How to Rent Out Your House in Napa

You may be considering selling your home or property in Napa. Or perhaps you recently purchased an investment property. With the economy as unstable as it is, selling your home now could lead to lower profits. Now might be the best time to convert your Napa property into a rental home.

Make sure to take into account where your property is located. If your potential rental is located near local attractions, you can also turn it into a short-term vacation rental unit. Before signing up for any platforms where you can advertise for short-term renters, be aware of their policies.

If turning your home into a rental sounds interesting, keep reading for the steps it takes to set up your Napa house for rent.

Learn About Landlord Responsibilities

Deciding to be a landlord means taking on a lot of duties. You must be aware of the responsibilities that landlords have, especially related to providing a habitable living space to your renters. 

In California, landlords are in charge of a ton of tasks. They must take care of the structure of the building, windows and doors, and water supply, and maintain the HVAC equipment. They must also attend to plumbing and sanitation, gas lines, and fixtures and are responsible for providing trash cans and garbage removal. 

Maintaining the safety of stairs and railings, checking smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and ensuring that fire exits are free from barriers are also on the list of things they have to take care of. You also have to set up a locked mailbox and phone jack for your tenants and deal with any larger property issues that arise, like mold or bed bugs. 

If repair requests are coming in from renters, you have to resolve the issues in 30 days or fewer. If there is a property emergency, you will have to respond as soon as possible. Otherwise, the tenants in your Napa rental are allowed to withhold the rent or attend to the repairs on their own and deduct the cost from the monthly rent. 

It pays to be aware of property laws and regulations that you need to follow so you can prevent surprises and issues with your tenants.

Get Your Rental Property Ready for Tenants

When the economy is in a downturn, tenants have more room to haggle for more services and features. Since there are often more vacant units during this period, renters can afford to be more selective.

To create a more attractive Napa rental space, you can make sure your unit is pristine and provide appliances and home systems that work well. 

Advertise Your Rental Home

After staging your Napa rental home, you can write down the best features of your unit. Amenities that capture the attention of renters are things like a washer and dryer, dishwasher, air conditioning unit, outdoor areas, and parking spaces. Make sure to mention these items in your ad. 

Create a property listing that encourages the audience to contact you. Appeal to the emotions when presenting photos and writing out property descriptions to make your readers aspire to live in your Napa rental home. 

Make sure that your ads are displayed on popular listing sites and social media platforms. You can also showcase them in the local newspapers for offline marketing. A strategic move is also to hire proven property managers. With their solid experience and network in the industry, they can easily find high-quality renters for your vacant Napa rental home. 

Conduct Prospective Tenant Screening

Once your Napa rental home is ready for property showings and plenty of prospective tenants have submitted their applications, you can start the tenant screening process. Quality renters take care of your property reasonably, which limits property damage. They also pay rent on time so your income is always steady, helping you plan for property upkeep and necessary renovations. 

Screening includes asking for references and reviewing the tenant’s rental and credit history to ensure that they can afford to pay the monthly rent and won’t cause problems down the road. With a proper tenant procedure, you can safeguard your unit from bad tenants. 

Once the tenant screening is done and you’ve accepted an applicant, you can proceed to ask for a security deposit. In California, a landlord can request a maximum of two months’ rent. After the tenant moves out, it must be returned within 21 days. Otherwise, you can end up paying twice the deposit value, including damages. 

California landlords can only use the security deposit to cover unpaid rent, cleaning fees, repairs for damages outside normal wear and tear, and fees for restoration of the unit back to its original condition.

Partner with a Property Manager

Although being a self-managing landlord in California sounds fairly easy, the truth is you need to be aware of property laws before allowing a renter to occupy your Napa rental home. If you hire a property management company to look after your interests and protect you from non-compliance, you’ll limit the risk of lawsuits and other costly mistakes.

In addition, property managers provide benefits like helping you work out your tax deductions so you’re aware of which ones you qualify for. They also focus on adhering to California landlord-tenant laws and assist in creating a rental agreement that aligns with the current regulations.

Another benefit to engaging the services of a property manager is they can assign the right rent by considering factors such as property values around your neighborhood, market demand, and industry trends. 

Bottom Line

Being a Napa landlord entails learning these landlord-tenant laws in California. You can also hire a property management company to ensure you’re always compliant with the laws. 

If you’re seeking a trusted property manager for your Napa rental home, contact First & Main Property Management today!