To lease or Not to lease that is the question

[Will Bert]

Hi BP I was speaking to a local Real Estate Lawyer who advised me not to give a lease. He says it doesn't do the landlord any good. He said that he gives the best rental price which is the lowest and tells the tenant to look at other places and prices then tells them his rules. He told me that if a tenant has a lease and is a professional bad tenant they will not pay go to court pay then do the whole thing again and the lease protects them. If they don't have a lease you can move to evict a bad tenant because they have no legal right there.. His place is duplex..

I also asked my banker and he told me the same thing. He said he gives his tenants a Rider with the rules but no lease.

Both of them said if the tenant doesn't want to stay they can leave as long as they don't destroy anything they get there deposit back and if they don't want the tenant there they can tell the tenant to leave. They both said becarful with the tenant who ask for a lease.  

Any opinions on this?????...

[Christopher Brainard]

@Will Bert

If you hired a lawyer, you should follow his advice, but based on my experience, this sounds like a terrible idea for several reasons. 

Even without a written lease, you tenant is still a tenant and has all the rights and protection provided by the state. This type of lease is called a "Tenancy at Will". While an oral lease can be binding in most states, you will have an impossible time with any lawsuit that ever goes to court. Any issue that arises is going to be a Landlord Said vs Tenant Said and the judge is going to rule in the tenant's favor - this is a professional tenant's dream. The only advantage I can see (from a Nevada Perspective) is you can provide a pay or quit notice two days earlier. Not worth it, IMHO. 

Setting your rent at the bottom of the barrel is likely to attract tenants is likely to attract the worst tenants and provide you with the lease NOI possible.

-Christopher