PA Lease – BiggerPockets Template vs. PAR Lease?

[Benjamin Hoffman]

Hey all,

I'm a landlord in Pennsylvania and I downloaded the PA-specific lease template from BiggerPockets. I'm wondering—is that sufficient for a standard one-year lease, or would it be better (or safer) to just make an account with the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR) and use their most updated lease?

I'm not planning to have an attorney review it, so just curious which route is more trusted among PA landlords. Also, if anyone has the updated PAR lease and would be willing to share it, I'd be super grateful.

Thanks!

[Drew Sygit]

Most generic leases are just that, "generic".

They get the job done, but not done well.

You don't seem to want to spend a lot of time on this, something that is critical to running your rental business properly.

We recommend downloading 3-5 state-specific leases from various sources, then spend the weekend going through them to:

1) UNDERSTAND why everything is in them.

2) Copy & paste the paragraphs you like (once you understand them)

3) Continue to "tweak" as necessary to meet your concerns & goals.

4) Have an attorney review to confirm meets all federal, state & local requirements and there's nothing illegal or compromising in it.

Good luck!