Where Can I Get A Standard Apartment Lease: Fill & Download for Free

I started at 19, forty years ago, when my wife and I bought our first townhouse. It cost around $48K if I recall. We lived in it for seven months and sold it for a $7K net profit.We moved and built a house. We sold that and built another house. In the mean time, we had invested in five acres on a major Austin highway, but way out of town. (We held that property a little over thirty years before we decided to sell it. By then, the town had grown out to where our land was. The property was worth approximately sixty-eight times what we had paid for it).We sold the house that we were living in, had raised our children in, and loved dearly. It was the perfect house for us, but we sold it, took the profits, put the minimum down on another home to live in, and started buying investment properties.Before long we were buying commercial properties to add to our rent houses. Then we started selling off our residential units to acquire more commercial properties.Now we pretty much just invest in commercial units. We bought a small shopping center in San Antonio, about 75 miles away, a few months ago. That was our most recent purchase.We are currently trying to buy out the last remaining tenant’s lease on one of the other properties that we own. That should cost us somewhere between $270K to $400K, I hope. Once that is accomplished, and that tenant has moved, we can begin construction on a fifty-million-dollar 253-unit luxury apartment community with 5,000’ of high-end retail.It all started with a thousand-dollar down payment… forty years ago.---------Update: I ended up offering my last remaining tenant (a public company) $750,000 just to move out of the space they were in. They refused. It looks like I'm stuck with them for another six and a half years. I was really hoping to build that larger project in their space. I may end up just building above them and around them. It won't be as beautiful a building as I had hoped, but it also will feel alright to not have to pay them $750K just to move out. We used a standard Texas Commercial lease instead of my regular lease contracts and now I'm regretting that decision. Things can change so fast when you are working with real estate deals, but it's all good. They will end up paying me a little under another million dollars in rent during that time and the property will likely double in value during the next six years.

As a landlord, I have seen nearly all of my new tenants just glance over the rental agreement and quickly sign.A judge in small claims court, and an attorney, will both tell anyone that in every situation, folks need to thoroughly read what they are signing. The law places a burden that both parties know what they have agreed to.Anyone who authors the contract (i.e., landlords, contractors, etc.) will bring their contract to the table. What many people do not realize (especially new tenants) is that they have the right to negotiate not only the amount of rent and security deposit but also the terms of the rental agreement or lease.While it may be true that some property managers or leasing offices might state that it is not their policy to modify the terms, and while some folks who need an apartment badly and quickly might not want to take the risk not getting into a new place, nonetheless, those are market forces, which are different from legal ramifications.I once made a big mistake not thoroughly reading a contract with a shady roofer, in which I unwittingly waived my rights to deal with my own insurance company where I pay a premium, as this very crooked contract established the roofer as my “agent.” A vicious battle ensued and I got my legal counsel involved, and things got very ugly, and shockingly, the roofer whom I fired (and before any work was started) also became extremely vindictive. My attorney gently inspired me to vet all contracts through him before ever signing anything ever again.Later, that same tactic that my fired roofer used was outlawed in Colorado as an illegal practice.Since this is your “first” apartment, what you might perceive as “trickery” might truly be industry standards that you are not familiar with, or they might be actually illegal or unethical practices. Without those specifics, then it is impossible to discern a course of action.

Adding to everything above. Most shocking things first:1) No one walks or uses public transport: I really thought that public transport should be ubiquitous and the most basic thing in the US (I blame this on Captain Planet). Worse, there is no option of public transport outside of big metropolitan areas. Apart from the really big cities, the public transport system is basically a pointless mess of buses and trains, which are sparsely used and not punctual at all. Coming from a city in India where I was used to getting a train every 5 minutes, this came as a shock. I initially thought this was only in Atlanta (where I went to grad school), but I saw this in more and more cities as I traveled more. My ignorance about public transport to be blamed for this.2) Not every city has skyscrapers like New York City or Chicago: Well, most cities fit this one. Too much Hollywood I guess. Too much suburban sprawl for my liking.3) Gas is ridiculously cheap for the standard of living of an average American: Seriously, consider this:Average per capita income in India = $1000 per year(http://www.financialexpress.com/news/indias-per-capita-income-crosses-rs-50k/906150/)Average gas price in India per liter = Rs 75That comes out to Rs 277 (approx $5.5) per gallon.And here in the US, the per capita income even is way higher and gas prices are cheaper. Yes, I do know that people here use cars more. But then, why don't we use public transport...because it's not good enough....vicious circle.4) Cabs are expensive: Here, cabs are expensive enough to be called only when you don't have a car/cannot get a ride/no public transport. In India, a cab was public transport and cheap enough to use for everyday commute (no, I do not come from a rich family).5) There is a lot of poverty in the US: More shockingly, good young Americans are completely ignorant about it. There's way too much economic segregation in terms of neighborhoods and school districts.6) School districts: WTF is this? I came from a background where I anyone can go to any school (at least middle and high school) as long as it was based on merit (and you had the money if it was a private school). This led me to interact with people richer than the last 10 generations of my family as well as with people who lived on $100 a month. The school was tax subsidized and there was no school district segregation.7) A receipt for everything: God save the trees. I do not need a copy of my bill and then a customer copy + merchant copy for every meal.8) Medical/Education costs: After food, clothing and shelter, I thought medicine and education would be the most important basic needs for man. These should be cheap and readily available. How wrong was I?9) Unlike most countries, corruption can legally take place (lobbying): Isn't this a no brainer? I know lobbying is good for a lot of good reasons, but hey, it's an easy way for the rich/corporations to get their point across and legally get things done.10) Guns: There are people who believe that having guns is good for reducing crime (yes, statistics prove this too). I understand the argument that for example, break-ins will reduce since thieves will know that home-owners have a gun and can shoot the thief. But I cannot imagine what the social fabric will be if everyone has a gun. How can anyone feel safe to, let's say, send their kids outside to just go to a store or to go and stroll in the park, with the knowledge that the person next to me has a gun?11) Biased media: Political bias, economic bias, geographic bias, etc. Clear misuse of freedom of speech. If all I hear is inaccurate news, my perception of the world will be grossly inaccurate. How hard is it to realize this?12) Economics of a few products/services: $15 for a haircut, waiters get paid only $2.13 per hour or some sub-minimum wage amount, bottled water worth $2, etc. It didn't make sense to me at first. 15-20% tips at restaurant is a norm... Shouldn't I have the freedom to choose the amount based on the quality of service and my own financial condition? Sewage bill... What?Moving on to the pleasantly surprising things:1) American kids in grad school are smart: Not all kids sit in front of tv/play video games/party all night. I thoroughly enjoyed studying with them.2) Virtually every business has a website: Including my apartment leasing office.3) Sports: I enjoy watching football and basketball. The fan following for national leagues is something I had expected, but college sports is very good.4) The speed at which new technology is adopted: Twitter is faster than an earthquake?5) True for Silicon Valley at least: Very hard working people. Open-minded and innovative people. It is a pleasure to work with such people.6) Mixture of cultures: Never short of new restaurants to try. I love this.7) The opportunities to do volunteer work: Insane number of opportunities...almost overwhelming8) Bike lanes and sidewalks: Despite the fact that I could be the only person walking or biking in a mile, there are plenty of bike lanes and sidewalks. I wish more people would use them though.Just a few observations when I came here. I know a lot more about these now and can imagine why things are as they are.