Give me advice re: renting out our home

[Palo_Verde]

@Quercus

The only thing I’d add is that (if you haven’t already) I’d try to talk to someone independent who knows the renting professor, perhaps a colleague at their institution or someone at your institution in their field who would know them. You don’t need full-scale security clearance, but make sure they really are a professor there and that they’re not famous for mental breakdowns. It’s a big advantage that you’re renting to someone also in academia who presumably has a responsible position and reputation, but you still need to do a little diligence.

I did contact someone in the Physics department where he’ll be working (he’s a Spanish professor in that he’s from Spain, not in that he teaches Spanish). They vouched that he’s for real and will be working there.

[Bolt_the_Nut]

You’ve been getting lots of good advice, and verifying employment with the Physics Department was a smart move. A couple additional recommendations. First, consider talking on the phone as well as e-mailing. I know there is a time difference, but a quick call can often be useful in sizing up the person. Second, you may want to educate yourself a little about rentals in Spain. For instance, if similar properties in Spain come with a groundskeeper and a maid, your renter may have assumed they would be available. He may be a perfectly fine renter by Spanish standards, but if those standards don’t match with your expectations there could be problems. (No offense intended to the Spanish – I’m just pointing out cultural differences may be problematic in such situations.) If he’s had American sabbaticals before, he probably knows what he is getting into, though.

Good luck, and enjoy Germany!

[FarmerChick]

@Annie-Xmas

Rental property manager here.

ALWAYS get a security deposit. Check with the laws in your state. One and a half months’ rent is standard here. You might want to ask for the last month’s rent up front too.

A written lease is a must. Forget how nice the people are and the verbal stuff. Put everything in writing, for your protection and theirs. Who is paying for repairs? How many people will be living there? What about the appliances?

Tenants can put the utilities in their names. Usually all that is required is a signed lease.

Ex- PM, I second the security deposit and the lease. In fact for only 2.5 months, I think I would want the whole amount up front.

@PotLuck

If you can’t switch the utilities out of your name, consider blocking/password-protecting long-distance calling from your phone and pay-per-view for your cable. One of my sisters sublet her apartment to a woman who ran up a phone bill of several hundred dollars and flatly refused to pay, claiming that someone else must have made those calls … to the subletter’s home town … from my sister’s home number.

Absolutely. You can get stung quick with a massive bill otherwise.

@sugar_and_spice

2 things -

IME details like security deposit and what utilities will be paid are discussed along with the amount of the rent. If it’s just coming up now then he may fairly ask to revisit other terms of the friendly agreement you already have. A deposit is a risk for him, you don’t know he won’t break your fridge but he doesn’t know whether or not he’ll have to sue you to get the deposit back.

the fact that he’s taking care of your dog (will they be the only watchers/walkers?) kinda makes this a bit different than strictly landlord-tenant. what if the dog gets sick or lost, are you expecting him to drop everything to deal with that? will he get a deposit to cover those sorts of expenses? if you expect him to be flexible and forgiving when it comes to the dog he may expect you to be flexible and forgiving when a glass gets broken or something.

I would also take everything you value out of the house. You need to realize you are letting a stranger into your home. You have to assume he will go through everything. He probably won’t but do you really want him going through your personal papers or your porn collection? What about your jewelry or your stamp collection? Put small valuables in a safety deposit box, the rest in storage.

I would also leave a phone list for them,vet, plumber, electrician etc. Call your vet and them know you are out of town and that someone else is looking after your dog and make arrangement to charge any reasonable vet bill until you get home.

@control-z

Aren’t there real estate agents that manage rental properties? I really wouldn’t try to do it myself, you might get lucky but you might not. A house is too big of an investment to gamble with. The manager might get a sizeable cut but they also deal with the bullshit.

Yup.

[Maastricht]

I wouldn’t have rented the home out to somebody local.

Instead, I would have gone the route through one of the many home exchange / home swap organization, likethis one, so the organization would organize the paperwork, and I would get low-price lodgings in Germany out of it too.