Hello everyone,

Smoke free property.

Tenant must maintain checking account and rent will be paid by auto draft.

Four emergency contacts per resident

Beginning and ending dates.

Rent amount.

How rent will be paid.

Date rent is due.

When rent is late and late fee amount( check your state laws for this and anything that you put in your lease).

Names of PM and all tenants/occupants.

Signature of both LL/PM and tenant(s).

Date signed.

What LL/PM supplies and what Tenant supplies.

Tenant rules.

LL/PM does not insure tenant belongings.

Tenant is required to have renters insurance.

How often inspections will be done.

Any parking arrangements and rules.

I don't want to rain on your parade Josh because you are truly trying to get things done. Perhaps you could change your posting to must have paragraphs in a new bees lease.

Why do I say that?

Well you want to set yourself up success at your most stressful time as a LL - turn over. At the same time you want to reassure your resident when they are most stressed out - again turn over, what they exactly need to do to get 100% of there security deposit back. YOU WANT TO GIVE THEM BACK ALL OF THEIR SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK! If you are able to do that, you trained them up correctly and have a unit that should be just about have ready to rent again. That isn't what typically happens. There is a training disconnect.

There is a huge of confidence you can have when you understand what you don't know and acknowledge it. Before getting much more input from the board, I do hope you have at a minimum a bare bones lease to add on to. That lease will save you thousands so trying to make itself is sorta like doing surgery on yourself. Can you do it - maybe. Should you do it - NOPE. Will you get the best results - absolutely not. Will the results still around with you for life...........they often do. So please - don't do what a much younger Ray tried to do back in 1989. It is money well invested.

Brad has one that is excellent.

Jeffery has all the forms you need to get started.

Staples or even Office Max have basic outlines you can build on if you think you save money by making costly mistakes.

AllyM, how do you word that in your lease?

Bingo ! Mike [CA]

Being a LL in charge is one thing,

(and famous around here)

but having Control and taking back Possession

Mike, If you start off with a M2M and they leave after 2 or 3 months or anytime less then a year really, then you are not going to make money, right?

KNOW YOUR JUDGE

Go to the courthouse and get familiar with the system sit in on the cases .My first time observing I was nervous as h*** and I didn't even have a case before the court .The judge asked us what case we was here for I told her just learning she them said if you want to stick around after court I will answer you questions ,We talk about 15 minutes After all we do vote them in. For LL/small claim she is very simply and informal.

For example

Rent paid Y/N $$$

Damaged Before/after pic $$$

Move out early actual damage

And no excessive late fees $10 a day X 30

5 0/0 of rent OK

- Indemnification/ hold harmless liability clause

- Jury trial waived and both parties pay own legal fees (that way a tenants lawyer doesn’t see a gold mine if fees to be paid by the rich landlord, instead he sees a poor tenant who can’t pay his legal fees)

Although I will say this may be less powerful as many tenant free legal services are becoming more prevailing.

- use a “rent discount” if paid by the 1st. Then if there’s a moratorium on late fees, you can still collect

- require renters insurance.

- co2/fire alarms are working and that they are operational and tenants responsibility to replace batteries 1x year thereafter. (Verify working by pressing the buttons for each alarm and have them sign)

6x saw your question about late fee added to rent for court.

When we file for none pay with the court-- it has spots for rent, court fee, atty fee and last line is OTHER. We list it as other. We use 10% of rent amount as flat rate once the court papers are filed.

Leases are NOT for good tenants ....leases are necessary when you have a bad tenant

Remember to think Ike a bad tenant

I remember years ago when 1 LL here said he could not find a smell after tenant vacated

He found shrimp stuffed in the ends of curtain rods

Ob, why a max stay of 4.9 yrs? Four of our 6 tenants have been w us 5-10 yrs. They are our foundation. Well trained, always pay, expect reasonable rent increases - one just told us we should go up $25 / month when we told them we’d go up $20?!? Who wouldn’t want tenants like that.