Setting Competitive Rent Amounts

1. Make sure your rents make sense. There may be laws governing what you can charge for rents so check it out. Aside from that you need to look at what it costs you to operate your rental. You want to cover your expenses, earn some kind of reasonable return on your investment, and be fairly competitive with other rentals around you. Certainly you want to cover the mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, maintenance, and loss due to vacant units if applicable.
   
   
2. Do your homework. Don’t rely on what people say other rentals are charging. Find out for yourself. Look at ads for rentals in your area and talk to people. Other landlords may be perfectly happy to talk with you about this business, don’t assume they will be hostile.
   
   
3. Raising the Rent – If your tenants have a lease with you then you probably have agreed not to raise the rent for a set period of time. If you rent month to month, that gives you more flexibility. In any case, use good sense about raising the rent. Sure you have to cover increases in taxes when they go up but don’t try to make a killing on your tenants or more than likely you will end up with an empty rental.