What's Chuck got to do with property management? Probably nothing, but this is a premium photo.
We had a great time at Odell last month talking all things landlording. For those who weren't able to make it, here is a recap of what we discussed. It's pretty impossible to make an exhaustive transcription of everything that came up, so don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything here we can clarify for you.
Our discussion was structured around the rental checklist that we use, which goes all the way from, "I just closed on a rental property oh crap now what do I do?" to "Hey, this thing is rented and functioning!" We went through the checklist point by point, which you can download here.
As you'll notice in the checklist, many of our processes are built using Cozy.co, a free (for now at least) website/app/tool for landlords that we use for posting rental listings, screening tenants, processing applications and background checks, and rent/deposit collection. It's pretty great, and worth looking into.
When we discussed the Lease, we referenced a lease that we purchased from BiggerPockets.com that has been created according to Colorado rules and regs by an attorney. Some parts of the lease we pointed out in our presentation were:
Long term guests of the Tenant—How long do you allow guests to stay in your property before they need to sign a lease?
Subletting—Are Tenants allowed to sublet? Do you have this spelled out in detail?
Tenant repairs and alterations—Some landlords allow minor Tenant repairs, painting, etc. Some forbid it all. Best to have a plan in writing.
Pest control—Our example lease states that the Tenant is responsible for any and all pest control after 10 days occupying the property. Most people overlook having a policy for this, but what happens when bed bugs take over your rental?
Recreational drugs—In Colorado, marijuana is like bowling. Perfectly legal, but that doesn't mean you're necessarily allowed to do it in a rental. Know where you stand and have it in writing.
Landlord access—This can cause some Landlord/Tenant strain if it's not clearly defined when and how the Landlord can access the property.
Several liability—This means that each person on the Lease is responsible for the entire Lease, including rental payment. Most landlords will want to make this standard unless they are specifically doing room rentals.
We pointed these out as they are less obvious to many first-time landlords, mainly as things to be aware of and to have a policy for, not to say there's just one way to handle each of those.
Also, here are links to several sites and resources we discussed:
A few other docs we went through that you may find helpful:
Move-in checklist (there's no standard, but this is a thorough, simple one)
Pet lease (some people are doing this as opposed to including it in the main Lease)
Rental application for those who don't use something like Cozy or who have a tenant that doesn't do the internet.
Again, we really enjoy talking about this stuff and are happy to help fill in any gaps!