AAOA Blog

by Janet Portman, Inman News

Q: When we moved in, our landlord gave us a one-page, yearlong lease that had just the basics (apartment number, rent, move-in date). It also had a paragraph saying that we agreed to abide by the “House Rules,” which could be changed at any time. The rules covered who could park in the lot; use of the laundry and other facilities; fees for late rent; and charges for replacing lost keys.

Last week, our landlord gave us a new set of rules. They’ve drastically reduced the pool hours (no weekday hours, which is the only time we can swim), are charging for parking and have doubled the late fees. We feel that the landlord shouldn’t be able to impose these significant changes mid-lease. –Walter and Dot H.

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Although a late fees provision in included in nearly every standard lease agreement, determining whether the fees you charge are legal is anything but standard. Why? 

Because late fees are governed by so many different laws, right down to the municipality, that the parameters may be unclear. 

Most agree on one thing:  (more…)

Learn How This Property Manager Cuts His Losses When a Tenant Cuts Out

Thanks to Robert Machado, CPM, MPM, HomePointe Property Management for this submission:

There are a lot of reasons why a tenant might try to break a lease.  Some may be valid and require the landlord to allow this to happen.  One example is a military transfer.   But, most situations are simply a choice, like a civilian job transfer or promotion, don’t like the neighborhood, school change, and the like.

A landlord must protect themselves in these situations and enforce the lease.  One way to do this is with a clause in the lease so the resident is aware of what will happen ahead of time.  Here is HomePointe’s clause:

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Online legal forms are

• easy to find,
• easy to access,
• and inexpensive. 

From a prenuptial to a power-of-attorney, sales and closing documents to landlord leases, virtually any form you have heard of, and many you have not, are available online.

But will online forms work for you?

The answer is “yes”, if you know how to use them. (more…)

Wayne Gathright offers this follow-up to his popular series How to Create a Solid Lease Agreement:

More Tenant Incentive Clauses:  Make Your Lease Agreement a Tenant Satisfaction Agreement 

Besides covering the basic lease conditions and provisions, you can also turn your lease into a valuable marketing tool for your business while at the same time providing extra satisfaction for your tenants. You can develop tenant loyalty that will result in longer relationships, on-time payments, better care for your property, assistance with marketing, and possibly an eventual sale to your tenant.  

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Find Out If You Are Making These Common Mistakes

Like a house built on a strong foundation, your rental application can make or break:

• Your ability to effectively screen your prospective tenant.
• The likelihood you’ll collect your rent.
• Your chances for recovery if you have to turn the tenant over for collection.

Is Your Lease Application Up to Par?

Compare yours to this checklist to see if you are leaving anything out:

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HOW TO CREATE A SOLID LEASE AGREEMENT:  Part Four of Four

By Wayne Gathright

Part One, Make Your Lease a Tenant Satisfaction Agreement

Part Two, The Basic Lease Agreement

Part Three, Build Tenant Incentive Clauses into Your Lease Agreement

Important Clauses To Add To Your Lease Agreement 

While the basic lease provisions are important, most of the time, a basic lease agreement is not enough.

In addition to incentive clauses, there are many other important clauses that landlords often tend to neglect, yet these can be invaluable if there is ever a dispute. 

Here are some examples of clauses that can be added to your lease agreement:

Parking.  Spell out how many vehicles (cars, boats, motorcycles, etc.) you will allow to be parked at the residence? Where?

Residential Use.  Can the tenants run a business? What kind?

Garage Sales/Auctions. Will you permit these? How often?

Notification of Change of Status.  Require that the tenant update you on changes, for instance, employment.

Subletting.  Is it allowed? How many new residents? Notification

Co-signers.  Should you add another responsible party as a guarantor?

Partial Payment of Rent.  What will happen if you receive only part payment?

Returned Check Fee.  How are you going to handle returned checks?

Bankruptcy.  What if your tenant files for bankruptcy?

Lease Violations.  What are your rights? What are the tenant’s rights?

Tenant’s Absence. What if the tenant disappears?  Can you get into the rental?

Furniture Lien.  Can the tenant’s possessions be takes?

Increase in late fees.  Can you charge additional late fees if the tenant is often late?

Judgment collection. Who pays?

Utility bills. What if the tenant defaults?

Emergency repairs.  What if you have to cut off the water for repairs?

Problem neighbors. How do you handle complaints?

Disasters.  What if you can’t fulfill your landlord obligations because of a disaster?

Illegal activity.  Make sure you can take action against drug use, explosives, firearms, etc.

Quiet Enjoyment.  You should insure that the tenant cannot intrude on other people’s rights.

Smoking.  Make sure your rules are clear.

Pets. How many pets? What additional deposit? What about additional cleaning costs?

Yard Upkeep. Make sure your property looks neat and is safe.

Health and Safety Codes. Be sure your tenant doesn’t violate these.

I hope these ideas make you think about how important your tenant lease can be.  With the right rental agreement design, you can create a lease that will protect your property, promote timely rent receipt, motivate your tenants, and protect your legal rights as a landlords.

Wayne Gathright is president of WG Software, Inc., developers of the Tenant File Property Management Software.  He has over 30 years experience in consulting and software development for real estate.  Mr. Gathright also markets a product for easy creation of leases called The Lease Designer, that allows the user to select from several prewritten leases, choose from over 200 prewritten rental clauses, and add house rules templates to the lease. A user can write their own leases and clauses, modify the existing templates, or import leases from other programs.

American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services related to your commercial housing investment, including tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing.  Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.

To subscribe to our blog, click here.   

HOW TO CREATE A SOLID LEASE AGREEMENT: Part Three of Four

By Wayne Gathright

Part One, Make Your Lease a Tenant Satisfaction Agreement

Part Two, The Basic Lease Agreement

BUILD TENANT INCENTIVE CLAUSES INTO YOUR LEASE AGREEMENT

Apart from the basic provisions, you can build incentives into your lease agreement to reward a good tenant. In return, you can turn your tenant lease into a valuable marketing tool for your business, while at the same time providing extra satisfaction for your tenants.

Here are a few ideas:

• Award special benefits to your tenants the longer they stay.  At each tenant lease anniversary, provide a financial or other type of award, provided they are on time with all of their rent payments.
• Provide incentives for your tenants to recommend you to other prospective tenants.
• Provide an incentive for your tenants to eventually own the house they currently rent, provided they remain in good standing as a tenant.
•  Encourage your tenants to make upgrades to your property if they have the skills.  You can provide materials and they can provide valuable labor.

Check back tomorrow for Part Four, Added Clauses.

Wayne Gathright is president of WG Software, Inc., developers of the Tenant File Property Management Software.  He has over 30 years experience in consulting and software development for real estate.  Mr. Gathright also markets a product for easy creation of leases called The Lease Designer, that allows the user to select from several prewritten leases, choose from over 200 prewritten rental clauses, and add house rules templates to the lease. A user can write their own leases and clauses, modify the existing templates, or import leases from other programs.

American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services related to your commercial housing investment, including tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing.  Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.

To subscribe to our blog, click here.