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Hey Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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Can you evict tenants in the winter?Winter Evictions

If’ you’ve never heard the song “Hey Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, you’re missing out, it’s a classic. If you don’t know what the rules are about evicting a tenant in the winter where you live, you could be missing out on some cold hard cash, like several months worth of rent.

The rules are different everywhere and with the temperature hovering around -30 degrees Celcius (-22 Fahrenheit) with the wind chill as I start writing, I thought winter evictions might be a timely topic.

Can You Evict Tenants In The Winter?

I think the most common answer is yes, but it can depend. I know, not very definitive as far as an answer goes. Ask tenants and they will almost all answer no, but if you’re getting landlord advise from your tenants you may have a much bigger problem…

The problem is the rules vary from state to state and province to province and it would be unrealistic to know the specific answer for every city, town, state, province, district or country throughout the world. But that’s where the internet comes into play.

I did some quick research and actually couldn’t find any places that allowed tenants to stay, just because it was winter. I started by specifically looking at provinces and states that were known to be more tenant friendly and cold.  I looked at rules in New York state, Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec and Alaska to name a few and all seemed to be pretty specific.

Evictions can take place at any time of the year if tenants are in breach of the lease. Now to be fair, I didn’t check every state, province, city and town, so you’ll want to do some local research of your own just to be well educated about it!

Winter eviction of tenants

However, just because it isn’t illegal to evict them, there is not guarantee it can be done quickly. There is a ton of leniency built into the laws when it comes to issues like compassion, hard times and basically bad luck. Here it isn’t written anywhere how much time someone has to be out of the property when evicted.

This gives judges and hearing officers the ability to make decisions based on the evidence and this could mean a quick and effective eviction in more grievous situations. While in other cases they can be given 90 days or longer, but with specific conditions in place or it can accelerate the eviction timeline. These would typically be payment conditions, but depending on the scenario they can vary.

Have you evicted a tenant in the winter? If you have leave us a comment and let us know where you’re at! Maybe we can form a mini database of info right here!

To get it started, I’ve not just evicted tenants in the winter, I’ve also done it right before Christmas and no I’m not the grinch, I just play one on TV! Looking forward to your comments.

Is Your Rental Ad The Reason You Aren’t Getting Calls?

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Your Rental Ad Sells Your Rental For You

A good rental ad makes all the differenceI don’t think all landlords are lazy, but I’m constantly amazed by some of the rental ads I see online for rental properties. It’s like the writer took thirty seconds to put down a couple features of the property and thought they were done.

News flash, you’re not.

This is front and center for me right now as I have a vacancy at a property that is a two hour commute from me. I need to write an ad that attracts the type of tenants I want to rent to and that sells the property as I don’t want to make twenty or thirty trips up to meet people!

The good news is here is what my competition has in their ad (sorry if this belongs to you)

built in 2012, modern, includes washer, dryer, fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave central vac. lots of parking, close to downtown, parks, hospital, highway 2a. lots of storage, basement area for extra room

It has five pictures and the main picture is an external shot of the townhouse complex with no indication of which unit it is and it actually looks very similar to the place I’m renting, but they didn’t put too much effort into selling it in my opinion.

It took me almost two hours to write my ad and although it’s not perfect, I’m pretty happy with it and I’m already getting a great response to it. Here’s how it reads.

Looking for a modern three bedrooms place to call home? This three bedroom two and a half bath property is going to make someone a beautiful home, so why not you!

The three good sized bedrooms upstairs are bright, have large closets and are perfect for a new family or someone who needs a little more space. With a full bath on the upper level and two linen closets, storage won’t be an issue, but even better is the ensuite off the master!

Yes, the master bedroom has it’s own full ensuite with tub and shower giving you the privacy and quiet place you need. Plus with the huge East facing windows in the room, you can wake up to the sun shining in every morning making it the favourite room of your house! What an incredible way to start your day.

The main floor is ideally set up with a welcoming living room as you come in the front door with plenty of room for entertaining or just a relaxing night at home after a busy day. Then as you walk through the main floor, first you’ll see the half bath on the main floor tucked away to the side, then further in is the wide open kitchen and dining area and the two french doors leading to the back deck that let summer in and provide you a quiet oasis to unwind on.

The secluded back space is shaded by several beautiful pine trees and helps make you feel like you are out in the country and away from the city. Plus, it provides a great place to BBQ and relax after a day’s work.

Finally, the lower basement level is ideal for storage. As an unfinished space it’s a large blank canvas for you to set up and organize as you wish and giving you roughly 700 square feet of storage. Of course you’ll want to leave a little room to take advantage of the washer and dryer that are included which means no more trips to the laundry mat and more home time for you.

Built in 2007, this modern townhouse is approximately 1,400 square feet and has everything you need. From the included washer and dryer to fridge, stove, built in microwave and even a dishwasher, all the conveniences to make this a home you love are here.

Being located along 55th street and beside 56th Ave, the location is ideal for a family. The High School is located just a few blocks West and the elementary and Catholic schools are located just a few blocks East of the property making walking to and from school quick an easy. Add in the several nearby park and fields and your kids will love the area.

The particulars. This is a non-smoking property and unfortunately we don’t allow pets. We are very particular and we do full credit and reference checks on tenants before a lease is ever signed. We are initially looking at a six month lease and at the end of the six month term will look at a yearly renewal.

Now for the numbers. Rent on this fantastic three bedroom two and a half bath home is $1,395 per month and we require a matching security deposit plus the first month’s rent before moving in. Utilities are extra and will need to be put in your name.

We are currently repainting the interior and expect this property to be available as early as the November 15th, but can also work with a December 1st occupancy.

We will be onsite again on Thursday November 13th from noon until 3, so if you are available to view it, you should email us right away, or you can call or text Bill at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Note this is a long distance call from Xxxxxxx, but if you text me I can return your call as soon as possible.

This highly desirable property in a great area will not last very long so if you are interested and would like to come for a viewing contact us ASAP.

So which property would you want to see? I have ten pictures (the max allowed) and my main image is the kitchen picture at the beginning of the article. Why the kitchen? Because the kitchen typically sells the property. The picture below is another image I used that gives an idea of the space.

Ads and images for your rental property help you rent faster

Painting A Picture

Part of my goal with my ad was to create a picture of a home that someone wanted to live in. I didn’t want to just tell them I had appliances and I was close to a few things. I wanted them to know what I was close to, how the property was laid out and to present an experience.

I believe I mostly achieved that, but when compared to the competition, it wasn’t hard. So the question for you is, which one would you want to go look at?

It was almost a year ago I received an email from a very nice lady down in Texas that was having problems filling their vacant rental property. She’d sent a copy of the ad and I made several suggestions to help her re-write the ad to make it more appealing.

In less than a week she sent the new ad and I wanted to go rent the place it was so well done! Their phone didn’t ring off the hook, but it definitely picked up (the area was pretty tough at the time for rentals), which goes to show the difference a good ad makes.

Now please don’t take this as an offer to send your ad in for help writing your ad!! My time is too limited and I’ve apparently set a bad precedent by being so available to everyone for questions and answers.

The important lesson from this article for you will be too hopefully learn a lesson about what you can do to help market your property to get more showings, get better tenants and get your vacancies filled faster.

Yes it requires going that extra mile, but the return is well worth it! And don’t forget to let me know which one you’d rather rent?

The Basics of Being A Landlord – The Skills You Need

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So You Want To Be a Landlord?

I seem to get a few emails/calls about being a landlord, so here are some quick thoughts from me on the basics of being a landlord.

This will likely be a multi part series, so this post will focus on what skills do you need to be a landlord?

screwdriversmallHandyman Skills

Well some landlords I know are incredibly handy people, they are great with renovations, they love working on their properties and they are you typical Mr. Fixit’s.

However, I know many landlords who’s only tool they have ever used on their property is pen and paper. Rather than investing their time in a property, they have simply hired someone to get the job done. So while being handy helps, I guess it’s not a needed skill.

People Skills

How about people skills, a good landlord should have people skills! Again I know many landlords that are great people people and having the ability to relate to the tenants and get along with them has helped them tremendously.

But as I think about it, these same people have some challenges because they tend to get buddy buddy with their tenants, which rarely seems to work out well.

I also know many landlords who I would definitely put people skills at the lower end of their abilities, yet they are also tremendously successful. So maybe people skills aren’t quite as essential as it seems to be a successful landlord.

Fierce Negotiator

agreementsmallThis one has to be important because first you need to be able to negotiate the best possible price on the property you’re purchasing as a rental property, then you need to negotiate with contractors to get the best prices, tenants to get the highest rates and everyone in general to get the best deals.

Except this can be a horrible plan for long term success.

The people you buy your property from resent you for being such an aggressive negotiator, the contractors won’t work for you again because they hate getting nickelled and dimed and tenants can’t wait to get out as they never feel comfortable and often feel ripped off.

In my experience it often works out far better when it’s a win/win negotiation. Where both parties get a fair deal whether it is the purchase/sale of the property, the renovation work and even the rental amounts. So maybe you don’t need to be such a fierce negotiator to make your job as a landlord easier.

Now, I’m not saying have some of the above mentioned skills won’t help you, it just appears they may not be as important as people often believe. Many people find success anyways, even if they are lacking in or more of the above areas.

So what skills are valuable to a landlord?

Organization, Patience and Humility

hourglasssmallNow these three skills I do believe are important. Again, they may not be essential, but definitely important.

If you’re organized you can find records, receipts, invoices and more that are required for everything from your taxes to warranties to simply getting your books done correctly. Having systems in place to guide you along the way is one of the best methods to help with this.

If you’re patient and understand your Real Estate is a long term investment it makes being a landlord much easier. With the constantly changing market trying to time your purchases of a rental property and your selling of them can be incredibly stressful.

Rather than following the get rich quick path that so many people promote with Real Estate a longer term approach with an extended time frame (and lots of patience) will guide you through the ups and downs of the inevitable transitions through both buyers and sellers markets.

Finally humility. Have you ever run into a pompous landlord who knows everything about Real Estate? I’m willing to bet many of you have and apparently one ex-subscriber felt that way about me.

You need humility so you can go to others when you have questions or are unsure of the answers. It’s why you need a Real Estate agent who understands investment property when you’re buying. It’s why you need an accountant familiar with Real Estate if you are a landlord so you are aware of the correct deductions you can apply for and the correct processes for setting up your accounts.

It’s why you need to call plumbers, drywallers, painters and other contractors when something is beyond your scope or when it makes sense to bring a pro in to get the job right. Doing all of this takes a bit of humility at times as we often believe we can do it all.

And perhaps we can, but if we do, then we lose focus on what the property is. An investment that should be run as a business.

What do you think?

Learning To Landlord By Trial And Error

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Learning to landlord by trial and errorSounds scary doesn’t it? Making a mistake as a landlord can cost thousands of dollars in lost rent, due to damages and in some cases even lead to foreclosure. But I run into landlords every week who got into the business with minimal to zero knowledge of even the basics of being a landlord.

Learning to landlord on the job can turn into a very expensive education and that’s where I come in. Hopefully.

With dozens and dozens of articles and videos on the site providing the basics already, I’m planning on adding even more so I can help others avoid the trial and error path.

Now, if you’ve already registered to receive emails on my site you know one of the first things I ask you is what challenges you face as a landlord. I’ve had some great responses from people and hopefully I’ve provided some answers to help you with those challenges in my replies to you.

The question I have for you in this article though is what was your most expensive mistake?

My Expensive Landlord Mistake

costly landlord lessonsPersonally, my biggest mistake when I started was not following my screening process and skipping steps along the way. During this learning curve I let in some of the wrong people because I went with my gut, rather than following my process.

This brilliant decision making cost me most of my Christmas vacation as I had to spend it fixing walls, repainting a property I had just painted less than six months earlier, cleaning and doing general fixes so I could have it ready to go for January 1st and not lose anymore incoming rent money due to vacancies or deadbeats.

It’s part of the reason why one of the first courses I put together on the site was my tenant screening course, which I give away for free because it’s so important to a landlord’s success! Since I started following the procedures I laid out I’ve only had to evict one tenant out of my regular fixed term rental properties in the last seven years.

Of course, if I had followed my rules that one eviction would have never come to an eviction which was another lesson. That particular situation involved a young couple who split up and rather than  allowing/forcing them to break the lease and both move on, I allowed the boyfriend to stay and to have his brother move in to help cover the rent. Ooops.

So maybe that didn’t fit specifically into the screening category, but it did fit into my screening system which I strayed from as I didn’t due my proper due diligence with brother number two.

Your Turn

Your Landlord LessonMy list of other expensive lessons could go on. From not doing enough due diligence one early properties  we bought to initially trying to do all the work ourselves rather than farming work out to contractors. But what about YOU?

What have some of your expensive lessons been? If you can take a few moments to leave a comment to help other landlords that would be great. By sharing some of our experiences we can make it easier for others to learn from our lessons and to help avoid some expensive pain.

Plus it may point me in the direction of my next course which hopefully helps everyone.

So leave me a comment below and let’s see who we can help with it!

Why Thinking Like A Tenant Pays Off

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Landlord thinkingAs a landlord you often have to think carefully about your property. There are monthly costs to consider, maintenance issues to budget for and mortgages to cover just to start with.

Throw on dealing with tenants, potentially property managers, keeping neighbors happy and the list gets longer and longer. You simply think differently when you’re a landlord and the property is a huge investment you need to manage, maintain and care for.

Yet one aspect we often overlook is thinking like a tenant at times, rather than constantly wearing our owner’s hat.

What Would Your Tenant Think?

As an owner your costs seem to continue to grow. Taxes increase, utility costs increase, legal fees increase, everything seems to be increasing, all at your expense.

One way to combat this is to pass these costs onto your tenants by raising rents. Now, I covered how to go about this in a previous article (Raising Your Rents Without raising The Roof), but the important part about it that I didn’t talk enough about is to think like your tenant!

If you just show up minutes before the cut off of when you can legally raise the rent and throw a rent increase notice in your tenants face you could be setting yourself up for trouble. Just imagine how you feel when you suddenly see a huge increase in fees from your bank or a large jump in your taxes.

It’s the same for the tenants. All they see is a money grubbing landlord looking out for themselves and jacking up there rent for no fair reason. They don’t see the three years prior where you couldn’t or didn’t raise the rents, they don’t see the vacant months that you covered right out of your pocket, they simply see a big fat increase that affects them.

In the previous article, I talked about positioning and explaining why you’re increasing the rents to help soften the blow. But part of the explanation I didn’t cover was planning further ahead.

Don’t React, Lead The Market

Landlord leadershipYou’re running your landlording like a business. You know that costs increase over time and you know that your tenants rent will be going up, even if it’s just $25 or $50, in six months, so why not let them know there will be an increase way in advance?

You don’t have to specify how much, just that you’ve been reviewing some of the costs and local rents and expect there will be a small increase in the future. Again, you value them as tenants, so you’re going to do something that is fair to both of you, so make sure they are aware.

Now, rather than reacting last minute you are leading them and you can make a decision that works for potentially both of you. If you see that your costs haven’t really increased and the tenants are fabulous, you may come back to them in another couple of months and let them know upon re-examination you’re going to hold off on any increase this year.

Or you may simply go in with a small $25 increase to cover minor increases that you’re having to cover for anything from taxes, to bank fees to insurance. Or, if the market has skyrocketed you may need to consider increasing rents by much more so as to not miss out.

However it plays out, you’ve forewarned the tenants in advance so they aren’t completely blindsided.  Now, rather than being upset, they typically appreciate the advance warning and can make plans to either move on, allowing you to put people in at the higher rate, or to prepare to absorb the additional costs.

Expanding on this you can also start including tenants on longer range plans.

Preparing For The Future.

Sometimes you know you have work coming up in the future on your property, so why not include the tenants in the updates?

Whether it’s a new roof, a new driveway or even a new fence, let the tenants know the proposed plan. If you’ve started to plan to get the roof done in the spring or the rotting deck upgraded before summer, give the tenants advance warning and let them know so they can prepare.

Once you talk with them who know what else you can discover. Maybe they are going to be away on vacation for a week and you can coordinate your project to take place while they are gone?

Now it’s very little inconvenience for them and they are rewarded with a new roof ,deck or some property improvement that makes their enjoyment of the property better upon their return.

If you start working with your tenants and thinking about what makes them happy and perhaps a little more prepared for you, it starts getting easier to keep them longer all while keeping them happy.

It’s a win win for everyone! Are you already thinking like a tenant? Or do you simply leave your landlord cap on and push forward upsetting tenants and replacing them every year? Tell me how you prepare for the future!

 

Like Minded Landlords

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Landlord businessWhat’s the first reaction you get when you tell new friends that you’re a landlord? Something along the lines of “Oh I could never do that because I don’t want to fix a toilet at three in the morning”?

Sure, some times people will be interested, but really they just want to hear your horror stories. People love living through others miseries. I know I write a lot of miserable stories 8′]

And they get read much more than the helpful happy stories!!!

But what happens when you run into another landlord?

Suddenly you have a new friend, a new resource (much like this site) someone you are usually a bit more comfortable with.

Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was one of the first books I read when I first started switching from an employee mindset to more of a what can I do to succeed mind set. It is quite old now as it was originally released in the late 1930’s, but it still contains some nuggets.

Also since it’s quite old, it is available for free in many places (although I have two paperback copies that I regularly re-read). I have found it for free in iTunes and I’ve provided a link below for a PDF version I found on line if you’d like to read it that way.

Think and Grow Rich PDF

Other people have borrowed quite a few of the tidbits in it to create their own books and thoughts that can be traced almost directly back to this book. The biggest example most likely being “The Secret”.

Now personally I think the concept of The Secret was rather weak as just focusing on something does not cause those results, but it was perfectly in line at the time with the mindset of people who felt entitled and there are far to many people like that out there.

Sorry if it feels like I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but I was trying to point something out that Napoleon Hill pointed out to me years ago.

Part of it was surrounding yourself with like minded people.

Crabs In a Barrel

Or a big platePerhaps you’ve heard this before. You become most like the five people you spend the most time with. If you look around your main circle of friends, you find that they are all very similar in wealth, income and social status with you.

Sure there are peaks and valleys, but for the most part you all fall in line with similar goals, dreams or a lack of both. This can be both a good thing and bad thing depending on your goals (and your friends…).

One story I have heard illustrating this the best is the story of crabs in a barrel. If you put a bunch of crabs in a barrel and watch them for a while invariably one of them starts climbing out of the barrel. It manages to get on top of the other crabs, maybe hook it’s pincher onto something and suddenly it can sense freedom.

Now I don’t know if it’s something internal or maybe the other crabs think they can simply ride along, but they invariably grab that crab that is so close to freedom and drag it right back into the barrel. Now they are all back on the same level and it’s status quo. This imitates our lives.

When I first started out investing in Real Estate, that’s how I often felt when I explained to people what I was doing. The people around me didn’t want me to escape, they wanted me to hang around with them and stay where they were.

I’d mention tenants and properties and I’d hear the story about their uncle’s friend’s brother’s tenant who was a nightmare or how their sister’s friends co-worker lost all his money on a rental property.

I’d talk about renovations and hear stories about their former co-worker’s buddies neighbor who was ripped off by contractors.

I’d talk about long term security by owning property and they’d bring up the housing crash from 15 years ago (now they can just bring up the one from 2007, but I don’t hang with those people anymore).

After a while it seems like it’s just easier to go with the crowd and give up on our ideas about getting ahead. But if you’re still reading this or have been reading my other articles I have a feeling you aren’t paying that much attention to that crowd.

You already understand you can walk to the beat of your own drummer or are already surrounding yourself with people who can help elevate you. So for that I applaud you, and I thank you because you’re still reading.

Mastermind Groups

surround yourself with like minded peopleSurrounding yourself with like minded people can go two ways. One you can stay in that barrel with the other crabs, or two you can find a better group of crabs to hang with. Ones that want you to escape.

This is where mastermind groups or local real estate networking groups can really pay dividends for you.

I was a member of a local Real Estate group for years and created some great friendships there. The group met once a month, but several of us always ended up talking multiple times a month or getting together to discuss Real Estate or Real Estate strategies.  We were our own little mastermind group.

It kept us on our toes and it kept us hungry and excited. Many of us had dreams of owning dozens of properties and many of us met those dreams, because that’s what like minded people can help you achieve.

Now a word of caution, not all Real Estate groups are equal. Some just want you to join so they can make money off your membership, so they can sell you products and services and so they can grow whether you do or not.

The same goes for many of the individuals who join these groups. They’re looking for the  short cuts, the quick way to make money in Real Estate. They are usually not the people you want to end up with as short cuts can come back to bite you.

You want to be around like minded individuals who have similar goals.

If you’re not currently networking with other landlords, you really need to, especially other local landlords. By talking with other people in your area you can be more aware of changes to local laws that directly affect you.

You can share resources like contractors and repair people.

You can compare rents easier and form a better idea of what the market is doing.

All of these bonuses and more can be created just by hanging out with people who are like you!

And all it takes is just a few people. It might just be two of you bouncing stories and experiences back and forth, but ideally if there is five or six of you there is more experiences, more help and more ideas that can float around.

Bottom line you really need to find some like minded people if you really want to thrive in the landlord business!

I have some more thoughts on this I’ll share with you in some upcoming posts, but in the meantime, are any of you currently in a mastermind group or a Real Estate group you’re finding beneficial? If so, I’d love to hear about it, so leave me a comment or send me an email and tell me more.

Renting Out A Storage Garage To Increase Cash Flow

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Why Are People Renting Out A Storage Garage?

Renting Garages At Your Rental PropertyIf you do a little research in your area, you might be surprised to find out you could be renting out your garage for extra cash flow. Garage rentals are pretty well known to experienced landlords, but if you’re just starting out or haven’t been exposed to this before it can be quite an eye opener.

All over the world you’re finding rental storage places popping up. It’s become so popular there are now dedicated “reality shows” that walk through the lives of people who buy storage lockers and sell the items that are left behind for profit.

More and more people just need a place to put stuff and that’s why the popularity of these places has grown. We are a society of collectors and we seem to need more and more doodads to keep up with the Jones’s. That stuff needs to go somewhere and a nearby garage may be the solution.

People pay for convenience and if you have an empty garage they can rent that’s just around the corner or even the next neighborhood over, it’s far more convenient than tracking down one of these storage places that may not be as handy. And when you compare square footage, they can be a huge bargain.

But that’s not the only reason people are interested in renting garages.

People also have hobbies. Hobbies that take up a lot of space.

Woodworkers have drills, presses, lathes, saws and more. Mechanics and weekend mechanics have tools and compressors and vehicles and parts and they too need places to leave them.

Small business owners like plumbers, repair people and handy men all need to store supplies, tools and more somewhere and retail space is crazy expensive while commercial space requires huge commitments and also huge expenses.

These are just a few of the types of people that require space. Space that you can rent out for a tidy little additional revenue stream if you just happen to have a detached garage at your rental property.

When Renting Out a Storage Garage, Detached Is The Key

When you are renting out your garage, detached is the key word here. This is not something you want to do with an attached garage as trying that can open up a whole world of problems.

From noise to security issues to safety issues, it’s just not a road you typically want to travel down and it’s why I like older rental neighborhoods as they tend to have detached garages which are perfect for my rental property wish lists.

What Does A Storage Garage Rent For?

Rental garageThe amount you can charge for garage space can vary depending on many factors ranging from size to access to heating to having manual or powered doors to where it’s located.

I’ve rented single car dirt floors garages for as little as $125 per month and I have oversized two car garages that are heated that I’ve been able to get $350 per month for and on the very simple end I’ve even rented dirt or concrete parking pads (no roof or any structure, just the parking space) just for someone to store a vehicle on for $25-$50 a month.

With the low end parking space only that is still an additional $300 income a year that I didn’t have before and for the big garage at $350 per month that ends up being over $4,000 in additional income every year!!

There is no guarantee you will see these same rates in your area, they could be lower, but they may also be higher and of course there is a chance it may not even be done in your area, but if you could, wouldn’t an extra few dollars in your pocket help?

Renting Out Your Storage Garage – Is It Legal?

This might be your most important consideration.

Just because I can rent out a garage here, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s legal where your property is located. So you need to do some homework. And the easiest way to start is to check local ads to see if anyone in the area is renting garages.

You can use Craigslist, Kijiji or the local online sites to start. There are usually local Penny Saver magazines or daily papers that you can also look through to see if you find ads for storage spaces or garages in.

If you find them, it’s a good sign, but your work isn’t done yet, if you don’t it may not mean it’s not possible, it may just not be common practice.

What you really want to learn as you do your research is what laws cover the renting of a garage or storage space. They typically fall outside the jurisdiction of Landlord and Tenant laws, but you need to verify that. Locally for us, renting a garage is the equivalent of renting a warehouse space and the rules are very much in my favor when it comes to payment issues or other problems.

Determining the full legality of it may start with your local Landlord and Tenant services hotline, but it may require you contacting a lawyer who understands local Real Estate law to get the real answers and access to proper leases allowing you to rent your garage out safely and legally.

Heated Garages – Who Pays Utilities

This seems to be one of the big questions that pop up when renting out a garage to someone, especially when the utilities are paid by the tenants renting the house.

Fortunately garages typically don’t use up a ton of utilities. You can typically appease the tenants renting the property by telling them up front when they first are considering renting your property that they are getting a discount on the rent of $XX to cover the utilities used by the garage tenant.

I would typically position this in the $25 to $50 range and if you’re in warmer climates where heating isn’t an issue and electricity is the only consideration it may be less, considerably less to the point it may not even be an issue.

Which brings me to the other common question.

Doesn’t The Tenant Renting The House Get The Garage Automatically?

To put it succinctly, NO!

Now I have had tenants rent the garage from me as well as their suite, but it’s not my preferred way to rent it out. the issue being if the tenant leaves I lose two streams of income at the same time, Now if it’s a $25 parking space it may not be that bad, but if it’s a $350 monthly garage payment plus a $1,000 rent payment, that can hurt a bit more.

So you need to be clear and up front with the tenants who are looking at the rental space to live in that the garage is not included.

Professional Landlord Tip About A Storage Garage

My storage GarageSo here’s a little tip for you if you start collecting many properties with garages. After a while, to run your landlord business you start finding your garage starts to fill up with parts and pieces to run your properties.

From light bulbs you purchase in bulk to furnace filters, they all start taking up space. At a certain point that space may start compromising the space you have for storage at home. So why not rent one of the garage spaces to yourself? (check with your accountant to see what you can and cannot get away with in your area as this may be a free rental or you could use it as a potential tax deduction in some cases).

I personally have a two car heated garage at one of my rental properties that is filled with shelves and all kinds of parts ( too many parts actually), tools and general landlord pieces that I need on a weekly, monthly or annual Organized storage garagebasis. We store extra furniture there (for our furnished weekly rental properties), renovation materials, and just about everything my wife doesn’t want in “her” garage at our home.

So there’s your primer on garage rentals. So my question for you, is it something you can start applying to your landlord business in the future, or are you already doing it? It’s not going to work everywhere, but if you can make it work it can definitely help you increase cash flow, so I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this article about garages, you might want to check out my Ask the Landlord Article – Marketing Your Rental Garage for ideas on where and how to find tenants – Bill