Renting the Condo
Our condo in Metropolis has been on the market since April and we’ve had some traffic and interest, but no bites. This crummy real estate market is, well, crummy. I wish I had the cash flow to just carry the mortgage along with everything else indefinitely, but nope, time for Plan B: renting it out!
Because we live far away and because I don’t want the headache of finding a tenant and dealing with one, I hired a property management company referred by our real estate agent. They have been awesome so far and worth the money. Their fee is first month’s rent + 10% of monthly rent. For that they will advertise the unit, screen tenants, conduct background and credit checks, collect rent, and serve as the first point of contact for the tenant. Sounds good to me.
I was planning on waiting until October to see if the condo would sell, but the property management company said September was high season for rentals and we would have a better selection of tenants and be able to charge higher rent if we leased it sooner.
The rental listings went out a couple of days ago and today we have someone seriously interested who “loves” the place. She is single, in her 30s and has a cat. We’ll see what her application looks like, but so far she sounds pretty stable and quiet.
Though I’m disappointed the condo did not sell, I’m excited to not be lighting quite as much money on fire each month. Rent doesn’t completely cover the mortgage, but something is better than nothing at this point. The two Big Logistical and Financial Hurdles I had to clear to relocate to Smallville were finding a job and selling the condo. I didn’t quite succeed in the latter, but renting it out is not a bad consolation prize.
I’m kinda excited about being a landlord. It makes me feel very Grown-Up for some reason.