Anyone else here from my area? I am trying to figure out fair market rent for my rental house that is in Dane Co. but not in Madison. Where besides Craig's List and Facebook should I look for comparisons?

Look up Apartment Association of SouthEast Wisconsin for some answers. Attorney Tristan Petit writes a blog that also addresses some of this. I am pretty certain there is an apartment association out of the greater Madison area as well. Great resources. Mr Petit does a landlord bootcamp twice a year. Well worth it!

I was worried about that law regarding Section 8 only because I do month to month periodic tenancies, and don’t want to be forced into a one year lease. Supposedly, it’s upon Section 8 to accept my MTM, I don’t have to change that.

And, there could always be a test case. Ugh! Don’t want it to be me. But, I do know quite a few neighbors in my area who are decent tenants, and use Section 8, so, not all bad out there. In fact, one couple who would be a great fit for one of my houses, so, I am pondering the MTM vs term lease. ( I know I cannot cherry pick, and say only MTM for this tenant, but do one year term for that tenant. That would be a clear violation of Fair Housing.)

Thanks, Busy. The laws have been changing so fast that it's hard to keep up with it all. I have read Tristan's blog and I used to think that I didn't need to do the boot camp since I only have 1 rental, but I'm starting to rethink that.

Despite how I might have made it sound, my rental is a nice place and I know that my rent is way below fair market rent. I am just trying to get ready for the next time I have a vacancy.

Does anyone happen to know if it is legal for me to say something like "no more than 4 tenants"? Does it have to do with the number of bedrooms? My older septic system can only handle so much, so that's my main concern.

My rentals (duplexes) are all in Dane county.

Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin is the association in Madison.

In Madison, you are not allowed to discriminate again Section 8 as a source of income. I thought most of the rest of the county this not so(maybe Fitchburg is same as Madison).

Typically a house rents for significantly more money than an apartment. So if your house is not very small, run down or in a bad neighborhood your rent is likely to be too high to attract Section 8 prospects. Dane

County Housing Authority runs the subsidized housing that is in Dane County but not in Madison.

You can check on the HUD website and find out the rents for Section 8 in our area.

Seems in the Madison area that most rentals still get advertised on Craigslist.

Beth, any chance I can send you an e-mail? My house is unique and in a small area and if I post too much detail here anyone local (and maybe not) could figure out exactly which house it is.

WI House,

If you leave one door bumper off, or have one cracked outlet cover, or one chip of paint your house will not pass Sec8 inispection.

We can tell prospects "This home does not qualify for the Sec8 program."

Our WRITTEN CRITERIA says 2 persons per bedroom. I believe it is also fair to say "Health and building code only allow X persons based on the septic system."

BTW I now charge $25 per month septic fee. Tanks must be pumped every few years at $300 each and finger fields must be replaced every ___ years. I just spent $13,000 x 2 septic systems. That got me thinking - It's not MY poo.

$25 x 48 months covers the pumping and a little toward eventual repairs.

City sewer locally is $40/month so it's still a deal for the res and so far no one has even questioned it.

Low rents: staying low does not help you. Many LLs are nervous about the competition so out of fear they don't come up to market. They lose THOUSAND$$$ over just a few years.

Like you asked, do the research and set a comparable price for your property, even higher if it's really nice or has some super features. The home sells the lease. Price is only one factor for shoppers. Example: look at how much people are paying for cars they cannot afford!

Some prospects are scared away by a low price. They are looking for a home in the $____ price range. One strategy to get a home rented is to RAISE the price to attract a different group of prospects.

Technique: advertise the home at a high price and see if anyone responds. I've been pleasantly surprised at times.

You don't have to please every home shopper, just find ONE who falls in love with your place.

Best of luck!

BRAD

Brad, I have had a couple of people tell me that my rent may be scaring away people because it is too low and people may think that it is a scam or a dump. I think I will experiment with "high" rent when the current tenants leave.