Alison Bentley

Many renters know that finding affordable housing is tricky these days. As a result, many low-income families turn to housing vouchers to help cover the cost of the rent. More than 5 million households use federal rental assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 program, and about 70 percent of those individuals

When putting in a rental application, you want to represent your worthiness as a tenant as completely as possible. Promoting yourself can only get you so far in the eyes of a potential landlord, but the word of someone else often carries more weight. For this reason, you may want to beef up the materials

For those with poor credit, renting a house is difficult. Most landlords require tenants to have a minimum credit score to rent a house. But most people hardly ever check their own scores, nor know how to raise a low one. Before you start looking for that perfect house to rent, consider researching your own

Having a rental property today doesn’t mean you have to follow a traditional rental income path. You don’t have to collect monthly rent from tenants who sign long-term leases. There are options. Landlords today can look at a rental property and see it as an investment property. But they can also decide to turn it

Home Owners Associations (HOAs) cover a variety of neighborhood costs. From maintaining common spaces like a pool or tennis courts to hosting community events, the role of an HOA is important but it also means those living in the neighborhood have to pay. When you’re a renter, there can be some confusion as to who

From the scenic and rugged landscapes of the Appalachian Mountains to the state’s charming towns like Harpers Ferry and Charleston, there are plenty of reasons that the welcoming state of West Virginia might be right for you. So if you’re currently living in or are considering moving to the state, then chances are you have

It’s a situation no landlord wants to experience. Your tenant isn’t at home, and you need to gain access to their apartment, with or without prior notification. You grab your keyring and arrive at their front door with an expectation to enter. But what you find is a new lock, one for which you do

One of the most unwelcome issues in any home or rental property is the appearance of mold. It’s a tough problem to combat since there’s no sure way to keep it from showing up — there are a million causes and it’s impossible to control many of them. There’s a chance you or your tenants will

Getting tenants settled into your property is about more than signing the lease and setting a move-in date. One key component, that doesn’t involve a lot of paperwork, is the property walkthrough. Ideally done before anyone moves in, and then once again after they move out, this is the time for everyone, landlord and tenant alike,

Having issues with your tenant may lead you to want to take some serious action. After all, it’s your property, right? Yes, and also no. While it’s your property, your tenants did sign a lease. They’re technically borrowing your property. It’s theirs for the term of the lease, but there are still rules to follow.