While most of the posts on this site address issues related to home ownership for Worcester residents, this post deals with an important aspect of residential real estate: rental properties. Many area residents might be interested to learn more about how to successfully prepare their properties for efficient and effective leasing.
Signing a lease agreement is a real estate transaction though different from signing a property sales agreement. While in a sales agreement ownership of a property changes hands, in a lease agreement a property owner offers a tenant exclusive rights and privileges to occupy part of all of the owner’s real property. Many issues should be addressed when dealing with a lease negotiation in the rental process.
One of the biggest things that property owners can do when preparing their lease agreements is to ensure that their own rights are adequately guarded. For example, many property owners fail to anticipate damaging and costly actions by their tenants, such as owning pets, missing rent due dates and permitting non-lessees to reside in the property. Ways to avoid such issues include using a real estate attorney to help prepare the lease agreement and hiring a property management group to handle the problems of being a property owner.
Another consideration that rental property owners must make is how much insurance they need to protect their rights and finances. Insurance protects owners from slip and fall accidents as well as more serious claims of negligence and recklessness. Real property experts can help owners determine what types of coverage they need to be safe.
Finally, property owners can have positive experiences as landlords by finding the right tenants and charging them a fair price. While some property owners may be bound to charge what they owe on the properties, others may be able to offer fair market rental prices to attract a greater pool of interest. From that pool property owners may be able to identify prospective tenants whose credit is strong and therefore attractive for leasing.
Though many people want to buy their own homes, others are happy living their whole lives as renters. Whether a person is a prospective landlord or tenant, anyone can benefit from having a real estate professional review his lease agreement for problematic clauses and potentially unfair requirements.
Source: Military.com, “7 Survival Tips for Renting Out Your Home,” Lisa Severson, Jan. 23, 2014