Renting Out Your Home in the Salt Lake City Area: Initial Legal Concerns & Costs
So you have decided to make some extra money by renting out your home in the Salt Lake City area . Before making the leap, there are a few things you need to consider to help avoid legal concerns.
Are you familiar with the landlord/tenant laws that can affect what you can and cannot do within the rental relationship? How about local health codes and/or city or county licensing requirements for rental properties? Do you have to have carbon monoxide detectors or how many smoke detectors are required? When is rent due and what is the legal late fee? And then there is the question of security deposits: whose money is it and when does it need to be returned? How do you make a claim to be reimbursed for expenses incurred by the tenant? These are all really important areas you must know prior to managing your own rental property to avoid potential legal concerns.
As you can see there is quite a bit to know about being a Salt Lake Ciy landlord, and much you need to know to avoid legal concerns, and many ways to put your investment property and yourself at risk by not following guidelines, rules, ordinances and laws pertaining to rental properties. Before renting out your home, make sure you familiarize yourself with these items and talk with your insurance provider to make sure you have an investment property or landlord policy as a homeowner’s policy will not cover loss, damage or injury once you are no longer the primary resident in the home. You will need to plan spending three to seven hours to familiarize yourself with the various legal and insurance considerations before renting out your home.
Next you will need to have a way that the prospective renters can apply to rent your property. Leases can be purchased online or at an office supply store for low prices ($30-$40). However, many times these leases are not compliant to your local laws, and expose you as a Landlord to undue risk and liability. Use caution to ensure that you are not inadvertently violating renter’s rights by asking questions that may be unlawful as a landlord to ask. It is a good idea to have your lease reviewed by legal counsel to ensure the lease protects your rights as well as is compliant with your state’s laws. You will need to plan spending two to three hours finding a lease, as well as $100 to $300 for an attorney to review your lease to ensure that it complies with regulations.
If this is all a bit too much for you though, we are happy to help! We offer A La Carte services where we can assist you with even just one small thing! Or you can grab a Landlord Starter kit to help make all of this a breeze and know you will be protected! We want every landlord to be successful. No one decided to invest in real estate to have a headache did they? Most investors want financial freedom! We can help you get there!
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