Compliance, Documentation & Taxes

[Kim Gray]

Happy Thursday everyone. Three more observations from the self-managing side of rental property.

Three Landlord Tips
1. Your lease does not override state law.
If a clause in your lease conflicts with your state’s landlord tenant statutes, it is generally unenforceable. Know the law before you write the clause.
2. Document the condition of your unit before every tenancy.
A signed move-in condition report with photos is one of your best protections in a security deposit dispute. Without it, you are relying on memory.
3. Not all rental income should be recorded the same way.
Rent, security deposits, pet fees, cleaning fees, and other payments may need to be tracked differently. Good records make tax time much easier.

Two Things To Think About
• A landlord who cannot produce organized records at tax time is not just disorganized. They may be leaving deductions on the table.
• The most expensive landlord mistakes are often the ones that could have been prevented by knowing the rules in advance.

One Question
What is one thing you wish you had known before your first tenant moved in?
Looking forward to hearing your responses.

[Drew Sygit]

Quote from @Kim Gray:

Happy Thursday everyone. Three more observations from the self-managing side of rental property.

Three Landlord Tips
1. Your lease does not override state law.
If a clause in your lease conflicts with your state’s landlord tenant statutes, it is generally unenforceable. Know the law before you write the clause.
2. Document the condition of your unit before every tenancy.
A signed move-in condition report with photos is one of your best protections in a security deposit dispute. Without it, you are relying on memory.
3. Not all rental income should be recorded the same way.
Rent, security deposits, pet fees, cleaning fees, and other payments may need to be tracked differently. Good records make tax time much easier.

Two Things To Think About
• A landlord who cannot produce organized records at tax time is not just disorganized. They may be leaving deductions on the table.
• The most expensive landlord mistakes are often the ones that could have been prevented by knowing the rules in advance.

One Question
What is one thing you wish you had known before your first tenant moved in?
Looking forward to hearing your responses.

 If it's not in writing - it never happened!

Follow up phone calls with a confirmation email or text and get an acknowledgement, so they can't claim they never got/saw it.

LANDLORD TIP: the state, real estate board and other online leases are just the bare minimum, so usually have some real world deficiencies. So, get copies of PMC leases and study them to figure out what clauses to copy & paste to your lease.