Posted by Edwin on July 19, 2008 at 23:08:07:
In Reply to: Standard rental move in costs posted by LeonNC on July 19, 2008 at 18:07:13:
Leon, I'm wondering why you've had a high turnover rate for seven years. Maybe your rent has been too hight? Or maybe the property is in a marginal location and/or needs remodeling to improve tenant satisfaction? I had high turnover on some of my houses for several years, and finally concluded I was trying to always get top dollar rent. I think I would have been better off to charge slightly under market rent and keep my tenant's longer. If your rent is reasonable and you still have high turnover, your property is probably lacking something that prevents it from keeping tenant's long term. You might want to consider just selling it.
As far as "how much money to get" from a new tenant, the answer is always: As much as you can. The catch 22 about this is that if the property is in a lower income and/or marginal area, you will have more difficulty getting high deposits, and your risk of them defaulting will be higher. Ultimately, you have to decide if the risk is worth the hassle, because there is no easy answer.