All Forum Posts by: Ami Moore

I have rental in Florida but some advice is basic stuff. 

Pets are damaging so I recommend a monthly pet fee that you set aside to repair whatever damage they cause including getting the carpet professionally cleaned to remove the pet smell. 

I use http://amerusa.net/ to screen my applicants. It's about $28 per tenant to screen which I charge to the tenant as an application fee per adult that will be living in the unit. Their website also includes a rental application form and consent form for the background screening which I use. The screening results are immediate.

You can purchase lease packages on the BiggerPockets site. Check under the Tools/Lease Agreement Packages menu. They have them per state and they include addendums and other pertinent forms. Make sure you read the lease thoroughly. My screening process includes getting the application, application fee, doing the background check and is on a first come first serve basis. Whoever provides the forms and fee first is who I give first priority but I usually have at least two others people lined up behind them who I stall until I can verify the first priority tenant. I also use best judgement. If they tell me something that is questionable, they look shady, or their story doesn't add up, I pass them by. Probably not ethical but it's your property. Then it's a matter of them signing the lease and providing the security deposit plus first months rent which I require before move-in. I always charge a little more than the monthly rent for security deposit because I find that when they are ready to move out at the end of the lease, then tend not to pay that last month's rent because they assume it will come out of the deposit so if you charge more, they won't want to lose that difference. Then I do a walkthrough of the unit together with the tenants to document any issues they point out. You can find forms online for this or there may be one in the lease package. 

Hope this helps.