subject: Turning Your House Into A Miami Rental Property [print this page] Homeowners who find themselves suddenly in need of moving to another location due to whatever reasons are faced with the problem of selling their home fast. This, plus the deadline they have to find the next residential property, can put tremendous pressure to anyone. Fortunately, if you're in the city and in dire need of selling your property quickly, you may want to consider turning into a Miami rental property for the meantime.
Why turn it into a rental?
The prospect of paying for two mortgages is not too tempting for any homeowner. If you really need to transfer to another location, found a home there but still unable to sell yours in the city, you are faced with an unsettling predicament of leaving the house unattended and still paying. Many homeowners faced with the same problem, however, turn to rentals. You, too, can definitely turn yours into a Miami rental property. But first you should be ready for the responsibility.
Tenants
Since you are moving to another location and probably cannot monitor the Miami rental property regularly, you should screen potential tenants extensively. It isnt advisable to accept just any tenants due to the number of scams plaguing the real estate market. Before you end up with one, be sure to create a list of qualifications.
Rent
Setting the rent is, of course, critically important. Many landlords are faced with the difficulty of coming up with the right rental rate. There are simply too many things to consider. From the current market and location to the features and maintenance, its easy to skip an important detail without knowing. Fortunately, one way to do this is to check for the local newspaper and look at landlord ads. Gather several rental rates in the neighborhood and compare them to others. See what sets apart one property from another and what factor greatly contributes to their high or low rental rate.
Maintenance
Another responsibility you should be ready for is maintenance. In case of vacancies, you must be able to determine just how long you can afford to maintain the property empty. What you can do is to calculate the total operational costs, which include normally of mortgage, insurance, repairs, tax, etc.
Law
Lastly, even though you're probably moving out of the state, you must still adhere to Floridas Landlord-Tenant Laws when you're planning to turn your home into a Miami rental property. There are statutes commonly known by many (Disabilities Act, Anti-discrimination Law, etc.) but you must be sure to understand the laws that govern this type of enterprise to avoid legal repercussions in the future.
