General advice for new landlord (taxes, leases, etc)

[Joseph Hazen]

Hello,

I am a new landlord and have been leasing out a condo in the DMV area for the past 8 months so apologies in advance for any misconceptions that I have about being a landlord. I initially bought my condo in 2020 as a primary residence using my VA loan and have been renting it out since 2021 because I relocated due to my work. The tenant I have been renting to has been wonderful and has not given me any problems and I would like to keep them in the unit to save myself the headache of screening new tenants from long-distance, as well as the carryover costs of not having a tenant during that time. I had initially listed the unit as a short-term, fully furnished rental however, but the current tenant wanted to sign a one-year lease so I agreed. The furnishings for the unit were still on the lease and I was wondering if the tenants want to stay as long-term renters, should I propose that I move the furniture out of the condo into a storage unit? Would the cost of that unit be tax deductible since the furniture was legally part of the rental and I made income from it? Also, when I drafted up the lease I just used some template I found online for the state I am renting in, should I go through a lawyer and have a new one drafted up once this lease is up? I am not planning on raising the rent even though I make just a little bit over my expenses from the unit, but I would just like to move the furnishings out to make the situation more comfortable for my tenants because they have been so good to me and I would like them stay as long as possible. Sorry again if these are stupid questions but I could not find a lot of advice regarding these topics on the internet or the forums.