Renting an apartment, tips. How to rent an apartment the right way: top tips

If any of you have ever thought about changing your place of residence, district, city or even country, you will understand me.

We bought our small one-room apartment in a panel house on Budapeshtskaya Street (in the center of Kupchino, St. Petersburg) in 2006. Before us, it was rented out for probably 10-12 years. We got housing without proper care and repair.

I still remember how the loaders laughed at her condition, transporting our furniture and equipment from the old rented to the “new”, but already their own apartment.

A bit of personal history, so to speak.

We shared a family living space that was empty. They parted with relatives, paying half of its value at the market price at that time. Then we earned money ourselves, we managed without mortgages and loans. Our savings and earnings came in very handy in order to give 1.5 million rubles in a few months.

I think we were very lucky that it happened then.

Together with my wife, we made repairs to our liking and lived in the apartment for about two years. Our first son was born and learned to walk in this island of personal space. But we understood that 32.5 square meters was too small for our growing family to live comfortably.

A year later, our second child was born. But we have been living at a new address for three months. In a rented apartment after renovation, in a huge 86 square meters of two rooms and a kitchen, the size of our entire past living area.

Our "little family", as some real estate agents say, we rented out to a young couple. The money from the rent was enough to afford two rooms instead of one with a small surcharge.

Thus began our era of professional tenants, driven by the desire not to stay in one place yet.

In this story, I made a number of gross mistakes, which I periodically remind my clients and managers about. Read more about them for you in this post.

Why is nomadism beneficial for me?

There is already about it And many like her have been written.

It's a completely different lifestyle. When you decide to change not only the district, but also the city. And you go for fresh impressions with your family.

When you deliberately deprive yourself of your usual way of life and force yourself not to accumulate junk. Learn to live economically. You make only those purchases that will be useful for a long time. Which at the same time do not deprive you of mobility.

The slogan "to hell with the cult of insane consumption!" really works only in isolation from a familiar place.

I like to watch the changes in my life. Personal interests appear, like riding bicycles with the whole family or living in the country all summer long, which were not available to me at the “old address”.

When we moved to another city (Voronezh), payment for local housing went towards offset from renting an apartment in St. Petersburg. A pleasant surprise was that regional market real estate is lagging behind with prices and appetites of real estate agencies in comparison with the capital.

Therefore, now we rented a two-room apartment of 65 meters, which was fully paid for by our odnushka in St. Petersburg. We even had enough to pay utility bills. The cost of a communal apartment was also lower than the Kupchinsky HOA.

A good choice of place of residence, in a new area with a coniferous forest park and practically uninhabited new buildings, was not limited only to saving on rent. The average bill of our family for food has also decreased by 1.5-2 times.

All this actually allowed us not to worry so much about the level of earnings, as it was important in St. Petersburg.

We began to miss even half of the money that we earned there.

First call

When once again we changed tenants in an apartment in St. Petersburg, I perfectly remembered how the previous tenants always regularly transferred payments, sent paid receipts for utility services, and together we repaired the refrigerator, lighting in the bathroom and something else on a trifle.

And I believed that it would always be so.

Because past experience told me that there are decent people. After all, I myself have been renting housing for many years, constantly in touch with the owner, sending payment and paying for the heat, electricity and water consumed by me and my family.

Working in real estate in 2006-2009, I have seen enough of various troubles associated with renting and buying a home. And I saw the destroyed apartments and huge rent debts, the killed furniture and equipment after the delivery.

But, like a real shoemaker without boots, I stubbornly did not see the signals that reached me.

They told me they needed more control. For the third time, the tenants delayed payment, citing difficulties with bank transfers specifically to my card. With apologies and all, but there was no money.

The first signal was in December, and the last one happened in April. When I received a phone call to my question about the next payment, stating: “We are moving out next week! When will you hand over the keys?

I got hit by the phone

That they say it was too late to ask questions about the communal apartment and the condition of the apartment. A series of unexpected claims that I didn't care how the tenants felt. It turns out that I should have been more interested in their fate, called more often, visited them personally.

A month before their appeal to the congress, I changed a broken washing machine in the apartment (it served for almost 10 years, it’s necessary!) For a repaired two-year one with Avito, with a guarantee from the workshop. They took the old one off, took it away and brought a new one. Everything was done in a couple of hours over the phone.

And now it turned out that I needed to buy a new one, because I am a sort of oligarch. I didn’t even fork out for a new washer for the tenants I abandoned and forgot. It was necessary to monitor the fall in rental prices and offer to reduce the price, etc. etc.

In short, claims come from kindergarten, with the desire to teach me how to live right.

If something does not suit you, you need to say goodbye with dignity

The biggest disappointment came from unpaid rent bills that the tenants chose not to pay. They decided that it became expensive for them to rent an apartment they had already killed in a residential area and for "mad" money. They decided not to notify me. They sent fake checks for previously made utility payments.

And here is a brief result of my gullibility and indiscretion in working with "business partners."

To be honest, I didn't know what to do with it. I was not prepared for this turn of events, when the tenant had already moved out and left the keys to a familiar agent.

The apartment was in a terrible state. They walked on the carpet in street shoes, cut off the wallpaper (most likely, a dog, which they also did not agree with me), ruined the furniture and plumbing.

I spent a lot of extra money to call in a professional cleaning and return the apartment to a sane look. Repair plumbing, wash carpet, replace furniture.

To say that I was incredibly upset by the situation is an understatement.

The thing is, very few people are capable of being inside a problem or conflict and immediately seeing the solution. According to psychologists, there are less than 10% of such people.

Besides, hard style is not my approach. I tried to threaten and said that I would sell the debts if there was no payment. But it was a weak move. And after using a technique unusual for me, the negotiations turned out to be completely failed.

It remained only to rely on the decency of the tenant. But to my last request to pay off the rent arrears, Valery boldly told me that you can’t trust anyone in this life and later sent SMS

Everywhere there are dishonest people and cheaters who are looking for detours and excuses to relieve themselves of personal responsibility.

They expect to “warm up” a partner or “mirror” their own problems.

Perhaps one of them lost his job, income ceased to be regular and the apartment simply became unaffordable. I do not want to deal with the current situation that led to such an outcome.

To honestly report that there are difficulties or about your decision to move out even before the onset of a critical situation - you need to have good fortitude and strong nerves. But they didn't show up.

I would not act out a similar situation further down the chain on my homeowner. This wave was absorbed by me and my airbag. And it turned out to be a good lesson for my future discretion in choosing partners.

In our time, the threshold of sincerity and decency has noticeably dipped both in business and in personal relationships between people. If you choose between staying on the street or cheating and hanging debts, many will silently choose the latter.

So that you do not make my mistakes with your tenants and tenants, I want to convey to you the recommendations of my friend real estate agent.

Tatyana helped me out in this difficult situation. She helped clean everything (invited a team of cleaners), refurbish the furniture (given recommendations on where and what to buy), and found new tenants.

4 valuable tips from Tatyana Verezhnikova, real estate agent with 15 years of experience

♣ If you have a second set of keys, always keep it with you.

Never, ever give all the keys to your apartment to your tenants. It would be better even if there is a second lock in the front door. Here you can not leave the key from it at all. Let them lock the door with one lock. In the event of problems or serious losses, you arrive and lock the apartment with your key and wait for the tenants to talk.

Never neglect to renegotiate a lease.

Perhaps this is my main mistake. I forgot to renew it. Residents monitored the law, prepared themselves, plucked up the courage to staunchly resist and went "all-in". My unprepared and chaotic plan of pressure by phone 1200 kilometers from the object failed miserably. Save money and do it regularly! Renewal of the contract in any agency costs from 500 to 2000 rubles. This can keep you out of trouble.

♦ Change your utility payment strategy.

Take on this responsibility. Take the money from the tenant immediately for the rent + KU. Output the average number. For example, 15,000 rubles - rent + 2,500 CU on average for the year. So set the rate of 17,500 rubles and get it in your hands. You can pay for credit cards remotely by saving payment templates once to Sberbank.Online or through other payment systems.

♠ Determination is needed to act immediately.

Remember - this is your property, even after a certain period of operation. Let only your past dreams live in this property, and not you yourself. If the issue is the value of the rental rate, then this is a solvable matter. But if there is no payment from the tenant - 3 days and we pack our bags. There can be no delays.

The situation with apartments for rent in major cities will not change in the next 50 years.

It is still a seller's (Landlord's) market and only you decide who will live in your house while you are not there and under what conditions you will change access to it in exchange for payment.

I hope these tips will help you not to mess things up when choosing your own home or renting out your property.

Before answering the question “How to rent an apartment officially”, we suggest that you first answer another one.

Why should I rent an apartment officially?

We will not appeal to your conscience and tell you that breaking the law is not good. Instead, let's outline the main risks faced by a person who illegally rents out his property:

1. Scam. If you rent housing illegally, you may be faced with the fact that in your apartment there will be completely different people to whom you originally rented the apartment. Or worse, you may even lose your home;
2. Unexpected expenses. If you do not determine in advance the procedure for paying all expenses (utility payments, telephone, etc.), then it will not be easy, for example, to get money from the employer to pay for his telephone conversations with relatives from a distant but native city;
3. Damage to property. How can you later prove without a contract that before the tenant appeared in the apartment there was a different TV, there were not 4, but 5 shades on the chandelier, and there were no stains on the carpet?
4. Problems with law. The current legislation does not provide for liability for “renting an apartment without a contract”, however, there are rules providing for liability for failure to submit a tax return ( Art. 119 Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and tax evasion. Moreover, we draw your attention to the fact that for non-payment of taxes it is provided as a fine ( Art. 119 Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and criminal liability ( Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

We hope that now you are inclined to rent apartments legally.

But before you start offering your apartment to your friends or posting ads on the Internet, we advise you to familiarize yourself with some regulatory documents and make certain calculations.

Analysis of income, expenses and taxes

Income

Everyone wants to earn income from their activities, rent is no exception. In order to determine potential income, you can see similar rental offers: apartments in your area in approximately the same condition, for example, using our .

taxes

So, the amount of income is approximately clear, now let's decide on expenses: , and property (if you see fit), and of course, . As for taxes, to get a complete picture, we can invite you to read articles on this topic on our portal. Here we simply note that when renting an apartment, there is multiple tax options, so it is quite possible to choose the best option for yourself:

1. The individual paying;
2. Individual entrepreneur on the general taxation regime (payment of personal income tax);
3. - ch. 26.2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
4. Sole proprietor using - ch. 26.5 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

For simplicity and clarity, you can use the prepared by us by entering the relevant data for you.

As you can see, in terms of taxation, a greater choice is given to individual entrepreneurs. More detailed information about the features of renting an apartment for individuals and individual entrepreneurs you can find in our article .

Relations with tax authorities

Upon receipt of payment under a lease/lease agreement, you have an obligation to pay tax. It is necessary not only to pay the amount itself, but also to provide it to the tax authorities documentation confirming that this amount is calculated correctly.

Tax return forms are approved Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Also, the tax authorities may require you to provide the contract itself and documents confirming receipt of payment.

Neither an individual, nor, in some cases, even an individual entrepreneur are required to maintain “full-fledged” accounting records like legal entities. But there are still accounting requirements. For example, individual entrepreneurs applying the Simplified Taxation System are required to keep a book of income and expenses ( 346.24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In any case, the fact of receipt of payment must be recorded by a receipt or bank account statement if payment is made by bank transfer.

So that this is not a problem, you can always use our services:

• for individuals and

Not only harm, but also benefit

By renting real estate legally and paying taxes on it, you not only bear the costs of the taxes themselves, but also ... you get the opportunity to get out of a completely different zone of risks arising from “black rent”, when you cannot go to the police or the court in a conflict situation. Appeal to laws and their violation.

When renting legally, you are not afraid of threats from the tenant that he will report to the Federal Tax Service that the responsibility for the fact that 40 illegal immigrants live in the apartment will be assigned to you, and not to the responsible tenant, that in case of damage to your property or property your neighbors, you will be able to resolve this issue through the courts, etc.

In addition to indirect situations, there are also direct benefits from the formalization of rental relations. So, for example, in certain situations you can apply for or tax relief on real estate used in commercial activities.

other expenses

Now that we have dealt with taxes, these are not the only costs. Which is worth evaluating, direct swarming about renting out real estate. When you decide to rent out real estate, you become an entrepreneur, and therefore you need to treat it like a business.

You need to minimize the risks of damage to the condition of the apartment, property, as well as possible damage to third parties. You can manage this risk either by contacting an insurance company (only when purchasing an insurance policy, make sure that the apartment being rented falls under the insured event) or by independently creating a reserve for unforeseen events. You can read more about this in a separate article.

And also, when renting out your property, you should keep in mind that tenants, while living in an apartment, subject it to natural wear and tear and, no matter how neat and decent they are, and after several years of renting out real estate, the apartment will need cosmetic repairs. Whether or not to create a reserve for these purposes is up to you, but keep in mind that such a need will arise, in any case, it is necessary.

Lease agreement

We hope that as a result of the calculations made above, you are in profit and we can move on to the next paragraph. Decide what and with whom you need to agree on in order to get the right to rent out housing. We discussed this topic in articles and . But so as not to burden you with a lot of links, below is a table that clearly demonstrates which consent is required in which case.

	Agreement all owners	Landlord's consent	Consent of all members of your families, living together with you	Consent of roommates
Own apartment	Yes	–	–	–
Municipal flat	–	Yes	Yes	–
Privatized room in communal apartment	Yes	–	–	Yes
Non-privatized room in communal apartment	–	Yes	Yes	Yes
A room in a non-privatized apartment	–	Yes	Yes	–
Room in privatized apartment	Yes	–	–	–

More about the contract

Which contract to choose?

You have determined whose consent is needed and probably already know how to get it. Now it's time to move on, perhaps, to the most important part of the lease - the contract.

Of course, you will coordinate and sign the contract itself with the tenant / tenant. But it will be useful to determine in advance which contract will need to be concluded.

Summary

In order to legally rent out housing, no doubt, it will be necessary to study some norms of the legislation, in particular, the Civil and Tax Code. Perhaps look for answers to your questions in specialized forums.

But on the other hand, the legislation is written in order to protect our legitimate rights and interests, and by applying it correctly, you can benefit for yourself and reduce risks.

In this article, we tried to tell you how to properly rent an apartment from the decision to do it until the moment you pay taxes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to describe all the nuances of all particular cases of rent in one article, the amount of information is too significant. But more detailed information can be obtained on the relevant sections of our portal.

Renting apartments in Moscow brings their owners an average of 7-10% per annum. But the amount of profit depends not only on the demand for it, but in many respects on how competently you approach the rental of housing.

“If you are only planning to buy an apartment and go into the rental business, then you better invest in a more profitable business,” such advice was given to me by one of the realtors with whom I spoke. Indeed, it is much easier to deposit money and receive 12-13% per annum than to get involved in the rental business. But you may already own one or more apartments. In this situation, almost everyone wants to turn housing into a source of income - albeit small, but stable. How to ensure the maximum profitability of the rental business for yourself and what the level of profit depends on, D’ figured out.

Not a good hat

In Moscow today there is practically no housing that could not be rented out. The only question is the duration of the exposure (the time spent looking for a tenant) and the price. Some mistakes of an inexperienced rentier can lead to the fact that the deadlines are delayed or the apartment is not rented at the price that he could have expected. “Today, in the economy class segment, an apartment worth 20-25 thousand rubles. takes a few hours a month. An elite, properly priced apartment should not stand idle for more than a few weeks,” says Olga Sugonyaeva, head of the Polyanka office rental department at DOKI. If the deadline for renting an apartment is longer, then you or your real estate consultant miscalculated something.

The most common mistake is an inadequate assessment of the apartment. Often, homeowners do not see a problem in the fact that the apartment remains unrented for several months, and do not even adjust the rate. However, a simple calculation shows that the benefits of such a "business" are doubtful. “The owner of the apartment wants to receive $6.5 thousand per month for rent (that is, $78 thousand per year). But the tenant is asking for a $200 discount. If the owner makes concessions, he will lose $2.4 thousand in a year. However, if he continues to insist on his own, the object may remain undelivered for two to three months. Then the lost profit will be more significant - $ 13-19 thousand, ”says Vadim Lamin, head of the exclusive real estate department at Penny Lane Realty. Often the location of the house and (or) the quality of the apartment itself does not meet the price requirements of the landlord. So, the delivery of apartments in old houses with wooden ceilings is often delayed. Even if they are in a sought-after center. “Wealthy clients prefer to settle in either reconstructed or newly built houses,” explains Vadim Lamin. This does not mean that it will not be possible to rent such an apartment, but the owners will have to moderate their appetite. The same problem can arise in objects with incorrect footage distribution or poor layout. “It happens that the apartment has a good footage - about 200 square meters. m, and it is located in a new house, and there is security, but it has only two, albeit huge, living rooms. The housing is beautiful, but in terms of rent it is almost unrentable. It happens the other way around, a huge living room and dining room and ... three tiny bedrooms of 10-12 m2, ”says Olga Sugonyaeva. This problem can be solved through competent redevelopment.

Investment in renovation

A good repair and redevelopment can significantly increase the value of an apartment in the rental market. But it should be borne in mind that the value of repairs in the cost of rent differs markedly depending on the class of housing. It plays a smaller role for economy class apartments. “If a one-room apartment with cosmetic repairs costs $900-1000 per month, a similar apartment with a major overhaul and new furniture can be rented out for $1200-1300, and with a European-style renovation - for $1600-1800,” the deputy director of the Miel-rent company gives an example. Maria Zhukova. And the managing director of Century 21 West, Yevgeny Skomorovsky, believes that the state of economy-class real estate affects, first of all, not the cost, but the speed of exposition. An apartment with poor repair, instead of several hours, will remain without a tenant for several days. Business-class and elite housing is another matter. If the apartment is located in good location, renovated, it can be rented for 15-30% more expensive, and a designer renovation in an elite complex will allow you to request 50% more. Light cosmetics in the segment of luxury housing and business class is an indispensable condition when concluding a new contract. But spending money on an exclusive design project is not advisable. Surprisingly, apartments with such repairs are less liquid. It is very important, experts say, that the rental price does not outweigh the market price. “It is not necessary to lay Karelian birch parquet throughout the apartment or to make it fit with antique furniture: it will be very difficult to rent such an apartment above the market price. By the way, the opinion that a jacuzzi adds value to an apartment is also a myth,” says Olga Sugonyaeva. And even more so, you should not hope to increase the rent due to expensive repairs in an economy class apartment. The level of finishing and furnishing must correspond to the quality of the house, the prestige of the area and the size of the apartment. Bizzarri furniture, Gaggenau household appliances and parquet flooring are unlikely to significantly increase the cost of renting housing in a panel house near the Moscow Ring Road. Before making repairs, it does not hurt to consult with realtors who know the needs of their clients.

Safety

The rental business is associated with various risks. One of the most likely is that tenants will damage your property or the apartment itself. For example, I remember the experience of parents who, having moved out of town, handed over their “three rubles” to a young family. For two years, a cozy clean apartment turned into a kind of barn. And when the parents were going to sell it, they also had to make repairs at their own expense in order to restore the presentation of housing. Tenants can also damage your neighbors by flooding them, for example. If this happens, a claim for damages will be brought against you as the landlord. “After the satisfaction of the claim, you, of course, have the right to demand compensation from the tenants (if a lease agreement has been concluded). But is there any guarantee that you will technically succeed in getting this claim settled? Residents can move out and disappear in an unknown direction. Most likely, even if there is an appropriate court decision, it will not be possible to return the money for repairs, ”says Irina Perevoznikova, chief specialist of the liability insurance department of the Soglasie company. There are also risks such as late payment, use of your apartment for any illegal activity, etc.

Such risks should be considered. The main thing is to conclude an agreement with your tenants. Oddly enough, many landlords do not do this, believing that the contract limits their rights as owners of the apartment. Partly so it also is. If the contract specifies a minimum lease term, the owner will not be able to get rid of the tenants immediately. But on the other hand, he can stipulate in advance the conditions under which early termination of the contract is possible. For example, late payment, damage to property, etc. The agreement can also specify the degree of responsibility of tenants for an apartment, furniture and equipment.

Many landlords do not worry about their property, because they take a deposit from tenants in the amount of a monthly fee. But the damage caused may exceed this amount. If tenants pay 20-25 thousand rubles for an apartment. per month, and after they live, you have to make repairs for a couple of thousand dollars, then the rentier will be the loser. Of course, the practice of collateral as a security tool is widespread throughout the world, and this should not be neglected.

It makes sense for the landlord to consider insurance options - property and civil liability to third parties (neighbors). Property insurance protects against a standard set of risks that may arise, including due to the negligence of tenants: fire, gas explosion, natural disasters, flooding, engineering equipment accidents, theft, robbery, etc. Third party liability insurance implies that if your tenants cause any damage to the neighbors (for example, flood them), then it will not be you who will pay for the repairs, but the insurance company. “The landlord needs both types of insurance, especially if the property of the owner remains in the rented apartment. After all, the fee for the policy is incomparable with the cost of possible losses, ”said Tatyana Moiseeva, deputy director of the department of property and personal insurance of individuals at Rosgosstrakh. Tariffs are really low: about 0.5-1% of the sum insured. But keep in mind that rental property insurance usually costs the client 5-10% more.

Unfortunately, insurance is also not a universal protection tool for the landlord. Since the damage caused to housing is often not covered by any insured event. “Clients-landlords often ask whether it will be recognized as an insured event if the tenant causes any damage to the finish or steals home property. We do not insure against such a risk, since the landlord himself lets the tenant into his apartment, ”explains Lyudmila Karpova, head of the property insurance department for individuals at AlfaStrakhovanie. By the way, some landlords shift the responsibility for insurance to tenants, but the latter agree to this if these costs are included in the rent.

Someone else's hands are more reliable, but more expensive

Experience shows that finding tenants on your own is not a problem. Firstly, there are a lot of sites on the Internet that imply a direct connection between those who rent housing and those who wish to rent it. Secondly, it is usually enough to send information to the circle of acquaintances and colleagues so that applicants can immediately be found for an apartment. On the other hand, both resources and word-of-mouth advertising are suitable mainly for the economy class. Tenants of more expensive housing prefer to entrust the hassle of finding an apartment to realtors. Therefore, it makes sense for owners of business class and "elite" apartments to go to a real estate agency (AN). Some agencies are ready to take responsibility for the reliability of the referred tenants. “All the blows from the client side are taken by the realtor. If the tenant has not paid, then the agency is responsible to the landlord, that is, it is investigating the situation that has arisen. If it is not possible to take money from the tenant, then the commission is returned to the owner. Or the subsequent search for a client is carried out at a discount,” says Tatyana Vakulenko, head of the HomeHunter urban real estate department. Large NAs also offer a wider range of services for the landlord. At the request of the owners, realtors can almost completely take over the management of the apartment - until the end of the contract with the tenants. “In this case, you will be deprived of the need to communicate with tenants, and you will not need to solve everyday problems related to your housing,” explains Vadim Lamin. Realtors can take on both legal support and technical support throughout the entire lease term (a special team carries out minor repairs), and assistance in negotiating with potential tenants. It is also important that large agencies have contracts for corporate services with many foreign companies that rent housing for employees. Since the company pays for the tenant, the owner of the apartment will receive payments guaranteed and on time. True, this approach is practiced only by those firms that work with the elite sector. For many small NAs, the landlord/tenant relationship ends immediately upon receipt of the commission. If you are counting on some further assistance from the realtor, it is worthwhile to prescribe this issue in the contract: in what cases the agent will intervene in the situation and what responsibility he bears for the clients found.

The cost of real estate services differs both by set and by company. Most agencies charge the landlord for finding a client a fee equal to the monthly cost of renting an apartment. If we are talking about the possibility of trust management and attracting large NAs, then such services will cost from 8 to 50% of the monthly rental payment (depending on the number of options).

tricky way

If the indicated level of profitability from renting an apartment does not suit you, you can try to increase profits in two ways: rent an apartment by the day or transfer it to a non-residential fund and rent it out as an office.

Given Moscow's shortage and high cost of hotels, daily apartment rentals are in high demand. Especially among those who come to the capital not for a day or two, but for a month or two. In addition, according to realtors, this market is underdeveloped, and the supply is very limited.

But, renting out his apartment as an alternative to a hotel room, the owner takes care of maintaining it in good order. After each tenant, the apartment must be put in order, a complete cleaning must be done. The cost of preparing housing for delivery will also be higher than in the case of long-term rent. After all, such apartments cannot be rented without furniture, dishes and bed linen. A separate issue is the search for customers. This requires a certain debugged service. Unless, of course, you yourself do not intend to stand daily at the station square with a sign in your hands. In addition, by renting apartments by the day, their owner a priori bears greater risks than with a long-term lease. In the event of a conflict, the owner of a rented apartment has far fewer ways to influence the guest. Therefore, the delivery of housing, even for a short period, must be confirmed by an agreement drawn up in writing, and cash settlements must be confirmed by receipts. You can make your life easier by contacting a specialized NA, which has a solid client flow and the necessary human resources to keep your apartments in a usable condition. However, such an agency still needs to be looked for. None of the seven major NAs I contacted deal with daily rentals.

According to realtors, the most sought-after object for daily rent are one- and two-room business-class apartments located within the Moscow metro's Koltsevaya line. They are most in demand by business tourists from far abroad countries. The average daily rental price for one-room business-class apartments is $80-150, for two- and three-room apartments $120-250. The profitability of daily rent, taking into account the payments of the management company, is 15-20% per annum, but on the condition that the apartment will not be idle for a long time.

The second option is to transfer the apartment to a non-residential fund and rent it out as an office or shop. “The need for such facilities is very high, and the amount of rental payments is two to three times higher compared to renting out housing,” says Yevgeny Skomorovsky. The main problem with this method is that it makes sense to use it only with housing of a certain type. First of all, the object should be located on the ground floor or above non-residential premises, be able to equip a separate entrance. It is desirable that the house has good transport accessibility, and there is a parking lot nearby, which could be used by office employees. The official expenses for the procedure for transferring the housing stock to non-residential are small: a state duty of 500 rubles. for individuals and 7.5 thousand rubles. for legal entities. However, experts warn that this is a rather complicated legal procedure, which almost never takes place without the participation of realtors. In this case, the cost of the apartment owner can reach up to $500 per sq. m. m. Separately, it is worth considering the cost of repairs and losses on the downtime of the apartment. The fact is that the translation process can take many months. A stumbling block can be, for example, the disagreement of one of the neighbors. Until all the neighbors in the entrance unanimously vote "yes", you will not receive permission to transfer. And the consent of neighbors sometimes becomes another, and very large, item of expenditure in your budget.

I periodically watch posts about renting / renting apartments and always read them with interest, but ... to my regret, I didn’t get anything right (I emphasize, right for me). But under each text on this topic, a serious holivar of a white and black rose unfolds, in which both parties to the transaction, the landlord and the tenant, participate. True, there is still a third party that does not rent or rent apartments, but it knows better than anyone how this is done. But there is a third party in any issue under discussion, so we will not pay attention to it.

In fact, realtors are also involved in disputes, but for some reason neither side likes them. Realtors are evil! - I read this somewhere in the comments. Although it is not clear why.

Here I want to talk about personal experience how I do it. I do not pretend to be the truth, I do not plan disputes, I do not insist that “this is the only right way”, I am simply sharing my experience in renting apartments in Moscow and the Moscow Region.

How do I find clients?

Everything is simple and trite, a realtor helps me. I do not have the time or desire to look for tenants myself, talk to them on the phone, answer questions, travel and show the apartment. All this is done by a realtor, to whom I voiced the requirements for tenants. And although he is not responsible for the selected tenants, but he filters them at the selection stage, according to my requirements.

Requirements for tenants

They are simple and uncomplicated. Family (desirable), with a child (desirable), permanent registration in the Russian Federation (mandatory). Possibly with animals.

Why is permanent registration required? These are purely my internal cockroaches, but it seems to me more reliable than it will be a foreign migrant.

Why a family with a child? Everything is very simple - I do not rent housing for a month or two. It is more convenient and profitable for me to rent at the lower price limit, but for many years, so if it is a family with a child, then the chance that they will not move out of the apartment in a year is very high. That is why I always give them temporary registration for kindergarten / school (they don’t take it without it) if they ask for it.

Housing cost

As written above, I have it at the lower price limit on the market and never rises, except in cases of a sharp increase in utility tariffs (which has not happened yet), or in the situation described below.

There are people who are looking for tenants for several months, because the price of an apartment is pushed up to the very top. And, of course, sooner or later they find it. But there is a considerable risk here that very soon the tenants will find other housing, similar in quality, but much lower in price. And there is one more thing - for example, renting an apartment costs 50 tr / month. This is the maximum price for such apartments. The owner is looking for clients for a month, two, three, but does not reduce the price. As a result, he finds, but for three months the apartment did not make a profit, as a result, he will receive 450 tr in 9 months, although if he lowered the price, even to 40 tr / month, he would have rented it immediately would be 480 tr per year As you understand, this example is strongly exaggerated, but I consider it correct. Because the tenants of an expensive apartment during this time will find a cheaper option and move out, and the owner will again lose several months in search of tenants.

Deposit

It's not my idea, but I use it. Upon arrival at the apartment, payment is taken for the first month of residence and a deposit in the amount of a monthly payment. You must return this deposit to the tenants upon their departure. Moreover, you should not agree to the offer of the tenants to set off this deposit as payment for the last month. This deposit is your guarantee that if you return the keys and find damage to the property due to the fault of the tenants, you will not have to pay out of your own pocket for the repair of breakdowns.

Freelance situations

The cost of the apartment is formed, among other things, from the presence of various amenities in it. And therefore, if something breaks in the apartment from appliances, furniture, a pipe leaks, a toilet bowl breaks, etc., then all this is restored at my expense, of course, if the breakdown (leakage) was not the fault of the tenants. But for me this is such a rare case that I don’t remember that the tenants themselves would break something and ask me to restore it for my own money.

Relationship

Sometimes it happens that tenants want to buy some equipment or furniture for the apartment. We negotiate it, and they buy against the future payment for housing. After that, the purchased item becomes my property. And they feel good, they bought what they wanted, but the money would still be given to me as payment, and I feel good, as additional furniture (appliances) increases the attractiveness of housing for future tenants. I must say that for the first time I rented one apartment completely empty, and now it is almost completely furnished.

You don't have to call tenants on the phone. Generally. Only one call is allowed, on the eve of the day of payment, to agree on the time of the meeting (if payment is made in cash) and that's it. The more you call, the more you remind them that the apartment is not theirs, but temporary housing. And to come with a check, enter the apartment, inspect the rooms, this is almost a guarantee that the tenants will treat the apartment as if it were a rented apartment. Yes, and such behavior will not add to your respect. Residents should feel like full-fledged owners of your apartment, only then they will treat it as their own.

If you and the tenants agree in advance on a troubleshooting system, as I wrote above about emergency situations, then they themselves will call you and tell you where, what, went wrong in the apartment. It will not be beneficial for them to hide the shortcomings that have arisen, since it is at your expense to eliminate them anyway.

My experience in renting out housing is not so great, only ten years, but not once, not a single apartment has been waiting for tenants for more than two weeks. And they always moved out with regret and not at all because I provided them with poor quality services. One family went abroad, the second (a girl with a child) got married and went to her husband, another gave birth to a third child and moved to a more spacious apartment.

Some tenants have moved out, while others have not yet been found.

During this time, I clean up the perfect order in the apartment, including washing windows, behind / under furniture, etc. I check all plumbing, furniture doors, handles (a sore spot) and everything else that affects a comfortable stay. If necessary, I repaint the walls (in one apartment, wallpaper for painting, very convenient) or re-paste, if they require it. Yes, these are additional costs, but they were planned from the very beginning. No matter how carefully people live, it doesn’t matter if something falls off, comes off or unscrews, especially if there is a child in the family. And the next tenants should see a clean and beautiful apartment.

Residents who are moving out should not make claims for torn wallpaper or scratches on the laminate, this is all normal wear and tear. Of course, if the TV is broken or the refrigerator is dented, then everything is deducted from the deposit.

Rent

Electricity, water meters are paid by the tenants, everything else is me.

Raise/Lower Recruitment Cost

This is a very slippery and very disliked moment, but there is no getting away from it. The first time the tenants asked for a reduction in the cost of rent, in my opinion in 1998, at the time of the crisis. We discussed the amount of the reduction, but with the condition that as soon as the situation in the country stabilizes, the cost will return to the pre-crisis level. A couple of years passed, the crisis subsided and it was time to raise the price, but the market in this area dipped a little and it was not possible to return to the pre-crisis price. After that, the tenants lived with me for another four years and went abroad.

Contract and other legal issues

In any case, it is better to learn the details and nuances from lawyers. I conclude a contract for 11 months with an inventory of the property, its condition and defects, payment procedure, monthly amount and mandatory conditions under which the cost of rent can be increased. In our country, one cannot be sure of the stability of tariffs and taxes.

When making financial settlements with tenants, I confirm with a receipt that the money has been received.

This is what my experience is. Someone will say that I was just lucky with the tenants and maybe they will be right. But without strict filtering of those who want to rent an apartment, even if it is more expensive, this luck would not have happened.

Good luck and all adequate employers and landlords!