Hi BP Community,

I'm preparing to buy my first property in Houston, Texas. I am wondering if anyone has purchased the Texas Landlord Forms from Bigger Pockets? If so, do you have any feedback?

How do these compare to free documents like those on Law Depot? 

Lastly, is an attorney still needed if you purchase these documents? (I'm assuming yes).

I'm looking at buying a single-family home to house-hack and rent to roommates.

I appreciate the help!

-Hunter

@Hunter Hassebrock

Google Texas Real Estate Commission www.Trec.Texas.gov (as I recall). You may find a Rental Contract there.
Contract is pretty simple to accomplish - it's the vetting that might trip you up.
Feel free to reach out if I can help.

JIM

Originally posted by @Jim Cummings :

@Hunter Hassebrock

Google Texas Real Estate Commission www.Trec.Texas.gov (as I recall). You may find a Rental Contract there.
Contract is pretty simple to accomplish - it's the vetting that might trip you up.
Feel free to reach out if I can help.

JIM

 TREC does not provide lease agreements or addenda

Hi @Hunter Hassebrock .

In this website, you can find the forms and the can sign online.

https://www.ziplogix.com/products/

Camilo Rey

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

The standard lease used by most realtors in Texas can be found online fairly easily but it is the property of TAR. If the BP lease is as thorough it may be a good value considering the amount of time it would take for you to type up your own lease. Before hiring a lawyer read the Texas Real Estate research center ‘s booklet on Landlord Tenant Law...free on their site. It should answer most questions and I believe it will tell you what security and safety devices you are required to install...a smoke detector per bedroom, etc.

My public library offers legal depot and gale legal forms through an online portal.

I currently use the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR-2001) form, but I would also like to hear from someone that was bought the Bigger Pocket  forms. The TAR form states on the actual form that it is only to be used by members of TAR and is voidable by the tenant if a realtor is not involved  in the transaction (33.G). I wish there was a way they would let us preview the BP forms.

I purchased these documents, the lease agreement seems thorough. I went and checked out the Law Depot lease you mentioned and it seems to be just as complete and I liked being able to enter the information that could be saved for later for a fee. A couple disappointing issues with the BiggerPockets forms are that they are only sent to you in PDF format and the fields aren't editable within the document. There is not a guide or directions on how to use the documents although they are mostly self explanatory. At the bottom of every page on my Lease Agreement it says "[Type here]" and of course is not editable as mentioned above, whats this for? At the end of the lease it states that the landlord will provide a "LEAD-BASED PAINT DISCLOSURE" it could have been simple to include this with the purchase, but now I'm going to have to hunt one down. As a newbie too, and about to sign my first lease, I feel that exploring other options may be better before spending a hundo on these documents. 

They did update these documents somewhat from what i mentioned above to be a little more detailed. A lot better quality than the previous version!

Thanks for the update @JohnPaul Pacheco ! I ended up using a template from a 3rd party site. I may reconsider the BP forms for my next lease...

They have updated them and improved these forms even further, everything seems to be well written and professionally done. They still only come in PDF, I would prefer a Word doc, but they are now fillable and easy to use! I am very pleased with the last update, I would say there is great value in the purchase. I have used the documents on every property since beginning my rental property adventure. It now appears you can get these with a Pro Membership, go Pro!