lease

Residential Lease Agreement: A Closer Look at Your Lease

May 1, 2014 by khproperties Leave a Comment

What’s in a Residential Lease Agreement?

A residential lease agreement is a binding contract between tenants and a landlord. In Texas, we use the Texas Association of REALTORS® Residential Lease form, a sixteen page contract – it’s long and can feel overwhelming when you’re signing one. This video breaks down the residential lease agreement into its components and covers it in depth, so we thought it would be perfect to share with you here. There may be other forms associated with the residential lease agreement as well, but this form is the bulk of the agreement.

image courtesy of Claire L. Evans

They removed the video from YouTube. 🙁

Seller’s Temporary Residential Lease

April 15, 2013 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Does the thought of packing up all of your precious belongings, scheduling movers, utility shutoffs, and wrangling the kids, pets, and spouse into a packed car send shivers down your spine? Is it made worse by the thought that you could go through all of that only to have the contract on your house go wrong at the last minute? To avoid making those last few days leading up to closing even more tense and stressful, consider using a Seller’s Temporary Residential Lease. Sellers can request and negotiate to lease their home back from the new buyers after closing. There’s a simple two page form called the “Seller’s Temporary Residential Lease” that gets added to the contract and there have been times that it has been a true lifesaver for our clients.

With this form, you negotiate a set per diem rental rate and possibly offer up a security deposit. Commonly, the per diem rental rate is calculated by taking the buyer’s new monthly payment and dividing by thirty, but it’s all negotiable. Once everyone signs at closing and the deal funds, the buyers become the rightful owners of the property and the old owners become their tenants. Standard landlord/tenant relationship rules apply and generally payment for the anticipated term of the lease is paid all at once up front. This leaseback can extend for a few days or a few weeks, just no longer than 90 days. So if the new home you’re purchasing isn’t quite ready or if you just want an extra few days of certainty before busting out the boxes, consider this as one more option in your real estate tool belt.

There is also a “Buyers Temporary Residential Lease” which is used when the buyer needs to move in before closing. It is not as common as there are some legal issues with doing this, but it can be used in a pinch.

Short Term Rentals

March 22, 2013 by khproperties Leave a Comment

So it seems you’ve found yourself in-between homes or in town for an extended stay or in a new area where you’re hesitant to make a huge housing decision without doing your research and want to know what options you may have for short term housing in San Antonio. Well, my friend, you’ve come to the right place.

With the current rental market in San Antonio exploding, homeowners often feel as if they are in the position of power. This means that they’re looking for higher rents, less concessions to tenants, and the dreaded longer term lease. In addition to that, San Antonio is a military hub, with a huge portion of the city’s tenants here on two year assignments. This means that landlords are accustomed to the longer term leases (12+ months). But that’s not to say that you’re out of luck by any means. Here are a few options to consider:

Extended-Stay Hotels. Many hotel chains have created a new business model designed for business or family travelers staying in one place for weeks or months at a time. Many times these setups are pet friendly, offer complimentary dinner and snacks, contain in-suite kitchenettes, can lower your rate with longer stays, don’t have to charge hotel tax, and even offer true one and two bedroom layouts.
Corporate housing. Check with your employer, or your spouse’s employer to see if they own executive property in San Antonio. Many times large companies will buy homes or condos and furnish them as an investment or perk to its employees who travel. It’s worth checking into, especially if you’re wanting something already furnished and ready to go with minimal hassle.
Talk to an experienced rental agent.
- Many agents know which apartments are willing to accept short term leases. There are high quality apartments out there that will accept leases as short as one month, although most hover in the three to six month range. You’ll pay a higher monthly rate, but it may be worth it for the shorter obligation.
- Good real estate agents know the MLS inventory and they know other agents. These connections are important because good relationships get you more information on upcoming inventory, seller flexibility, and even that little extra push to convince an owner to take rental with terms that they may be hesitant to otherwise consider.
- They can help you with timing. Landlords are more open to short term leases in the slower fall and winter months than in the popular summer or spring months. A three month lease in January puts the property back on the market in the much busier March or April where an owner is less likely to have losses due to a vacancy.
- Need furniture or other amenities? No problem. There are great furniture leasing companies in San Antonio that can provide you with good quality furnishings to go along with your rental. We work a ton with CORT, but check with your agent on available discounts they may be able to secure for you as well.

image courtesy of nan palmero, a local San Antonio resident

Can’t sell your home? Try renting it out.

December 13, 2012 by khproperties Leave a Comment

If you’ve had your home listed for sale and it just doesn’t seem to be selling, there’s typically a few reasons. Price is always a major factor and even though we’ve seen an uptick in sales and prices, not every neighborhood is performing as well as we’d like to see. When you can’t get the price you want or need for your home and you’re thinking about throwing in the towel, perhaps it’s time to consider leasing your home instead of selling. Renting your home can be a profitable experience and help you hang onto your home until the timing is better so that you can reach your goals.

Becoming a landlord isn’t for everyone. You’ll need to look at your financial goals and the local rental market. Although rents have been running high for quite some time now, you’ll want to figure out how much your home costs you to keep each month – mortgage payment (interest and principal), taxes, insurance (you’ll pay a higher rate than you do as an owner-occupant, if you don’t hire experts from millerhanover.com/auto-home-and-personal-insurance/renters-insurance site to settle this down), HOA fees, and repairs and maintenance. Unless you’re really bold, you’ll also want to hire a property manager. We recommend hiring one for the simple fact that the Texas Property Code can be a complicated pile of requirements if you don’t stay on top of it and learn all the new rules and regulations as they come along – and not following the letter of the law can land you in serious legal hot water.

We have several property managers here at Kimberly Howell Properties and an office staff that assists with their needs throughout the day as well. We also maintain a core of professional service companies to handle those late night emergencies in addition to regular everyday maintenance.

So is renting right for me?

As mentioned previously, it’s all about the numbers. Take a look at your home’s true cost each month. Sit down with a qualified property manager and go over those numbers. They’ll help you understand the local market and what your home will be worth on the rental market. They’ll discuss the fees of property management (or the cost associated with doing it on your own if you’re experienced and ready to take on that challenge). They’ll talk to you about the estimated money you should be prepared to have on hand for repairs and upkeep. The goal is to make more in rent than you will spend on the home’s true cost, but don’t be discouraged if it’s a wash or even a small negative, because if you don’t rent it out, you’ll still be paying most of those costs on your own anyway. Sometimes it’s better to take a small loss while renting your home and waiting for a better time to put your home on the market for sale.

Have questions about property management and renting your home? Fill out the form below and one of our agents will contact you.

Rental Search – Find a House for Rent in San Antonio

May 14, 2012 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Kimberly Howell Properties is pleased to announce the launch of our rental search on our site. This new map-based search is based on the same technology as our homes for sale search, but allows renters to search more precisely to find the rental house they’re looking for. We’re excited to bring you new ways to find a home and we look forward to helping you buy, rent, or sell your next home in San Antonio or the surrounding area. By separating out the sales from the rentals, we can help you better identify homes that fit your needs.

So give it a try and let us know what you think – search for rental homes today!

image courtesy of Shayne Kaye

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