10 Things That Should Be Included in Your Rental Agreement or Lease

A rental agreement or lease is a legally binding contract between the landlord and the tenant that outlines the terms and conditions of the tenancy..

This agreement consists of many components and can communicate how things should work for the landlord and tenant. When all parties clearly understand the terms of the rental agreement/lease and adhere to them. It is usually a much better experience for all involved. Here are10 things that should be included in a rental agreement:

1. The legal names of the landlord and tenants along with the legal address of the property.

2. The beginning and expiration date of the lease. Some agreements will also include the renewal terms. If it doesn’t, ask about it.

3. A payment date and method of payment should be outlined in the rental agreement so that the tenant knows when, how, and where they can pay the landlord. This can prevent unnecessary late fees.

4. The rental agreement should also state very clearly what will happen in the case of defaulting on a payment. The late fees should also be outlined in the rental agreement. The tenant should know up front the consequences of a late or no payment of agreed upon rents.

5. Who’s responsible for the maintenance? Sometimes tenants believe that the landlord takes care of all repairs. That may not be true. Some landlords outline the specific maintenance and repairs they will be responsible for and they do the same for tenants. Be sure your lease states who takes care of the maintenance.

6. In addition to maintenance, utilities may be a hot item. Make sure the lease clearly states who is responsible for the utilities. In some residents, water and sewage may be included, in others all utilities may be included and some may not include any utilities.

7. Property inspections and maintenance calls: Landlords have a right to assess their property during tenancy and often provide contractors to fix things. The rental agreement should detail when and under what circumstances a landlord can enter the premises to inspect or fix a repair. State laws vary on this matter and the rental agreement/lease should conform with the laws for the state of residency.

8. It should outline the alterations that a tenant can make to the property. The rental agreement should clearly state the kind and extent of the alteration that is allowed or not allowed. It should also state if the tenant should return the alteration to its original state upon move-out.
9. The rental agreement should touch on the subleasing. As subleasing is very popular today, the rental agreement should state your stand very clearly on this subject to avoid future misunderstanding.

10. The rental agreement should be very specific on the subject of abandonment. It must clearly define the landlord’s options if the tenant leaves the property without notice?

All of the items above are important components to any rental agreement or lease. They can make the overall landlord tenant experience much better by eliminating miscommunication and confusion up front. Since laws differ from state to state, rental agreements and leases can have additional terms and conditions.Take the time to understand the laws in the state in which you reside. Many states require written agreements dealing with real estate including rentals

Looking for a new rental property can be a daunting task; chances are good that if you are searching for a property online you may be looking to move to a new area of the country for work or family reasons. Even if you are not moving to a new area but are looking to move to another property in the same region it can still be a big task.

What methods are there to help with the search?

There are still the more traditional methods open to rental house hunters which will include the local papers (if you are in the area to receive one) or visiting the letting agents offices directly. These are still valuable methods but can be time consuming or impossible depending on your situation. To visit the local letting agents may take a whole day or even worse a whole weekend, depending on where you are living and where you are moving too, plus there are no guarantees that you will find what you are looking for. If you set out a weekend to look for a property it could be likely that a knee jerk reaction could happen if you become desperate to find a property during the time you are there.

One of the most important things to remember is that you need to take your time, don’t leave your hunt to the last minute, this could result in you having to accept a property that is not ideal for your requirements. It is important to remember the more time you leave for your search the more selective you can be when choosing your rental property.

How do the Property Portals/Directories Help Me

 

In days gone by the portal sites and directory sites that advertised property were often found to be frustrating to use, you may have found the house or flat that you would like to take a look at, make contact with the agents only for them to announce that the property had already gone and the site was out dated. The portals have now become much more sophisticated and are as up to date as the agents own websites. Taking feeds automatically from the agents own databases on a daily basis often the property found is current, OK, so you may be unlucky and have selected a property that had already gone that day, however more often than not this wont be the case.

The Available Information

 

The information on these sites is good and provide full property details, location maps, landlord requirements (ie/ no smoking, dss, pets) and even have the facility to download the property details so you can review your top selections in your own time offline. The rental market has always been a step behind the sales market when it comes to particulars and advertising documents, this now is not the case and you will find that rental property online is documented as well as sales. The good sites will also provide agent profile pages which outline their services and also give you a link through to their company website so you can check for further information.

Are Rentals Still Second Behind Sales

A lot of sites are focused on sales and estate agents and have the rentals as a side issue. The rentals market is an entirely different market and is aimed towards a different sector of people, it is important that the marketing online and offline is aimed towards the correct demographic group. There are specialist sites which are aimed purely towards the rental market of which it would make sense to use these services first. As always there are some better sites to use than others and it makes sense to research each one and check as many properties as you can (online) first.

Reviewing the Information be Prepared

As stated in the earlier part of this article remember to take your time in searching for property, decide on what is important for you. Don’t go into this blind; be prepared as you would if you were buying a house, a bad decision at the beginning of the process could mean you spend 6 months (usual minimum tenancy agreement length) in a house/flat or an area that you would rather not be in.

Buildium is a property management software and there are a number of different articles which can assist you in making the right decision about your next rental property, along with a whole host of other interesting information.

There are many decisions that you will need to make when investing in real estate. One of those decisions, for those purchasing and holding rental properties is whether or not you need a property manager. Property managers have many uses and are a great idea for those who have many properties to handle and wish to have a life away from their real estate investing businesses or for those who just do not choose to manage their properties. A property manager is the buffer between your tenants and your family.

The benefits of a good property management service are quite numerous. To begin with, you will find that they eliminate the need for tenants to have your phone number. If you’ve dealt with rental properties before without the buffer of a property manager you are surely aware that it doesn’t matter what time of night or the morning things go wrong, you are the first person your tenants call to fix those things. A few late night or inconvenient phone calls, can make many owners reconsider owning rental property and even get out of the business of renting.

A property management service is able to handle many things for you while you sleep through the night or simply enjoy time with your family. When you consider the number of calls you receive from one needy tenant or multiple tenants and the time you save as you purchase more properties, a good property manager or service is definitely a value for the money.

Another benefit of using a property manager or property management services is that they often have a qualified staff of administrative and maintenance support. The additional support team can handle items such as receiving rents, paying owners, coordinating and fixing necessary repairs. Some of these services may be included in the management fees while others such as cost of materials and labor for repairs may be additional. Regardless of whether or not the repair services are included in the management fees, your property manager or property management team is often the best source to find qualified contractors to handle the repairs. Many property managers only use licensed and insured contractors which gives you the owner peace of mind-knowing your property is being maintained with quality repairs and ultimately saving you money. In addition to finding qualified contractors, property managers eliminate the time an owner has to spend calling and scheduling appoints for repairs. Moreover, it’s nice to know that someone else can deal with some of the unfortunate and inconvenient things that comes with owning rental properties.

One of the most important reasons an owner decides to utilize a property management manager or service is that they are qualified to handle the legalities of taking care of tenants who cannot make the monthly rent payments on time. While you as an owner can relate to the circumstances that leave some people unable to pay their rent, you need the income from the property for the mortgage or other financial obligations. This is after all a business and sometimes it is better to have a third party handle the unpleasant situation of collecting late rent and obtaining possession of the property if necessary.

Property managers also handle the advertising for your property and the cleaning up and retouches that are necessary between tenants. They also allow you to take vacations with the knowledge that your properties and tenants are in good hands. Everyone needs to take a break sometimes and it’s nice to know that with a reliable property manager you can actually sit back and relax.   

If you are going to invest in real estate, consider adding a property manager to your team.  A good property manager reduces and sometimes eliminates your stress regarding your investment property. They can truly give you time back to do the things that are most important to you. 

For questions or additional assistance with selecting a property manager, contact Crystal Lovell with Make It Home Property Management. She can be reached via email, crysatal@makeithomepm.com, direct, 757.515.3113, or www. Makeithomepm.com.