First Time Landlord - Where should I get a lease agreement from?

[Troy Seals]

Hi all,

I need to come up with a lease agreement for my first tenant.  I bought a duplex a few months ago and 'inherited' the tenant so they have been covered under the previous owners lease agreement.  My question is where should I go to find a new lease as well as, logistically when it comes time to sign, do you print out a paper copy for each party or is there a better way to do it digitally?  I'm sure there are management apps that can handle this type of thing but this is my only rental unit so I'm not sure it would be worth the cost of paying for an app for one unit.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  The property is in WI.

[Marcus Auerbach]

@Troy Seals easy answer: the best lease is from Wisconsin Legal Blank. They have a store in Milwaukee and an online shop.

WLB has a wide selection of landlord documents, forms, notices and anything else you could possible need. To start out with the "small landlord kit" has everything you need, from application to rules®ulations and lead paint disclosure - and it is very inexpensive. 

In fact the value you get for your money is almost redicolous compared to what you would pay a lawfirm, because the documents are written and updated annually by attorney Tristan Pettis, who is the authority in Wisconsin and also involved in dafting Wisconsin landlord tenant legislation. He knows the law, because he wrote it..

Order the US letter sice with carbon copy. I have been usuing legal size for years, not knowing that every document is available in US letter.

You can get pdf's but I recommend paper with carbon copies. 

As an agent my clients sign offers, listings etc electronically and I tried that with tenants, but went right back to paper and carbon copies. 

Here is why: tenants do not read their lease, so when you fill out the forms together, this is your one and only chance to explain and point out anything that is really important to you! Like late fees and yard work.

We also go over how to operate a house. Most tenants have only a vague idea about GFCI's, sump pumps and how to change a furnace filter. Or batteries for the smoke detectors.

One other advantage of WLB's lease is that every judge and attorney is familiar with them, most tenants have signed them before. This puts everyone at ease. A custom lease with all sorts of stipulations does the opposite and forces everyone to study the document very carefully.

Here is the link to Wisconsin Legal Blank