Single family residential leasing faq

[sttombiz]

I had some questions for renting single family homes. Our house is in the Energy Corridor/Memorial area. It is between 4100 and 4400 sq ft and the area usually rents for $1/sq ft. So we would be looking at a potential income of $4400/month. Likely it would not be this high. The probable price per month would likely be between $3800 and $4000/month.

So I was wondering: What is the usual turnover rate of renters in higher monthly cost areas? Are the renters the same in this bracket as others (eg messy, walk out on you in the middle of the night, etc)? Are they usually year by year tenants since the cost per month they are likely the ones living there for a year deployment in Houston?

Is there a website which concerns property managers/landlords of this size and cost? Any other questions I will post later.

I have read the other HAIF postings of smaller home, condominium, and apartment renting caveats and faqs. Just seeing if we're looking at the same predicament with our property.

[HoustonRealtor]

I just pulled up the active rentals from 4100-4400 s.f. in ZIP codes 77077 and 77079. There is only one active listing, at $0.70 per s.f. It is in Fleetwood.

Going back 6 months, there was only one that leased, so I expanded the search back to July 5, 2006. I came up with 5 leased properties, ranging from $0.94 to $1.11 per s.f. Three of them were newer properties in Lakes of Parkway, and one each in Memorial Thicket and Fleetwood. Three of the leases were 'long term" (1 year or longer), one was 6 months and one was a lease purchase.

In this price range, you will generally get a higher caliber of people that will be less likely to destroy your home. However, there are always exceptions. Your best potential tenant might be someone that is here on assignment with their company but does not want to buy a home. Companies like ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP are local and will be bringing people in to work in the US for a few years at a time. With that being said, the employee typically chooses and pays for his/her own home in the US, so it wouldn't necessarily do you much good to "market" the property to those companies. Corporate leases aren't very common here.

Best of luck.

[TheNiche]

I had some questions for renting single family homes. Our house is in the Energy Corridor/Memorial area. It is between 4100 and 4400 sq ft and the area usually rents for $1/sq ft. So we would be looking at a potential income of $4400/month. Likely it would not be this high. The probable price per month would likely be between $3800 and $4000/month.

So I was wondering: What is the usual turnover rate of renters in higher monthly cost areas? Are the renters the same in this bracket as others (eg messy, walk out on you in the middle of the night, etc)? Are they usually year by year tenants since the cost per month they are likely the ones living there for a year deployment in Houston?

Is there a website which concerns property managers/landlords of this size and cost? Any other questions I will post later.

I have read the other HAIF postings of smaller home, condominium, and apartment renting caveats and faqs. Just seeing if we're looking at the same predicament with our property.

The market for high-end rentals tends to be pretty small, but I'd imagine that it would be safer if you do your homework. Just be sure to demand references, especially from previous landlords, and verification of employment and income. Also demand a security deposit. If someone bails out on you, that way you can at least cover repairs and very possibly have a bit of money to help keep you afloat until you can find a new tenant.

Remember that people that make a fair deal of money tend to have assets that you can go after if they break contract, and they also tend to be easier to track down because they live a higher-profile lifestyle. They also have more to lose than a low-income tenant, so they aren't likely to screw with you. ...the only caveat is that they're more sophisticated. If you lease to a lawyer or someone with an intimate knowledge of real estate law, they might know enough to become a real pain in the ass, demanding this and that of their landlord.

[sttombiz]

This is a big help. Thanks