Around 46% of the population of San Francisco are renters. This translates to high demand for rental property in the area. While many people purposefully enter into the business of renting out property, there are plenty of accidental landlords that don’t.

The challenges faced when renting out a property that you hadn’t planned to affect both you as the owner, and the tenants. Becoming a landlord is a big commitment, and often, when this is unplanned, mistakes get made.

So, if you’ve started renting out a property, what should you do?

Here’s what you need to do if you become an accidental landlord and how can San Francisco bay real estate management can help.

What Are Accidental Landlords?

Becoming a landlord is usually something that requires investment and planning, but you may fall into the role in one of the following circumstances:

If you’ve inherited a home with existing tenants
If you need to move from the area but don’t want to sell your home
If you’ve bought a new home but can’t sell your old one

Often, people become landlords to cover the expenses of a property they don’t live in.

Learn Your Obligations

The first thing you’ll need to do is understand what the landlord's responsibilities are toward their tenants.

You’ll need to maintain the property to a good condition, collect rent, screen tenants, and report your income and expenses.

Take Out Landlord’s Insurance

If you’ve been living in the home you’re about to rent out yourself, you’ll probably have homeowner’s insurance. You’ll need to change this to landlord’s insurance. This will cover for any damage caused by tenants as well as any loss of rental income due to temporary habitability issues.

Tell Your Mortgage Company

If you have a mortgage on the property, your lenders will need to know you’re renting it out. Sometimes, a lender may require you to change your mortgage product as the risks associated with renting out a property are different compared to living there yourself.

Consider Accidental Landlord Management

While you may think that you’ll earn a passive income from renting out your property, the reality is that there’s a lot of work involved in being a landlord.

To get the right tenant, you’ll need to market the property. Once you’ve got people interested, you’ll need to screen them to ensure they’re suitable tenants.

Throughout the course of a tenancy agreement, you’ll need to carry out any emergency repairs in the home, along with dealing with any other maintenance issues.

You’ll also need to take rent payments, and deal with tenants that don’t pay. For some landlords, this can almost become a full-time job.

Using professional property management services, you’ll get assistance with all of the tasks associated with being a landlord. This frees up your time to continue your life as normal, while still reaping the rewards of a steady rental income.