Long term tenant is moving out!

[Bily Elliott]

So about 5 years ago I bought a small SFR. I have an employee who had worked for me for several years, and he had been renting at his current place for many years. I knew there would be some problems renting to an employee, but for the first 4 plus years, everything was great. No late rents (its hard to see your landlord 5 days a week and not pay lol), he fixed small problems, I didnt raise rents because we had a really good thing going for both of us. I had to let him go late last year and I was concerned that this time would come. He has been paying late,yada yada yada, nothing horrible, but I taold him rent was going to go up in August and he said he couldnt afford it and would be looking for a new place. I know its a good thing for both of us, but I am a little worried about my next steps. First things first, I WILL NOT rent to another employee. This went good, but I can see it being a problem in the future. I have been a landlord for 5 years, but now I feel like I am just getting started. We just had handshake agreement about rent and such, so he was pretty much month to month. I want to be more professional to protect myself, to be better organized and be more on top of what is going on. After he moves out, I will get the house ready to be rented again, then what lol. I need applicants, but what is the best way to screen them? I need a lease agreement, what all does it need to include, and where is the best place to get one? I have talked to one PM company and they said the rent here is not enough for them to take me on as a new client, so I will continue to self manage.

[Account Closed]

"I'm not going to stop until my bank account looks like a phone number!"  - Excellent, I love it!