord ourselves but we considered it when we were trying to sell earlier this year and my mom owns several rental properties.  Read through this... it had a lot of information we didn't know about:

https://www.dca.ga.gov/housing/HousingDevelopment/programs/downloads/Georgia_Landlord_Tenant_Handbook.pdf

 

eteate0713

I'm a realtor who solely handles rental properties. I agree with the last post about the move in inspection form and using a GAR lease, which no doubt your realtor is doing. The GAR lease is very comprehensive. It's also smart to add the plumbing stipulation. We typically add wording that no smoking is allowed inside the house and that any measures needed to remove a smoke smell from the property will be deducted from the tenant's deposit, including cleaning, painting, and carpet cleaning or replacement (these are typically costs incurred by the landlord between tenants). I recommend that you schedule and pay for regular gutter cleaning (if needed at your property) and furnace filter changes since these two items are most often neglected by tenants. The filter change is a good opportunity for you to personally check on (or have a contractor check) the condition of the property as well. Make sure that your realtor is advertising on more websites than just FMLS and GAMLS. We get about 80% of our tenants by posting every 3 days on craigslist. If your house is move-in ready and priced competitively it should rent within 30-60 days, tops.