Whether you need a way to make up some spare cash quickly or want to keep your home while you go on your epic round the world trip, renting out your home is a fantastic option.

But you need to know what you are doing.

If you execute this properly, you can have a steady stream of residual income landing in your pocket each month with very little work.

If you execute this improperly, you will end up spending all of your earnings on repairs and cleaning, or even worse, hassling with tenants to try and get rent on time.

So how can you make sure that you rent out your home the right way?

Let me show you.

1. Understand what you are getting yourself into

First, you need to completely understand the responsibility involved with being a land lord.

Is this really the right fit for you?

Can you handle the stress of having other people live in your home in your absence (or living with you)?

It is not as easy as many people think and you need to do your research and completely understand what you are getting yourself into before you make the decision.

2. Properly prepare your home

The next step that you need to take is to make sure that your home is properly prepared.

The extent of your preperation will depend largely on the state of the market.

If you are in a down market, people will be much more choosey and less likely to rent out your home without proper amenities.

In an up market, you can typically rent your home as is.

Once again, do some research and properly understand what people are expecting in your current market.