2 Ways A Real Estate Attorney Can Help You When Renting Out Your Home

Law Blog

If you want to build a new house but do not want to sell your existing home, you could always rent your current home to someone. Renting a house can be a profitable venture, but it also means that you will become a landlord. If you decide that this is what you want to do, you should hire a real estate attorney to help you do the following things.

Find out if this is allowed

The first thing you will need to do is find out whether or not this is even allowed in your area. Some areas do not have laws about this, but others do. You must find out from your city if you can rent your house out; and if so, you will need to find out if there are any laws or codes you must follow and meet in order to do this.

For example, you might be allowed to rent your house out, but your home may have to meet these conditions:

  • It has working smoke detectors
  • The electricity must be up to code
  • You may need to tie in to the city water or sewer system first
  • The home must be free of pests and mold

When you hire a real estate attorney for help with this, he or she will help you fully understand what must be done in order to rent your house out.

Create a good lease

The lease you have will become a contract between the tenant you choose and you, and you will want to make sure the lease fully covers everything, and you will need to make sure it protects you completely. Real estate attorneys have leases on hand, and they can help you customize one of their templates for your needs. Some of the important things to include on the lease are the following items:

  • The responsibilities of the tenant
  • The consequences of paying late rental payments
  • The way the security deposit will work
  • Things that are prohibited by the tenant
  • The process the tenant must follow when there are issues with the home
  • The result of breaking any rules in the lease

Leases are generally multiple pages in length, and that is because they must state so many different things.

If you would like to learn more about renting your house to a tenant, contact a real estate attorney today to set up an appointment to meet with him or her.

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29 November 2016

Every Business Owner Needs to Be Well-versed in Law

While I took a few business classes in college, I left early to start my own business. I thought I had the knowledge I needed to become a great business owner and was eager to start my business. Soon, I had a new business that was actually performing pretty well in sales. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken any law courses in college, and I soon realized I made a few mistakes when starting my business that could cause me some legal trouble. Thankfully, a great business lawyer helped me correct my mistakes before I had any legal problems, but I then decided to take those business law courses. I want to help business owners and anyone else who would like to learn more about the law by starting a blog where I will share what I have learned and will continue to learn. I hope I can help you!