Renting Out Your Home in Minneapolis: Everything You Should Consider

If you’ve been thinking about how to generate additional income, you may want to consider transforming your Minneapolis home into a rental.

There are several advantages when you choose this option. One, rental income can be consistent and recurring especially if you have long-term tenants. Two, you earn tax breaks through tax-deductible expenses from your Minneapolis rental. Three, you have more time to sell your Minneapolis home.

Sometimes when the economy is in a downturn, it’s best to rent out your real estate first. By waiting, the property value appreciates over time. As a property owner, you’ll also enjoy a well-maintained home where the maintenance expenses are paid for.

So now that you’ve decided to rent your Minneapolis home, here are some things to consider: 

Develop Your Landlord Skills and Knowledge

You need to understand that renting is a business. Are you ready to become a full-time landlord? Managing your Minneapolis home can take up a solid percentage of your time. For one thing, you’re expected to cater to the needs of your renters. If they want to talk to you regarding their rental concerns, it’s your responsibility to be there and resolve issues.

Other duties include dealing with the financial side of the business. You need to stay on top of rent collection, paying utility bills, and checking for property for damages. 

Performing your duties also requires you to be familiar with Minnesota’s real estate laws. Landlords are mandated to know the legal protocols such as sending notices for entering the property, knowing proper eviction procedure, and knowing security deposit law.

Upgrading Your Marketing Strategy

Do you think that putting yard signs up will be enough to gain the renter’s attention? While that may be effective, you need to learn how to use a variety of marketing strategies. If you want to get your rental occupied right away, then you must market efficiently.

Put some time into evaluating the features of your home and choosing the right target demographics. Next, set the correct rental price and craft a property listing. You also need to know what marketing medium your target market uses most. Moreover, you can try new trends such as posting video walk-through tours to attract more prospective tenants. 

Learn How to Properly Screen Tenants

Do you prioritize the tenant screening phase when renting your Minneapolis home? If not, then it’s time to adopt this vital step. When you screen your tenants carefully, you can avoid a ton of problems in the future. The tenant screening process will tell you if a tenant is capable of paying the monthly rent and what their credit and eviction history, and more.

 Even though it might look easy to perform tenant screening, you still need to be well versed in the Fair Housing Act. In Minnesota, there are additional protected classes. Regardless of creed, color, race, national origin, sex, religion, marital status, disability, familial status, status concerning public assistance, sexual orientation, or gender identity, all tenants are given equal housing opportunity. 

Know How to Maintain Your Rental Home

Maintaining your Minneapolis rental home is part of your duty as a landlord. Minnesota law states that your rental must be suitable for a tenant to stay in and be kept in reasonable repair. You must also abide by the local and state health and housing codes.

 Sometimes maintenance duties can be the source of conflict, so you must communicate with your tenants regarding each of your tasks. Put it into writing, as prescribed by the law, to avoid misunderstandings. For example, if the tenant agrees to tend to the landscaping of the rental, that must be part of the signed leasing agreement. 

Get Your Home Rent-Ready for Tenants

 Before entertaining a new tenant in your Minneapolis home, as part of your landlord duties, you need to prepare it for move-in day. 

 Have a checklist on hand to ensure you don’t forget critical items such as changing the locks. Then you need to inspect your property for any damages, mold, or pest problems. Make sure everything looks polished and ensure that the HVAC systems are working perfectly. 

Don’t forget about your property’s curb appeal. Even something as simple as replacing wilted plants can re-energize the appearance of your rental home. It might take up time but this is part of your duty to present a well-maintained unit to the new renter.

Hire a Property Management Company

Managing a property requires patience and dedication. Between regular inspections of your Minneapolis home, responding to tenant concerns, and organizing your finances, it can be exhausting. 

To make things a little easy, as a self-manager you should use a convenient system that can reduce your work hours like a built-in software where tenants can report their repair requests saves time. You can review the request and provide status updates without constantly calling each other throughout the week. 

However, even with this kind of software, you’re still responsible for updating the information and finding contractors to tend to repairs. 

 That’s why hiring a property management company comes in handy. They’ve invested in advanced software and have the best management practices. What takes a self-managing landlord the whole day can be done in as little as a few hours or less by the company. Thus, employing a property management company gives you ready access to their resources.

 Summary: 

Turning your home into a rental unit can be a great way to generate steady cash flow. That being said there are many responsibilities that you take on when you self-manage a rental property. 

If you’re looking for a fully committed property management company for your Minneapolis home, contact MN Property Management today at (612) 315-6118.