the issue isn’t addressed in time. A quick message to the owner from the tenant should be required. It’s a simple step, but one that needs to be spelled out for your own protection. It’s one thing to have a great lease that protects you as the owner. It’s another to actually have all the paperwork and the documentation to protect yourself. So be fully prepared, beyond the lease; it may just save you thousands of dollars later. For example, you’ll want to avoid the following situation. Let’s say the tenant moves out and there’s a major scrape in the wall, and you’re going to have to spend $300 to have someone redo the drywall and repaint the wall. You could say, “I see that you’ve caused the damage to my wall, and because I’m prepared, I have proof through video footage of the place before you moved in. So now I’m going to need that $300 or have you face a lawsuit.” That sounds fair—have them pay what it will cost. However, you now have that $300 bill in the red, and the tenant could call your bluff, “Actually, that damage was already there when I moved into the property.” If you end up in front of the judge, it’s going to be your word (and credibility) — if you don’t actually have proof — against the tenant’s. You run the risk of the judge siding with the tenant and not requiring the tenant to reimburse you the $300. Plus, you could now be exposed to attorney fees, as part of the court case alone is going to be in the thousands, and that $300 is going to look like nothing. The key is to be prepared . Here’s how to actually protect yourself from such situations and for any and all potential property damage issues.
HAVE THE TENANT FILL O ANT FILL OUT AND S T AND SIGN AN INVENTORY CONDITION FORM
With witnesses present and signing, have the tenant fill out and
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