Attorney Drafted Lease or EzLandlord Forms?

[Brian Smith]

Hello Everyone,

I hope all is well!  I just closed on my first 3 unit. The building came with 1 tenant who, so far, seems to be very courteous, clean, and pays on time. What more could you ask for right? With that being said, I still think it is in my best interest to have a lease signed by the renter. They're currently TAW. In the beginning I wanted to have an attorney draft me a lease agreement. Since then, I found the website called "EZlandlordForms" they have a variety of sections I can add or remove from the standard lease they provide. My question is: would I be better protected if an attorney drafted me a lease? Or should I utilize the basic agreements from the website and or the agreements that Bigger Pockets has available?

Thank you in advance

All the best,

Brandon

[Richard F.]

Quote from @Brian Smith:

I just closed on my first 3 unit. The building came with 1 tenant who, so far, seems to be very courteous, clean, and pays on time. What more could you ask for right? With that being said, I still think it is in my best interest to have a lease signed by the renter.

My question is: would I be better protected if an attorney drafted me a lease? Or should I utilize the basic agreements from the website and or the agreements that Bigger Pockets has available?

Aloha,

Before even thinking about having the existing Tenant sign a new Agreement, you need to have them complete a new Application and provide you with current verification of income/employment. You need to screen them thoroughly and determine the facts, not just get starry eyed over what "seems" to be a perfect Tenant. You also need to perform a thorough inspection of the unit, checking for potential indicators of leaks, pests, unauthorized people or animals, and overall housekeeping. If you have not already verified, ask about the ownership of appliances; confirm current rent amount and security deposit; verify who is paying utilities; ASK if there are any necessary repairs that have not been addressed, or are unreported. Research the current local market for comparable units to determine what your rental rate should be. Only once you have verified they meet your criteria, and properly evaluated the unit and market, would you offer a new Agreement with YOUR terms and conditions. 

As to the Agreement itself, if you do not have access to an approved, regularly updated, localized document from the local RE Board or similar high profile group, you should obtain MULTIPLE samples from different sources. Study them, pick out parts you like and don't like, THEN meet with an Attorney to combine the best elements AND their knowledge of the local LL/Tenant laws to produce a Great Rental Agreement. It is up to you to keep up with yearly changes in laws and adjust your Agreement accordingly. You also need to LEARN about Contract Law so that you properly complete, and/or fill in the blanks for details and additional terms.

Lastly, be sure that you have ALL adults that will be staying in the Rental complete applications, review the Agreement, and sign the Agreement so that ALL are responsible to pay. Also be sure you develop a simple Addendum to use for adding or removing people or terms from the initial Agreement when the need arises.