Got my first property

[ub]

First of all,I want to thank all the members on this forum who help a newbie like me. Your comments and discussions have helped a lot. In particular BlueMoon06 was kind to be my mentor and also met me personally & helped a lot.

I am very happy to inform you that I got my first property & the closing was done yesterday.
So far I have changed the locks for house.  Water will start on Tuesday. Repairs are expected to start after that.

I have a few questions regarding rentals:
1. Do you provide refrigerator in the house for renter or they bring their own?
2. Can you please point me to sample contract to give to prospective renter? Can I use standard TREC contract? (I am in Houston area)
3. How do I market the property? I thought of Craigslist. Should I start advertising before the property is ready or after?
4. Should I give my cell phone number as contact number or something else? I am hesitant to give cell number.
5. How do I screen the tenants? Any recommended website to do background check etc.

Any other helpful information will be appreciated.
Thanks.

ub

[jmd_forest]

1) I always provide the fridge. A good used fridge from craigslist costs as litle as $100 in this area.
2) I'd try getting a standard contract from a local realtor friend and then modifying it as necessary to fit your specific needs.
3) craigslist, sign on lawn, bandit/directional signs on local roads, flyers around neighborhood, flyers at grocery stores and other public bulletin boards. Start advertising as soona as the property starts to look good enough that prospective tenants can "see" what a finished product will look like.
4) I use my cell as my business phone, but you can sign up for free google voice service and get a new number and forward that number to your cell or home phone and change the forwarding as necessary.
5) Do a search on this site for tenant screening and read the many threads on the subject.

[justin0419]

1.  We always provide a fridge and stove.  If we buy a house that has a dishwasher (or just a space under the counter for a dishwasher), we provide that too.  We provide A/C in all our units too.  We never provide washers and dryers.  You can search craigslist or check for a used appliance store in your area.  Absent of all that, we buy basic stoves/fridges from Lowe's when necessary. 
2.  I agree with what jmd says about this.  Find out if there's any verbiage that must be in the lease for your area.  Otherwise make sure the lease fits your needs and is not overly wordy.  If you property was built before 1978, you are required by Federal law to give your tenants the EPA lead based paint pamphlet (can search for it online or pick one up from Lowe's paint dept) as well as sign a LBP disclosure form.  If you have any reports regarding the presence of LBP at your property, you must disclose that to your tenants.
3.  You can put a sign in the yard as well as run an ad in your local classifieds.  You probably have a "Thrifty Nickel" type paper in your area that will likely be cheaper for an ad than your local newspaper.  I don't like to put signs in yards if I don't have to.  I don't like people knowing a property is vacant.  I'd much rather have a generic ad in the paper and make people call me for the address.  We get calls from Section 8 applicants on a routine basis as well as people stopping by when we're working on houses so we haven't had to put a sign in the yard for over a year.
Agree with what jmd says about when to market.  Just realize most people aren't going to be ready to move right in so maybe think about advertising when it's a few weeks from being done. 
4.  We only have cell phones so that's what we use for everything.  I'd also recommend getting a PO box for your mail and trying not to have your address easily searchable online.  We never tell our tenants where we live or where we work.  It's a business relationship and they don't need to know that stuff.  We're pretty guarded with what we say to tenants. 
5.  Talk to your city police department or county sheriff's office to see how to do this in your area.  They may have a special form for your applicants to fill out and they may charge for the check.  You might be able to do it yourself online.  There are websites that will do this for a fee, but your local law enforcement office will probably have better information.  Some of the websites advertise for "credit decisions" where they won't actually show you the credit report, but they'll give you a decision and recommend getting more of a deposit if the applicant has something questionable.  I'd rather make the decision myself.  You can pull people's credit reports, but you have to register with a company, pay fees, get your office space inspected yearly, and have to have a separate lockable office area.
Congrats on your first property.  Once you do one, it's just a matter of replication after that to build a business.  You're setting up your systems now.  The other properties will be easier.

[motivatedceo]

- No, as fridges go bad too often. They bring their own with all of my rentals.
- TREC contracts are not the best for rentals. Mine was drawn up by a lawyer, otherwise I would share it with you.
- I have had tons of luck with local smaller newspapers - the Greensheet would be a great one in Houston. Craigslist is good too.
- A dedicate cell phone is best. I have several cell phones (ugh), and I had a prepaid one for real estate stuff in the beginning as that was cheaper on an annualized basis than paying $50 /mo for it. Eventually i upgraded it to another phone on my family plan once my call level justified it.
- NTNonline.com is superb. Also verify their employment & other pertinent information on the phone and with documentation.

Good luck!!!

[NYfoxx]

  Congrats!!!!! I wish you all the best!!!

[Carla Hailey]

Land lords must  give tenant habitable condition, and well maintained property. It should be safe, sanitary and decent.

[pete_houston]

1. I do not provide refrigerators. I tell my tenants that a rental house normally does not have refrigerator, washer, or dryer. These items are the first step to owning your own home.

They are also items, that I do not have to fix if they break.

2. I use a version of the TREC contract with the TREC removed.

3. Yes, put a sign in the yard immediately with as much info as possible.
Put flyers in a tube on the sign. Tell what rehab you're doing: new carpet, new appliances, new paint, new A/C. Be sure to put 3/2/2, sq ft, Price/month and your phone. Ideally put it all on the sign too, in case the flyers run out.
Let any callers know when you expect rehab to be complete and when you can show it. I don't show it until it's just about finished.

I also post on rentals.com. They are 20 bucks or so for a 30 day listing and will post on craigslist for you. You can post 10 pictures on their site.

4. I use my cell phone. All my tenants have it and none have ever abused it.
I had one applicant who did call me 8 times in one hour while I was in a meeting. When I returned his call I explained that I was rejecting his application based on him calling me 8 times in one hour.

5. I also use NTNonline.com for my screening.


Good Luck,
pete

[andydallas]

sign in yard will many times have it rented before its rehabbed, I have used craigslist a couple of time with good results,

NTN is great, has keep me from making a couple of serious mystakes, but still do your part, call employer, former landlords, etc

[ub]

Thanks to you all who gave good information.

I decided to provide a fridge. Got a new one (black color so that it won't appear dirty lateron,  ) from Lowe's with 10% discount for aound $350 and increased expected rent by $50. Experience is that prospective tenants liked the kitchen; only 1 complained about rent and asked if I can reduce it by $50.

Putting a sign in the yard seems to work. I got a few calls. Also advertised on craigslist/greensheet and got few leads. So far, 3 prospects have seen the house and 2 have made application, so I hope something will click. (At the same time, I am sick of people who take appointment for showing and NEVER show up nor do they bother to call me.) 

I will check with NTN regarding tenant screening on Monday.
House is on the market for 7 days, so hopefully I can close the rental soon.
Thanks again for all your help.

[jmd_forest]

No show appointments are just part of the rental business. First, I try to make appointments with several prospects at the same time. It shows the prospects that there is competition for the property so if they want it they need to make a decision. Second, when making appointments, I tell the prospects to call me when they leave for the appointment and are on their way or there may not be anyone there to show them the property.  It works for me.

Regarding appliances, although I provide fridge, washer and dryers, I would also do whatever is dictated by market conditions.  My properties rent for $1500+/month and in this area, at that level of rent, all of my competition provides appliances so I do also.

[Randoskie]

What method did you use to get your house? Give us some numbers. Downpayment, price, amount spent on rehab, Rents. Was it an REO?
Did u use a Realtor? Did u pay escrow fees? How long did it take?
 Give a Total rundown for us newbies.  Rando

[GetWealthyInRealEstate]

Congratulations! It can be both exciting and nervous at the same time

To answer your question

=======
1. Do you provide refrigerator in the house for renter or they bring their own?

We always provide fridges.

2. Can you please point me to sample contract to give to prospective renter? Can I use standard TREC contract? (I am in Houston area)

Not unless you are a real estate agent. I like TAA (Texas Association of Apartment). It is pro landlord but you have to be a memeber to use it or use a management company that is a member.

3. How do I market the property? I thought of Craigslist. Should I start advertising before the property is ready or after?

If your rental market is pretty active, Craigslist and sign will do. If not, list it on MLS.



4. Should I give my cell phone number as contact number or something else? I am hesitant to give cell number.

Tenants never have our personal cell phone.  I have additional line for it. You can get it pretty cheap this day for landline or get pay as you go phone.


5. How do I screen the tenants? Any recommended website to do background check etc.


We us National Tenent Network. You can google teant screening. There are several options out there.

Good Luck
Val

[Lifestylez]

Congrats on your first property!  Well done, the first one is the hardest

I do not provide a fridge for tenants as it is not expected in my area of the world.  But if you live in an area where it is standard to provide a fridge for tenants (ie the tenant expects it) then I would.

As for your other questions about advertising for tenants, I personally always use a property manager for that stuff and that way I never need to advertise my cell number!

Good luck and have fun with your new purchase.

Darren.

[Zane13]

Way to go ub! Congrats!

[tgauchsin]

Congratulations, Ub.  The first of many, hopefully.