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The Global Insight

What are the questions to ask when renting a home?

Author

Christopher Davis

Updated on March 06, 2026

Here are some important questions to ask: Who will be managing the property and what happens if anything goes wrong? You should expect letting agents to be clear on who you would contact to fix any problems, and if it’s the landlord, they should be able to give you some details about how the landlord works. Do you take a holding deposit?

What should I look for in a rental property?

Firstly, start by making a list of features which you’d consider as ‘must haves’, these are going to be the absolute essentials that you can’t live without, for example the location, commutes to work or schools, number of rooms, access to public transport, a secure garden, a dog friendly landlord.

How to find the right tenant for a vacant property?

When trying to find the right tenant, you can save yourself a lot of time by knowing what questions to ask potential tenants. Marketing a vacant rental property means you will be getting email and phone calls from interested prospective tenants with all kinds of questions.

What do I need to know about prior landlords when applying for a rental?

Our rental application requires that tenants provide at least five years or more of residence history along with landlord contact information. With that contact information, you can begin reaching out to a tenant’s prior landlords. But if you’re using Avail for tenant screening, we eliminate this extra work for you.

What to do if there are problems renting a house?

At each rental property viewing, take your time to check the property to make sure there are no problems. If there are any issues with the following, either make it a condition of the contract that they are fixed, or seriously reconsider your desire to rent that property.

How many views does calculating rental property numbers have?

She has over 300K views on her “Calculating Rental Property Numbers” video on YouTube, has sold over 200 copies of her Turnkey Rental Properties 101 eBook, and was awarded Top 100 Real Estate Investing Blogs & Websites. Her articles teach successful rental property fundamentals, investor psychology, and strategies to help get new investors started.

How can I recover depreciation on my rental property?

You can recover some or all of your improvements by using Form 4562 to report depreciation beginning in the year your rental property is first placed in service, and beginning in any year you make an improvement or add furnishings. Only a percentage of these expenses are deductible in the year they are incurred.