Rentals.com Company Blog

Recently, rental scams have become increasingly intelligent and convincing, and if successful, they can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost deposits, fees and first and last months’ rent. To protect yourself against these schemes and ensure you get the highest quality rental for your money, use these tips while searching for your next rental [...]

This time of year, many parts of the country typically experience a slowdown in residential leasing. With the holidays fast approaching many renters postpone their moves until January. This practice frequently results in longer vacancies when they occur at this time of year. When drafting new leases during this slower part of [...]

A security deposit, even a small one, creates a bond between landlord and tenant, creating an extra financial incentive for the tenant to be responsible for the property they are renting. But the ins and outs of how to handle a tenant’s security deposit can be confusing. Read on for the dos, the don’ts and [...]

The separation of home maintenance responsibilities between the landlord and tenant varies based on lease agreements and local laws. However, generally speaking, yard maintenance – the cleaning and upkeep of grass, shrubs, trees, flowers and gardens – falls to the renter. So what chores should you be doing to keep the outside of your rental [...]

Packing for a move is a universally dreaded chore. There’s no real reason for packing to be so terrible, though. Preparation is the key to successful and unstressed packing, so read on for tips on how to do it right.
Gather supplies
Packing for your move will require plenty of supplies, so begin gathering as soon [...]

When inspecting a property to purchase or to manage for rental purposes, always pay particular attention to the configuration of the laundry hook-ups. The following are items to check:
– Make sure that the dryer is properly vented to the outside.
– If the actual washer is provided, it is important that the supply hoses are [...]

Your property description will be a very important promotional piece for your rental. Sure, a picture’s worth a thousand words, but your prospective tenant is going to want the details. Follow the tips below to write a description that will get your property lots of attention.
Why do you like it?
Remember that whatever appealed to you [...]

With children, you have nine months to prepare for their entrance into the world and many more before they begin roaming around your home on their own. Pets do not come with the same grace period.
Whether a puppy, kitten, adult dog or cat, your new pet will immediately be interested in every crevice and container [...]

You’ve got the keys to your rental house and the moving truck will soon arrive, but where on earth will everything go? Arranging the furniture in your new rental home is exciting and, at times, overwhelming. Here are some furniture arranging tips to get you going.
Start with the basics
Consider each room in your house [...]

Even though you don’t always have your choice of appliances in a rental home, there are a lot of simple things you can all do to save money on utilities. You don’t have to be an engineer to shrink your utility bills. Try these tactics to save money on your utilities.
A word of warning
Whenever [...]

There’s a lot to keep track of when you’re leaving your home, and when the clock is ticking, you won’t have a chance to go back and take care of missed tasks without a lot of inconvenience and/or expense. Make it easy on yourself with this handy moving checklist. Print this out, check it [...]

Whether you decide to hire a mover or do it yourself will come down to some very basic questions. Read on to see which option is right for you.
Time
How much time you have can be a deciding factor. If you are in a hurry, it might be more practical to hire someone to help you [...]

The single most important interior amenity in an apartment is a washer and dryer or washer/dryer hookups. Data pulled from searches on ApartmentGuide.com over the last six months and other third party sources have consistently resulted in the same conclusion. With this knowledge an owner of a rental property with no laundry [...]

Renting out a home can offer some significant tax breaks for homeowners. Here are some tips on how to take advantage of your rental home’s potential tax benefits.
Appraisal
In order to calculate taxes properly, you’ll need to know how much your home worth. A professional appraisal holds the most weight, but written estimates from several [...]

Before you begin your search for a rental home, you’ll want to have all of your application information ready to go. Check below for what to bring with you, so that your perfect rental home doesn’t go to someone who was better prepared.
Identification
First, you will need to show some ID to apply for your rental [...]

When looking for a home as a renter you’ll want to make sure that your new residence is all that it can be, inside and out. Follow these tips when visiting rental homes to make sure that you find the right one for you.
Make a wish list
Write down the features you want and need in [...]

Finding the right rental home can feel like a big job, but there are ways to simplify your hunt. Knowing what you’re looking for will cut down on unnecessary visits to homes that just don’t fit the bill from the outset. Read on for tips on how to streamline your search.
Know what you need
There are [...]

When you’ve looked at enough rental homes, it’s sometimes hard to remember what you’ve seen, let alone which one is right for you. Below, we’ve outlined a simple method of how to compare the various contenders.
Take notes
It’s hard to compare what you’ve seen if you haven’t faithfully recorded the details of each house. As you [...]

You’re looking for a rental home in a city or neighborhood that’s new to you. How do you assess how safe or convenient it is? Read on for some foolproof methods of testing the waters before you commit to living in a new neighborhood.
Stake it out
The best way to get a feel for what your [...]

Understanding your lease is the key to a successful tenancy — one in which you know what the landlord expects of you and what you should expect of your landlord. Below is an outline of a standard lease. However, leases will vary based on state specifications, and yours may even be different from that, so [...]

One of the privileges of owning and managing rental properties is the late night emergency calls. Reviewing emergency procedures prior to occupancy might just prevent a late night call from a panic-stricken resident. Always properly identify and preview with the resident the location of the following systems within a rental unit.
1) The water shut-off. This [...]

Screening tenants is a must for any landlord wanting to protect their property and their livelihood, but what are the steps and what rental laws do you need to be aware of? Below, we’ve created a quick list of what to check and how.
Point of contact
When you are dealing with a prospective tenant, the screening [...]

You just moved. You’ve found a new rental (thanks to Rentals.com, of course), set up your utilities, internet, cable and water, but you’ve lost your comfort zone. Whether you and your college friends have dispersed, your job took you away from your co-workers, family and friends or you just needed a change of scenery, you [...]

As a renter, it is often hard to know what aspects of your home’s safety and soundness fall to you and which ones your landlord has to take care of. Read on for our breakdown of who’s responsible for what type of repairs and some advice on how to get the work taken care of.
What [...]

When you’re ready to set the price for your rental home, there are a number of things to keep in mind. Below, we’ve assembled the most important factors on which you should base your rental price.
Location
Just as it’s true in buying or selling a home, location is also key in renting a home. Is your [...]

One of the advantages of renting is its allowance of personal space without all of the responsibilities of home ownership. However, some landlords may forbid any significant changes, and the temporary nature of renting may make you weary of making any major investments in decorating. To help renters overcome the nothingness of “white wall syndrome,” [...]

At the peak of the renting season, which is now for many markets around the country, everyone is usually at their busiest.  A disproportionate number of landlord-tenant disputes over the years have resulted from the handling, and sometimes mishandling, of security deposits.  In the world of social media today, it is especially critical to fairly [...]

You’ve slaved to get the inside of your home perfect with new paint and power cleaning, but the first thing a prospective renter will see is the outside. Also, people who might not even know they’re prospective renters could drive by and say, “Look at that great house!” To get them in the door, you’ve [...]