Chris Bingham we make three files for every house. We rent single-family residence. The first file is a permanent file which includes all of the information that specific to the home not a tenant. Examples include purchase and sale contract, the inspection reports associated with the purchase, title policies, all closing documents, insurance policies, mortgage information, property tax information, homeowners association documentation, manuals for each appliance in the home.
We have our own in-office leasing file for every tenant. That file includes a copy of all signed leases, forms and documentation. examples would include a signed copy of our tenant screening and qualification policy, our pet policy, move-in condition form, if they have pets copies of any documentation of veterinary information provided by the tenant related to their Pet, Proof of renters insurance, all information related to processing the application, any written correspondence whatsoever whether it's through email or hard copy, maintenance or repair requests, completed periodic inspection reports, etc. at the front of this file we have an excel spreadsheet that creates a list of action items required for the duration of each lease. The list of actions includes things like, collect security deposit, collect first months rent, provide move-in condition form, receive signed move-in condition form back, periodic home inspections, receive proof of renters insurance, provide tenant with move-out procedures and signed copy of move-in/move out condition form, send tenant renewal notice, send tenant notice of non-renewal, etc. at the top of the spreadsheet we have four dates - date application completed, date applicant was approved, lease commencement date and lease expiration date. These are the only inputs in the spreadsheet. Once these dates are entered, formulas calculate the due dates of all remaining action items for the lease based on our states laws and our own internal policies (which applicant signed their acknowledgement as a part of the application process. Next to that auto-calculated due date is a blank space where we will fill in the ACTUAL date the task/action item was completed and any notes we need to add related to that item. Examples of entries....we require that the applicant pay the security deposit and sign a written lease within 3 days of being notified of their approval. So if approved may 1, the formula will automatically calculate a due date of May 4 as the deadline for signing the lease and paying the deposit. We also require the move-in condition form to be returned within 7 days of the lease commencement. The spreadsheet would calculate may 8. We also require a 60 notice of non-renewal by the tenant to us or by us to the tenant. So we have an action of send tenant renewal notice (assuming we want to renew) and its calculated as 75 days before the lease expiration to give the tenant 15 days to sign the renewal. We have an action of sending tenant a non-renewal notice and the due date is 60 days before lease expiration. Anyway, I really like this schedule because it can constantly be updated as you think of things to add and it is a great "tickler" system to follow and systematize your leases.
The third file we provide to the tenant upon move-in. That file includes sign copies of all rental information including their application, our tenant screening and qualifications policy, pet policy, A list of all utilities available including their contact information for setting up utilities, a sheet that gives the name of the community manager and their contact information, a copy of the homeowners association rules, copies of the appliance manuals, etc.
We have checklists and indexes for each of these files so that we make sure we have capture everything we need to document each file.
Steven Anderson
Berkley Properties
