Leasing & Onboarding New Renters
Everything you need to know about signing new lease agreements and onboarding new tenants.
Preparing to sign a lease agreement?
Don’t sign it lightly.
Have you collected rental applications from a large pool of candidates? Have you run credit, criminal and eviction reports on all applicants? Collected application fees or charged the screening reports to the renter, to verify they’re committed?
If you’ve done all that, and made all the phone calls to verify income, employment, housing history, etc., and you feel 100% rock solid about this tenant… now you need to make sure you have a defensive lease agreement.
Think of your lease agreement as your shield, your armor. Most state landlord-tenant laws are extremely tenant-friendly, and designed to protect the renter, not the landlord. That means you’re responsible for protecting yourself.
How do you do that? With a comprehensive, protective lease package. Read on for more details, and happy leasing!
“Required Reading” – Start Here First!
Want more? We have you covered! Here’s some further reading on lease agreements, security deposits, move-in and everything else you need to know about onboarding new renters.
Full Library of Leasing & New Tenancy Articles:
4 Strategies to Pay Down Your Mortgage Faster
Two-thirds of American homeowners take out a mortgage when they buy their home, and even more investors use real estate leverage (other people’s money) to expand their portfolio. Are they wrong to do so? Not necessarily, although some people borrow more than...
New Mexico Rental Laws Guide
New Mexico, where Microsoft was founded in 1975 (back then it was “Micro-soft”). While it is more of a landlord-friendly state, that doesn’t mean there are no laws, or that landlords aren’t regulated. It is equally important as a landlord to understand your...
New York Rental Laws Guide
New York, with its cities that never sleep, is the third most populated state in the good ol’ U.S. of A. It’s also home to the beautiful Niagara Falls State Park, which was the first state park in the United States. Unfortunately, also an extremely...
Legal Lowdown: What Makes a Lease Agreement State-Specific?
“I’ll just use this free template I stumbled across online as my lease agreement.” – Attributed to the Common Newbie Landlord, scientific name Stultus novitius. If the idea above has ever occurred to you, you’re probably lucky enough to have never been to rent...
New Jersey Rental Laws Guide
New Jersey may be a beautiful state with gorgeous shorelines and rolling farms, however the laws heavily favor tenants over landlords. More the reason to learn, read and know all that you possibly can. Many owners of buy-and-hold real estate do not even realize...
Tales from the Tavern: Financing Mixed-Use Properties
Once upon a time, there was a young girl with big aspirations! That little girl is much older now and has had the time of her life learning, growing, failing and learning some more. Real estate, construction, leasing, investing, selling; it’s been her life...





