Renting Primary Residence-what to put in lease

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Learned the hard way: make sure they change the air filters regularly. I would buy the ones you use to have on hand. Know someone whose hvac system basically exploded when the air filters were never changed by the renters and it wasn’t spelled out who was responsible to do it.

This is why you or a maintenance person come once a month and change the filter. It also allows you to get eyes on the property regularly.

[Anonymous]

80% of floors covered with area rugs, no smoking, no painting walls. You might want to price the rent so it includes seasonal yard maintenance and weekly mowing. Even when that is included in a lease as the tenants responsibility they never do it or do a poor job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re guidance about no pets - we never allow cats because they cause so much damage but we always allow dogs. People who own dogs tend to be out in the yard and neighborhood more, and that helps keeps the house in connection with the neighborhood. Dogs also help keep the house and neighborhood safer since they deter robbers.

Use the boiler plate. Don't go off on your own. Add addendums if you seriously think you need to but, honestly, when people start doing that they tend to get too restrictive and crazy. And the fact that your property is your "primary" house only matters in your own mind. Once you rent it, it is a rental. Contact Landlord-Tenant for your jurisdiction and get their info on what's required for your area.

We thought we were fine with a dog but our tenants let their dog pee and poop and throw up all over the carpets and either didn’t clean up for did a terrible job. They also apparently let the dogs scratch out several of the windows screens and claimed to have no clue how it happened. So no more dogs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

We had tenants with a dog who let it poop on the deck in the wintertime and they didn’t clean it up. It caused a huge rodent infestation in the house that we ended up paying for. We have new tenants with a dog but require in the lease that they clean up dog poop on and around the yard and are required to pay fir pest control.

[Anonymous]

My tenant asked permission occasionally bring family dog sit , yeah I will no longer rent with pets . Dogged pooped I guess everywhere and most likely did not got cleaned immediately. So it was stinky even hardwood .
Sorry but you never know if it’s going to be well trained pet or lazy pet owner .

[Anonymous]

We had tenants whose dog dug holes in the hardwood and deck and ruined the yard as well. No more pets. Security deposit wouldn't cover the damage their dog did, and to much trouble to take them to small claims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t a lot of this depend on the state/county? I don’t rent in Va, I’m in Montgomery County in MD, but there is standard lease here that landlords must use.

There are certain requirements that must be met but of course you are not required to use a particular lease.

But often trying to put maintenance obligations on a tenant is illegal.

Something is screwed up if you need to clean out a drain every day in the fall and I doubt any tenant is going to do that.

I’m a lawyer who works in housing and I’ve never seen anything that would suggest this is illegal. I also doubt a tenant would do that, and not sure exactly how a landlord would enforce it, but you can include it in the contract if both parties agree.

I wasn’t necessarily saying that requirement would he illegal but sometimes landlord try to say things like “the first $100 of any plumbing call will be paid by the tenant” and that would be illegal in some cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re guidance about no pets - we never allow cats because they cause so much damage but we always allow dogs. People who own dogs tend to be out in the yard and neighborhood more, and that helps keeps the house in connection with the neighborhood. Dogs also help keep the house and neighborhood safer since they deter robbers.

Use the boiler plate. Don't go off on your own. Add addendums if you seriously think you need to but, honestly, when people start doing that they tend to get too restrictive and crazy. And the fact that your property is your "primary" house only matters in your own mind. Once you rent it, it is a rental. Contact Landlord-Tenant for your jurisdiction and get their info on what's required for your area.

We thought we were fine with a dog but our tenants let their dog pee and poop and throw up all over the carpets and either didn’t clean up for did a terrible job. They also apparently let the dogs scratch out several of the windows screens and claimed to have no clue how it happened. So no more dogs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

We had tenants with a dog who let it poop on the deck in the wintertime and they didn’t clean it up. It caused a huge rodent infestation in the house that we ended up paying for. We have new tenants with a dog but require in the lease that they clean up dog poop on and around the yard and are required to pay fir pest control.

Rodents need to get in somehow. If you have rodents in your home it's not sealed properly.

[Anonymous]

I used to rent out my primary home in VA while I was working overseas. We included a "diplomatic clause" that allowed us to cut short the lease agreement (I think with a 60-90 day notice) if my company relocated us back to the US earlier than anticipated. Our experience with tenants was that the yard maintenance fell short of desirable, so it may be good for you to invest in a lawn/yard maintenance service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re guidance about no pets - we never allow cats because they cause so much damage but we always allow dogs. People who own dogs tend to be out in the yard and neighborhood more, and that helps keeps the house in connection with the neighborhood. Dogs also help keep the house and neighborhood safer since they deter robbers.

Use the boiler plate. Don't go off on your own. Add addendums if you seriously think you need to but, honestly, when people start doing that they tend to get too restrictive and crazy. And the fact that your property is your "primary" house only matters in your own mind. Once you rent it, it is a rental. Contact Landlord-Tenant for your jurisdiction and get their info on what's required for your area.

We thought we were fine with a dog but our tenants let their dog pee and poop and throw up all over the carpets and either didn’t clean up for did a terrible job. They also apparently let the dogs scratch out several of the windows screens and claimed to have no clue how it happened. So no more dogs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Cats spray and that destroys walls. You can't get rid of the smell unless you completely replace the wall. I'm okay with replacing carpets using the tenant's pet deposit. But you raise a good point about vetting the pet.

I often see people saying they don’t allow cats because of the damage they cause. How often has a cat sprayed a wall?!

??? Don't you know anyone who has a cat? It is a known thing. Cats spray.

Do you have a cat?? I know this is a problem with some cats, but I hardly think it’s common. My cat of 12 years has never sprayed anything or gone to the bathroom outside the litter box. I’d be more inclined to allow cats in my rental (which is also my primary residence) than dogs. But there’s no carpet in my house to worry about. Either way, get a bigger security deposit and charge pet rent.

No. We just refuse to rent to people with cats. We will take dogs, no problem. Absolutely no cats. If I suspect someone has a cat then my wife and I go over for some made up reason (with notice, of course) and within our rights in the lease. She's highly allergic. If she reacts then the lease is broken and the tenants are out. No ifs, ands or buts. (DP)

[Anonymous]

If you have pets you should own a home

[Anonymous]

Yard and seasonal maintenance built into the rate.
No cats. For a dog, need to provide proof of vaccination and either proof of training or have passed canine good citizen. Give your neighbor the number to your property management company.

If you can find a way to get inside the property on a regular basis that would be great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re guidance about no pets - we never allow cats because they cause so much damage but we always allow dogs. People who own dogs tend to be out in the yard and neighborhood more, and that helps keeps the house in connection with the neighborhood. Dogs also help keep the house and neighborhood safer since they deter robbers.

Use the boiler plate. Don't go off on your own. Add addendums if you seriously think you need to but, honestly, when people start doing that they tend to get too restrictive and crazy. And the fact that your property is your "primary" house only matters in your own mind. Once you rent it, it is a rental. Contact Landlord-Tenant for your jurisdiction and get their info on what's required for your area.

We thought we were fine with a dog but our tenants let their dog pee and poop and throw up all over the carpets and either didn’t clean up for did a terrible job. They also apparently let the dogs scratch out several of the windows screens and claimed to have no clue how it happened. So no more dogs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

We had tenants with a dog who let it poop on the deck in the wintertime and they didn’t clean it up. It caused a huge rodent infestation in the house that we ended up paying for. We have new tenants with a dog but require in the lease that they clean up dog poop on and around the yard and are required to pay fir pest control.

Rodents need to get in somehow. If you have rodents in your home it's not sealed properly.

. It’s really hard to seal every 1/4” size hole into a property. Rodents will find a way.

[Anonymous]

Op, in addition to no smoking, no painting the bricks, I advice that you get a yard and gutter cleaning service scheduled and charge a little higher rent. No subleasing or room leasing either.

You can charge at least 2 months of security deposit and have no pets policy.

How much you are thinking about charging for rent? Because that would also keep out a certain kind of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re guidance about no pets - we never allow cats because they cause so much damage but we always allow dogs. People who own dogs tend to be out in the yard and neighborhood more, and that helps keeps the house in connection with the neighborhood. Dogs also help keep the house and neighborhood safer since they deter robbers.

Use the boiler plate. Don't go off on your own. Add addendums if you seriously think you need to but, honestly, when people start doing that they tend to get too restrictive and crazy. And the fact that your property is your "primary" house only matters in your own mind. Once you rent it, it is a rental. Contact Landlord-Tenant for your jurisdiction and get their info on what's required for your area.

We thought we were fine with a dog but our tenants let their dog pee and poop and throw up all over the carpets and either didn’t clean up for did a terrible job. They also apparently let the dogs scratch out several of the windows screens and claimed to have no clue how it happened. So no more dogs. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Cats spray and that destroys walls. You can't get rid of the smell unless you completely replace the wall. I'm okay with replacing carpets using the tenant's pet deposit. But you raise a good point about vetting the pet.

I often see people saying they don’t allow cats because of the damage they cause. How often has a cat sprayed a wall?!

I have had cats my whole life and none have ever sprayed the walls, but I know some make cats spray to mark their territory. I think it’s common for cats who are not neutered (?) (I have two male cats who don’t spray, and they are fixed).

[Anonymous]

How much is the rent?