I'm going to be a new landlord help me set my policies.

[Ryan Dossey]

Those of you guys that have been at this I am curious how you handle the following situations. Everyone says to set your rules and keep them.

Smoking:
Pets:
Credit:
Felons:
Age:
First time renters:
Previous evictions:
Rent Collection:
Lawn Care:
Maintenance issues:
Late Fees:
Breaking a lease:
Using security deposit for repairs:

I have developed what I think are good guidelines for these but figure I would see how folks with more experience have their business set up. 

[Dawn Anastasi]

Here is what I say/do:

Smoking:  NEVER inside the house!  I do not want smokers!  You do not have to allow smokers to rent your places!

Pets:  If someone has a well behaved pet, I allow it.  It does open up the rental pool.  Pets are not a protected class so you do not have to allow pets.  You can allow pets in one property but not another.  (For example, if a place has a lot of carpet, you can not allow pets whereas a place without carpet you can allow pets.)  Collect a pet deposit, but remember that a "pet deposit" termed as such can only be used for pet damage and not just any damage.  You may also think about a larger security deposit in general so that the whole deposit can be used for anything.

Credit:  I don't want people who have large outstanding judgements.

Felons: No

Age:  Remember that a lease is a legal contract and therefore anyone who is 18 years and older can sign a contract.  If you try to sign a lease with someone under 18, it will be automatically void.

First time renters:  I've never had this myself but you can require a co-signer.

Previous evictions:  I go back 5 years for no evictions.  Some people say never evictions, but I'm willing to believe that sometimes people are young and stupid.

Rent Collection:  I have the tenants get the rent to me.  I don't drive around the city collecting rents.

Lawn Care:  I have the tenants take care of it unless there is no garage.

Maintenance issues:  I have the tenants report any maintenance issues and we coordinate a contractor to get things fixed.

Late Fees:  My tenants usually just automatically include a late fee if they are late.

Breaking a lease:  I do month to month rental agreements so I don't have lease breaking issues.

Using security deposit for repairs:  Go with "home run items" - rent, late fees, etc.

I hope I answered all of your questions.  @Ryan Dossey