We have a CS house we had been using as an AirBNB which we will be renting out for the upcoming year. It's only a few years old and we are going to be managing it ourselves.

What is the range for deposits and pet deposits in the CS market relative to the monthly rent? We are looking at $1900/month for rent. The rent has been agreed upon with the new tenants but we haven't decided what to ask for deposits and I want the deposits to be in line with the market.

How do you handle the logistics of utilities?

We are evaluating another CS investment property for purchase as well and am trying to budget for maintenance. The standard rules of thumb yield a pretty wide range. What have you found to be the most accurate way to budget for maintenance?

Operating costs I can think of are property taxes, insurance, lawn, pest and HVAC maintenance, and then whatever we budget for annual maintenance. No HOA. Am I missing anything significant?

Thanks, what about pet deposits?

DTP02 said:

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Thanks, what about pet deposits?

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I think our son pays an extra $25 a month in lieu of a pet deposit.

Deposit is usually same as the rent

Pet deposit of $500 per pet is pretty common. Many have went to non refundable pet deposits.

Adding $25 a month per pet in addition is also a good strategy

Budget a minimum of $100 per month for maintenance, older house could be more.


Do walk throughs because tenants love to sneak pets in on the down low. Have done many a make ready where no pets were suppose to be there and 2-3 had wrecked the unit. Also the bigger the dog the more damage it usually causes.

We use the security deposit = rent formula. Pet deposits are breed dependent with a minimum of $500 non-refundable per pet.

Tenants are responsible for lawn, pest control if they choose and utilities. I call the city and switch them into/out of our name when leases start & end. We've had good tenants so I've also negotiated with the departing tenant to carry them a few extra days until the next tenant moves in. That's typically negotiated as a discount on last months rent. On a new house, maintenance should be minimal. We didn't have issues until we hit about the 10 year mark.

if you allow pets, say bye bye to any carpeting.. We got tired of pee and ripped all the carpet out of all our duplexes and just put in ceramic tile..

Make sure you get a Residential Lease Guaranty Form signed by parents or guardian formed signed if the tenants are students or other persons. Make the P/G responsible for unpaid leases, late fees, or any damage to the property when the tenants leave.

Also take dozens of time/dated photos or videos of every room, every wall, every fixture, lighting, window etc. of the house.

I had a lady who purchased a house in Southwood valley for her daughter to live in while at A&M. After she graduated, the lady decided to rent it out. Move to three years later, the guys moved out owning no rent but didn't ask for their deposits back. They tore the house up.

They had covered the walls with posters and used roofing nails. When they took the posters down, it left a plug taken out of the drywall at each nail spot...every wall in every room. They also ruined the tile in the family room somehow by dragging something across it. They burned the drywall ceiling in the garage when the used their BBQ inside the garage. I was told by neighbors that it was the street's party house.

She called me and I went over and she was in tears. I asked about a deposit. $500. I asked if she got a Parent Guarantee form signed by all the parents and she asked, "what's that?" She went through a local rental company who never mentioned the form.

She can file on the students themselves, but what do they have? Ruin their credit and have the interest meter running.

I helped her get contractors out there to fix it and the total cost was right at $12,000.

As soon as the repairs were made, I sold it for her.

JP76 said:

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Deposit is usually same as the rent

Pet deposit of $500 per pet is pretty common. Many have went to non refundable pet deposits.

Adding $25 a month per pet in addition is also a good strategy

Budget a minimum of $100 per month for maintenance, older house could be more.


Do walk throughs because tenants love to sneak pets in on the down low. Have done many a make ready where no pets were suppose to be there and 2-3 had wrecked the unit. Also the bigger the dog the more damage it usually causes.

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I friend of mine who has 8 duplexes in BCS puts in his lease contracts that with 24 hours notice, every four months he will enter the property and replace the air filters. He can't did through the rooms but can observe what's going on and check on the presence of pets.

studioone said:

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if you allow pets, say bye bye to any carpeting.. We got tired of pee and ripped all the carpet out of all our duplexes and just put in ceramic tile..

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That's a good idea regardless.