Prep 4 Rent's formula is simple... One Click is your Key to making More Money Faster.

As a Tampa Bay Realtor, the more time you spend "managing" a listing, the less profit you make.

Calling someone to clean up a house, someone else to paint or touch up, someone else to shampoo the carpets, someone else to change locks, someone else to replace a broken dishwasher.... well, you get the idea.

Then you have to coordinate all these people, follow up on the unreturned calls, collect all the proposals and get them to your client, and after approval you have to babysit everybody, and lastly, make sure they did everything right, or did it at all!

Whew!! That's a lot of work for the relatively small commission on rentals.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to make one click and get EVERYTHING done, at a fair price, FAST?

Click here to download a flyer for your office

Currently serving the Tampa Bay area, more market areas coming soon.

About Us

Prep 4 Rent was founded by an active Licensed Real Estate Broker with a background in home remodeling.

Steve Mordue operates exclusively as a Buyer's Agent. Steve became frustrated showing clients homes for rent that simply were not ready to be shown. Time and again, the homes that moved quickly, without haggling over rental rates, were the ones that showed well. It's not rocket science, it's Real Estate 101.

The question in Steve's mind was..WHY? Why are so many listed homes not "show ready"? After calling a few colleagues, Steve determined that the real issue was time. For the relatively small commission involved in rentals, most realtors simply could not afford to coordinate all of the items that needed to be done to get a home into shape.

With his remodeling background, a light bulb appeared over Steve's head, and Prep 4 Rent was born.

Prep 4 Rent's purpose is to be the "One-Click" solution for realtors with properties for rent. Our extensive services include, but are not limited to, all the items listed on our "Services" tab; from one source.

Unlike the handyman you may have in your rolodex, all of our inspections are performed by a Real Estate Broker who understands all too well what is necessary to get a house into rent ready shape:

No more than necessary, but everything that is required, at a fair price, FAST.

All of our team members, whether direct employees or network contractors, have been thoroughly screened, drug tested, reference checked and specially trained prior to working with us on any client property.

Our Services

Prep 4 Rent's services start with our Free Inspection. Upon receipt of an inspection request via the "Free Inspection" tab above, we will schedule the inspection of the home. A Licensed Real Estate Broker will perform the inspection itemizing all items that require attention and provide you with a photo-documented report together with a detailed proposal for remediation suitable for presentation to your client. Should your client approve our proposal, we will immediately perform all work outlined and submit a completion report along with our final invoice.

All property information is available to you in our Client Area by clicking the login link at the bottom of the page. To see this feature Click Here and use "preview" for both username and password

It really couldn't be any easier... one call, and you're done, at a fair price, FAST.

Here is a list of the most common services we provide:

Tips for Renting a Home Faster and for More

Those of you that are experienced rental agents will probably already know this, but if you are new to the rental side, or are the owner of a rental property, here are some tips to help you rent faster and rent for more money.

The first thing to understand about renters is that they are not influenced by "Potential" like buyers are. Renters are not interested in spending a dime on improvements that will never be returned. When prospects walk through a rental, they assume that they will be getting what they see, and if work needs to be done, most assume they will have to do it... and won't. The second thing to understand is that you will not get a second chance to make the first impression. With those two facts in mind, here are some easy tips to move your property fast.

1. Make sure the power is on. Our guess is that about 20% of the available rentals are sitting out there with the power turned off. With the minimal cost for powering a vacant house, this is a serious, and unnecessary handicap. Many renters are working full time jobs and only have evenings to view listings. If you have ever had to do it, you know that viewing a home by cell phone light is a waste of time. If you do happen to be able to show the home when there is still light out, the mustiness, moldy refrigerator and chirping smoke alarms are a major turn-off... and the prospects never come back. To help keep the power costs down turn off the hot water heater and consider installing an electronic thermostat that will activate either the AC or Heat as needed to maintain a reasonable temperature.
2. Consider installing a built-in microwave oven. It is surprising the number of rentals that do not have this feature which has become critical to our everyday lives. This is an expense item that a renter takes note of, that they will have to go out and buy a countertop microwave that will also use up valuable counter space. Built-in microwaves are not very expensive, and while they may not add a lot of value, they can eliminate a negative.
3. Similar to number 2, consider installing a washer and dryer. These items can be purchased used on Craigslist for very little and make a big difference to renters who probably do not have them and again are looking at having to come out of pocket.
4. If you have a pool, definitely include pool service, just add to the rent. Not only is this a plus from the renter's point of view, but you absolutely do not want a renter, who does not have "Pride of Ownership" responsible for keeping this important asset in shape.
5. Similar to number 4, consider including lawn service. Many renters will look at this as another expense, they will either have to hire a service or buy lawn equipment. Again, without "Pride of Ownership" you can expect your property's yard to go downhill, and in Florida, they can go downhill very quickly.
6. Resist the temptation to replace all of your flooring with tile. While this may seem like a great idea from a maintenance point of view for a rental, homes that are tile throughout feel very cold and uninviting, particularly when vacant. There are quite a few varieties of relatively inexpensive but durable carpets available. Shampooing, if necessary, after a tenant vacates should come out their deposit. When the carpet does need to be replaced, consider a beige tone carpet with darker spec pattern, it complies with a neutral theme and hides wear.
7. Consider installing Ceiling Fans in the bedrooms and living areas. Ceiling fans not only provide desirable air movement, but they can add another touch of detail at very little cost.
8. Make sure there are blinds on all the windows. Consider replacing curtains or other window treatments with blinds for neutrality and ease of maintenance. Two inch "Plantation" style blinds are available in PVC at very low cost at home improvement stores and are more desirable than "mini-blinds", particularly the aluminum mini-blinds that invariably get bent up.
9. Use neutral patterns and colors. The odds of a renter having the same tastes as you are slim and that bamboo wallpaper you loved in your bathroom, or those clouds you painted on your daughter's ceiling may be the reason that a prospect hates your house. Consider removing non-neutral wall covering and odd paint colors. A modern paint scheme that works well for rentals would include beige walls and ceiling with white trim. Don't paint the walls white.
10. Lastly, make sure the home is "move-in" ready before it is shown. Kitchen and bathrooms thoroughly cleaned, paint touched-up, carpets cleaned, floors mopped, debris removed, lights all working, porches swept, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is your "Free Inspection" the same as a "Home Inspection"?
No, while we inspect many of the same items a "Home Inspector" may in a pre-closing inspection, our free inspection is specifically designed to identify items that should be addressed prior to listing a home on the rental market and to identify areas which are handicapping the ability of the home to be rented both quickly and at the maximum rate. The results of our inspection are intended to serve as the basis for our proposal only and are not to be used for any other purpose.

Can I get as many Free Inspections as I want?
Yes and No; as long as the relationship is positive for both you and our firm, there is no inspection limit. However, if we find that we are performing a lot of inspections for you, and none of them are resulting in remediation work for our firm, we will kindly decline further inspection requests from you.

How do you handle costs for items that need to be replaced?
When we encounter an item that cannot be cost effectively repaired, we will seek out the best price for a replacement that is of similar quality. We charge a 10% handling fee over the actual cost of the item, and provide all receipts.

What if my client wants to purchase the replacement items and have them delivered?
The time we will spend dealing with a delivery coordinated by another party and the chance that the item is not appropriate, is simply not worth the client's minimal savings, therefore, we do not allow this. However the client is free to shop for a better base price and we will acquire the item from their supplier of choice and include a 10% handling fee.

How do you handle services that require special licensing, like roofs or air conditioning?
We have a network of specialty licensed contractors who will perform these services at pre-negotiated bulk rates. We charge a 10% fee for managing and coordinating these services. A separate contract for these services will be provided to the client directly from our network contractors. Again, should the client wish to use another firm we are happy to work with them, however we will still charge a 10% management fee.

How do you handle Hazardous chemical removal like paints or other household chemicals?
We utilize a special in-house team to remove hazardous chemicals and dispose of them legally at the proper facilities. Actual costs of facility disposal fees may vary and therefore will be passed onto the client as a reimbursable expense including a 10% handling fee.

What kind of warranty do you offer?
For new appliances or other items, the manufacturer's warranty, which will be provided to the client, shall apply. For services performed by specialty contractors, their warrantees will apply. For items like shampooing carpets or paint touchup, we require you to visually inspect and accept the completed work, no warranty is provided for these types of items after a tenant takes possession. For all other items we offer a 90 day warranty on workmanship, exclusive of tenant abuse.