State Specific Question About: MINNESOTA (MN)

What laws would you recommend I study before I rent out my house? I'll be listing it for rent in a matter of weeks.

Many thanks,

www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/housing/lt/default.asp

www.ag.state.mn.us/Brochures/pubLandlordTenants.pdf

If I wasn't such a weenie about cold weather Saint Paul would be on my short list of places to move to.

The rest of MN has it's appeal too.

MrRational, come on over. The weather isn't really all that bad - you get used to it. The other thing is, we in MN know how to handle it.

I would suggest the following:

1) Hang around this site. You've got a lot to learn in a short time. It's almost like free schooling. Read the postings, the discussions. Ask a question if you want, don't get discouraged if you don't get an answer or get an occasional rude response. Lots of people here love to share thier knowledge and experience. As someone else put it the other day, in regards to this forum, "Free advice from millionaire landlords". I've looked at a lot of other landlording forums, and this is the best. Lots of people here really know thier stuff, and know what they are doing

2) Get some books from your library. Or you can buy some from this site. The owner of this site, Jeffrey Taylor, has some good books.

meangoose how much would a 2BR apt cost in St Paul? Say somewhere near Grand and Lex?

I took the easy way out and paid an attorney with lots of eviction experience for a one-time consultation to learn the legals do's and don'ts. One example is the minimum interest you must pay on the security deposit. Took 75-90 minutes and he charged me $150, plus gave me a lease on a computer disk that I could use/ modify to meet my needs.

Is your time worth $150? If not, just remember to ASK HERE FIRST before you do anything. We've learned the hard way. First step, before you list, is to develop your rental criteria so you can't be accused of discrimination. Then decide if you want a month to month agreement or a lease.

Hans - forgot to add - you need to check your city's laws too. For example, in my city, you cannot rent to 4 unrelated persons in one house/apartment. Different cities have different rules. You may or may not need a license from the city too.

Hans, go up to the top of this page and click on the purple link 'Landlord/Tenant State Laws' then choose MN!

Do everything mentioned so far, particularly the first two responses ... and a 'state specific' lease. DO NOT use an 'Office Depot-type' lease.

Get a passing knowledge of your state and local LL/Tenant laws; search here for 'tenant screening' and/or similar search terms; read and know your own lease.

I would recommend using a management company and their lease for your first tenant; but NOT for management of your property. Some RE brokerages have tenant search and property management. Here, most charge first month's rent for 'tenant placement'. By the time you run ads, show the property to several people, do credit checks, check references, employment checks, take 50 phone calls asking obvious questions, sit waiting for prospects to show up, prospects no-showing, taking a month or more to get a tenant, etc etc - it's worth it to pay the fee, and get a quality tenant.

Then, search here for 'evictions', etc. Go back and learn you state and local eviction laws. Some will advise hiring a lawyer for your first eviction. However, if you know your laws and procedures, you won't need a lawyer. But even then they can be convenient. As stated, buy a 'landlording' book here; it will cover most of this stuff.