If you own property that you are considering renting, you may have wondered how to write a lease and what kind of rules you should have for tenants of your property. Fortunately, there are websites that offer standardized leases and rental agreements.

If you are planning to rent your property out on a month-to-month basis, you will want to use a rental agreement. If you are renting the place out for several months or longer, you will want to use a lease. The average lease goes for 12 months. However, leases for 3, 6, or 9 months are not uncommon.

What are the advantages of a rental agreement?

A person may seek out a month-to-month rental when they initially move to a new city and are looking for a place to live. People who are going through a divorce will often seek temporary housing while they go through the process. Some people want to get a feel for the rental property and the neighborhood before they actually commit to a full lease.

Lease agreements can be advantageous to a landlord as too often a landlord will rent an apartment to a tenant only to find that they do not pay the rent or keep up the property very well. If you have a month-to-month rental agreement, you can simply ask the person to leave after 30 days. You can also change the rental amount and the terms of a rental agreement at the end of 30 days.

When you sign a 12-month lease with someone and then decide you want them off your property, you may have a hard time getting them to vacate.

The Advantages of a Lease

The primary value of a long-term lease is that it offers you a steady income for quite a while. Finding tenants can be very difficult, which is why you will have to advertise to find someone. A sign on your lawn will not always garner the attention of the people that you want it to, so you will want to advertise on the internet.

In addition to having to pay for advertising, you will also need to have the apartment thoroughly cleaned. A professional cleaning service can be expensive, especially if you have multiple units.

A temporary rental might sit empty for a couple of months and you may end up losing important rent money while you search for a new tenant.

Eviction Under Leases and Lease Agreements

Sometimes a renter may have repeated problems paying the rent, or they may end up not paying it all. They may do things that the lease forbids, or they may disturb your neighbors. In this case, you might have to evict them. In some states, it can be just as hard to physically evict someone with a rental agreement as it can be to evict someone with a lease.

According to ezlandlordforms.com, you will have to give them a certain number of days to pay you. If they do not pay, you will have to wait for an eviction court date, and then you will have to wait a certain number of days after obtaining a judgment against them to hang the writ of restitution on their door.

Owning and renting property can be quite lucrative. Choosing the right type of contract for you and your tenants can help you to avoid confusion.