Creating a Lease

[Jeff Martin]

How do you go about forming your lease agreement?  Is it worth having a RE Lawyer draft up a tailored lease agreement or should use a boiler plate form that can be found online.  

Also, what sites do you use for background checks?  I am closing on my first rental property and I am quickly realizing that I am missing this crucial piece of the puzzle.  

[Aly W.]

I highly recommend you have a consultation with an attorney that specializes in tenant/landlord law in your state/city. An attorney with experience that does evictions on a fairly regular basis, not DUIs, divorces or adoptions. Have them write your lease, as they will be the ones defending it in court. It will be money well spent now, instead of a lot more money spent later.

I use American Tenant Screening for background checks. The reports are completed in about an hour or two and are $25.