Tips for DIY Landlords in Carlsbad – Property Management Advice
Landlords in Carlsbad who want to manage their own properties must protect themselves by using legal and thorough rental applications and lease agreements. Pay careful attention to your documentation so you don’t cause problems for yourself and your property.
Rental Application
Make sure you have an application, and remember that like leases, not all applications are created equally. The application you ask potential tenants to complete should be specific to the state of California. All states have different laws, and the information you’re able to request in California might not be found on the application if you’re not using the right one. Having a rock solid application is very important for landlords who are managing their own properties.
Lease Agreement
You’ll also need a great lease agreement that is state specific. In California, the Association of Realtors provides a comprehensive lease for landlords. At Real Property Management, we base our lease off this document and then we have an additional eight pages that go with that lease. The addenda we include reflect some of the situations we have experienced over the years since we went into business in 1975. It’s important to know what you’re doing when you are putting together lease agreement.
Recently, we took over a situation because the tenant was a bit of a problem for the self-managing landlord. The tenant wasn’t paying the rent, so we served our Three Day Notice to Pay or Quit. Then, while we were reading through the lease, we found out that the landlord had used a Nevada lease. That particular lease required a Seven Day Notice to Pay or Quit, which is unheard of in California. But because the landlord used a lease that was found online, we had to wait an extra week before moving forward to solve the problem.
If you’re a landlord managing your 
own property, you have a lot of things to consider. There is maintenance to think about, and what to do if repairs are needed or there’s an emergency at 2:00 am. We believe it’s always better to hire a professional to help you rent out your home.
Please contact us at Real Property Management. We can provide a lot of helpful information to do-it-yourself landlords.