Notice To All Prospective Tenants: Fill & Download for Free

Accept it or buy a home.You will never have all keys in your possession when you rent, because while the apartment or house might be your home, it’s still the landlord’s property, and they need to be able to enter or unlock it.You will typically receive two sets of keys that cannot be copied, and you will need to pay your landlord a fee if you require more than that. No matter the arrangement, your landlord or property manager will always hold on to a key. This is absolutely necessary as she may need to unlock the doors to conduct inspections, show the unit to prospective tenants, or conduct emergency repairs. Since tenants sometimes break their lease and leave without returning the keys, or they have to be evicted, your landlord needs to be able to get in without wasting money on a locksmith.Depending on the laws in your state your landlord will usually be required to give advance notice before they enter your property, but it’s not at all uncommon for someone to come by while you aren’t home to inspect the state of the unit, change AC filters, or carry out maintenance. And if your landlord or property manager suspects an emergency, she may need to enter immediately.You will never get all the keys to a rented property, so you can either apologize for insisting that she hand over all of them and accept the situation, or you can purchase your own home.

Wow, there is a valuable question, but I can’t limit it to just one answer! There is an old saying among landlords: There are only two times in life when you really know someone…1- when you marry them… or 2- when you rent to them. Rule # 1- Don’t become “friends” with your tenant. It is a business relationship. If you are “friends”, who do you suppose will get slighted when money runs a little tight? Strongly recommend good , competent / professional property management. #2- Get it understood from day one: The only reason the rent can be late is a death in the family, but it has to be YOU (the tenant ;-) If the rent is late, my CPA mandates that you are served a “3-day Notice to Pay or Quit” immediately, no exceptions. #3- Inspect your property every 6 months. Tenants will not report deficiencies for fear of the rent going up, even things that cause further damage! #4- Meet your prospective tenants in their existing home, if at all possible- that is what your property will look like in 6 months…is that what you want? (At least meet them at their car; the inside of their car is what your rental will look like in 6 months). # 5- Call their PREVIOUS landlord, do not just call the current one. The current one may say anything to get rid of them. #6- If you see your house on TV, it will NOT be good news. Just trust me on that one. #7- If you have tenants that legally grow “recreational-use” marijuana… if they get entrepreneurial and exceed the limit and get busted…your house can be seized and sold by the DEA- consult your attorney before you consider allowing tenants who are “agriculturally inclined”. Understand the typical tenant mindset: If you spill a soda on the carpet of a rental car, do you take it immediately to be shampooed and detailed, or do you mop it up enough to “get-by”? I hope that is helpful, or at least gives you some food for thought.

New tenant moved into an apartment diagonally across the hall from mine. He had a 6 to 8-month old pitbull mix named “Scrappy”. Yes, after Scooby’s annoying nephew. And the name suited him. He didn’t try to act tough, but he was very friendly and energetic and barked a lot.I mean A LOT.I talked to him about it one morning when he was out working on his car. I suggested he leave a TV or radio on whenever he went away to keep the dog company. I even offered to check in on the dog now and then if he gave me a copy of his key; I’d walk it, feed it, maybe sit with it for an hour or two or take it back to my apartment. I have two cats, but they were used to being around a dog.He thanked me but never took me up on the offer.One weekend he went away with his girlfriend/baby mama and the dog barked incessantly. Called management. Called after-hours number. Both said they’ve received complaints, but whenever they’d swing by there, they’d hear no barking. I stood outside the apartment door and said, “Do you hear it now?!”The dog was never removed nor was the tenant evicted.Until.One weekend I noticed there was no barking. I figured one of a few things happened:The tenant finally decided to take the dog with him wherever he was going.The tenant moved out.The tenant got rid of the dog.Management came and removed the dog (with help from animal control).The dog died.After a few days of silence, I asked the tenant what happened to Scrappy. He told me management ordered him to get rid of him.A week later I was up at the management office, signing a new lease. I asked, “By the way, can you tell me about the tenant in Apartment 26B? He told me you made him get rid of the dog.”The manager I was dealing with explained, “He seemed aggressive. We were showing the unit to some prospective tenants and the dog ran right up to them and jumped up on them.”I didn’t want to press it. Even though I knew that more than likely wasn’t aggression; it was being overly friendly and looking for human contact he didn’t seem to get a lot of, I was just glad of no longer sitting up all night listening to that damn dog barking.