Tips for Homeowners Turned Accidental Landlords

Umesh Singh's suburban Minneapolis home sat on the market for nearly two years after he had moved on to a new job in Florida. After dropping the price of his 5-bedroom, 4-bath home from $429,000 in December 2007 to $385,000 by summer 2009, Singh, who carries two mortgages, decided enough was enough. It was time, he concluded, to rent it out.

That was how Singh, like a growing number of homeowners, became an "accidental landlord." But like many new landlords, he quickly discovered the challenges of renting in a bad economy.