By Joel PersingerYourRealEstateDude.com
Once you have properly screened a prospective tenant by performing a credit check, criminal background investigation and had the records searched for previous evictions, the next step is to write a strong, tight lease for the new tenant to abide by.
There’s an old saying that a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. While it’s certainly possible to strike a mutually beneficial verbal agreement, proving who agreed to what when things go sideways is no small project to be sure. As a result, the written agreement has become the standard for renting or leasing property. But it’s not enough to simply “get it in writing.” It’s also important for the lease to be legal in the jurisdiction where it is used, understandable to both you and the tenant, detailed and specific.
Not being an attorney, I gravitate toward using one of the many standard leases that are available. You can buy a standard lease “form” at just about any office supply store, but the best leases I have found in San Diego are produced by the California Association of Realtors. You might also contact your local apartment owners association for legal documents they might have available to members.
Once you have a standard lease make sure you read it completely and understand what it says before you use it. If there are places to fill out on the lease it is best to make sure that you fill it out completely and accurately.
Remember, standard lease agreements are just that, “standard”. Since one size does not generally fit all, you may want to tighten up your lease by adding a list of rules and regulations incorporating them into the lease. It would be wise to consult your attorney to make sure that any rules you include are legal in your area.
Some examples of rules you might wish to include are restrictions against storage of junk vehicles or non-operating vehicles on or in front of the property, performing mechanical work or repairs on vehicles, parking or driving vehicles on the lawn, damaging, killing, destroying, uprooting or chopping down any tree, bush or shrub, mounting the roof or allowing any guest to do so, performing structural work, adding room additions or otherwise altering the property, renting rooms to roommates or otherwise causing anyone to move into the property other than those persons who are listed on the lease, having loud and or destructive parties and so on.
It takes time, effort and forethought to put together a good lease agreement with tenant rules, but the benefits of having established a clear framework of boundaries on which to base your relationship with the tenant is invaluable. Next week I’ll give you the straight dope on sticking to the lease agreement once you have one.
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