Renewing lease of inherited tenants

[Lindsey Vargas]

I inherited dream tenants when I bought my property and they want to renew their lease. I like the lease they are in, however I would like to make a few minor adjustments. Would I have to get an attorney or realtor to review the changes? Am I better off finding my own lease? 

[Marcia Maynard]

We've modified our rental agreements over the years to suit our needs. I started with a standard lease agreement and incorporated best practices borrowed from other lease agreements.  We never had to take it to an attorney or realtor. Just be sure your lease is compliant with the landlord-tenant laws for your jurisdiction and meet the requirements of your local courts.  We actually have a core rental agreement (7 pages) and addendums, such as the property rules (10 pages), mold disclosure (1 page), lead paint disclosure (1 page), utility transfer (1 page).  Yep, 20 pages!  Common sense is not common, so we spell it out from the start and our tenants appreciate this. Also, the font is easy to read (Times 12 point) and with 1 inch margins as required by our county court. I've seen some terrible lease agreements that were one or two pages, micro print, and didn't cover all that was necessary. We aim for long-term tenancies, so we prefer our rental agreements to be thorough and easy for all parties to understand and follow.