This Room Lease Agreement (The "Agreement") Is Entered Into This Day: Fill & Download for Free

Drugs made me fo it. I rented a room in my home to an 18-year-old college student who was living with his mom and grandma. They both gave him the most glowing references, “He’s such a sweet boy.” A few weeks after he moved in, I told him I’d be out late for the evening; instead, I came back home within 45 minutes because I was not feeling well. When I arrived home, there was an unfamiliar car parked in my spot in the driveway. I didn’t have a problem with my renter having guests, it was football season; but I was irked I had to go park on the street in front a few houses down.I walked into my home and my renter had two young buddies with him huddled at the coffee table in my living room. The two buddies, who both looked to be teenagers, were not the problem; however, three lines of powdered drugs drawn out on my coffee table were a big problem. Since I hadn’t driven into the driveway, they hadn’t heard me come in. They all immediately began scrambling around to hide their drugs. I told them all to stop and drop what they had in their hands; so, a baggie of pot was dropped onto the coffee table. I told the two young visitors that I had given their vehicle license plate number to the neighbor and all I had to do was to flick the front porch light and the police would be on their way. I reminded them the police station was only 8 blocks away. I suggested they leave right now. His two buddies ran out the front door and their car peeled out of my driveway.I am so glad a put a provision in my rental agreement about drug use and a 24-hour eviction. I detest drugs plus I worked for the federal government. I called my renter’s mother, put her on loud speaker and explained to her that her son had just broken his lease by bringing drugs into my home. I told her that if she did not remover her son within 24-hours according to our rental agreement, I would have no choice except to call the police and turn him in.His mom didn’t say much except for her initial gasp and then a few mumbles to acknowledge what I was saying. When I stopped talking, she told me she would be there within an hour and told him to start packing his stuff. After we hung up he tried to start removing the drugs from the coffee table. I told him “No, we will deal with that later, go pack.” He gave me an angry look, but I reminded him I could still flick the porch light.His mom arrived within 20 minutes. She was shocked when she saw the drugs on the coffee table. I described his guests and I’m glad I have a good memory because I also gave her the license plate number of the car. After that, she helped him load stuff into her car and into his. While they did this I took a few pictures of my coffee table.I told them both that he was forbidden to ever enter my home again. His mom agreed and asked me if it was okay to flush all the drugs down the toilet. She and I stood there watching him flush all the powder and the bag of pot down the toilet. We discussed that whatever property they couldn’t remove tonight, she would come and get it within 2 days. I reminded her his violation forfeits refund of the remaining rental days and security deposit and she shook her head yes. I then reminded her that if her son were arrested or convicted for drugs, he would lose his college scholarship. She put her hand over her heart for a moment, shook her head in understanding and they both left quickly after that.His mom did come back and pick up the rest of his stuff the next day. The funny kicker to this story is the grandma. She called me up a few days later and cursed me up and down for “throwing out her sweet grandson.” To be honest, to this day; I’m not sure if grandma was that much in the dark about her grandson’s drug use or if she was just pissed off that he had come back home.

Great Question!There are so many elements.Before I delve into the answer, I do want to cite. Payments is not that complex, though it can be.Reasonably well-versed people if boxed into a room, forced to stare at a problem on the white-board long enough, will come out with some payment solution.There are still 1,000s of payment problems out there.Some I am aware of, 1000s of them I am not aware of. Some cater to a small market. Some to a very large market. Pick a problem. Any one problem and in 1-2 days you can probably hack out a solution on a white-board. It is really that simple at times. To crack the payments space problem for a horizontally wide market, one needs to be proficient on many levels. As an architect of a solution (someone has to think about the problem right?) you need to be multi-talented. Herein lies the problem for many.To give you a 100,000 feet overview as to why payments are so difficult, see some of the points below (in no particular order):Traction: One of the biggest challenges is and will always be traction. How many people you can get to use your payment system/solution. Will you be competing with the big boys or not? Will you face resistance? Is it time for your product/service to be in the market. This is a tough one to have a definitive control over.Geography: What specific geography are you planning to operate in? Is it saturated? Is there no competition? If so, why not? Why hasn't the vacuum been filled up by someone else? What are the numbers on the ground like? What are the adoption rates? What are the numbers being offered by adjacent products/services?Licensing: Would you need to be licensed? If so, which one? Are the licenses open for application? What is the average time period before a license is granted? What are the capital requirements for obtaining a license? What are the surety bond requirements? What are the financial requirements? How does it affect you going from a no-license period to a licensed period? How many people would you have to hire, as per the licensing requirements? How will this affect your budget?Regulatory Compliance: What does it entail to be compliant in a market? Does a regulator(s) have oversight on your industry? Would compliance alter the roadmap or functionality or your product/service? What will it cost to be compliant? What are the pitfalls of not being complaint? How much risk is there in your system? How will you reduce fraud? What parameters will yield a lower risk status for your? How will this affect your overall product/service delivery and usability? Do you have the adequate systems in place to make you compliant? How much will these systems cost? What about the HR and Hardware/Software required to have such a system in place to make you compliant?Interconnects / Integrations: What networks and/or interconnect partners would you be connecting with? Would they allow you to connect? What if they don't? What sort of integration is required with your partners? How long will such an integration take? What if your party does not allow outside vendors or partners to connect to their systems? What is the alternative approach then? What if the integration costs exceed your original budget? What if integration and interconnects increase the cost of a transaction being executed on your system? What backup do you have?Banking, Processing and Insurance Coverage: Does your product/service require banking facilities? payment processing facilities? insurance coverage (as required by the regulator?) Are you able to find all these facilities? At what cost or limits? What if you cannot find a bank to work with? What are the minimum capital requirements for obtaining a guaranteed banking facility? What if the banking / processing / insurance fees jolts your original model? What if the banks refuse to work with you - citing risk? As an example if you are a start-up in Australia or even UK wanting to enter the domain of Money Transfers - it is almost impossible for you to find a bank to work with. Somewhat similar situation exists in the US.Technology: Who develops the technology? Are you going to be leasing or licensing technology? Would there be any royalty or licensing fees associated with it? What about development? Where will you find talent? What will this talent cost? What will a delayed launch cost you? What if a competing or near-competing product is launched - how will your technology stack adopt to such a change (if at all)? Are you allowed to do whatever it is you are doing (from a technology perspective)?Legal Costs and Legal Ramifications: Legally, where does your product/service stand? What are the costs associated in making agreements and arrangements with your financial, network, OEM (hardware/software), processing partners? What are the legal terms under which the product/service is being provided for? What about agreements with say VISA or Pulse, or a worldwide payment connector - how would you deal with that? What if one grey clause in such an agreement would make your product a competitor and grounds for annulling the agreement. How ill you handle this? How would you, as the company be affected by a lawsuit? If you're a start-up - who pays the legal fees? Will you be able to execute an agreement with a party that is crucial to your business? What if talks break down?The Differentiator: What makes your product/service do different? What problem is it solving? Why would people flock towards it? Why can't the big boys do it? What prevents your bank from providing the same service? What stops the card schemes to oust you and do this themselves? What about the vultures who will copy your idea? How vulnerable is your idea to a status quo element being changed? How confident are you that the value proposition you have on the table now - will still have an edge 2 years or 5 years down the road? Is it a disruptor? If so, how? and what makes it so (such that no one else is hammering away at this)?The Flat World: Is your product / solution going to be country specific? multiple countries? global? Where will you be incorporated? Are you allowed to on-board or off-load transactions to another country? Yes? How yes? Do you have any okay from the regulator? Do you have a legal opinion on it? Do you need to be cross-licensed in other territories? Can you onboard sub-merchants? or sub-clients? Can you have affiliates? Are they legally allowed? What about agents? Can you onboard them? Does the law provide a provision for this? How does cross-border settlement occur? What are the time-motion diagrams for net settlement like? What is the FX gain/loss like? Are you allowed to repatriate profits? Are they taxable? Will it have dual-tax implications? Do you require additional permits? Will you bank or processing partner allow you to operate in different countries and/or territories? Can you setup so as not to commingle funds from business done in one country with another?Partners: Who do you have to partner up with? What if they don't want to partner up with you? What if your potential key/core partner does not want to enter into this business? What if your competition midway manages to break the relationship you have with your partner? What does it mean - partnering up? What will it cost you? In the short term? and in the long term?Finance / Financing / Financials (aka Money): How much money do you have? How much money in this game? How much money will you make? How much money will you need? How can you get that money? What if you don't get that money? then what? What if a competitor forces you to change your revenue model, (lowering your price) how much money will you make then? Who is going to finance this? Where will you raise money from? How soon can you do it? Midway if more funding is required what are your plans? What if you cannot get that funding? Then what?Transaction Monitoring & Transaction Reporting: What sort of a TMS / TRS would you require? How would you handle the KYC, AML, Terrorist Financing issues and checks from other POI lists? What is your flagging and reporting mechanism? How confident are you of your monitoring? What would it mean for your company if a person on the OFAC list, gets to successfully transact? If you are operating in multiple territories what are the laws in each territory for monitoring and reporting? What kind of information can be reported in geographic area and how different is it from the reporting in another country? (US vs Europe for example)? What is the cost (equipment, training, HR, on-going) for implementing such a system? Is your product/service even providing the necessary data-points to monitor? Are you breaking any laws, by reporting what you are?

To begin, signatures are not magic. Maybe in some parts of the world but not in Oregon.In Oregon the Oregon Residential Landlord Tenant Act requires landlords to maintain the dwelling unit in habitable condition. ORS 90.320. Set out in full below. Paragraph 2 outlines the conditions under which an agreement you described could be allowed:(2) The landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant is to perform specified repairs, maintenance tasks and minor remodeling only if:(a) The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord;(b) The agreement does not diminish the obligations of the landlord to other tenants in the premises; and(c) The terms and conditions of the agreement are clearly and fairly disclosed and adequate consideration for the agreement is specifically stated"consideration" means something of value. "Quid pro quo". Just because you sign an agreement does not change a law. Again, signatures are not magic. Unless your new lease has something of value for you, like lowered rent or something, I doubt the provision is enforceable. In fact, The ORLTA provides that a tenant can recover 3 months rent if the landlord attempts to enforce a rental agreement the landlord knows is contrary to law:90.245 Prohibited provisions in rental agreements; remedy. (1) A rental agreement may not provide that the tenant::(a) Agrees to waive or forgo rights or remedies under this chapter;(b) Authorizes any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of the rental agreement;(c) Agrees to the exculpation or limitation of any liability arising as a result of the other party’s willful misconduct or negligence or to indemnify the other party for that liability or costs connected therewith; or(d) Agrees to pay liquidated damages, except as allowed under ORS 90.302 (2)(e).(2) A provision prohibited by subsection (1) of this section included in a rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord deliberately uses a rental agreement containing provisions known by the landlord to be prohibited and attempts to enforce such provisions, the tenant may recover in addition to the actual damages of the tenant an amount up to three months’ periodic rent. [Formerly 91.745; 2009 c.431 §11]Commercial leases are not covered by ORLTA. I am only licensed in Oregon. Here is the full section of 90.320 covering a landlord’s duty to maintain:90.320 Landlord to maintain premises in habitable condition; agreement with tenant to maintain premises. (1) A landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition. For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit shall be considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks:(a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including windows and doors;(b) Plumbing facilities that conform to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, and maintained in good working order;(c) A water supply approved under applicable law that is:(A) Under the control of the tenant or landlord and is capable of producing hot and cold running water; (B) Furnished to appropriate fixtures;(C) Connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law; and(D) Maintained so as to provide safe drinking water and to be in good working order to the extent that the system can be controlled by the landlord;(d) Adequate heating facilities that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;(e) Electrical lighting with wiring and electrical equipment that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;(f) Buildings, grounds and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the rental agreement in every part safe for normal and reasonably foreseeable uses, clean, sanitary and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin, and all areas under control of the landlord kept in every part safe for normal and reasonably foreseeable uses, clean, sanitary and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin;(g) Except as otherwise provided by local ordinance or by written agreement between the landlord and the tenant, an adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish in clean condition and good repair at the time of the commencement of the rental agreement, and the landlord shall provide and maintain appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and arrange for their removal;(h) Floors, walls, ceilings, stairways and railings maintained in good repair;(i) Ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, maintained in good repair if supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord;(j) Safety from fire hazards, including a working smoke alarm or smoke detector, with working batteries if solely battery-operated, provided only at the beginning of any new tenancy when the tenant first takes possession of the premises, as provided in ORS 479.270, but not to include the tenant’s testing of the smoke alarm or smoke detector as provided in ORS 90.325 (1);(k) A carbon monoxide alarm, and the dwelling unit:(A) Contains a carbon monoxide source; or(B) Is located within a structure that contains a carbon monoxide source and the dwelling unit is connected to the room in which the carbon monoxide source is located by a door, ductwork or a ventilation shaft; or(L) Working locks for all dwelling entrance doors, and, unless contrary to applicable law, latches for all windows, by which access may be had to that portion of the premises that the tenant is entitled under the rental agreement to occupy to the exclusion of others and keys for those locks that require keys.(2) The landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant is to perform specified repairs, maintenance tasks and minor remodeling only if:(a) The agreement of the parties is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord;(b) The agreement does not diminish the obligations of the landlord to other tenants in the premises; and(c) The terms and conditions of the agreement are clearly and fairly disclosed and adequate consideration for the agreement is specifically stated.(3) Any provisions of this section that reasonably apply only to a structure that is used as a home, residence or sleeping place shall not apply to a manufactured dwelling, recreational vehicle or floating home where the tenant owns the manufactured dwelling, recreational vehicle or floating home, rents the space and, in the case of a dwelling or home, the space is not in a facility. Manufactured dwelling or floating home tenancies in which the tenant owns the dwelling or home and rents space in a facility shall be governed by ORS 90.730, not by this section. [Formerly 91.770; 1993 c.369 §6; 1995 c.559 §15; 1997 c.249 §32; 1997 c.577 §17; 1999 c.307 §20; 1999 c.676 §11; 2009 c.591 §12; 2013 c.294 §9]