All Forum Posts by: Troy Seals

Thank you all for your advice.  I will definitely look into WLB.  Marcus, I really like the idea of the carbon copies and using it as an opportunity to educate the tenant about the property. Thank you for the feedback!

Hi all,

I need to come up with a lease agreement for my first tenant.  I bought a duplex a few months ago and 'inherited' the tenant so they have been covered under the previous owners lease agreement.  My question is where should I go to find a new lease as well as, logistically when it comes time to sign, do you print out a paper copy for each party or is there a better way to do it digitally?  I'm sure there are management apps that can handle this type of thing but this is my only rental unit so I'm not sure it would be worth the cost of paying for an app for one unit.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  The property is in WI.

Thank you, I'll have to look in to waves! I will definitely have to separate expenses for the 2 units since I'll be living in one of them so won't be able to deduct those. I'm also hopeful that this will be the first of many! My realtor said I beat his previous record of appraisal price vs purchase price so I was happy to hear that, knowing I'm starting out above water! It made all the other showings and patience waiting for the right property worth it. Thank you for the advice. 

Thanks @Billy Linn! That's great advice, I am also self employed so I've learned the importance of having a solid record keeping system.

@Markus Shobe Thank you, I am self employed and have been using simple Excel spreadsheets to track income and expenses and its been working for me as far the business goes.  Do you think it's worth paying for and then having to learn a new system like Quickbooks, etc.? As far as the rent goes my mortgage will be roughly $1600/month so it wouldn't make sense to keep it so low, I'd be paying more to live there than the tenant and have to maintain the building as well.  I'd be happy with $1000/month if they are interested in staying, otherwise I would try to get around $1100. Thanks for your advice!

What are the things you wish you would have known starting as a first time landlord.  I'm closing on a duplex soon, which will be my first real estate purchase.  Just looking for any advice on managing a rental, from bookkeeping, to managing tenants, to documents, etc.  Any help will be much appreciated.  The property has been owner occupied for the last 30 years and has been well maintained.  The current tenant has lived there 10+ years but I suspect that's mostly because they are paying well below market rate for their rent.  They are paying $800/month until their lease runs out in January.  Market rate for a similar 3 bed rental is about $1100 in my area.  I will definitely be raising the rent but is it worth it to work with them and maybe take slightly less than the market rate since they have been long term tenants? That's just one of the questions I've been thinking about.  Thanks in advance!