For every landlord, maintaining their business and ensuring everything is well documented is a key part of making sure things run smooth. Real estate and landlord forms are two of the most important tools for maintaining the smooth sailing and protecting against legal issues.
During the course of managing their rental properties, landlords often encounter a slew of problems. Tenants not paying rent on time, not paying rent at all, damaging the property, disputing the return of their security deposit, and extra tenants living in the premise are all examples of issues that can and do arise. By having the proper real estate forms and landlord forms filled out and signed by the tenant, the landlord can help protect against issues like the ones above.
Without the proper landlord forms signed by the renter, the property owner will stand little chance in court. In general, the courts will side with the renter when there is little or no documentation or proof to support the landlord’s claim.
Landlords should always prepare themselves for the worst by having a tenant review and sign all appropriate landlord forms. In addition, they should make sure they archive the condition of the property before the tenant moves in. This allows them to prove any damage upon the renter’s departure. It also provides great factual information to support the deduction or not returning of the tenant’s security deposit (security deposit disputes are the most common disagreement between landlords and tenants).
Landlord forms usually cost money. Most property owners will pay their lawyer to draft forms for them or they will use an online service that provides state-specific, customized forms that will hold up in a court of law. LandLordDocuments.com does not provide state-specific landlord forms for direct download, rather they provide generalized forms. These forms are great for creating a base to begin drafting a form that is more specific. In addition, many of the forms, such as the Key Deposit Form and the Security Deposit Itemization Form are good to download for free because they are not legally complicated forms.
For free real landlord forms and free real estate forms, visit our site at www.landlorddocuments.com. We have over 100 forms that are downloadable in Microsoft Word and Excel formats. In addition, we have a business partner that provides state specific and customized documents and forms for people that need more than a generalized form.