BiggerPockets

A guillotene provision,tic.

I recently moved my pay by dates from the 3rd to the 2nd. I had tenants rent due on the 1st and late after the 3rd. People just seem to think the rent is due on the 3rd and call at 9 pm with the money. Now if it's not paid by the 3rd then I can file for eviction. The slack is over...

Bumping this topic...

What's in your lease?

That's great Peter. Do you incorporate picture taking on the move-in and move-out too?

OK...

Here is the background.

Picture yourself in front of a judge defending why the tenant did not deserve her security deposit back.... and being told by the judge that it looked like we forged the documents... essentially calling my wife, Vicky, a liar.

We lost and Vicky was completely devestated... and that actually became a good thing because her motto after that was... "a tenant will never get one over on me again... EVER"

Here are the mechanics of the system Vicky put into place.

Upon move-in the tenant is given a three-carboned property inspection check-in sheet. This is their opportunity to note things that could be come issues upon move-out. Things like a small stain on the kitchen floor or nic in the counter top. Sometimes tenants also find things that you as the landlord need to address.

This move-in inspection is in their words/handwritting and when completed they get the original. The other two copies go into the tenants folder.

Now you have a baseline in the tenants words of the condition of the property... and yes we take pictures of the tenant as they are inspecting the property.

The safe and clean inspections are intended as a mechinism for you to routinely (90 to 120 days) to inspect to ensure there are no issues with the tenant or with things you need to fix. They are announced via a standard letter to the tenant which spells out what we were looking for and what they should be preparing for.

You conduct this inspection. While it is nice to have the tenant there it is not required.

Again, three-carbons. The original and a copy stays in the tenant's folder and a copy is left for the tenant.

If there are issues then another inspection is scheduled... usually within 2 weeks.

The move-out inspection is just the opposite of the move-in.

You conduct the inspection as part of the check-out. Make sure to have the move-in inspection with you.

You note any issues that you find with the property. Things like a broken screen or bugs, or dirty appliances. I am being nice here... I have moved some tenants out of some pretty trashed places.

Anyway... the move-out inspection is your record of how you found the condition of the property. We request that the tenant sign the document acknowledging the items found. In many cases the tenants would not... but it didn't matter... we always won.

And of course we took photos of the items we were noting on the move-out inspection.

Since Vicky implemented this approach our reconciliation of security deposits was almost never questioned and the few times we found ourselves in front of a judge it was a slam dunk on our part.

It's all about having the right paperwork and using it!

I hope this explains the process further.

Oops, looks like I didn't update my page before posting.

Really great responses. I copied some of them to add to my lease.

Car(s) will be parked in the garage or drive way by a properly titled and licensed vehicles only. Parking on the grass is a violation of the lease and will be cause for eviction. Storage of non-operational vehicles will be offsite.
Military clause if member gets orders for greater than 179 days. They can break the lease at no cost to them. Providing all other conditions of the lease have been met, With 30 days notice!
10 dollar rent discount for direct deposit. I raise the rent to cover this discount.