Documentation

[Drew Sandlin]

I've been reading a few books about owning rental property, and in several places, I've read that you should document when you enter your property to inspect it, when you recieve a phone call from a tenant, when you send a notice to the tenant in writing, etc. Basically whenever something related to your property or tenant takes place, you document it.

How do you document things like conversations with the tenant, or entry to inspect your property in such a way that they will stand in a court of law?

If you were to write down when and for how long you inspected your property, how is anyone going to verify this information, and is there anyway to record these actions such that they will stand in court?

Thanks!

Drew

[Andy Chu]

Documentation could also be as simple as sending a friendly email reminder. See example below

Dear ,

It was great to talk to you today. Per our conversation, this is a friendly reminder that you will have a inspection on September 21, 2011 at 5:00pm. See you then.

Sincerely,

Landlord

Other things that have worked well is to include air filters and smoke detector changes in the lease. That way's its a friendly way to go into the property and see how it looks while doing minor maintenance.