Property owner and landlord toolkit for a tough economy.

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If you are a property owner or property manager you already know that economic conditions are difficult for landlords. Here is a list of legal documents that can help landlords to protect themselves and their property against late rent, failure of tenants to pay rent altogether and other pitfalls of the slow economy.

Have every tenant sign a lease that has the protections landlords need. A good lease should provide for landlord entry to the premises, clear due dates for rent payments and clear and lawful penalties for failure of the tenant to adhere to the terms of the lease. Most of the up front work for a good lease can be done by the landlord; however, it is a good idea to engage a real estate attorney to help you when you need it.

You can find good sample lease legal forms here, that will create the obligations on the part of the tenant that you need to protect yourself as the property owner.

Here is a good sample of a landlord’s notice to enter a tenant’s premises.

If a tenant pays the rent late, send a late rent notice like this one to the tenant to demand that the rent be paid, along with any late fees or other penalties provided by the lease agreement. Keep a record of all late notices. A good way to do that is by keeping all of your legal documents stored in the Rocket Lawyer File Safekeeper^TM

If unfortunately, you need to evict a tenant, this eviction notice worksheet, plus an attorney can help you to do so.

Shaun Boss is a California lawyer available for a free initial consultation via RocketLawyer.com.

Click here to visit his Legal Profile and contact this attorney for your real estate legal matter.