Renting a home in a Maricopa landlord’s market

By Brian Petersheim, Realtor

In the past, blogging topics have focused on buying/selling homes and the real estate market in general, but this time I wanted to change things up and focus on renters.

Renters in Maricopa have always been an asset to our community. People rent homes for many reasons instead of buying a home. The most common reasons that are mentioned are getting the “lay of the land” in Maricopa, maybe making sure the commute is acceptable, and deciding on a specific community to lay their roots down. Another common reason to rent is to work on credit scores and employment history to be able to qualify for a home purchase.

I have broken down this blog post into two parts. The first is the Maricopa rental market in general and the second will be tips and tricks to increase your chances of getting into the rental home of your choice.

At the current time there are about 18,000 homes built in Maricopa, but there are only about 33 homes for rent right now, which is a very low inventory.

Total number of homes for rent 33
Rentals allowing pets 23
Rentals with pools 5
Short term/seasonal rentals 11
Monthly lease prices of the 33 homes
$1,100-1,150—-2
$1,151-1,200—-5
$1,201-1,250—-4
$1,251-1,300—-6
$1,301-1,350—-3
$1,351-1,400—-2
$1,401-1,500—-8
$1,500+———3

With the rental market as tight as it currently is with supply, a prospective tenant needs to put their best foot forward when applying to rent a home. These are some tips and tricks to help a tenant get into the rental home of their dreams and set them above the competition.

1. Know what your credit report looks like before you find the home of your dreams. The landlord will receive a copy of your credit report and you want to make sure there are no surprises. If there are any extenuating circumstances or errors on your credit report, write a note to the homeowner to be submitted with the application explaining the issue. If they don’t see the note they won’t know the reason and may be more likely to pass on you for renting. The landlord may also run a criminal background check.

2. In in a landlord’s market, where the landlord may have multiple choices of tenants it would be wise to have a positive letter on hand from previous landlords. In cases where you don’t have a previous landlord, a letter from your direct supervisor at work telling what a great and long-term employee you are may help . Submit the letter with your application. That letter will weigh greatly with the prospective new landlord’s decision.

3. Make sure you invest in renters insurance. The homeowner’s insurance policy will not cover anything that doesn’t belong to the homeowner. The insurance is relatively inexpensive and covers everything that you own in the house, in case of some kind of disaster you and your belongings will be covered.

4. Have your real estate agent reach out to the landlord’s real estate agent to confirm the house is still available and ask if there are any applications pending. Generally when you apply to rent a house there is a fee involved for each applicant over the age of 18. If there are multiple applications already submitted, knowing that would be important for someone, before using their hard earned dollars for an application fee.

5. Any Real estate agent can help you find a rental. There is no “commission” for a tenant to pay the agent helping them. The commission is paid by the homeowner. There may be fees for the tenant to pay to the property management company, but those fees will need to be paid by the renter either way. A good source for a tenant to start the rental search on their own is www.Realtor.com

Welcome to Maricopa– “the Friendliest City in Arizona.”

Brian Petersheim
Realtor-Homesmart Success
602.206.9644 [email protected]