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Looking For A Free Rental Agreement?
Well, you’re not alone -- not by a long shot. Every day, thousands of value-minded and pressed-for-time landlords and property managers scour the back roads and alleyways of the information superhighway, looking for a free basic rental agreement that they can quickly print out, fill in, and hand over to their new tenants along with the keys to the rental unit.
If you search long enough, you’ll probably be able to find a free or cheap generic lease online. But before you fill it out, take a minute to really mull over the possible consequences. Remember the old adage that says, “You get what you pay for”? Well, if you settle for a generic free lease agreement, you might just get more than you bargained for -- much, much more.
A lease is a legal contract that sets forth the terms of the agreement between you and your tenant. Basically, you’re relying on this document to establish the guidelines that will define your entire relationship with your tenant.
The free lease agreements that are a dime a dozen online don’t cover much more than the contact information for the landlord and tenants. If you’re lucky, you might find one that has a space for the rent amount and due date. In short, these “free” leases typically leave a lot to be desired.
Over the last several decades, the courts have become increasingly friendly to the cause of tenants’ rights. Many of the landlords who are hauled in front of a judge by a disgruntled tenant -- or who file a claim to collect back rent from a deadbeat renter -- are winding up out of luck. When in doubt, more and more courts are automatically siding with the tenant.
When you rely on a lease that is vague, brief, or incomplete, you are putting your property, your investment, and your entire business at risk. In legal terms, a contract that’s skimpy or insufficient isn’t worth the paper that it’s written on.
The kind of generic free lease agreements that you can find online are typically chock-full of grey areas, omissions, contradictions, and even outright errors. In other words, they’re not exactly the kind of thing that’s going to sway the judge in your favor if you wind up in court. If it’s not specifically spelled out in the lease, chances are good that the judge will end up siding with your tenant.
Let’s face it -- to stay profitable, landlords and property managers have to constantly be on the lookout for ways to save money. That means holding out for sales at home improvement stores, opting for the mid-grade paint and fixtures, and keeping an eye out for reputable contractors that won’t charge an arm and a leg.
What it shouldn’t mean, however, is skimping on your lease agreement. There are a lot of smart ways for you to save money, but this isn’t one of them. Think of it as an investment -- the money
you spend now on a comprehensive, legally binding lease agreement could save you thousands of dollars down the road.
Things to Consider When Selecting a Lease Agreement:
• Is it legal? Most of the generic lease agreement forms available on the market contain only the bare essentials. Paper forms, such as those that are purchased at an office supply chain, may not have been updated to reflect recent legal changes. Make sure the lease agreement you use is up-to-date and in full with current contract law.
• Is it applicable in my state? At the state level, laws impacting the landlord-tenant relationship are constantly evolving. Trying to keep up with emerging laws on your own can be overwhelming. If the lease agreement you select doesn’t reflect the latest legislation, you may be out of luck if you ever end up in court. Make sure your lease agreement incorporates the latest state laws and regulations.
• Is it comprehensive? Most generic lease forms cover the basics, but they don’t delve into the kind of details that will define the day-to-day relationship between you and your tenants. Who will cut the grass? Who will shovel snow? Who will check the smoke detectors? If the lease agreement you select doesn’t spell out these kinds of details, you can expect the problems to quickly start piling up.
• Is it informative? Your tenants may not know how best to respond to situations like house fires, burst pipes, or gas leaks. A high-quality lease agreement package will double as a teaching tool, providing simple guidelines outlining the proper response in number of common household crisis situations; a generic lease form can’t and won’t.
• Is it professional? The lease package you hand to your new tenants says a lot about who you are and what kind of behavior you expect. If your lease agreement is a slapdash, paragraph-long contract you hastily scrawled on the back of a “For Rent” flyer, what does that say about the kind of relationship you expect to have with your tenant? On the other hand, if you hand your new tenants a comprehensive, custom lease agreement package complete with a cover sheet and table of contents, you’re establishing a tone of professionalism, respect, and decorum that will set the stage for the entire relationship.
Now that you’re armed with these guidelines, selecting the right lease should be simple. Remember, just as you would never skimp on the cost of a foundation for a new home, don’t put your property and livelihood at risk by building a rental relationship on a substandard lease. That’s one mistake landlords and property managers simply can’t afford to make.
Need a Rental Agreement? Just visit http://www.ezlandlordforms.com and try the lease builder for free.
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