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:
How Much Can Landlords Charge for Rental Application Fees in Each State?
Remember when you had to meet prospective rental applicants at the property with a stack of paper rental applications and pens in hand? Your applicant completed each line and checked each box on the spot to hand back to you. Once they were done, you collected the...
Renting to College Students 101: Pros, Cons, & What Landlords Need to Know
One of the most common questions among real estate investors is “Where should I purchase rental properties?” They typically mean the context of finding neighborhoods and the best cities for real estate investing. But before asking where, it often helps to decide who...
Cats vs. Dogs: Should I Allow Pets in My Rental Property? (Infographic)
Pet lover? So are we! There are some great reasons to allow pets in your rental property… and some risks. What are the pros and cons of allowing pets in your rental? Is renting to tenants with cats better than allowing dogs? What are the risks of each? Most...
11 Ways to Lower Your Real Estate Investing Risks as a Landlord
One of the great advantages to real estate versus stocks is the predictability of real estate investing returns. When you buy a rental property, you can accurately predict your average annual yield and cash flow. And while I love stocks too, they’re as volatile as a...
Should Landlords Rent to Illegal Immigrants? Unbiased Pros & Cons
*Note on Terminology: Conservatives and liberals can’t even agree on terminology, with conservatives using the pejorative “illegal aliens” and liberals using the cuddly “undocumented immigrants.” We’ll split the difference here and use the term “illegal immigrants,”...
Tenant-Proof: 13 Rental Property Improvements to Fortify Against Damage
People are clumsy, dirty, accident-prone Tasmanian devils. That goes double for children, and says nothing of pets. Homeowners are no better, but they have so much money invested in their property that they take more care not to damage it. But renters? Fuhget about...
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