Hi Jan,
John is right. Most HOA's have some sort of restriction on rentals. Usually they require a copy of the lease for approval, restriction of the type of sign you can place in the yard, stipulations in the lease that the tenants and any other guests visitors to the property adhere to all the covenants and bylaws of the community...etc. Most restrict the amount of rental homes to anywhere between 10% to 25% of the entire community. Some, as John stated, do not allow rental at all. Some ask that you submit a request to the HOA for approval for rental status.

We always research these issues as part of our process for leasing properties. We have also found that most HOAs allow leasing in hardship cases where an owner can no longer afford to pay the mortgage and have been unable to sell at market value for a period of time. This usually requires proof of the hardship and special permission from the HOA in advance of marketing the property for lease.

As John mentioned, you would be prudent to contact your HOA and find out the guidelines for your community before moving forward with any rental activity. It would also be a good idea to consult a real estate attorney and your tax professional to find out more information about rental laws and tax information when considering renting your property.
Deryk

Thu May 22 2008, 13:53

Jan -

If your house is in a subdivision in Alpharetta that has a Home Owners Association you want to make sure that your able to rent your house. Some HOA’s don’t allow home owners to rent their homes out.

John Reinhardt
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
678.784.4440

Thu May 22 2008, 13:12

Hi Jan,
The other agents have very valid points. Here are some things to consider when renting:

Have you rented property before? Do you need an agent to rent it or just manage it? or do you plan to do that yourself? Will you have time to rush out and meet potential renters at your property when they call. Most renters wait till the last minute and then need to rush to get into a property. How about insurance? That will go up when your property changes from owner occupied to rental investment. How comfortable would you be with pets or smokers living in your property? Do you have a system to screen tenants for credit score, income verification, employment verification and past rental history? How about move-in/move-out inspection forms? Are you familiar with the Fair Housing and Fair Credit rules as they apply to rental? How about rental contracts and property management agreements? We can help in all of those areas.

As far as selling goes it depends on yor time frame, the condition, location and type of the property, and most important the price. We are very specific in our market analysis because we are finding that even in the same general area some neighborhoods are selling very well and some have properties that stay on the market month's without selling. My wife is out showing and previewing properties DAILY in this area and is very familiar with the available properties, the market and trends. Overall we have had some improvement in this area over the last 30 days when compared to the last 3 months but we still have a very large inventory of homes for sale with most Buyers making lower offers and lookng for a deal. We have a very aggressive, targeted marketing campaign when we list homes for sale. We'll also look at your home and make suggestions for updates/improvements and staging that can greatly increase the chances of your home selling. We live and work in Alpharetta so we are always close to our properties. That's very important when someone calls off the yard sign and wants to see the property immediately. My wife Debi is on call each and every day to run meet potential Buyers and Renters at our listings. Her cell phone is listed on our signs so prospects reach her instead of a voicemail or general office number. Most people have so many choices for rental and purchase they just go right to the next property if they get voicemail or no answer when calling the number on the sign.

We own 7 rental properties in and around the Alpharetta area and we rent and manage another 7 properties for clients. We have DEFINITELY noticed a surge in AVAILABLE rental properties in the Alpharetta, Duluth, Cumming area in just the past few weeks. Cumming started to increase first. The number of listings there has almost tripled in the last 6 months as other Owners unable to sell turn to renting. Six months ago all of our properties rented in 30 days or less. We now have our first listing ever that has been listed a full 90 day term without renting. We finally got a tenant that is signing a lease for it this weekenda. The average rental price has dropped anywhere from $100 to $300 /month.

Alpharetta and Duluth are holding up a little better with lower rental inventory and less time on the market. Still we have often made concessions on rental prices here as well. We actually picked up FIVE new rental listings this week with 2 or 3 more on the way. That's usually more than we get in 6 to 8 weeks.

The bottom line is that if you want to rent or sell in this market your chances of success will greatly improve if you are working with a team of Realtors that specialize, and live, in your immediate area. Full time agents devoted only to real estate sales and leasing. We would love the chance to sit down and talk with you to discuss your particular needs and situation and see if we can earn your business. Just let us know if we can be of service.

Be sure and check out our website athttp:// www.keylocationsforyou.com. Click on the testimonials link to see what our past clients think of our services. :)

Regards,
Deryk Harper
Broker Associate
Accredited Seller Representative
770-722-6922
Debbie Key-Harper
Accredited Buyer Representative
770-906-0317
Keller Williams Realty North Atlanta #1 Real Estate office in Alpharetta 2007

Thu May 22 2008, 08:53

Jan...this would all depend on what your plans are and your financial situation is. I'm currently renting rooms within my house. I have had several temporary roommates and finding new ones has only taken about a week or two max. It is a great time to buy and a great time to rent. Would it be better to sell than rent? Think of it this way, you're at vegas...you're up one day, down the next, then up again. If you rent your house that's the money you left back at home...if you sell the house you might be down one day, but you'll be up a lot more if you brought everything to the house you make an offer on. Not sure if that all made much sense or not...get in touch with me and I'd be happy to try explain better, hopefully you got a good chuckle from it.

We have two agents on our team and they'd be willing to provide you with a free custom CMA on Rent vs. Sell (we've been doing a lot of these lately). If you'd like this just send me an email with your address and I'll get it to Brenda or Brian. My email is carl@rkihomes.com

Thu May 22 2008, 06:05

Hi Jan,
Rent It!. The rental market is great. Even though this is the right time of the year to sell, the market is still very slow and values are down. I personally feel that in 2 years the market will be coming back with higher values than today. If you can hold on and cover your expenses on the home and manage the property with out going into a negitive cash flow. If you do not feel comfortable with handleing this type of work yourself there are Real Estate Agents that do property management and of course companies that do this. I do have one name of a couple of people in Alpharetta that you could contact. Because of the market conditions now I am focusing on rentals and property management in my area and business has been great. Most owners are renting in llue of losing their homes to foreclosure. Let me know if you need any futher advise or contacts.

Thu May 22 2008, 05:35

Good morning Jan,
We hope this email finds you well.
It really depends on your neighborhood and what your plans are after you sell.
Like the previous answer, it is a great time to buy! So you might not make exactly what you would like on the selling side but you may make it up on the buying side. This is not a "bad" market it's just a different market then what we are used to. Homes on the market have to look like a shiny new penny and priced correctly.
We have been working in the North Fulton areas for the past 24 years. So feel free to call us should you need more information about your neighborhood.
Good Luck!

Donna and Susan

Thu May 22 2008, 05:06

Hi Jan,
It depends... first, what are you planning to do after you move out of your house? Are you going to buy something elsewhere, or is it an investment home for you? If you are going to buy elsewhere, and you'd like to use the equity on your next purchase, I'd consider selling. It is such a good time to buy, you may not want to lose the opportunity.

The market does seem to be stabilizing somewhat. Depending on your neighborhood, sale prices might be good, but rentals could be tough. There are many homeowners wanting to rent their homes out, and this is effecting the rental market as well. You might want to check into rental rates for your subdivision before you make a decision.

I'd be glad to speak to you about your specific home, and possibly provide more detailed suggestions. Feel free to call me, at no obligation.

Jolie Abreu
Keller Williams Realty Consultants
678-894-4409

Thu May 22 2008, 04:47