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Updated almost 9 years ago on . Most recent reply
First time, future landlord, in AACO MD looking for advice.
Due to work, we are planning on renting out our house. I plan on managing everything myself, once rented out, we would be moving about an hour away, and I will still work part time near our soon to be rental property. Dropping by to fix stuff, or check in on things wouldn't be hard.
I run a restaurant and deal with hiring, firing, and all the other fun stuff that comes with it so I'm use to dealing with people and having my phone go off 24/7 I plan on setting high standards for tenants and sticking to my guns even if it means spending a bit more time trying to find the right person for the house. Background checks and credit checks are a must. Thankfully we are not in a rush to rent the house out, the sooner the better but if it takes 2-3-4 months, we are fine since we currently live in the home.
I do have a few questions for the forum.
Does anyone here have or know where I can find a Anne Arundel County lease template? I plan on writing up my lease agreement before hiring an attorney to review it.
Does anyone recommend a real estate attorney that would know AACO leases so I can have them review and fix any issues I have with the lease I drafted? Many websites offer free ones, but are they legit? They seem like a one size fits all, lease. If you don't, could you please give me an idea of what I should expect to pay for one?
Credit scores, what do you use for a minimum credit score? 720+ 740+?
Property management programs, since we would only have 1 unit, I'm thinking Cozy, its free, and while it's basic it might fit our needs of a single unit operation. Anyone recommend using another product, and if so, why?
Thanks for any help!
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Bigger Pockets has a lot of sample leases saved in the file section of the tools tab. You can see the best rated ones. I read as many samples as I could and then constructed my own using the parts I liked best. I then had this checked by an attorney. Its true that your lease will never be a problem until you go to court and a judge says that its a problem, possibly negating the entire lease. The rates your guy mentioned seem similar to what I have experienced. I would get an estimate of how many hours he plans to spend on writing or reviewing a lease, then hold him to that.