How to Lease Out a House

Your ability to rent out a house will depend on how hard you try, the condition of the house, and the area the house is located in. Fixing up the house and getting everything clean and painted will have a positive effect on your outcome. The amount of money you spend trying to lease out a house depends on the amount of work that needs to be done to the house and the amount of time you need to advertise the house. Obviously, the less time the house sits empty the less money you'll need to pay out of pocket.

Things You'll Need

• Cleaning supplies, paint, boxes Newspaper contact information Rental application Lease

Instructions

How to Lease Out a House

1. 

   Prepare the house for lease. This involves removing any items left in the house, making repairs, replacing smoke detectors and window screens for safety, painting the interior as needed, and cleaning the house. Check with the local housing authority to get a checklist of items that inspectors look for when inspecting a house; this will help you know what repairs need to be made.

2. Advertise the house you are leasing. Advertise with a sign in front of the house. Put an ad in the newspaper. Check for rental listing at local agencies and with the local Section 8 office. These listings are often free to the landlord. Another great way to advertise is by word of mouth. Let everyone know you are trying to lease the house.

3. Show the house to prospective tenants. When someone calls about the house, set a time to meet and then tell her to call thirty minutes ahead of time to confirm she is still able to come. This will potentially save you a great deal of time.

4. Run background checks on prospective tenants. When you meet someone who sees the house and is interested in renting it, have him fill out a rental application. This will give you legal permission to run checks on him. You can check his criminal record, his credit report, and you can check to see if he has been evicted in the past.

5. If you run checks on a tenant and find no black marks on her record, call her to see if she is still interested. If she is, set a meeting time to have her sign the lease and pay her security deposit and first month's rent.

6. 

   Hand over the keys to the house after the lease is signed, the deposit and first month's rent is paid, and the utilities are switched to the new tenant's name.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your local area for a landlord association. It can be a great resource for any landlord.

• Always run background checks on prospective tenants. Being stuck with a deadbeat tenant who knows how to work the system is worse than having an empty unit.

Resources

• Lake Erie Landlords Association