An attorney is not needed provided your not making a claim of fraud or misconduct/damages are being sought. 

@Roy Kinzer Rent control in NJ can be a tough pill to swallow and unfortunately has caused many of my deals to fall apart quickly once buyers/future landlords realize how strict the controls can be.

hi all i am a new landlord and got my first rental property. tenants moved in in September and October. the first month was fine but when December hit it got extremely cold and the heating is electric. due to poor insulation in the home that we did not know about the heat has to be turned very high up to keep the home warm, however since everything is electric it is causing the electric bill to be $800. the utilities are the tenants responsibility. however because of this one of the tenants has been extremely non compliant with paying rent.

Like deferred maintenance, (bad roof, worn out water heater/AC Unit, warped flooring, water damage) etc, unpaid utilities,  unpaid taxes, a second loan, unpaid HOA fees, a bad pool, bad reputation, sometimes squatters, sometimes they were drug houses, and so on.

Sterling,Each lender is different on how they calculate income and also what overlays they have that can cause a bad income calc. 

Appraiser's learned a valuable lesson in 2008 when they were accused of being one of the causes of the great recession.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

There can always be a situation specific to you where your intent was to hold but something cause you to change that. 

If rent payments are missed or damages occur, this gives you legal recourse against any or all tenants.Best Practices:Professional property managers, like those managing rentals across North Texas, always screen every adult living in the home.

If you tell them their credit score is too low (or some other reason) and somehow you obtained information that is inaccurate, then there is the potential to cause a legal problem.