How long is your SFH lease? Am I overthinking this?

[Account Closed]

Thanks to all the wonderful advice I have found by lurking around on BP for the last few months we are now under contract for our first rental property! It's a 3/1 SFH and we should be closing within the next 2 weeks.

Now I am working on a tenant package starting with the lease and after reviewing forms on BP, reading forums and going through forms I have from my work as a legal VA I may be over thinking this. Working in the legal field I see liability everywhere. Of course, I will have the documents reviewed by a local attorney, but was wondering how long is your typical lease?

My first draft was 12 pages which seems ridiculous for a residential lease. I now have it down to 7 pages. I have friends who are renters who say their leases are 1-2 pages long and I don't see how you can possible cover everything in 2 pages (my list of tenant rules and responsiblities is almost a whole page).

So, how long are your leases? Any suggestions? I appreciate any advice you may have.

[Darren Sager]

All my leases are for one year because expenses can change. I don't want to be locked into a rate for longer. Every year I can offer a renewal and increase the rent. I don't think its ever a good idea not to raise the rent even if its a miniscule amount. If your tenants expect to pay the same amount each year when to you to actually raise it they can take offense in a big way. At least that's what I've found. They will not appreciate you eating the additional costs of having the property (with both tax and insurance rates going up). So increase every year even if its only $10 a month.

As for your trying to get your lease down in pages I wouldn't. Make the barriers to entry high. This helps weed out the lesser desirable tenants. A tenant with higher responsibility will understand and respect your lease. At least that's what I've found to happen. Mine, including supporting paperwork can be around 20 pages.