Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia

Planning to move out of Westlawn?  Thinking of renting out your home in Westlawn instead of selling it?  Read on.

There are many ways to invest in real estate.  Vacation properties are a popular option.  For those who like a less hands-on approach, buying and trading real estate investment trusts (REITs) on Wall Street are a favorite option.  For some, the allure of receiving a monthly rental check for their old home along with the prospect of having their old home appreciate in value is very appealing.  These people choose to turn their old home into an investment and rent it out.

Experienced landlords have both good stories and absolute horror stories to tell.  To avoid the horror, they advise that you need to be good at being a manager.  According to a professional property manager, "Often we mix up our objectives when we try to manage our rental property ourselves.  We want to increase the value of our property, we want a tenant to pay our mortgage, we want to be loved by the tenant, we want him to pay on time every time, and we want him to take care of the property better than if it was his own.  Yeah, well I have news for you.  You'll get some of these some of the time, but not all of these all of the time."

Property management can make or break you.  Property management means writing ads, handling inquiries, showing property at night, collecting rent, dealing with unfriendly tenants, evictions...it all spells personal involvement and free time encroachment.

Landlords Common Mistakes

Insufficient up front screening.  Many of the problems associated with property management can be avoided with proper tenant screening.  Landlords need to set reasonable standards for acceptable tenants.

Being inconsistent.  Many owners haphazardly send out late notices, or do not send them out at all.  Some will at times charge a late charge and at other times will not.  Many will let the tenant slide some months, but will rant and rave when a tenant is late another month.  Many owners use the dispossessory process only as a last resort instead as a usual step in their collection process.

Tenants need to know what to expect and when to expect it.  They need to know the rules and know that you will enforce the rules.  If you let a tenant slide one month there is no reason for the tenant to expect that you will be firm the next month.  Being inconsistent can also cost you a court case.

Being too compassionate.  When a tenant runs into some financial problem, your tendency will be to work with them.  If you wait for the third month of nonpayment of rent before beginning dispossessory action, your chances of ever seeing that money are slim to none.

Renting to family and friends.  Whatever difficulties you have in being firm with strangers pale in comparison with the challenges of confronting problem tenants who are your friends or family.

Underspending or overspending on maintenance.  Generally speaking, your rental property should be maintained in typical condition for the neighborhood in which it is located.  To let a property run down to a point it is an eyesore and detract from the value of other properties in the neighborhood is a mistake.  You would not appreciate your neighbor letting their property get in such condition.

Neglecting applicable laws.  Many owners of rental property and many real estate agents are unfamiliar with landlord/tenant laws in Virginia.  These laws are very specific as to how certain aspects of the landlord/tenant relationship are handled, including security deposits and evictions.  Tenants have all these laws available to them over the Internet.  The penalty for landlords who violate any of these regulations can be severe and even lead to imprisonment.

Some Horror Stories

Even the most experienced property managers have problems with tenants.  Consider Carolin's story.  While she was growing up, her parents rented out some old houses while trying to sell them.  When they moved out, every tenant would leave things like pizzas thrown onto walls, heaps of trash that would attract roaches, trash and gas cans by the furnace hoping to start a house fire, a butcher knife hidden under a pile of dirty laundry hoping the landlords would cut their hands picking up the load, etc.  Her parents would have to evict just about every tenant and fix many expensive things each time.

Carolin never lived in Westlawn, but her story is not unusual.  For example, a Westlawn tenant was evicted last year, and the homeowner had to replace all the carpets (cat urine) and the molding around some windows (chewed by a bird).  The sad fact is that landlords face a financial risk besides the possibility of nonpayment of rent.

TENANTS need to respect their landlord's property and treat it like it was their own.  LANDLORDS need to respect their tenants' rights and maintain the property in the same shape as if they were living there.  HOMEOWNERS who are moving out of Westlawn need to think carefully about what they are getting into if they choose to rent out their homes instead of selling them.