Writing my First Lease

[Paul Lovely]

Hi everyone!

I’m excited to say I’m closing on my first deal (a house hacked duplex in Concord, NH) after four years of studying books, podcasts, and forums through this awesome website! So thanks to everybody who takes the time to contribute and share their experiences, it’s very helpful.

I’m writing my lease for the upstairs tenants, and was hoping for some insight. Currently, the tenants are paying about $200/mo below market value and on top of that get access to a detached garage and 2 additional off street parking spaces. I will be parking on the street. Would it be reasonable for me to increase their rent right off the bat $50-$100 and/or ask them to be responsible for snow removal (they currently don’t have to maintain the driveway)? I’m looking to be as fair as possible so please let me know if I’m out of line. It’s a year to year lease so it would be nice to lock in better terms right away. Thanks again to everyone for reading!

-also the tenants have been very compliant so far and really want to stay, so they seem pretty reasonable