Managing a Rental for Brother in Law

[Martine Ayers]

Hi everyone,

A couple of questions for you guys... but here's some background first. My husband and I bought our first property ( a duplex about an hour away but still in Oregon) last September. I am acting as the Owner and Property manager for the duplex. I was able to get new tenants in, settled and paying their rent on time (night and day difference from the inherited tenants!). My brother-in-law just bought a bigger house and is having me manage the old one (30 minutes away but in Washington). 

Ok. Here's the questions:

I am ready to sign a lease but realize all our paperwork says "landlord". Can I sign these and have it legally binding to the tenant or do I need to have John (the owner, my BIL) sign them? I would prefer to do it but also don't want to make a mess of things. 

We would like to use the same lease that we used for the duplex in Oregon but there are a few things that we need to add since it is in the state of Washington (ie mold education materials and a receipt for their deposit). Can I just add these on as addendums for now until I draw up a lease that I can edit or should I go with RHA's WA State Lease Agreement (right now we buy the form from oregonrentalhousing.com.

Many thanks,

Martine Ayers

[Marcia Maynard]

@Martine Ayers Although most jurisdictions allow a person to manage the properties they own without a license, when one manages a property for others, it requires more licensing and considerations.  If you're not properly licensed/trained as a property manager or real estate broker, then you can't assume all of the responsibilities of managing your brother-in-laws property. Also, when crossing the river into another state, you need to be knowledgable of the differences in the landlord-tenant laws.

We own and manage our own rental properties. But when a friend asked me to manage their house as a rental when they left the country for a couple of years, I had to look into the legalities of what I could do and what I couldn't do.

Some jurisdictions require a person who does property management for others to be properly licensed, bonded and insured. Some jurisdictions require less. In any case, you would do well to think this through and make sure you have appropriate documentation in place to act on the behalf of the other homeowner. As well as to protect yourself.

What we ultimately did in our situation was to write a contract between the homeowner and I whereby the homeowner functioned as the landlord and made the decisions, with me working in an advisory capacity. I was the "boots on the ground", but the rental contract was between the homeowner and the tenant. If something came up, I would assist in getting the work done for the homeowner and the tenant, but I did not function in the full capacity of a property manager. I merely charged a "trip charge" for anytime I had to go to the property to inspect the property or assist with anything. Other than that, I gladly shared my knowledge with the homeowner for free.... just as I do here on BP. :-)

Take a look at this link to a similar discussion from less than a week ago.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/446...