Does Tenant Sign Rental Agreement The Same Day They Give Deposit?

Question

Hello, I'm a new landlord and I'm wondering whether other landlords will make the tenant (who passed background, credit check) sign a rental agreement and all paperwork on the day they give you the security deposit? I have a potential tenant who will move-in next month, he still have 3 more weeks to move-in, but his application's been approved now. He needs to make all the deposits within 72hours, so at the day he makes his deposits to me, should I ask him to sign the rental agreement? Or he only needs to sign a Agreement to Execute Agreement? If so, when should I ask him to sign the rental agreements, at the exact day he move-in ?

I would love to hear you ideas, please. Thank you.

Damaso Bautista · Answer

@Lulu Heather

Hi Lulu,

I make sure before I give keys to the tenant the following is done:

Deposit is in hand

First months rent is in hand

Lease agreement is signed and gone through in person. I have each section initialed and then signed and dated

Walk through check list is gone through in person. Each photo is initialed and the check list is signed and dated

I also hand out any disclosures that are required by law ie: lead disclosure and have them sign that the disclosures were given

I do this in one day if possible. I only accept a cashiers check or money order deposit and first months rent.

After all of this is done then I give them the keys.

I hope this helps!

Good Luck!!

Damaso Bautista · Answer

@Lulu Heather

I do not give the keys to the tenant until the day of or the day prior to what the lease says they are to take move into the property.

If you choose to do this earlier that is a personal choice that you have to make but I personally would not do it this way.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I should add: it is never a good idea to take money from someone without documentation of specifically what the money is for, what you are agreeing to, and what happens if the other party fails to perform. My Holding Agreement is one page long, maybe 30 lines of text. Very simple and clear.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I use a "Holding Deposit" and "Holding Agreement". If you use a Security Deposit, the law regulates what you can do with it. A Holding Deposit is typically not regulated.

The Holding Agreement says the Applicant is paying a deposit to hold the property until they are ready to lease. It specifically states what day they will start leasing, for what rate, and for what terms. If they follow through, the Holding Deposit is converted to the Security Deposit. If they fail, for any reason, the Holding Deposit is forfeited to me and I put the property back on the market for someone else.

Stephen J Davis · Answer

@Damaso Bautista is right. I would like to add that I do not pull credit until I have the application fee (about $35) and application deposit in hand. The application deposit is equal to one months rent and becomes the security deposit upon approval. Upon approval, they have 72 hours to sign the lease and all associated documents. I collect the first months rent and give them the keys the day before the lease starts. If I can collect the first months rent sooner, I do.

Jim Butterfield · Answer

for me its a economy issue... if I have many qualified applicants, then I want deposit and 1st month rent before keys...dont want to loose out on rental income. if the market is slow, then I might give my only lead a little time if he HAS given me deposit money...

Does Tenant Sign Rental Agreement The Same Day They Give Deposit?

Does Tenant Sign Rental Agreement The Same Day They Give Deposit?

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