St. Petersburg, Florida House Rentals and Home Rentals

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St Petersburg apartment for rent in Historic Kenwood.

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Apartments for rent in St Petersburg
Lake Jorgensen St Petersburg apartments for rent.

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St Petersburg Condo for rent.

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Houses for Rent in St Petersburg.

House for rent in St Petersburg Tyrone Mall Area
House for rent in St Petersburg.

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Houses and apartments for rent in St Petersburg and Pinellas Park.

House for rent in Historic Kenwood, St Pete
North St Petersburg House for rent.

St Petersburg Apartment for Rent
Apartment for rent in St Pete.

St Petersburg House for Rent
House for rent in St Pete.

Renters Insurance
Renters Insurance Is Essential For St Petersburg Tenants

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How To Market Homes For Rent

Make The Rental Unit Appealing

Make sure the rental units are always “rent ready” before showing. The rental property should be clean, well-lit, odor-free, and appealing to the eye. Prospective tenants often can’t see past stained carpet, dark rooms, roach corpses, or animal smells to “how it will be when it’s ready”.

This may be difficult if tenants are currently living in the property. One apartment I had I couldn't rent out because there were three tenants in a one bedroom apartment, plus their various guests. The place was filthy and crowded with their furniture. There was a hole in the wall that developed from a leak, which they didn't tell me about because they "didn't want to bother" me.

When their lease was ending, I had many prospects but few good applications until the day they moved out and the place was marginally clean. Then someone showed up, paid seven months rent in advance and my problems were over.

If the apartment is vacant then you may also want to put some "staging" furniture and knick-knacks in the unit. Light some scented candles when someone is inspecting to give the home a warm welcoming ambience. It shows that you care too.

Qualify, qualify, qualify

You can waste a lot of your's and the prospects' time if you don't tell them about the apartment for rent or find out if they have a job or other source of income.

Vena Jones-Cox’s newsletter made some of the following points and I have added some of my own:

• Use a 24-hour voicemail system. When prospective tenants call, they are diverted to a voice mailbox that gives them information about the property and answers frequently asked questions. You can ask them to leave a name and phone number and you will call them back with a lock box combination so that they can let themselves in. You can change the lockbox code daily in order to secure the property against a return visit.
• You can leave applications at rental properties and leave it at the property and they can contact you to let us know it’s there. They could also leave a check or maybe arrange payment through PayPal or some other service.
• Use only the push-button lockboxes as they are simpler to use for the tenants. Occasionally, a prospective tenant will forget to put the key back in the box. Make sure you have spare keys and that you drive by occasionally to check everything is OK. You may have to go by to change the combination anyway.

Important issues are pets, whether they are smokers and if there are adults or children. Of course it is illegal to discriminate against applicants on the grounds of familial circumstances, e.g. there are children. This regulation may not apply in certain circumstances such as where the landlord is the occupant of one of the units in a multifamily property of four units or less, but seek the advice of an attorney or look at the legislation yourself.

Rental Application and Screening Tenants

Fill out application form yourself, that way it is all filled in and less lies. Tenants will lie and that is part of the secret of filtering them out. My policy is that one lie can impeach their whole application.

For example, when I was renting my last apartment. The tenant drove up, wanted the apartment, filled out the application. I asked for her drivers license and she handed me a Florida Identification Card, which people use as a proof of age document. When I asked her where her drivers license was, she stated it was in her car. I queried her asking whether it was possible to have both a FL ID card and a drivers license at the same time. She said "yes".

So I went to the county records and found out that she had only recently been cited for driving while license suspended. When I asked her about it, she claimed that she thought that had all been cleared up. Lie upon lie.

As it was, it turned out the local housing authority, from who she had last rented, told me that they got tired of having to fix the bullet holes in the apartment she had gotten assistance for!

The next applicant filled in her application, and when I looked at her paystubs, there was a different address to the one she gave on the application. When confronted about it, she confessed that she had given me false information. The good thing is that often when they are caught in a lie they will spill all the beans. She then told me her boyfriend was a sex offender and he could only stay overnight in an apartment that was "clear", i.e. a certain distance from schools etc.

Anyone involved in illegal hard drugs is usually an incorrigible liar.
Impeaching them is usually pretty easy, often over the simplest things, address, job, drivers license status, they just can't keep their story straight. If it smells fishy, it is probably a lie.

They are rehearsing for when they inevitably have to make up an excuse for why they can't pay the rent on time.

Landlord References

Get current and previous landlords, especially the previous ones as they have no vested interest.

When you call the previous landlord, and it is not a verifiable apartment complex or property manager, the first thing you should ask is "can you tell me what you have available for rent?"

Sometimes prospective tenants use friends as references. When you ask that question and a friend is answering the phone, their response will be either confusion or "you have the wrong number".

Questions to ask the previous landlord include:

Dates of residency:  

Amount of rent: $  

Amount of Security Deposit: $ 

# of Late Payments  

How late? 

Were late fees paid?

Were there any lease violations?

If so, what was the nature of the violation?

How was applicant's supervision and conduct of his/her children while in the apartment/common areas?

Has the applicant, family members or guests engaged in any criminal activity, including drug related criminal activity in the apartment or surrounding areas?

Were the police ever called to the apartment?

Did applicant maintain desirable living conditions (clean, safe & sanitary)?

Were utilities included in rent?

Has the applicant, family members or guests damaged or vandalized the apartment or common areas?

Did the applicant permit persons other than those on the lease to live in the apartment on a regular basis?

Have you ever begun eviction proceedings for nonpayment, lease violations, or any other reason? 

Did resident take good care of the premises? 

Was proper notice given prior to vacating? 

Will you (did you) keep any of the security deposit?  

Would you rent to this applicant in the future?

Is there anything else that I should know?

Employers: watch out for Unions, as they are very sympathetic to their employees; and Sales offices as sales is often commission only and has a high turnover. Get w2s and 1099s. Some rental property owners say "no lawyers". They know their rights and may insist on them!

Rent should be no greater than 33% of gross income.

The reason that application forms ask for a person to notify in emergency is that it may be useful for skip tracing.

Ask them if anything untoward will turn up in a credit report.

Get a real estate owner as a cosigner, as then you don't have a moving target.

The Lease

All roommates should sign the lease.

First month rent and deposit should be cash or cashier's check or money order.

Extra rent and deposit for pets.

Some people say that rather than having a deposit, you should have a refundable "performance fee". It is refunded if they perform properly. This stops the implication that the "deposit" is money that the landlord is holding for the tenant.

Exceeding late charge for rent may be regarded as usury.

Subletting needs permission.

Sales tax can be charged by county on rentals where lease is less than 6 months and 1 day.

Loser pays the winners costs if in relevant part of statute or in the lease. So put it in the lease.

Put in a pet fee - to cover defleaing and / or carpet removal. Plus
refundable pet deposit.

People with any kind of dog should get a liability policy. That liability coverage may also be provided by a standard renter's insurance policy.

Some owners say you should also charge a non-refundable cleaning deposit with a pet.  I hate the use of the phrase non-refundable deposit. Where I come from, that is called a fee.It is a mistake to have a cleaning fee. The tenant moving out will say, "why should I clean, I paid a fee, let the landlord clean." A deposit gives incentive.

Have an insurance provision.

15 days notice before end of month (if mo to mo) or 7 days prior to end of next period (if week to week).

List the furniture and fittings in the apartment.

Check if statute now demands that a separate account be used to hold deposits, for even less than 4 property landlords.

Chapter 83 is the FL Landlord Tenant Law

Arbitration is binding (though it can be appealed on error of law), mediation is not.

The Move and Inspections

Remind the tenant to get utilities switched on so they don't move in the dark.

Do move-in inspection before move, as ofter damage is done during move-in. Conduct any inspection with the tenant present. Be sure to explain your findings at the end of the inspection and have your tenant sign off on it. The tenant may have specific concerns not addressed on your form or may simply see something you missed. A thorough inspection would include any common areas including hallways, stairways, storage areas, laundry room and the exterior. The inspection should be done after the electricity and water is on so you can verify everything is working.

Inspection Forms guide you and your the tenant through linear inspection process.

The forms will include:

• the date of inspection, the location of property and dates of lease and the condition of the:
• floors and floor coverings
• walls and ceilings
• lighting and outlets
• windows and window coverings such as curtains, fixtures and fittings, blinds
• doors, keys and locks
• appliances such as disposal, oven, microwave, air conditioners, and refrigerator
• Furniture, if the premises are to be let furnished
• Gardens and decks
• Storage Areas
• the number of keys
• the signatures of tenants and landlord

The forms allow you to quickly and easily:

• ensure that all areas are inspected
• provide a record of any damages

Remember to take photos of questionable areas for future reference.

You should conduct an inspection of the apartment prior to the tenant occupying it as often damage can be caused during the move in.

Only conduct a move-out inspection once the tenant has vacated the premises, as damage can ofter occur during the move.

You must give a tenant written notice in advance that you intend to keep his security deposit, and you must detail in writing WHY.

For a state summary of security deposit laws, checkout http://www.thelpa.com

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