My First Rental!

[Luke Andrew]

We just bought our second home and are going to rent our first home. Does anyone have advice on a basic North Carolina rental contract to start out with?

I'm very excited to start real estate investing, I'm planning on this being the first of several rentals...

Thanks!

[Mike Ritter]

@Luke Andrew

Turning your previous residence into a rental is a great way to start.  There is a standard NC rental contract out there but you might need to be a member of the Realtor association to use it.  You can find rental contracts online that you could change to fit your needs.  If you do that I would suggest having an attorney with experience in land lording check it out. I am a property manager in the area and we have our own contract that we developed and had vetted by an attorney.  

Make sure to take pictures and a video of the property after you have cleaned and fixed any items.  This is your record of the property prior to someone moving in.  And even after you have spent time and money fixing it up the new tenant will most likely call within the first two weeks about something.  

Keep the security deposit in a separate account as well.  You do not want that comingled with your personal funds.

I am sure you will have lots of other questions so feel free to contact me and I will answer what I can.