Reviewing a Lease
A lease is such an important part of the rental process because it spells out the exact terms that you are agreeing to rent your property. Many landlords have a lease, and when they find a tenant they ask them to read and sign it. However, a very important part of having a lease is to make sure your tenants understand what the lease says.
For a while, I was doing this so often that I started memorizing parts of the lease. Often when you tell a tenant that you want to go over the lease, they may seem a little reluctant because it will take one half hour or so. But from my experience, tenants always have questions and often tell you a few things that are better to get out before they move in. Can we sublease? Oh, I have a pet. Who do we call for repairs?
The best way I found to do this is to simply read the lease and stop periodically to ask if there are any questions, or to rephrase something that may not be completely clear. By making the review an open discussion, you can learn more about your tenants intended behavior and flush out possible issues that could cause grief later. Any changes or additions to a lease should be initialed by all parties.
In the end, both you and your tenant will have a better understanding of what to expect and can start off on the right foot.
Leave a Reply