My first concern when I began renting out was to get the property let as soon as possible. Making money was important to me very early in my journey. I assumed the lease agreement would be simple since it isn’t that complicated, so I focused on other things.

I followed what many new landlords do and looked for a leasing template online; then I filled in the details of rent, due date, how long the lease lasts and a spot for both parties to sign. It seemed easy enough to me at first. I thought that all we had to do was wait for the tenant to sign and we were set.

Everything ran smoothly for the first few months. My tenant made the rent payments, maintained a tidy home and didn’t cause any issues. I believed I had done all the right things.

However, that illusion didn’t last for long.

A call from my tenant came in one evening. Water from a burst pipe underneath the kitchen sink spread, flooded the floor and damaged both the cabinets and the subfloor. It was in chaos. At the time, I wasn’t too concerned since I assumed the problem was due to the tenant. Besides, they would pay for the repairs.

After that, I read the lease.

My heart skipped a beat when I realized the agreement didn’t mention who should handle repairs, how to handle broken things or how to address emergencies. If only I had mentioned important parts about my responsibilities, protecting my home and saving costs, I would have avoided facing thousands in bills.

Obviously, the tenant said, “It doesn’t specify in the lease that I should handle this.”

They were correct in making this decision.

That’s when I knew my lease wasn’t simply incomplete; it was legally dangerous.

There’s More to a Lease Agreement Than You Might Expect

You know, if you’re a landlord or property investor, that daily rentals require a lot of effort to manage. Managing tenants, organizing repairs and keeping an eye on cash flow demands your full time. However, during all the flurry, companies often forget about the lease agreement.

A lease is not just something you have to sign for official reasons. It forms the basis for your cooperation with tenants. It sets standards, decides who does what, describes regulations and ensures each party is supported if something wrong occurs.

Imagine your business plan to be your guide to running the company. If you don’t have a sound lease, you’re opening yourself up to lots of problems that can take a toll in legal expenses.

Hard fact: if you saw a generic lease online years ago and haven’t updated it since, your protection might be inadequate.

The Price of a Dated or Partially Made Lease

What if a window gets broken by the tenant in your property? What if your roommate moves in someone without telling you first? Suppose they quit making their rent payments or they add a pet that ruins your floors?

When the lease doesn’t include these concerns in a clear and legal way, you face confusion and the risk of costly litigation.

When my own lease let me down and water damaged my place, there were still other worries besides the repair charges. I also faced issues with insurance, endless phone calls with lawyers and the chance that my whole business could have collapsed—all because I didn’t take the time to set up the lease properly.

That time was very humbling for me. Because of this, I forever changed my strategy when agreeing to rent somewhere.

Place Reliance on the Best Tools and Help With Reaching Your Goals

Thankfully, resolving this problem is now much simpler. You don’t have to be a lawyer yourself or spend a lot of money to get a good lease agreement. It’s now easy to make certain your lease is complete, recent and meets all legal standards.

I use TurboTenant and two of its tools really transformed things for me.

Try our free Lease Audit Tool.
With this tool, your lease is analyzed through artificial intelligence in just seconds. Just upload your document and the system will swiftly check the language, search for any portions lacking important clauses and watch out for old information or legal trouble spots.
It’s fast. It’s free. It could save you from making a big mistake similar to mine.

Custom Lease Builder is available for your use.
Should your present lease be too old to use or if you are just creating one for someone new, our rental lease builder can generate a legally approved lease fast.
The team at TurboTenant updates the lease to follow any new changes in the law, so you don’t need to worry.
You can also choose to:

Email or text the offer to your tenant so they can accept it online by signing right there.

Save your signed lease safely in your TurboTenant account so it’s easily accessible.

You can always make additions to the contract by using simple addendums.

Using smart property management saves you time, effort and money—particularly when you oversee more than one building.

The Reason I University This to All the Landlords I Know

After I strengthened my lease agreements, I’ve stopped countless potential disputes from happening. Things like late rent or guests showing up unannounced aren’t as problematic whenever the problem arises as the rules are explained from the start.

Here are some real examples where a strong lease is helpful:

It explains in your lease what you can expect in terms of late fees, how much time you are given and what you should do thereafter.

All the information about repairs and who makes the fixes is provided, as well as how fast they should be completed.

If an unauthorized guest, family member or pet is found, you have the right to outline what is expected by them and set penalties.

Making sure it’s clear in the lease guides tenants about what they may end up having to pay.

I can show the lease to my landlords instead of arguing or guessing.

Don’t Count on a Dispute to Discover the Problems in Your Lease

We can often tell ourselves everything is fine, until suddenly it’s not. A simple error can quickly turn bad if the law doesn’t protect you. It may be too late for help by the time you find out.

Make sure your rental contract is secure now. Even if you only handle one investment, a tiny bit of planning today will prevent huge issues later.

Submit your lease to our system and we’ll simply tell you how it matches up to current rules.

If you want to start a lease from scratch that meets today’s laws, use the TurboTenant lease builder to prepare it in minutes.

Your lease shouldn’t hold you back. It should defend you more than anything.

Don’t allow your rental property business to remain at risk. You could save yourself thousands of dollars if you spend just a little time today on financial planning. Thanks to TurboTenant, preparing your lease has never been so simple or smart.