It is not easy to be an owner. You have to have your house ready to rent. You have to advertise to get prospective tenants. You have to select the correct tenants. And then you have to be at their beck and call in case they have a problem with the house. And then you have to collect rent when they’re late or evict them when they don’t keep their promise to you. What a headache!

Or you can learn the secrets to being a successful landlord and put all those headaches behind you. Here are three secrets to successfully renting out your home.

SECRET ONE: RANGE OF COMPETITION PROPERTIES

To find out what you need to do to maximize your success, tour competitor properties in your immediate area, acting as if you were a prospective tenant. You can find out how other owners treat their prospects and steal their best methods and make them your own.

Be sure to collect copies of your marketing material; that’s what they give prospective tenants to take home and remind them of what they saw.

Request a rental application to see what kinds of things they are looking for. Ask if they have a model lease that you can review. Not all owners will make this available to you, but it’s worth asking for. (See my other articles for a free rental agreement that you can use as an example.)

If you want the full experience, fill out a rental application and see how you’re treated. You can simply say that you found another place or changed your mind if you are chosen to rent the house.

Doing this with half a dozen properties will give you a great idea of ​​property conditions, rent ranges, and terms and conditions that are common in your area. If you are a new landlord, this experience can teach you a lot in a very short time.

With this information it will be easy to see if your house is worth renting, or if you want to let someone else manage it, or if you want to put it on the market to sell.

SECRET TWO: MAKE YOUR HOUSE HIGHLY DESIRABLE

If your house is like every other house on the block or just like every other apartment in the building, it will be difficult to attract a great tenant who will take care of their home and pay their rent on time.

On the other hand, a clearly superior house will attract better tenants and allow you to obtain a higher rent. The kind of people you want as good tenants will be embarrassed by a dirty and worn house. They will not want to bring their friends and family into that environment.

This means that you need to invest a little more in the house to make it look great. With the information you gathered from Secret One, above, you can decide how to make minor home improvements that really stand out from the competition.

I do simple things like update light fixtures, install new flooring and carpet, replace the kitchen sink, replace the bathroom sink, and replace the drip pans on the stove to keep it looking fresh and clean.

Consider carefully painting the walls or carefully touching them up to make everything look neat and clean.

I also make sure the property is absolutely spotless, with clean windows, clean entry, and professionally cleaned carpets. I also replaced all the light bulbs with full wattage bulbs so the house is as light as possible. A dark house doesn’t look good, but a bright house moves fast.

SECRET THREE: SET YOUR RENT AT LEAST 10 PERCENT HIGHER

A slightly higher rent than competing properties won’t scare off the kind of tenants you’re looking for, but rather you’ll be moving on cheap rollerblades you don’t need at home. And besides, it will be worth it for your tenants because your house looks so much better since you followed Secret Two, above.

To make your highest rent stick, create a marketing page that highlights all of your home’s valuable capabilities and features. You can learn how to do this and learn more secrets from successful owners of http://NewOwner.com.