Owner Occupied Duplex Residential Lease

[John Mason Wallace]

Right, so my folks and I have basically finished repairing a 1920's duplex in the neighborhood of Belmont. I've moved into one side and am loving the area but I need to rent the other side soon to actually start having the building (slowly) pay for itself.

The duplex has almost fully separated utilities except water. That part might be tricky so I'll likely just pay for the water bill on both sides.

The other unit would make a small 2 bedroom but more likely a very nice one bedroom apartment. Extensive work was done to the building with foundation repairs, HVAC, kitchen upgrades, and re-doing bathrooms. I expect a reasonably higher rent per square foot in the area.

So, I just need some advise on how to create the lease. It seems a boiler-plate agreement just might not do the job.

Bonus points for tips in how to include Cozy into the lease. From what I heard from land-lords it's fairly effective at it's job and easy to use.

All of this to cut my teeth on basic property management and having a close eye on the surrounding areas.