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

Question

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 · Answer

@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&regulations 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

Rebecca Knox · Answer

Definitely recommend using the state issued forms which you can get through WI Legal Blank, very useful if you have to go to court because that's what everyone is familiar with. Besides the lease, there are other forms such as bed bug addendum, check in/check out sheets, etc. Most of my tenants don't use their emails but if I could send it via email, I'd use DocuSign.

Austin Laughner · Answer

@Troy Seals - https://www.avail.co is a solid platform for creating lease agreements. Additionally, you can execute agreement through tool as well.Give it a try if you’d like. It has made my life easier.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Check your state website to see if they have a standard lease form. Use that and add ammendments where needed. Make sure you know the state laws. Google 'standard wisconsin residential lease' to start with.

Nicholas Ludwiczak · Answer

I own rental properties in Wisconsin and have had good luck using the one Nolo provided online for WI. If you message me your email address is would be happy to provide you the one I use and any other document templates you need.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Don't forget BiggerPockets has a Lease Agreement Package available for $100 or as part of your PRO Membership. It is written by investors, for investors, and attorney reviewed for every state. It includes some other useful forms.

Kelly A. · Answer

wen ur just getting started it depends , i mean you could use a standard lease. And then as you accumulate more rentals you could have an attorney draft one up for you... a R.E attorney, one that is willing to go to court and back you up if needed. A lease could be made stronger by having a custom made one. But you always want, and this is w/any contract... you always want an evenly weighted contract, not a lop-sided one. A judge will probably not rule in your favor if the contract is not fair. But fair can still be accomplished w/say an 8page lease. But to each their own. and ya, don't sue me, i'm not an attorney, always consult the professionals

Luke J Nelsen · Answer

I invest in WI as well. I have used eforms.com. You can get a free week trial per email address and It's super easy to navigate. However just a heads up, I have not had a lawyer look it over.

Luke J Nelsen · Answer

I invest in WI as well. I have used eforms.com. You can get a free week trial per email address and It's super easy to navigate. However just a heads up, I have not had a lawyer look it over.

Troy Seals · Answer

Thank you all for your advice. I will definitely look into WLB. Marcus, I really like the idea of the carbon copies and using it as an opportunity to educate the tenant about the property. Thank you for the feedback!