Advice for New Landlord

[Mark Golden]

Hello Everyone, Mark here, I am new to this forum so please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong section or am asking questions that have already been answered.

So, as stated in the title, I am a new landlord for the time being and plan owner occupying a unit and have my family members live in the other unit, but for the time being I have tenants living in the units and I am not too sure about what rights I have as a landlord and what rights they have as tenants and I just want to make sure I am doing everything by the book.

My first question would be, do I have to give them 24 hour written notice to enter the unit or is a phone call enough? also Does the 24 hour notice go for entering the yard as well? There is a tree on the property that I want to take a picture of to show to some landscapers to get an estimate to fell it, but I am not sure if I also have to give notice to enter the yard and take pics of said tree.

Also, the second unit should be vacating sooner than the the other unit and I wanted to know if I had to give the remaining tenants notice every time I stop by to look at this second unit and do repairs on it and have contractors look at it, or can i show up anytime I want so long as I am going to the vacant unit and not bugging the tenants about entering their unit which i wont, I will always give them notice if i need to enter their unit for any reason.

I would also like to know where i can get a Lease that protects me as a landlord? does anyone have a lease i can use? pr is this something i would have to get written up by a lawyer? I know I am going to have my family move in but I would still like to have them sign a lease that protects me just in case, you can have problems even with family.

I guess that is all i have at the moment, if all you experienced landlords have any advice for me at all please give it to me, im all ears or if you can recommend a book or a website that is specifically for CA/LA County Landlords it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark.

[Russ B.]

It is important to know what the laws are in the specific city where you'll be renting. There are various places to get this info.. the important part is, you don't want to learn about a law by getting caught on the wrong side of it (sounds like you already understand this). 

CA is known for having laws that are more tenant friendly than most places, so not everything we do in other states will apply. 

This will also impact how you word your lease. This part is important - consider how many replies to questions on BP include something like "hope your lease covers this". It might be worth paying your lawyer a few hours to check it over. It costs money, but then you can use it as many times as you want. 

Finally, renting to family is something that most people will advise you not to do...