Having a solid lease in play from the very beginning for each one of your tenants is the best game plan you can have as a property owner. You want to make sure that your lease is one professionally. This is an extremely important document and should be created by your personal attorney. This is not a document that you want to simply pull off of the internet and call it a day. This lease is the only leverage that you have over your tenant if they decide to stop paying you. The lease also needs to be concurrent with your specific state laws for the state in which the property is located.
Roommates and Lease Agreements
Make sure that if you do have a situation where roommates are sharing a property that you are renting out that they are all held equally responsible for maintaining the lease agreement. This makes sure that both parties are also responsible for their credit as well when it comes to the property agreement. Set standards strictly in your lease agreement for terms concerning smoking inside of the property as well.
Pet Laws and Service Animals
Make sure that you have strict pet laws in your agreements as well. You need to specify the types of animals that you allow to live on your property and also what deposit or pet rent will be charged for the pets to reside there as well. Make sure that you are up to date with service animal laws for your state and follow the correct laws to allow those with proper paperwork to have service animals with them in the properties that they rent.
The importance of being thorough
You want to be detailed, even overly detailed if necessary, when it comes to your tenants and the lease that they will sign to rent one of your properties. You want to be sure to go over the lease with them before they sign so that both of you are certain that there is a clear understanding of the agreement. You do not want to leave any room for any misunderstandings in the future. By being properly prepared, you are in the best position to protect your property and yourself if you have any future problems with your tenants including but not limited to them paying their rent.
Conclusion
Conclusively, a lease agreement is the most important part of the transaction concerning your property and the tenant or tenants that will be residing in it. You need to be fully informed of what they are signing and so do they so that there are no accusations of a misunderstanding in the future. You want to be absolutely certain that your tenants will be in full understanding and compliance with the lease that they sign with your property management company.